A folk-figurine brand founded in imperial days looks to its future. Wang Kaihao reports.

A sculpture gallery in Beijing's 798 Art Zone seems at first glance to be a contemporary art workshop - the light is soft, and the design is simple yet exquisite.

A mysterious atmosphere prevails. A banner hung in the gallery says: "To retreat" in Chinese, which may arouse philosophical contemplation.

But looks can be deceiving. The space is a center for promoting Niren Zhang, a folk-art brand of clay figurines from nearby Tianjin municipality that has survived for nearly two centuries. It's a household name nationwide.

Niren Zhang's traditional craftsmanship was inscribed on the first national intangible cultural heritage list in 2006.

The owner of the gallery, which opened in October, is the sixth generation of his family to fashion the figurines.

"It's like Walt Disney," 39-year-old Zhang Yu says.

"The original pursuit remains but has been updated several times on the technical level.

"Many people cling to the archetypical idea that (traditional) fine art shouldn't change over time. However, Niren Zhang advocated creativity even in its earliest days."

Zhang expects the modern-looking gallery in Beijing to nurture new thinking about, and a globalization of, traditional fine art.

He still runs an old-fashioned workshop in Tianjin that operates according to the master-apprentice model.

"I wish people would view Niren Zhang as something that belongs to today's world - not only to the past," he says.

"Traditional art is just another form of expression and isn't defined by chronology."

Yet some aspects remain unchanged. The raw material is still produced using clay mixed with cotton and is stored in cellars for three years until it's ready to be shaped.

And Zhang still prefers to sculpt historical figures.

"I felt strange when I created figures wearing modern clothes. Historical characters are better to show typical Chinese style," he says.

"When people see figurines of historical figures like Laozi (a sixth-century BC philosopher who founded Taoism), they can retreat to tradition and apply old wisdom to solving contemporary real-life problems."

That partly explains the gallery's banner.

Zhang began learning the trade from his father and grandfather as a child. He jokes the reason he inherited the tradition is he didn't have any other toys.

"I decided to take over their jobs when I was a kid and never considered doing anything else," he says.

"The principles and techniques are naturally learned through practice, and it's difficult to summarize them in words."

Zhang claims with pride that his family continued to pass down the craftsmanship despite times of war and social upheaval.

The family tradition was founded by Zhang Mingshan, who was born in Tianjin in 1826.

His folk art won acclaim. He even once worked for the Qing Dynasty's (1644-1911) royal family.

Local people started calling him "Niren Zhang" around the time he turned 18.

Ancient literary characters remained a primary theme in his works. But he also portrayed realistic-looking ordinary people.

It was popularly said of his works: "Their only difference from living people is that they don't breathe."

"There was no photography in China at that time, so Chinese people were really surprised to see something so vividly portrayed," Zhang Yu says, smiling.

The family tradition has blended East and West from the start, likely due to Tianjin's status as a city that opened to Western culture relatively early. Almost all the implements used to shape the figurines, for instance, came from the West, Zhang Yu explains.

His Tianjin workshop hosts a research center with the city's Nankai University that offers comparative studies that examine the figurines' differences from, and similarities with, Western sculptures.

Western sculpting traditions since ancient Greece focused on light and shadow, and the strength of the stone, he says.

Traditional Chinese sculpting, instead, pays more attention to shifting lines and conveys more solemn auras, he explains.

"But, unlike painting, Chinese sculpture didn't enter the realm of the literati's fine arts in ancient times. It was always treated as something from grassroots artisans," Zhang Yu says.

That attitude continues to influence today's thought.

His workshop hosts about 20 apprentices, many of whom graduated from top-level art colleges.

But Zhang Yu regretfully says he rarely sees satisfactory works and he hopes to recruit more students.

"It takes at least five to six years of intense practice making figurines until you develop your own style," he says.

"But the students who've long followed Western-style syllabuses often consider themselves artists upon graduation and want to immediately engage in self-expression rather than honing their techniques.

"If someone is merely diligent but without a broad horizon, their works will likely be of poor taste."

He encourages his apprentices to, over time, develop a summary of theoretical systems for traditional Chinese sculpture, which isn't as established as in the West.

He's also seeking channels to take Niren Zhang abroad.

Zhang Yu plans to start by opening stores in Japan and Russia but says each country will only have one branch.

The Tianjin workshop is his only store in China.

"There won't be another China store," he explains.

"Such high-level handmade art pieces can only be produced in small quantities."

He has, in recent years, only made about five pieces annually.

A large statue takes months because he has to wait for parts to dry before taking the next steps.

"I'd rather view the genre I've inherited as a local Chinese style rather than Niren Zhang," he says.

"Niren Zhang may finally diminish as a brand. But that's OK if this folk art develops healthily. It's really important that more individuals make good stuff and attract attention. It doesn't matter whether they work for me."

Yet he hopes his sons - one is in elementary school and the other is in kindergarten - will continue the line.

"If you have a rich legacy, you want to leave it to your children," he says.

Wang Yiran contributed to the story.

Contact the writer at wangkaihao@chinadaily.com.cn

If you go

Zhang Yu Sculpture Gallery 797 Zhongjie, 798 Art Zone, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-5762-6389. Clay Figurine Zhang Art Museum 4 Tongqingli, Ancient Cultural Street, Gulou Nanjie, Nankai district, Tianjin. 022-8734-0608.

Zhang Yu carries on his family's craftsmanship of clay figurine making. The owner of a gallery in Beijing and a workshop in Tianjin, he is dedicated to the evolution of the age-old craft. Photos Provided To China Daily