The development of Chinese Contemporary Arts Crafts a Course Brimming with Opportunities and Explorations

Since the founding of prc in 1949, the arts and crafts have been regarded and upported by the state. guided by the policies of “preservation, development and improvement, the State has carried out a great deal of work to tap, restore and develop the arts and crafts. On the one hand, generally investigating the arts and crafts industry, positively organizing artists to resume production, supporting and developing the production and solving the employment of numerous people with material supply, taxation support, low-interest loans and purchasing of finished products, etc On the other hand, tapping, collecting, sorting out and studying folk arts and crafts, hosting national and international arts and crafts exhibitions, convening arts and crafts symposiums On account of such efforts, a lot of switched and dispersed artists have returned to the arts and crafts industry with some suspended industries restored

During the period between 1949 and 1952, in compliance with the principle luntary admission, persuasion and education, model demonstration and national assistance, “the State has piloted a number of arts and crafts cooperative organizations as model demonstrations in a focused and step-by-step manner. In 1953, the handicraft cooperative movement progressed into the common development stage from a typical pilot And three years later, a comprehensive cooperation was basically achieved The cooperative movement, combining institutional construction, economic rehabilitation and cultural preservation, put thearts and crafts on the path from individual to the collective production, promoted the rapid development of the arts and crafts in terms of productivity, improved the creative conditions, social status and living standards of artists. By virtue of learning from each other and progressing together, the artists have preserved, inherited and developed the traditional arts and crafts skills, creating a group of excellent arts and crafts imbued with modern flavor. For instance, the ivory statue created by Yang Shihui from Beijing Arts Crafts Research Institute, “Jianguo porcelain”(a kind of porcelain specially used in celebrations of Pro) designed under the direction of zhu Danian, an arts and crafts educator and fired in the cooperation of artists from Jingdezhen, etc

As time passed, a development system integrated with”supply, production, skill, market and study”of arts and crafts has been gradually formed. In 1953, the ministry of culture and chinese artists association jointly hosted the first “National Folk arts and Crafts Exhibition, displaying more than 1,000 articles covering ceramics, dyed fabrics, statues lacquers, metalwork, New Year pictures, paper-cuts and ethnic minorities handicrafts. In addition, they also held the first national symposium of arts and crafts in the following year the first national arts crafts service was established in beijing which is aimed at organizing to purchase the excellent handicrafts excavated in various regions and products of resume production. Since then, over 280 arts crafts services have been successively founded in the national large and medium-sized cities as well as key areas, closely connecting with the production and consumption of domestic arts and crafts. In 1955, the National arts Crafts Museum was set up in Beijing, serving as both a site for empathic learning of arts crafts workers and artists, and a source of national gifts and exhibits going abroad for the purpose of international economic and cultural exchanges two years later the first National Arts Crafts Artists Congress was solemnly held in Beijing. It has inspired the enthusiasm and creativity of arts crafts artists nationwide and promoted the further development of arts and crafts

With low investment, high efficiency and distinctive ethnic and cultural identities, arts and crafts have taken up the heavy responsibilities for several times to be exported for foreign exchange and to support the economic construction. In the early years since the founding of PRC, national arts crafts practitioners, annual output value and export for foreign exchange have increased year by year. The foreign exchange generated by exports increased to USD28 million in 1956 from USD9 million in 1952, providing a primitive accumulation for the country’s economic construction and social development. Based on the instructions of Speeding up the Socialist Transformation of Handicraft Industry issued in 1956, Mao Zedong, at the position of a politician, has an insight into the relationships between the handicraft and industry in the transition period and determined the national policy to create conditions forChina’s industrialization with handicraft thus the fate that the development of artscrafts during the early years since the founding of Prc shall be focused on the form of handicraft was sealed

Upon the establishment of national policies and support from arts crafts competent authorities, the arts arts have been further restored and flourished. The national-level management with corresponding divisions established by the central Administration of Handicraft Industry, Ministry of light Industry and all levels of government as the main player has replaced the former guild and association rules Under the system of planned economy, arts crafts have been included in the lightindustry one, transforming from the previous freely dispersed and workshop-style production into the large-scale modern industrial production with cooperation concentrated. However, regarding the state monopoly over purchase-marketing and export for foreign exchange as main objectives, such development model mayunbalance the development of arts crafts. as they are dominated by special processes in categories, mainly for appreciation and display made and carved withtraditional themes, complex modeling and extremely exquisite techniques, drifting away from daily use. Furthermore, the business practice of state monopoly over purchasemarketing also makes arts crafts enterprises lack abilities to respond to market changes independently. In the 1980s and 1990s, this crisis was gradually revealed in social transformation

