As a gem of Chinese art and culture, Chinese Crafts, also named folk crafts, refer to artistic handicrafts mainly produced by hand. Chinese crafts include both traditional cultural artworks and daily utensils, having a strong influence on the people's livelihood. Working people use local materials to express their appreciation of beauty.
China is made up of 56 ethnic groups with a variety of customs, cultures, living habits, local environments and so on. As a result, Chinese craft is colorful in content, style, quality and technique, which makes it a distinctive feature of the Chinese nation.
Here are some Chinese crafts to share with you:
Paintings: with a long history of seven to eight thousand years, Chinese paintings are rich in content, style and technique.
The four treasures of the study: writing brush, ink stick, ink slab and paper.
Paper-cuts: the most popular folk arts in China.
Fan: there are fans of various qualities and styles in China, including wooden, bamboo, paper, ivory, jade, hawksbill, feather, straw fans and fans of palm and areca tree leaves.
Textiles: including silk, brocade, damask, yarn, cotton, flax, carpet and so on.
Printing & dyeing: wax printing and dyeing are widely used in people's clothes, bedclothes, and household goods.
Embroidery: Suzhou embroidery, Hunan embroidery, Sichuan embroidery and Guangdong embroidery are considered as the four famous embroideries in China.
Sculptures: including flour, bamboo, brick, stone, wood, jade, tooth, bone, horn carvings as well as mini-sculpture, hand sculpting, moulding.
Bronzes: from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD), most of the farming tools, weapons, cooking appliances, liquor wares and musical instruments were all made from bronze.
Pottery: it is made from clay fired in a kiln, including colored pottery, white pottery, red pottery, glazed pottery and so on.
Porcelain: it is recognized as the 'fifth great invention' of China.
Cloisonne: a kind of craft blending porcelain and bronze.
Jade: a quality stone with fine texture, elegant luster and slick surface.
Lacquer ware: a kind of coating featuring lacquer painted on the surface.
Tea wares: Tea wares consist of ovens, tea rollers, teapots, cups, tea bowls, trays and so on.
Drinking vessels: since the ancient times, alcohol has been essential when entertaining guests in China, and Chinese people are also very particular about their drinking vessels.
Seal: a kind of art with distinctive national features and used for signatures in China.
Kite: originally, it was used to send messages, and now it is for people's entertainment.
Lantern: in ancient times, it was used for lighting the way at night, but more recently, it is has been mostly used as a kind of decoration to enhance the atmosphere at grand festivals and ceremonies.
Facial mask: mainly for operas, but some are also made for children to play with.
Puppet: a wooden toy effigy mainly used to perform a puppet show.
Folk toys: kinds of mascots for festivals and ceremonies or for children's toys.
Musical instruments: folk musical instruments comprise wind instruments, string instruments, plucked instruments and percussion instruments.
Clothing: the traditional clothes and ornaments of the Chinese ethnic minorities have special national features like the Uyghur's hat, Man People's cheongsam, Miao People's silver ornaments and so on.
Daily utensils: including all kinds of furniture made of wood, bamboo, cane and other local materials.