Beijing Local Gift: Shop For Hairy Monkeys In The Local Shops With A Personal Shopping Assistant
Hairy monkeys are a popular, unique folk art of Beijing. Originated from two types of traditional Chinese herbal medicine, this art is famous for its incredibly small size, exquisiteness of details, and a combined sense of real life and whimsical ideas. Made from only two simple types of material – shed cicada skin and dried magnolia bud, it is highly applauded for its special, and sometimes complex designs. An art that was complete lost 60 years ago, it was brought back to life in the 1970s by a Beijing local called Cao Yijian, a creative folk artist who has developed this art to a new height over the last thirty years. When in Beijing, go on a Beijing city tour with a Beijing tour guide to discover unique hair monkeys in the amazing local shops.
Hairy monkeys are as bizarre and unique as they are beautiful and delicate on a closer look. Art fans are often amazed by how parts of a cicada’s skin can be perfectly combined with a dried flower bud to create lifelike figures that seems to have a unique spirit of their own.
Though differing in their designs, most works are created based on people in real life. Ever since its invention, this art set out to imitate real people and give them an exaggerated sense of mockery. Monkey bear close resemblance to humans, and hair monkeys are able to make humans look incredibly funny.
Hair monkeys are an invention of the late Qing dynasty. A story goes that there was a drug store called “South Qinren Hall” on a street in Beijing. One day a sales clerk employed by the store was severely reprimanded by the shop owner, and felt extremely angry. That night, when fiddling around with some herbal medicine, the clerk made a surprising discovery: parts of cicada’s skin could be mixed with magnolia buds to create vivid monkey-like figures. So he made a funny-looking figure to make fun of the shop owner. The shop owner discovered this, and instead of feeling angry, he was amazed by how special it was, and decided to start selling such monkeys in his shop. Later he made a lot of money from the sales of this new artwork.
According to Cao Yijian, the Beijing folk artist who re-invented hairy monkey after decades of disappearance, the key to making an excellent work is being creative. Over the last three decades, Cao has created many creative, exquisite monkeys as a way to help people remember the old Beijing and the way of life it was once famous for.
There are a few fantastic shops in Beijing that offer unique hairy monkeys made by the great local folk artists. To find these shops and buy some excellent items for yourself, you need a personal shopping assistant who specializes in Beijing’s local business.
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Tags: beijing folk art, beijing gift, cao yijian, china tour, hairy monkey, local product, traditional art