[Occult Trades + Folklore + Supernatural]
In the old days, four trades were famous in Wuxi: blacksmithing, ferrying, tofu-making, and clay sculpture.
Time passed, and blacksmithing, ferrying, and tofu-making all faded away. But the incense at the clay sculptors’ altars has never gone out.
The Qian family, too, has been a family of clay artisans for generations.
But the figures we mold aren’t ordinary clay figurines. They’re clay Buddhas.
Among them are auspicious gods and malevolent gods: the former bring you prosperity, while the latter send you to your grave.
Our fellow practitioners in the yin-yang trades mostly call us Clay Bodhisattvas.
The strange name Clay Bodhisattva traces back to the winter solstice night last year...