MasterOfCrafts | Traditional Beijing painting pigment making inheritor in Beijing

BEIJING, Jan. 8, 2024 (Xinhua) -- Yang Xin, 62, is a noted artist of traditional Beijing paintings. His family have been involved in pigment making business since the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Fascinated by paintings since his childhood, Yang acquired the craft of pigment making for traditional Beijing paintings from his mother and became the fifth generation inheritor of this art.

This craft, which extracts pigment from natural materials such as minerals, soil and plants, was listed as an intangible cultural heritage of Chaoyang District of Beijing in 2019.

A graduate from the College of Fine Arts & Design of the Hebei Normal University, Yang set out three decades ago to study the folk history of Beijing, and to draw paintings on the historical sites, folk customs and time-honored brands in the city with the pigment he made.

Over the years, Yang has created nearly 10,000 traditional Beijing paintings and published a dozen of books on the history of Beijing. He has trained about 1,000 youngsters who are in love with the Beijing paintings. He is also involved in more than 30 campus and community events to popularize traditional cultures every year.

Producers: Wang Jianhua, Tu Ming

Planner: Wang Qingqin

Coordinators: Zhu Weixi, Tian Weiwei

Journalist: Li Xin

Editors: Liu Yun, Sun Xiaotian, Tian Weiwei, Zhu Weixi, Li Xiao