Diabolo or Chinese Yo-Yo Demonstration
Old Beijing Folk Art Painting

Diabolo

Dǒu Kōng Zhú

This painting features a man demonstrating a Chinese yo-yo or diabolo in old Beijing during the Qing Dynasty. This twirling spool of bamboo makes a delightful whistling sound as it spins round and round. This toy dates back .

The title written on this painting is "dǒu kōng zhú" or "抖空竹" which means "Diabolo" or "Shaking the Chinese Yo-Yo".

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Ancient Origins

Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE):
Archaeological evidence and early writings suggest that spinning toy instruments resembling the diabolo were used for both entertainment and ritual purposes. Some scholars believe early versions were made of bamboo and produced a whistling sound as they spun — hence the name “空竹,” meaning “empty bamboo.”

Tang and Song Dynasties (618 – 1279 CE)
The diabolo became a popular street performance toy, often used in festivals and by entertainers.
Records from the Song Dynasty describe it being used in public entertainment, showing it had already become a well-established pastime by then.

Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368 – 1912 CE)
The Chinese yo-yo evolved into more elaborate forms with decorative and sound-producing elements.
It also spread to Europe through trade routes — especially during the 18th–19th centuries — where it was adopted and refined into the Western “diabolo.”

Modern Era

Today, the diabolo remains a major element of Chinese acrobatics and circus arts.
It’s also a competitive and performance hobby worldwide, blending traditional craftsmanship with modern materials like plastic and carbon fiber.

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This painting comes from a series by the artist that depict life in old Beijing (old Peking). While Beijing has left a lot of the past behind with its new skyscrapers and demolition of the old alleyways and quadrangle houses, if you know where to look, you can still find many of these scenes in real life, even today.

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About the artist:

The artist's name is (Bo Yang). In Simplified Chinese: .

He was born in 1957 and grew up in Hebei province (the area that surrounds the special capital district of Beijing / Peking). You can find his artwork for sale at various art markets and galleries around Beijing. All the old Beijingers recognize these classic scenes of traditional life. Modern times have caused some of the practices depicted in Bo Yang's paintings to virtually disappear. But, his paintings help the idea of this traditional Beijing lifestyle to live on.

Visitors and collectors from around the world have purchased his artwork, so don't be surprise if you find his folk art hanging in Europe, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Australia, and the Americas. I've even seen his work in art museums around China.

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More about the painting:

This is a combination of freehand and detail (gong bi) style painting. There are some loose flowing shadow areas, contrasted with somewhat-fine detailing of faces and other important parts of the painting.

This painting was created on antique-style tan or tea-stained xuan paper (xuan paper is often called rice paper, though it contains no rice) which has been mounted to a copper/gold-colored silk matting/border. The artist used special Chinese black ink and a bit of watercolor (for some of the skin tones). All these elements will give your artwork a great classic look after you frame it. I suggest a simple black moulding for your custom frame. Let the silk brocade be your border (which will save money compared to matting the painting when framing).