Born in Shantou; trained from childhood under his father Lai Yining.
Featured Artist
Master
Lai Sijia
Third-Generation Inheritor of Guangdong Inner Painting
Master Lai Sijia is the sole third-generation inheritor of Guangdong inner painting, a tradition protected within China’s national-level intangible cultural heritage framework. Born in Shantou in 1983, he continues a lineage of inner painting passed down through generations. Working entirely in reverse, the elements closest to the viewer are painted first; once a stroke is placed, it cannot be corrected.
Wu SonglingFounder of Guangdong Inner Painting
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Lai YiningWu Songling’s foremost disciple
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Lai SijiaThird-generation inheritor
A life in service of
a living tradition
“Wealth and Honor” won Silver (2015) and Gold (2016); appointed Deputy Secretary-General of the Traditional Chinese Inner Painting Committee.
Participated in the Eastern Guangdong Four-City ICH Exhibition and exhibited in Hong Kong.
“Children at Play” won Silver at the China Arts & Crafts Cultural Creativity Award; named one of the inaugural Shantou Folk Arts & Crafts Masters.
Demonstrated the craft at Shantou’s “ICH on Campus” event.
Featured on CCTV-17, Shenzhen TV, and in Nanfang+.
Featured by Southern Daily / Nanfang+ and Guangming Daily.
Took part in research exchange and the Shantou Cultural Center “Passing on ICH” exhibition.
Collaborated with FAYY on the Manman Panda watch; unveiled at GPHG Geneva.
Public Collections
Museums &
Cultural Institutions
Master Lai Sijia’s work and the Guangdong inner-painting lineage are represented in important public institutions.
- 01Chaoshan Historical Culture Expo Center
- 02Guangdong Folk Arts Museum
(Chen Clan Ancestral Hall) - 03Shantou Cultural Center
(Shantou Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition Hall)
On Screen
Interviews &
Documentaries
Master Lai Sijia has been featured in television interviews and documentary coverage, sharing his artistic philosophy and the heritage of inner painting.
Featured Craft
Lai Sijia &
Manman
In painting Manman, the joy and rhythm of the moment had to begin at the mouth first, because the entire image depends on that frozen gesture.
“Even the leaf has a life of its own.
If Manman is frozen mid-movement, the leaf is too.”
Painting on sapphire demanded a new discipline. The crystal is precision-sandblasted rather than ground like a traditional snuff bottle, creating a more difficult surface to paint on, yet one capable of remarkable detail.
The hardest part remains 一氣呵成: each full layer must be completed in one unbroken flow.
Artists' Intro Video
Two Artists, One Timepiece
The Manman Panda watch brings together panda culture design and Chinese inner painting.