Jia Caiyun: Chinese Spirit in a Handful of Clay

The Path of Inheritance: From Childhood Memory to Cultural Mission

Jia Caiyun (b. 1980) inherited her craft from her grandmother’s huamo (decorative dough art). As a child kneading dough animals and flowers with her grandmother, she developed a deep passion for dough sculpture. To preserve this family legacy, she dedicated over three decades to mastering the art. In 2021, she founded her studio to systematically document and promote Huan County’s dough sculpting techniques. Recognized in 2024 as the Representative Inheritor of Gansu Province’s Intangible Cultural Heritage (Dough Sculpture), she now spearheads the living transmission of this craft.

Innovation: Solving Millennial Challenges

1. Material Revolution
Traditional dough sculptures crack and fade. After extensive trials, Jia pioneered food-grade ultralight clay with mineral pigments. This innovation:

  • Reduces weight by 50%

  • Preserves enamel-like brilliance for decades

  • Solves preservation issues plaguing traditional pieces

2. Modern Transformation

  • Heritage Reimagined: Classic motifs like awakening lions, opera figures, and Chinese zodiac animals re-envisioned with contemporary aesthetics (e.g. dynamic lines, playful forms)

  • Functional Design: Cultural products like fridge magnets, car pendants, and Guofeng (Chinese-style) decor transition dough art from ritual use to daily life.

Twelve Steps: Decoding Intangible Heritage

Jia’s meticulous process—documented in media—embodies craftsman spirit (匠人精神 jiangren jingshen):

  1. Framework Shaping: Bamboo skeleton sets the lion’s leaping posture

  2. Clay Layering: Builds majestic contours

  3. Texturing: Carves wave-like mane; toothpick-etches scales

  4. Eye-Dotting Ritual: Vermilion-gold pupils applied with auspicious chants

  5. Thread-Tying Finale: Attaches velvet mirrors & silk balls for vitality

*Note: Each 50-hour piece fuses sculpting techniques with folk symbols—every fold carries cultural meaning.*

Passing the Torch: Heritage in Modern Life

1. Community Empowerment
Partnering with local government in 2024, Jia trains disabled individuals in dough art through “theory + practice” workshops—teaching color blending and sculpting to foster economic independence, merging cultural preservation with social inclusion.

2. Youth Engagement

  • Campus exhibitions at festivals (e.g. Qingyang Sachet Festival) attract youth with “Adorable Lion Series“

  • Modular teaching kits lower learning barriers for new generations

3. Global Dialogue
Her Awakening Lion series—collected by international institutions—becomes 3D storytelling medium of “China Narratives” through iconic Eastern aesthetics.

Cultural Roots: Qingyang’s DNA in Dough

Jia grounds her art in local culture:

  • Transforming ritual motifs like “Jujube Mountain” (枣山 zaoshan – harvest symbol) into modern auspicious art

  • Honoring agrarian heritage through Zhou Dynasty ritual elements (e.g. “Bountiful Harvest” 五谷丰登 wugu fengdeng motifs)

     

    “Tradition must awaken to survive”—her innovation revitalizes dormant cultural memory.

Chinese Spirit in a Handful of Clay

Jia’s 40-year journey proves: Intangible heritage thrives not in museum cases, but in life’s daily pulse. From ritual huamo on the Loess Plateau to “cute lion” figures on global stages, she reshapes more than clay—she reconciles tradition with modern values. When youths pause for a lion fridge magnet, or disabled trainees regain dignity through dough art—this is living heritage thriving through people, objects and daily life (见人见物见生活).

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