In the 1950s and 1960s the arts crafts were inherited and educated in a gradually diversified manner.Firstly，for the collective factories of jade，cloisonne，process engraving，ceramics，carpets，embroidery，weaving and other traditional crafts ndustries，mentorship still plays the main part in art education.There is nodependency relationship between the master and apprentice in the life.as the apprentice respects the master while the master hides no techniques to the apprentice，the blockade on techniques called as”living with own techniques”by ancient artists was broken Secondly the collective and mechanized production for arts crafts were combined with mentorship and trainings，forming a variety of new arts crafts worker，vocational and technical education.Thirdly，a number of secondary arts crafts schools were established during the years from 1956 to 1966 with the local distinctive arts crafts as the key disciplines.For example，the earliest Xiamen Academy of arts and design，Fuzhou University with lacquer and ceramic Beijing arts and Crafts school with cloisonne，lacquer engraving dyeing and weaving colleges were set up to cultivate advanced talents in arts crafts design.In 1955 Suzhou art Design Technology Institute with embroidery.Fourthly，arts crafts

Central Academy of Craft Art，the first arts crafts college was built in Beijing.Since then more than 10 colleges offered successively the department or major of arts crafts，like Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts，Nanjing University of the Arts and Hubei Arts Institute etc Fifth arts crafts research institutions were built in major cities nationwide to get together a group of skilled old artists and technical experts to specially carry out design and research.In addition，many arts&crafts factories and cooperatives also set up the innovation and design team sixth academic journals of arts crafts were started and professional textbooks were prepared to facilitate the development of research exchange and teaching of arts crafts.The Central Science Institute of arts Crafts founded in 1956，successively started the earliest domestic internal arts crafts journals in the year and 1957，Arts and Crafts Communicationand Arts and Crafts References.In 1958，Central Academy of Craft Art founded the first academic journal of arts crafts for domestic public offering，Decoration.In 1961 the National Liberal arts Teaching Session and Textbook Research Conference of Arts Colleges were held in Beijing.dominated by the central academy of Craft art，the arts Crafts Textbook Compilation Team was set up，which has compiled and published the Pattern Elementary Textbook，Selection of Arts and Crafts Papers，Furniture Crafts and history of chinese arts Crafts etc the chinese arts and crafts institute was established in 1965，serving as a national arts crafts academic community integrated with academic，education，scientific research and production

The establishment of research system and formation of modern arts crafts lucation are not only conducive to scientifically formulating and widely communicate the experience and knowledge of traditional crafts, but also are beneficial to fostering new designers of arts and crafts arts crafts workers andartists from Beijing, Zhejiang, Sichuan and Hebei, etc have jointly designed new products with local characteristics for Longquan porcelain in Zhejiang, lacquer in Sichuan black and white pottery in hebei and other varieties. Meanwhile based on transmission of traditions a number of works and products using modern science and technology and revealing contemporary spirit emerged. Then, new achievements have been made through combining them with modern industry and architecture. Ten buildings in the capital at that time and modern ones coming up, promoted the creative design of arts crafts. So far as the great hall of the people a large number of arts crafts designers and artists have been involved in corresponding decoration and design, displaying more than 20,000 pieces of all kinds of crafts Nevertheless, due to the ultra-left trend of thought the arts crafts then developed in a manner not as smooth as before After 1958, many arts crafts collective enterprises and cooperative organizations were forcibly transformed into government-owned factories or transferred to people’s commune Regardless of the production characteristics of arts crafts industry, emphasis on centralized production factory merger at random career divert and production line change have resulted in disorganized management of industry, decrease in variety, production drawdown, even the lower enthusiasm of artists. In 1961, the government put forward the policies of “adjustment, consolidation, enrichment and improvement, “developed and issued the provisions on several policy issues of urban and rural handicraft (trial Draft)(referred to as 35 Articles for Handicraft) to adjust the production and management of arts crafts clarify that the handicraft shall be based on collective ownership, making the arts crafts to be restored and developed. As of 1965, there were 185,000 professional arts crafts employees and over 1.6 million rural and urban y-line workers nationwide. The output value amounted to RMB519 million, 2.1 times higher than rmb190 million in 1957

At the beginning of the Great Cultural Revolution(1966-1976), since the collective economy was cut off as one of the remnants of capitalism, cooperative handicraftshut off and traditional themes of arts crafts dismissed as retro”or “backwards ones, production of many traditional products suspended, the arts crafts were preserved and developed under even greater devastation. From 1971 to 1972, Prime Minister Zhou Enlai and other state leaders reverted the significance to export arts crafts for foreign exchange and support the social construction. In 1972, the National Exhibition of Arts Crafts was hosted in Beijing. One year later, the State Council forwarded and approved the Report on the Development of arts Crafts Production to clarify the policies, tasks and measures to develop the production of arts crafts As of 1973, the output value of arts& crafts reached RMB1, 598 million, 48% higherthan RMB1,000 million in 1972, of which the foreign exchange generated by exports USD357 million 66% higher than USd215 million in 1972

