Shi Zhenshan—First Artist to Bring Chinese Dough Sculpture Arts to Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA–For many event goers in Los Angeles and other areas in Southern California, the name of Shi Zhenshan sounds overly familiar.  His dough figurines become popular and sought after wherever he shows up.

image credit: Keyang Pang

Shi, born in May 1951 in Heze, Shangdong, China, started to learn dough sculpture arts from his father at the age of 8.  Over 60 years of pursuit of the Chinese folk arts made him the inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage in China, a ranking member of Folk Literature and Art Association at national, provincial and local level, and a well-known folk artist accredited by UNESCO.

image credit: Keyang Pang

In 2006, Shi was invited by the City of Monterey Park to participate in the Lantern Festival and demonstrate the dough sculpture arts.  This trip made him the first artist to bring the Chinese dough sculpture arts to Los Angeles.

The dough figurines out of Shi’s hands are mostly based on the characters of Chinese folk stories and famed Chinese literature works.  His artworks, which are known to be vivid and lifelike, have been widely collected by artists and art groups in the United States, Japan, Singapore, the Philippines, and other countries.

image credit: Keyang Pang

To carry on the dough sculpture arts in America, Shi recruited a couple of students, who have nowadays developed their own dough sculpture business in Seattle, New York, Chicago, and various places.

The story of Shi has been included in the Dictionary of China Folk Artist Biography and covered by hundreds of newspapers and TV stations both in China and overseas.

In March 2019, Shi became a visiting professor at Los Angeles Film School.

image credit: Li Yuanxuan

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