CRAFTS

Chinese shougongyi (handicrafts) have a history that spans 4,000 years, as evidenced by
the excavated relics on display in museums throughout the country. Chinese shougongyi falls
into two categories: tezhong gongyi (special handicrafts) and minjian gongyi (folk handicrafts).
Tezhong gongyi, mostly made from rare and costly materials, require more sophisticated work-
manship and therefore possess higher artistic value. These handicrafts include works of
jingtailan (cloisonn enamel); daqi (lacquer ware); carpets of wool and silk; and carvings of
ivory (now its artificial substitute), jade, and other precious stones. Chinaware is also a special
type of handicraft, although most are made of inexpensive china earth. Jingdezhen, Tangshan,
Longquan, Jun, and Ru are brand-name ancient kilns that are still in full production.
Minjian gongyi has distinct ethnic and regional flavors. Minjin gongyi of the Han Chi-
nese falls into the following categories:
jian (cutting), which includes the cutting, folding, and sculpting of paper;
zha (tying), which includes crafts made of bamboo or metal frames covered by paper
and silk, such as kites and lanterns;
bian (plaiting), which includes crafts plaited with straw and threads of cotton or silk,
such as tiger dolls, fragrant pouches, and caiqiu (a pom-pom-like ball);
zhi (weaving), which includes crafts woven and dyed with special techniques, such
as laran (batik) and zharan (bandhnu);
xiu (embroidery), which includes the famed shuangmianxiu (an embroidery with the
same image on both sides);
su (sculpting), including crafts sculptured with clay, wood, ghee (Tibetan butter),
dough, and pottery, such as the famed pottery kettles of Yixing; and
hui (painting), including crafts painted, countermarked, pieced, and burnt. Painted
fans, silk scarves, and snuff bottles (with pictures painted on the inside surface of the
glass) fall into this category.
Many minjian gongyi crafts, like the paper cuts that illustrate some of the tales in this
book, allude to Chinese folktales. Although largely made of inexpensive materials,
minjian gongyi demands a tremendous amount of experience and training. The few exam-
ples given here are merely illustrative of the rudimentary skills required to create Chinese
folk handicrafts.

56 Part 2: Food, Games, and Crafts