In October 1894, during the 60th birthday celebrations for Empress Dowager Cixi in the Chinese lunar calendar, Emperor Guangxu held a grand ceremony at the Summer Palace. As Cixi prepared to watch a performance at the theater, she noticed a cluster of grapes glistening as if freshly picked. Being late October, winter had already arrived in Beijing, so the sight of these fresh grapes delighted her. She ordered them picked up immediately. However, her uncle reported that the grapes were fake. Startled, Cixi asked who had made them. Cixi discovered that a man named Han Qihabu and his wife crafted the grapes. Cixi pleased, bestowed upon Han Qihabu’s wife the title “Changzai,” a palace rank, and presented a plaque bearing the words “Heaven’s Craftsmanship, Everlasting.” In gratitude, Han Qihabu adopted the name “Changzai,” and his family began using the surname “Chang.” The craft known as “Putaochang” (literally, “Grapes by Chang”) quickly became famous across Beijing.
The founder of Putaochang, Changzai, was of Mongolian descent. Changzai, as her attendant, accompanied a Mongolian princess to Beijing during the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty. The Xianfeng Emperor cut off funds for the Mongolian banners, forcing Changzai to earn a living through small trades. Observing children playing with clay toys inspired Changzai to experiment with making grapes from clay one day. He dyed and fired the clay grapes, which became popular when sold on the streets. By then, the area outside Beijing’s Chongwen Gate, especially the Flower Market, was home to artisans specializing in silk flowers, jade crafts, jewelry, and glassware, forming a thriving market. Changzai began learning glasswork from local artisans and attempted to make grapes from glass, which appeared even more lifelike than clay. With ongoing refinement, his glass grapes became a distinctive, cherished art form in Beijing.
Putaochang received an invitation to participate in the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1919, a prestigious global event, where it won first prize. This international recognition spread the fame of Putaochang both domestically and abroad. After Changzai’s two sons passed away, his three daughters continued the craft, each vowing never to marry in order to preserve their family’s artistic legacy. Later, Changzai’s two granddaughters, Chang Yuling and Chang Yuqing, joined them in this vow, dedicating their lives to keeping the Putaochang tradition alive. To ensure the continuation of the Putaohang art, these five women sacrificed their youth and personal lives by remaining unmarried.
In 1966, during the Cultural Revolution, the Chang family suffered greatly. Under intense pressure and hardship, four members of the family passed away. After the turmoil subsided, only Chang Yuling, the last living descendant of the Chang family, remained. By 1978, despite being in her seventies, Chang Yuling began to revive the craft. She personally handled each step—from building the furnace to forming and frosting the glass grapes—and passed down her skills to the younger generation, Chang Hong and Chang Yan, without reservation.
In 2004, by chance, Chang Hong and Chang Yan came across a media report mentioning Putaohang, which had been considered a lost art. Determined to revive their family’s 200-year-old craft, Chang Hong and Chang Yan sought guidance from Yu Zhihai, the secretary-general of the Beijing Folk Artists Association. They expressed their intent as fifth-generation successors to restore the tradition. The sisters began by sourcing original materials and spent over three months refining their process, from melting the glass and shaping the grapes to adding color and assembling the bunches. Finally, in 2004, they produced their first 1-square-meter grape bonsai. To ensure their work met the original standards of Putaochang, they sought out Li Shuhui, the only apprentice outside the family to have learned the technique. Now in her seventies, Li was astounded at first sight of their work, recognizing it immediately. The 55th National Art Exhibition at the China Millennium Monument featured Chang Hong and Chang Yan’s creations that same year, bringing this rare folk art back into the spotlight.
Phoenix Lee https://chinese-tradition.com/the-art-of-glass-grapes-and-its-200-year-legacy-in-beijing.html