Chinese Handicrafts

✍ Scribed by Hua Jueming (editor), Li Jinsong (editor), Wang Lianhai (editor)

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 2023
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 1185
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This book systematically introduces readers to traditional Chinese handicrafts, which are original, distinct, and have had major impacts in China and around the globe. It explores 14 different types of handicraft, and provides a clear definition, detailed information on the techniques, and extensive discussion of each. Readers will not only learn the fascinating stories behind traditional Chinese handicrafts, but also be inspired by the great Chinese handicraftsmen’s inherent spirit of innovation and creativity.

✦ Table of Contents

Preface: Re-introducing Handicrafts
Translators’ Preface to “Chinese Handicrafts”
Contents
1 Making Tools and Devices
1.1 Farm Tools, Hand Tools, and Simple Devices
1.1.1 Farm Tools
1.1.2 Hand Tools
1.1.3 Simple Devices
1.2 Devices
1.2.1 Cutting and Processing Devices
1.2.2 Agricultural Devices
1.2.3 Hydraulic Devices
1.2.4 Wind Devices
1.2.5 Chinese Bellows
1.2.6 Well Drilling
1.3 Transportation
1.3.1 Land Vehicles
1.3.2 Water Vehicles
1.4 Instruments and Meters
1.4.1 Li-Recording Drum Carriage
1.4.2 Water Clock
1.4.3 Houfeng Seismograph
1.4.4 Astronomical Instruments
1.4.5 Vernier Caliper
1.4.6 Compass and Luopan
1.5 Musical Instruments
1.5.1 Guqin (the Chinese Zither)
1.5.2 Sheng-Guan Musical Instruments Made at the Beijing Hong Yin Zhai Workshop
1.5.3 National Musical Instruments of Suzhou
1.5.4 The Flute and Xiao Made in Yuping
1.5.5 Lusheng of the Miao People
1.5.6 Morin Khuur
1.6 Household and Folk Utensils
1.6.1 Lock
1.6.2 Steelyard
1.6.3 Umbrella
1.6.4 Fans
1.6.5 Flying Car
1.6.6 Kongming Lantern
1.6.7 Incense Burner in the Quilt
1.6.8 Trotting Horse Lantern
2 Agricultural and Mineral Processing
2.1 Production of Table Salt
2.1.1 Production of Well Salt in Tibet
2.1.2 Production Process of Well Salt in Nuodeng Well
2.1.3 Mining and Production of Shenhai Well Salt
2.1.4 Production of Sea Salt in Xiangshan
2.2 Brewing Techniques
2.2.1 Liquor Brewing
2.2.2 Vinegar Brewing
2.2.3 Paste, Soy Sauce and Chinese Douchi
2.3 Tea-Making Technique
2.3.1 Chinese Tea
2.3.2 Traditional Tea-Making Technology
2.4 Oil Extraction, Cooking, and Grinding
2.4.1 Ancient Oil-Making Technology
2.4.2 Modern Oil Pressing Technology
2.5 Sugar Production
2.5.1 Early Sugar Stuff
2.5.2 Maltose: An Early Artificial Sugar
2.5.3 Sucrose
2.5.4 Sugar Beet
2.6 Leather Processing Technology
2.7 Incense-Making Technology
2.7.1 Making Skills of Beijing’s Traditional Medicinal Incense
2.7.2 The Skill of “Rolling Incense” in Dongguang Village, long’an, Guizhou Province
2.7.3 Tibetan Incense-Making Skills
2.8 Production of Gunpowder, Firearms, and Fireworks
3 Construction
3.1 Characteristics of Chinese Construction
3.1.1 Grid Patterns in Urban Planning
3.1.2 Courtyards
3.1.3 Architecture Featured in Timber Frame
3.1.4 Bucket Arches
3.1.5 Architecture Reflecting Hierarchy
3.1.6 Construction Planning System
3.1.7 Fengshui
3.2 Construction and Traditional Chinese Architecture
3.2.1 Urban Planning and Construction
3.2.2 Residential Buildings
3.2.3 Palace Architecture
3.2.4 Religious Buildings
3.2.5 Sacrificial Architecture
3.2.6 Landscape Architecture
3.2.7 Bridges
3.3 The Craft of Chinese Construction
3.3.1 Timber Frame Architecture and Its Construction
3.3.2 Tile Making
3.3.3 Stone Masonry
3.3.4 Earthen Architecture
3.3.5 Decoration on Buildings
4 Spinning, Dyeing, and Embroidering
4.1 History of Weaving, Dyeing, and Embroidery
4.1.1 Pre-Qin Period
4.1.2 Han-Tang Period
4.1.3 Song and Yuan Dynasties
4.1.4 Ming and Qing Dynasties
4.2 Raw Textile Materials and Technology
4.2.1 Silk-Weaving Technology
4.2.2 Primary Processing of Cotton, Hemp and Wool Fibers
4.3 Dyeing and Finishing Techniques and Varieties
4.3.1 Dyeing
4.3.2 Xie Dyeing
4.3.3 Relief Printing
