Written by: Qiang Wei
Posted on: November 14, 2018 | 
| 中文
Handicrafts with Chinese characteristics on display
Organized by the China National Base for International Cultural Trade (Shanghai), "Amazing China — Exhibition of Chinese Arts & Crafts" was the highlight of this year’s London Craft Week. The special show showcased more than one hundred handicraft pieces, made by 40 craftsmen from different parts of China, including traditional Chinese craftsmanship in embroideries, porcelain, facsimile reprints, clothing, ancient painting restoration, and so on. As revealed by its name of “Amazing China,” these two words fully matched the impression of the British audience after they visited the show, and they praised the works with a thumbs up, while exclaiming, “China, amazing!”
As one of a series of cultural events held in London annually, the event aims at offering a platform for exchanges and interactions between international and local craftsmen for sharing of history in contemporary times, commercial and cultural values, and providing a broader stage for superb craftsmanship to break through restrictions of their brands and fame.
Guy Salter, chairman of the London Craft Week, said, “Modern people somewhat got tired of following the same pattern and began to look for something new. It may not necessarily be a luxury nor time-consuming, but it must be filled with humanity and passion,” and so the London Craft Week offers a platform for works of this kind.
The participants, the world renowned watch makers, leather bag makers, or brick making professionals and those of carving workshops, have one thing in common, which is the spirit of professionalism, conscientiousness and strict control of procedures. Take the popular Cambridge Satchel as an example: the producer set up a special work table at one of its stores, to display the procedure through which it’s made and the craftwork.
The works shown in China Arts and Crafts took up a similar method, to showcase the Chinese traditional handicrafts, such as sewing and embroidery techniques in making changsha, plates and baskets made of bamboo, with techniques recognized as intangible cultural heritages. Similarly, there was a scarf made with Kesi weaving, a type of silk weaving done by through the tapestry method, which delicately displayed the colors changing from red to white at the petal leaves of a peony flower.
Promotion of excellent traditional techniques is meant to establish famous brands for Made-in-China craftsmanship, which also identified with the theme of London Craft Week, i.e. preservation and promotion of craftsmanship and combination of art creation with daily life demands.
From olden days to the present time, rubbing was adopted mainly to print the tablet inscriptions. But at London, the rubbing pieces of Hawking, Shakespeare, London Tower and Bridge, London Eye, and so on, were especially attractive for local audiences. The replacement of Chinese characters with British icons, lessened the distance between the ancient Chinese crafts and modern foreign audience.
Arianna?an Italian girl, finished a rubbing piece of butterflies under the guidance of a Chinese craftsman at the site. After holding a brush in hand and observing carefully, she completed one piece and said, “I love Chinese culture so much, every aspect of it!” One visitor from a local art industry, asked for the business card of the man, saying that he wished to make some printing works in collaboration with him.
It may sound unbelievable when one hears that foreigners liked drinking coffee in bowls with fitted cover, but for Jin Shichun, art director of Shanghai Chunzhi Culture Communication Co. Ltd, it meant that the traditional Chinese porcelain making techniques have been recognized by the outside world. She said that the affection of Britain people towards Chinese potteries had been beyond expectation, and she wished to carry on promoting the crafts to enhance the reputation of Chinese porcelain globally.
"We've always wanted to add amazing Chinese content in London Craft Week, since when we first started. In previous years, there were individual artists, but this year we finally had a proper exhibition,” stated Salter. “I hope that through London Craft Week, the craftsmen in China and Britain could find more commonality with each other. China’s participation this year has undoubtedly highlighted the international aspect of London Craft Week.”
Salter saw the event as a way of boosting cooperation between China and the UK under the Belt and Road Initiative. “Serious discussions on infrastructure construction and business cooperation would not make one’s heart beat faster, but arts can. Britain takes itself as an important participant of Belt and Road Initiative. I would prefer to involve China in this year’s London Craft Week as a cultural cooperation between the two countries, which will definitely further strengthen our relations. Culture helps connect people,” said Salter, “It's very important that two things go together: the difficult and important business matters, and the soft, creative cultural things.”
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