In 1978, since China entered the new period of reform and opening-up, the arts crafts ushered in the new development opportunities. In the same year, the Ministry of light Industry, Ministry of Foreign Trade and Ministry of Commerce jointly hosted the National Exhibition of arts Crafts and held National Symposium for CreativeDesign of arts Crafts to discuss the direction and tasks of the creative design propose that it is necessary to inherit the fine traditions, encourage innovation, cultivate new forces and strengthen market survey. During the period from 1978 to

1980, relevant authorities have issued documents for four times to emphasize themportance to drive the development of tourism products with arts crafts In 1979, the Ministry of Light Industry held a National Congress of Arts Crafts Artists and Creative Designers to grant a total of 34 outstanding artiest and designers the honorary title of “Craft Artist. “Besides, it also set up the Chinese Arts and Crafts Institute to push the academic research and exchange of arts crafts In 1980, the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China and Ministry of Light Industry jointly convened the National Arts& Crafts Conference on Science and Technology, at which the Central Leading Group on Financial and Economic Affairs put forward requirements for functionization of arts crafts, and industrialisieren of daily necessities”to adjust the line of production and be focused on developing the exports of daily arts and crafts. Between 1981 and 1990, the state conomic and Trade Commission and Ministry of light Industry annually held the Review on hundred flowers Awards for chinese arts Crafts to further preserve thetraditional techniques and promote the production of arts crafts Since 1983, the arts crafts technical title system has been applied throughout the country. the business titles were divided into senior Craft artist craft artist assistant Craft artist Craft practitioner arts Crafts technician Chinese arts and crafts association established in 1988 acts as the bridge between the government and businesses, the businesses and industries. The Chinese Arts and Crafts Museum completed in Beijing in 1989, the first State-level arts crafts museum in China, is committed to tapping collecting sorting out, storing up, displaying and studying chinese contemporary arts crafts treasures. The initiatives mentioned above have driven the rapid development of arts crafts in the 1980s doubled the exports and foreign exchange the output value and foreign exchange generated by exports in 1981 amounted respectively RMB5,300 million and usd1, 500 million

From 1990s to date as new challenges emerged the arts crafts have entered a of the Soviet Union in the early gos, China’s economic transition was faced witha o new stage of development. On one hand, due to the fall of communism and collap complex and volatile international environment, the international market and foreigntrade situations also encounter adversity, the production of traditional arts crafts continued to slide, many categories were less competitive in the market, and large urban arts crafts enterprises got into trouble or even folded up as a result of changes in the international market. On account of the intensified exports competition and the growth of the domestic economy and the demand, China has become an important market for arts crafts on the other hand the production and management of arts crafts were confronted with new changes and exploration transforming from individual workshops and small factories in the republic of china era handicraft cooperatives in the 50s collective enterprises under the administration of the government in the 60s to 80s, into individual regression in the context of national institution reform in the 90s

Along with the development of market economy, most arts crafts enterprises experienced conversion and transformation. Many collective enterprises selected to downsize and change from collective to private ones, aggressively entry into the market. Some laid-off workers and dispersed artists became self-employed, setting up private enterprises, individual workshops or studios. As private and individual enterprises gradually became the main body of the industry, the new patterns of production of arts crafts were formed thereof, with the number of enterprises product varieties and output progressed a lot. Besides, production factors of arts crafts gradually shifted to rural areas or small towns, forming the productionmarketing model of”distributors-processors-middlemen-makers or suburban retail investors, “L.e. the distributors shall firstly take orders, and then consign makers or suburban retail investors to produce and manufacture the products, during which the relevant fees shall be charged as per piece

The opening-up and development of market economy accelerated the collision and communication of culture between the east and the west along with the socio-economic development and the improvement of people’s living standards, new cultural concepts, aesthetic tastes and lifestyles gradually evolved with traditional culture lost for a time, making the market for many traditional crafts go away. Lots of young people wooed fashion and foreign goods but lost interest in traditional crafts In terms of the employment, as the development of market economy and modern industry has not only increased the demands for human resources but also enriched types of career, young people were increasingly reluctant to learn an artistic skill or engage in the production of arts crafts Moreover, both in social status and economic treatment traditional artists were inferior to the white -collar workers in foreign companies, state-owned enterprises and governmental departments, leading to less qualified successors of traditional crafts even if for the families of craftsmen and artists passed down through generations, the children would be gradually divorced from the inheritance atmosphere under the modern science and education system. Growing up in schools, most of them have lost care and love for techniques o elder generations. They may follow in father’s steps, largely because that they have no other choices or are in the face of economic problems, rather than the love or respect for traditional crafts

