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惠山泥人一般可分为两大类，一类为“耍货”，也称“粗货”。采用模具印坯，手工绘彩，造型单纯，用笔粗放，色彩明快，形神兼备。内容大多以喜庆吉祥题材为主，如大阿福、老寿星、渔翁得利等等，深受群众和儿童喜爱。另一类是手捏戏文，也叫“细货”，作品取材京昆戏剧中的精彩场面，人物刻画生动，色彩华丽，耐人寻味，适宜人们喜庆赠礼或欣赏之用。历史上曾盛极一时，但已很少见。该泥塑被列入国家首批非物质文化遗产，并由当地政府投资进一步延续和传承这一文化工艺……

Clay figurines are one of the most renowned folk arts of China.

Huishan clay figurines from Wuxi in eastern China's Jiangsu Province are one of the most famous kinds for their simple designs, bright colors and vivid images.

It is believed that the history of Huishan clay figurines is more than 1,000 years long. Compared with those found in northern China, clay figurines made in Huishan are short and fat and have very vivid and bright facial expressions.

In ancient times, in the slack seasons, nearly all families in Wuxi made clay figurines. On big festivals and national holidays, people took their products to sell at temple fairs and markets.

In the 1930s, the craft of making clay figures adopted gesso engraving techniques and developed into a special Huishan school of figurines. Since the founding of new China six decades ago, the craft has made great progress. With support from local governments, a number of specialized factories and institutions were established in the 1950s.

However in the past few decades, due to various reasons, including a lack of soil for mixing the clay, the Huishan clay figurine business has been declining. 
In order to protect this tradition, in 2007, the Wuxi municipal government adopted preferential policies to encourage people - especially the young - to learn and carry on the art form. And, a fund of 400,000 yuan, or nearly 60,000 U.S. dollars, has been allocated for top masters in the city to accept and teach apprentices.

Shen Dashou, director of the Huishan Clay Figurine Factory, says the first nine students were selected and accepted to be apprentices to four top masters in Wuxi.

"Like many other traditional handicrafts, Huishan clay figurine making is near extinction due to the low income earned and complicated procedure for making them. Few young people nowadays want to learn the traditional art, although they love it very much. However with the government policies and funds, a few young college graduates who were amateurs at the art have become appetencies to the top masters and will make clay figurines as a life-long career."

Twenty-seven-year-old Cao Zhiwei was one of the first nine apprentices selected from 100 contestants in Wuxi in 2007. Unlike most others apprentices, Cao had no artistic education background. A college graduate majoring in sales, she strived to become a student of the art out of a long-time passion for it.

"I like all kinds of traditional Chinese handicrafts, and when I saw the enrollment information in the newspaper, I registered right away. And, I was overwhelmed to study under the top Huishan clay figurine masters."

There are two main types of Huishan clay figurines: hand-made and molded. The molded ones are relatively coarse and produced in large numbers. They make good toys for children. The ones made by hand, called fine figurines, are more delicate and creative, and draw on a variety of characters based on traditional Chinese operas and other traditional stories.

The most famous Huishan clay figurine is Da A Fu, meaning "great good fortune". The figure is a plump boy holding a green lion or a fish, a symbol of luck and prosperity.

Huishan clay figurines most commonly depict children. Just like Da A Fu, they have large heads and smiling faces.

Another popular Huishan clay figurine is Lao Shouxing, or the god of longevity.

To make the figurines, the black and sticky local soil is used. The whole process can be divided into three basic steps: hand-mixing the clay, forming the object and coloring the work with traditional techniques.

One of the masters of Huishan clay figurines, Yu Xianglian, says that after three years of study, the nine students have all grasped the basic techniques of fine figurine making.

"All of them are doing very well. Now they can independently finish the whole process, and all of them have been qualified and ready to finish their apprenticeship."

Now a second enrollment for new apprentices of these masters is underway in Wuxi.

Today Huishan clay figurines have been exported to more than 60 countries and regions and included in many cultural exchange activities, making a great contribution to Sino-foreign cultural exchange.

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