Chinese Clay
4 Amazing Ancient Chinese Toys You've Never Seen (But Are Available) In America
Like they are here in the U.S., toys are a huge part of China's culture. They teach children life lessons, introduce art and history, and represent the long history of the country.
2 Categories of Ancient Chinese toys to find: Ornamental and Functional
Some ancient Chinese toys are available in America too, but not in their former simplicity and at the same time intricacy that they used to be presented in. Ancient Chinese toys fall into 2 different categories. One category is ornamental toys, such as those that are primarily used as decorations for lanterns or even on a person. The other category is functional toys, which are made to be played with.
Also, there are 4 main types of toys: carved toys, sound toys, puzzles, and even edible! Learn all about them below. You can try these toys out with your friends or children to learn more about Chinese culture. If you are a teacher, these toy types also make an excellent lesson for a school class.
The 4 main types of Ancient Chinese toys
1. Carved toys. Carved toys are meant for decoration and are usually very intricate and beautiful. They are usually made from natural materials such as bamboo, stones, and even nuts. Other similar artworks are painted eggshells, clay moldings and cloth collages that look as individual as the person that made them.
2. Sound-making toys. Sounds are also a great source of entertainment, and this is shown by the diversity of euphonious toys that can be found in China. Different whistles made from porcelain, clay and bamboo are popular, as well as rattle drums that are a great favorite among children.
3. Puzzles. Chinese put great stock in developing their children's knowledge, so they came up with different puzzle games such as the jigsaw puzzle and the puzzle rings that have baffled even Western mathematicians.
4. Food. Toy-making even extends to food. In certain regions flour is used as raw material for different sculptures, coming up with steamed animal figures. Some also use melted sugar as a pen with which to draw different shapes and figures. Children can go wild playing with their candy figures, and then eat them afterwards.
Ancient Chinese Toys: How to get your own
These and a great number of other Chinese toys have been around for centuries, and are a great way to teach the younger generation the rich culture and history of the Chinese. Some of these toys were brought over to America, but most of them remain undiscovered.
Imagine the sense of connecting with the past one could get by playing with these ancient Chinese toys, as well as a different kind of fun and appreciation brought by the uniqueness of these toys. Luckily, more and more American businesses are starting to pick up on fun Chinese toys and provide them for sale in stores and online.
Brian Sutherland is the owner of JugglineStore.com, the first online seller of juggling products in America. JugglingStore proudly sells the widest variety of Chinese yoyo (sometimes spelled Chinese yo-yo ) products in the U.S. These toys are surprisingly easy to learn, but offer an endless number of tricks and routines for the expert user.
About the Author
Spring Breeze-played on Chinese clay flute Xun
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