By Zhao Yu

Early in the morning, Mr. Zhu Maosheng, the clay sculpture master, is once again hard at work in the small courtyard of his home in Mingyan Village, Shangtian Subdistrict, Fenghua District. After washing his hands, he walks up to the plaster mold. Bending down, he picks up a homemade scraper and carefully brushes away residual clay dust from the mold's interior, revealing its structure beneath.

"I'm currently working on a clay sculpture of Luo Guanzhong, the author of the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It's now in the mold-refining stage," he says, gesturing to the nearly two-meter-tall figure beside him. "Once that's done, I'll fill the mold with cement and other materials, then shape the figure and its facial expression."

Mr. Zhu is 60 years old and has been a professional clay sculptor for more than 30 years. He studied Decorative Sculpture at the Central Academy of Arts and Design (now the Sculpture Department at Tsinghua University's Academy of Arts and Design), where he trained under renowned sculptors, including Zhang Chang, a fourth-generation heir to the famous Tianjin clay figurine craft founded by Zhang Mingshan. Zhu's signature works include sculptures of the 108 heroes from the classic Chinese novel Water Margin and the statues of Fan Li and Xi Shi on Taogong Island at Ningbo's Dongqian Lake.

Mingyan Village is Zhu's hometown. In 2008, while many villagers were leaving in search of new opportunities, he chose to return and pursue a lifelong dream: to sculpt all 108 heroes of Water Margin.

While employing traditional clay sculpting techniques, Zhu has in recent years incorporated modern materials and processes into his work. For example, he now reinforces sculptures with steel rebar during the armature stage to improve durability. He also uses plaster mold-casting techniques, replacing traditional clay with cement—making the works more suitable for outdoor display.

Since moving back to Mingyan Village, Zhu has completed nearly 170 clay sculptures. This year, he plans to create sculptures of Qi Jiguang, a 16th-century military general, and Li Qingzhao, an 11th-century female poet. His aim is to deepen young people's understanding of these iconic historical figures and cultivate a greater appreciation for China's profound cultural legacy.