I was bom in 1922, the 11th year of the Republic of China (1912—1949). People’s life then was not much different compared with that under imperial rule, but there were imported goods everywhere. This fairly affected the development of traditional folk toys. At that time, some imperial artisans began to make folk handicrafts and traditional folk toys. Among the handiworkers were some Manchu nobles, who lived on making and selling Beijing Opera masks. The combination of the exquisite style of the royal artifacts and the simple style of folk traditional toys gradually formed the essential characteristics of the Beijing folk toys.
