Mud men tell NE China stories

On a plaque in a small store in Changchun, capital of Jilin province these words are written: "Mud figurine Zhang in NE China".

Mud men in all kinds of postures are displayed in the store. Some figurines are about winter fishing and some show scenes of NE China Spring Festival celebrations.

The owner of the store is Zhang Jindong, a third generation inheritor of the art of making traditional Chinese mud men.

This example of Zhang's mud men work -- a men carrying a tobacco pipe and a woman and child riding a buffalo while holding a big fish -- shows a typical daily scene in early NE China. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Zhang first got to know about creating mud men when he was in primary school. At that time, he used to imitate his parents' and grandparents' mud figures and learned some drawing skills as well.

He devoted himself to creating mud men with local features in NE China after his retirement. He bases them on history books and drawn many guides to making vivid mud figures.

Zhang has also made some interesting mud pieces illustrating young people's lives in modern times, such as girls taking selfies and people gathering in KTV rooms.

Zhang mud figures are made from mature yellow mud which is produced by drying, grinding and braising. Figures made by such mud won't crack for quite a long time after they're completed.

This set of Zhang's mud figurines depicts children in NE China enjoying snowy days. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Zhang's mud men are not painted with any color.

"My mud figures are made with crude mud which shows the idea of protecting the primitive ecology," Zhang said.

Zhang has two daughters, both of whom are masters in making mud figures, and their artware, it could be said, is even better than Zhang's!

Mud figurine Zhang refers to a mud-men maker whose family name was "Zhang" in the early days of ancient China, about 180 years ago.

Zhang was inspired by many art forms -- operas, paintings and wood block drawings -- and his striking mud men were popular among people. Later, all such craftsmanship was named after Master Zhang.

"Mud figurine Zhang in NE China" Zhang Jindong makes a new mud man. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]