The dilemmas faced by the preservation, inheritance and development of traditional crafts have caused the government’s attention. In 1997, the State Council issued the Regulations for the Protection of the Traditional Arts and Handicrafts as relevant legal basis. As defined in the Regulations, traditional arts and crafts refer to varieties of handicrafts and skills enjoying a reputation at home and abroad, which are generally passed on from generation to generation and thereof have existed for more than one hundred years; they are made with exquisite craftsmanship and natural raw materials through a complete process, highlighting the distinctive national styles and local features. Adopting the policies to preserve, develop and improve the varieties of traditional handicrafts and skills, the state urged local government at all levels to strengthen the leadership in the preservation of traditional arts crafts, and take effective actions to support and promote the prosperity and development of traditional arts and crafts in the region. Since then, local regulations or methods were developed for the preservation of arts crafts one after another in Jiangsu, Hebei, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Beijing, Guangdong, Sichuan, Anhui, Chongqing and other provinces and cities

The Regulations on Protection of Traditional Arts and Crafts also stipulates the selection of master of chinese arts and crafts”that was launched in 1979. as at 2013443 masters of chinese arts and crafts in total were selected in these six selections These masters were given subsidies and rewards by the local governments and enterprises. Additionally, some enterprises with good conditions established work rooms for some masters, equipped with assistants and students to better inherit their arts and crafts. In addition to the national selection, Beijing Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Sichuan, Jiangxi, etc. also conducted selections of masters of arts and crafts at provincial level, to attach importance to and give supports to creation of these masters of arts and crafts, and set up favorable work environment and conditions for them. China’ s selections of masters of arts and crafts have played a positive role in conservation of rare techniques, presentation of classical works and inheritance of national treasures. In 2013, the state council decided the selection to be carried out not by official bodies such as the Sate’s ministries and commissions any more, but by the industrial associations, so as to bring about more professional selections that were better in line with the law of development of arts and crafts With regard to academics and education of contemporary arts and crafts the discipline name and setting of arts and crafts also varied a lot. In 1980s and 1990s, the arts and crafts were affected by the modern design resulted in challenging for their existence in higher education field In 1998 the discipline name of arts and crafts was replaced by art design”in the Directory of Undergraduate Specialties in General Institutes of Higher Education issued by the Ministry of Education. The discipline setting of arts and crafts accordingly changed; the arts and crafts specialty has increasingly marginalized in the booming of design specialty In 2011, the art Theory pgraded into an independent discipline. The Directory of Undergraduate SpecialtiesGeneral institutes of higher education issued by the ministry of education in 2012 set”arts and crafts”as a specialty under the first-level discipline”design science. This adjustment in discipline directory defined the legitimacy “of the”arts and crafts discipline, although the arts and crafts never disappear in the manufacturing industry Since the 21 century, the development of arts and crafts has featured by polarization of tradition and modernization. Based on inheriting excellent history and local characteristics, varieties endowed with traditional cultural value and ethnic and folk characteristics have either adhered to the traditional features and folk-custom styles, or further carried themselves forward to cater to the market demands, which have not only met the self-sufficient demands in cultural life, but also transformed towards cultural products and tourism products. The parts closely related to domestic daily life and suit for modern quantity production have gradually integrated with modern design Moreover, the impact of industrialization has also enriched the arts and crafts with respect to creation idea, way of thin king aesthetic idea, visual language, and material technics, etc. The new generation of craftsmen utilized new ideas, materials, and crafts into pottery, glass, fiber, jewelry, metal and wood craft and other craft categories, and explored transformation of contemporary arts and crafts, who were craftsmen or designers “”masters of arts and crafts”or artists In 2004 domestic sales in China ‘ s arts and crafts industry started to exceed the foreign trade The handicraft articles with rich traditional cultural connotation such as dark -red enameled pottery, hardwood furniture, jade article, jewelry, art ceramics, bamboo and wood carvings, etc, have increasingly been in brisk demands

Currently in the context of china’s fast-changing social and economic development, the traditional handicraft accords with China’s strategy for sustainable development due to its features such as low energy consumption, low pollution an high added value, high proceeds and large number of employment. this is also an industry containing important industrial value, market value and cultural value. In some places, the traditional handicrafts are produced in the form of a kind of handcraft in a village “to realize intra-regional horizontal integration stand out the integration and development of specialized industry, and facilitate development of rural economy; in some places, it maintains its traditional advantages to develop itself into the local pillar industry strengthens the large-scale production leads development of the corresponding chain and becomes the regional cultural symbol; in some other places, it organically integrates with cultural creative industry to driveeconomy with culture creativity, and explore cross development of multiple industries As an important carrier of Chinese civilization, traditional handicraft is still playing an important role, and possesses multiple values including economic value and cultural value, and carries Chinese people’s nice historical memory and artistic living ideal