Clay Figurine Zhang(泥人张)

Clay Figurine Zhang

Clay Figurines Zhang is a school of clay figurine in Northern China, which was initiated by Zhang Mingshan in the late Qing Dynasty.

Zhang was born in a poor family in Tianjin city, who learned the skill of clay figurines from his father at a very young age. Zhang was clever, deft and full of imagination. He carefully observed people from different walks of life, so that he would make clay figurines of people he met vividly. Clay figurines created by Zhang include heroes and villains from Chinese folk stories, novels, and operas as well as scenes from daily life.

Zhang not only inherited the legacy of traditional skills but also incorporated skills from other art forms such as painting and wood engravings. He created more than 10,000 clay figurines during his whole life, and his unique handicrafts became famous both at home and abroad.

People liked his clay figurines very much and gave him the nickname of Clay Figurine Zhang.

“泥人张”是北方流传的一派民间彩塑，它创始于清代末年。“泥人张”的创始人叫张明山，生于天津，家境贫寒，从小跟父亲以捏泥人为业，养家糊口。

张明山心灵手巧，富于想象，时常在集市上观察各行各业的人，有时在戏院里看戏，他就偷偷地在袖口里捏制自己喜欢的角色。他捏制出来的泥人个个逼真酷似，一时传为佳话。

张明山继承传统的泥塑艺术，从绘画、戏曲、民间木版年画等姊妹艺术中吸收营养。经过数十年的辛勤努力，一生中创作了一万多件作品。他的艺术独具一格而蜚声四海，老百姓都喜爱他的作品，亲切地送给他一个昵称：泥人张。

The wake

In China, the coffin is placed on its own stand either in the house (if the person died at home) or in the courtyard (if the person died away from home). The coffin is placed with the head of the deceased facing the inside of the house, resting at about one foot from the ground on two stools; wreaths, gifts and a portrait or photograph of the deceased are placed at the head of the coffin. The coffin is not sealed during the wake. Food is placed in front of the coffin as an offering to the deceased. The deceased's comb is broken into two -- one part is placed in the coffin and the other is kept by the family.

During the wake, the family does not wear jewelry or red clothing (red is the color of happiness). Traditionally, children and grandchildren of the deceased did not cut their hair for 49 days after the death, but this custom is now usually only observed by older generations. It is customary for blood relatives and daughters-in-law to wail and cry during mourning as a sign of respect and loyalty to the deceased. The cries are particularly loud if the deceased has left a large fortune.

At the wake, the family members of the deceased gather around the coffin positioned according to their rank in the family and special clothing is worn: Children and daughters-in-law wear black (signifying that they grieve the most); grandchildren, blue; and great grandchildren, light blue. Sons-in-law wear brighter colors, such as white, since they are considered outsiders. The children and daughters-in-law also wear a hood of sackcloth over their heads. The eldest son sits at the left shoulder of his parent and the deceased's spouse on the right. Relatives arriving later must crawl on their knees towards the coffin.

An altar where burning incense and a lit white candle are placed is positioned at the foot of the coffin. Joss paper and prayer money (to provide the deceased with sufficient income in the afterlife) are burned continuously throughout the wake. Funeral guests are required to light incense for the deceased and bow as a sign of respect to the family. There will also be a donation box since money is always offered as a sign of respect to the family of the deceased. This money will also help the family defray the costs of the funeral.

During the wake there is usually a group of people gambling in the front courtyard of the deceased's house because the corpse must be "guarded," and gambling helps the guards stay awake during their vigil. This custom also helps to lessen the grief of the participants.

The length of the wake depends on the financial resources of the family, although it should be at least one day long to allow for the offering of prayers. While the coffin is in the house (or compound) a monk will chant verses from Buddhist or Taoist scriptures at night. It is believed that the souls of the dead face many obstacles and even torment and torture for the sins they have committed in life before they enter the afterlife: Prayers, chanting and rituals offered by the monks help ease the passage of the deceased's soul into heaven. These prayers are accompanied by music played on the gong, flute and trumpet.

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Funeral Customs

The burial of the dead is a matter taken very seriously by Chinese. Improper funeral arrangements, it is believed, an wreak ill fortune and disaster upon the family of the deceased.

     To a certain extent, Chinese funeral rites and burial customs are determined by the age of the deceased, the manner of his/her marital status.

     According to Chinese custom, an older person should not show respect to a younger. Thus, if the deceased is a young, bachelor his body cannot be brought home but is left in a funeral parlour. His parents cannot offer prayers for their son: being unmarried, he has no children to perform these rites either. If a baby or child dies, no funeral rites are performed: the child is buried in silence.

     Funeral rites for an elderly person must follow the prescribed form and convey relevant respect: rites befitting the person’s status, age etc. must be performed even if this means the family of the deceased must go into debt to pay for them.

     Preparation for a funeral often begins before death has occurred: if a person is on his/her deathbed a coffin will often have already been ordered by the family. A traditional Chinese coffin is rectangular with three “humps”. The coffin is provided by an undertaker who oversees all the funeral rites.

When a death occurs in a family all statues of deities in the house are covered up with red paper (not to be exposed to the body or coffin) and all mirrors are removed (it is believed that one who sees the reflection of a coffin in a mirror will shortly have a death in his/her family). A white cloth is hung over the doorway to the house and a gong is placed to the left of the entrance if the deceased is a male, and to the right if female.

Before being placed in the coffin, the corpse is cleaned with a damp towel dusted with talcum powder, and dressed in his/her best clothes (all other clothing of the deceased is burned) before being placed on a mat (or hay in rural areas). The body is completely dressed, including the footwear, and cosmetics (if female), although the corpse is never dressed in red clothing (this will turn the corpse into a ghost). White, black, brown or blue are the usual colors. Before being placed in the coffin the corpse's face is covered with a yellow cloth and the body with a light blue one.

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the compound complement of direction

when we use the compound complement of direction, attention should be paid to the following problems:

A、当宾语为某一种事物时，有两种表达方式：

    ①verb +上/ 下/ 进/ 出/ 回/ 过 / 起+ thing+ 来/去

    ②verb +上/ 下/ 进/ 出/ 回/ 过 / 起+来/去 +  thing  

（if the object denotes things, it can be placed either before"来"or"去"or after them.）

 例如：    关经理从广州回来，给儿子带回来一件礼物。

        ＝ 关经理从广州回来，给儿子带回一件礼物来。

           打开箱子，拿出来一个盒子。＝打开箱子，拿出一个盒子来。

B、当宾语是表示处所的，那么句子应该这样表达：

        

       verb +上/ 下/ 进/ 出/ 回/ 过 / 起 + place + 来/去

    (if the object denotes a place, the object must be placed before "来"or"去") 

     

例如：     他和玛丽走进宿舍楼去了。

C、在复合趋向补语句型中，“了”的位置

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