The edible artistic works: dough sculptures

Sometimes the baby is made with several heads on all sides, so that it may look like a baby from any angle. The heads are linked together, since linking together indicates continuity in Chinese philosophy. The multi-faced pudgy baby symbolizes the wish to have many children.

Jinan Dough Sculptures

Jinan is the capital city of Eastern China's Shandong Province. The colorful and delicate Jinan Dough Sculptures rely much on the crafts of the finger.

With the help of a knife, comb, and needle, craftspeople use their fingertips to twiddle, knead, and twine the dough into vivid figures.

Langzhuang Dough Sculptures

In Langzhuang Village in Shandong Province , dough sculptures are usually flat and are displayed on surfaces or hung. They are usually painted with bright colors such as red, yellow, green, and blue, and are decorated with line patterns.

In Chinese, "Lang" sounds like the word for "wolf." The first Langzhuang dough sculpture appeared to be a tiger, which was created to drive wolves away and guarantee the safety of the villagers. That's why all the dough sculptures in Langzhuang village are called flourmad tiger.

Shanghai Dough Sculptures

Shanghai Dough Sculptures are also a traditional craft with a history of hundreds of years. The most famous dough sculptures are those of a sculptor surnamed Zhao.

Zhao was born into a poor family in Beijing. At the age of 19, he began to make dough figures. Thirteen years later, he was named "King of Dough Sculptures" in Tianjin City.

In the 1930's, Zhao went to Shanghai where he met local craftsmen and upgraded his skills.

Zhao's sculptures mainly depict legendary figures and characters from traditional Chinese operas. The sculptures are so vivid and lifelike that they are dubbed "3-D paintings and voiceless operas."