China: Beijing sculpture brings to life ancient beasts based on traditional legends

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Chinese artist Qiu Qijing has dedicated his time to recreating mythical creatures described in the ancient Chinese legend ‘The Classic of Mountains and Seas,’ as seen at his warehouse in Huairou District, Beijing, on Friday.

The peculiarly shaped beasts could be seen towering over Qiu, who added the final touches of colour to one using a paintbrush, with his warehouse housing many of the 58 sculptures created by him and his team.

Qiu explained how his aim was to “abandon western realism” when creating the sculpture, instead wanting to bring to life traditional Chinese culture.

“My goal is to present these creatures from ancient texts in a way that symbolises the values of modern society,” said Qiu.

Having sculpted since the age of six, Qiu began to read ‘The Classic of Mountains and Seas’ carefully in 2012, before deciding to combine his interest in classical beasts with his interest in sculpting.

Since then, he and a dedicated team of artists have spent tens of millions of Yuan (¥1m = €130.3k, $155k) in an attempt to recreate the legend’s bestiary.

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SOT, Qiu Qijing, Sculpture artist (Mandarin): “Because I came from a sculpture background, I hope to transform the monsters in ancient fairytales into three-dimensional beasts. I think this is an exciting thing.”

SOT, Qiu Qijing, Sculpture artist (Mandarin): “Using some fundamental descriptions of these beasts in the book ‘The Classic of Mountains and Seas,’ I created the rest by myself. The main aim is to abandon western realism in the process of creation. I do it very carefully. I hope to bring these beasts back to a more traditional Chinese culture, so it seems like ancient Chinese things have entered reality.”

SOT, Qiu Qijing, Sculpture artist (Mandarin): “Using a more in-depth interpretation of ‘The Classic of Mountains and Seas’ in the creation process, the shapes of these beasts will change as my understanding deepens.”

SOT, Qiu Qijing, Sculpture artist (Mandarin): “Finally, my goal is to present these creatures from ancient texts in a way that symbolises the values of modern society.”

SOT, Qiu Qijing, Sculpture artist (Mandarin): “Audiences or outsiders must be shocked to see these beasts, but as the creators, we feel a sense of surprise or yearning during the process of creation.”

SOT, Qiu Qijing, Sculpture artist (Mandarin): “In fact, it is challenging to make such a giant sculpture, and the production cycle is very long, but from the process of sculpting to seeing the finished product at the end, it can not be said that there is no sense of achievement, that’s all.”

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Video ID: 20210903-039

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