Crafts depend on skills, as the weather relies on seasons, the earth on the weather, and the material on appearance. Traditional Chinese arts and crafts have won good reputations in the international community in the history of material culture. In thousands of years,
As the old saying goes, “Each place has its own way of supporting its own inhabitants.” For China, an agricultural country backed by the agriculture and handcraft industry in the history, is nowadays permeated with traditional lifestyles originated and derived from the natural conditions in farming society. As an outcome of people’s life and customs, an enormous variety of traditional handcrafts are anchored among the folk. Characterized by cultural features differing from other birthplaces of civilization, such practical, simple and warmhearted arts have always demonstrated China’s national economy and people’s livelihood from ancient to modern times. Speaking of court crafts serving rich and powerful ones, scholar-bureaucrat crafts highlighting the fun of literati and folk crafts spilling local flavor, all the intentions to invent and create have come from Chinese’s daily needs in certain natural conditions. All of these crafts, acting as the important carrier of Chinese civilization, contain the wisdom of creation accumulated during production and life.
Guo Qiuhui, born in 1979, graduated from the Department of Art History of the Academy of Arts Design of Tsinghua University. She is a Doctor of Letters, a teacher at the Department of Art History of the Academy of Arts Design of Tsinghua University, and a member of the Theory Committee of the China National Arts and Crafts Society. She mainly engages in research on the history and theory of Chinese arts and design, and has published more than 30 papers and interviews. Her published works include: Chinese Art Crafts coauthor, Pursuing the Light of the Sun – Deng Wei coeditor, Collection of Academic Thoughts on Chinese Modern Art and Design – Collected Works of Wu Lao, Tradition and Learning: A Collection of Interviews on the History of the Academy of Arts Design of Tsinghua University coeditor, Guanghua Road: Old Photos of the Central Academy of Arts Design coeditor, etc.
Wang Lidan, born in 1978, graduated from the Department of Art History of the Academy of Arts Design of Tsinghua University. She is a Doctor of Letters, a teacher at the School of Art and Design of Zhongyuan University of Technology, and a member of the Theory Committee of the China National Arts and Crafts Society. She mainly engages in research on the history and theory of Chinese and foreign design, and has published more than 20 papers and interviews. Her published works include: Collection of Academic Thoughts on Chinese Modern Art and Design – Collected Works of Qiu Ling, Tradition and Learning: A Collection of Interviews on the History of the Academy of Arts Design of Tsinghua University main writer, A Brief History of the Academy of Arts Design of Tsinghua University main writer, Appreciation of Art coeditor, etc.