4.3.4 Products of Dyeing and Finishing
4.4 Weave and Variety of Fabric
4.4.1 Fabric Weave
4.4.2 Variety of Woven Fabric
4.5 Embroidery Techniques and Varieties
4.5.1 Preparation Before Embroidery
4.5.2 Stitches
4.5.3 Varieties of Embroidery
4.6 Social and Cultural Attributes of Weaving, Dyeing, and Embroidery
4.6.1 Social Division of Labor Between Men and Women
4.6.2 Twelve Symbols of Sovereignty
4.6.3 Characteristics of Clothing Fashion in Different Times
4.6.4 Production and Living Customs
4.6.5 Weaving, Dyeing, and Embroidery in Words and Literature
4.7 Appendix: The Weaving, Dyeing, and Embroidery Skills Listed in Lists of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage
5 Ceramics
5.1 Development
5.2 Manufacturing Skills
5.2.1 Raw Material Selection and Preparation
5.2.2 Shaping Methods
5.2.3 Decoration Skills
5.2.4 Firing Methods and Facilities
5.3 Ceramics Firing
5.3.1 Folk Ceramics
5.3.2 Low-Temperature Lead-Glazed Ceramics
5.3.3 Purple Clay Pottery (Zisha)
5.3.4 Shiwan Pottery Molding
5.4 Porcelain Firing
5.4.1 Celadon Wares
5.4.2 Black Glaze Porcelain
5.4.3 White Porcelain
5.4.4 Jingdezhen Porcelain
5.4.5 Dehua Porcelain Molding
5.5 The Ceramics Industry’s Division of Labor, Guild Organizations, and Customs
6 Metallurgy and Metalworking
6.1 The Bronze Age
6.1.1 The Bronze Smelting and Casting Industry in the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties
6.1.2 Copper Mining and Smelting Technology
6.1.3 Preparation of Bronze Alloys
6.1.4 Clay-Mold Casting
6.1.5 New Metalworking Techniques
6.1.6 Influence of Bronze Smelting and Casting on Ancient Technical Concepts and Social Cognition
6.2 Metal Civilization in the Iron Age
6.2.1 Metal Handicraft Industry in the Iron Age
6.2.2 Pig Iron Smelting and Casting
6.2.3 Steel Making
6.2.4 Smelting and Alloy Preparation of Non-ferrous Metals
6.2.5 Metal Processing Technology
6.3 Traditional Precious Metal Technology
6.3.1 Zhaoyuan Metallurgy
6.3.2 Zinc Smelting in Hezhang
6.3.3 The Stone-Mold Casting Plowshare in Qujing
6.3.4 The Pig Iron Smelting and Casting Techniques in Yangcheng
6.3.5 Wrought Iron
6.3.6 Lost-Wax Casting
6.3.7 Gongs Forging in Changzi
6.3.8 Gold Foil Making
6.3.9 Mud-Mold and Stone-Mold Casting
6.3.10 Collecting-and-Throwing (Shoupaohuo) Work and Tibetan Copper Forging Technology
6.3.11 Gold, Silver, and Fine Gold Technology
6.3.12 Miao Silver Ornaments
6.4 Conclusion: Present and Past of Traditional Metal Technology
7 Sculpture
7.1 History
7.2 Sculpting Techniques
7.2.1 Carving Techniques
7.2.2 Modeling Techniques
7.3 Types of Sculptures
7.3.1 Carving
7.3.2 Modeling
8 Weaving and Tying
8.1 The History of Weaving
8.2 Bamboo Weaving
8.2.1 Varieties of Bamboo Weaving
8.2.2 The Craft of Bamboo Weaving
8.3 Straw Weaving
8.3.1 Cattail Weaving
8.3.2 Reed Weaving
8.3.3 Wheat Straw Weaving
8.3.4 Palm Fibre Weaving
8.3.5 Corn Husk Weaving
8.4 Rattan and Wicker Weaving
8.4.1 Rattan Weaving
8.4.2 Wicker Weaving
8.5 The History of Tying
8.5.1 Lanterns
8.5.2 Kites
8.5.3 Paper Models
8.6 Lanterns
8.6.1 Varieties of Lanterns
8.6.2 The Craft of Making Lanterns
8.7 Kites
8.7.1 Types of Kites
8.7.2 How to Build a Kite
8.7.3 The Principle of Flying a Kite
8.8 Paper Models
8.8.1 Categories of Paper Models
8.8.2 The Making of Paper Models
9 Lacquering
9.1 The History of Lacquering
9.2 Materials and Tools
9.2.1 Natural Lacquer
9.2.2 Auxiliary Materials
9.2.3 Tools
9.3 Techniques
9.3.1 Body Techniques
9.3.2 Decorative Techniques
9.4 Types of Lacquerware and Its Production
9.4.1 Beijing Engraved Lacquer and Gold Lacquer Inlay
9.4.2 Yangzhou’s Mother-of-Pearl Inlay Milling and Engraved Lacquer with Jade
9.4.3 Weifang’s Silver-Embedded Lacquerware
9.4.4 Pingyao Polished Lacquer and Xinjiang Engraved Three-Color Lacquer
9.4.5 Fuzhou Bodiless Lacquerware
9.4.6 Tiantai Dry Ramee-Lacquer
9.4.7 Chengdu Lacquerware (Luqi)
9.4.8 Wenzhou’s Ou Mold
9.4.9 Yi Lacquer
9.4.10 Tianshui’s Carved and Filled Lacquer
9.4.11 Dafang’s Leather Base Lacquerwares
9.4.12 Taiwan Lacquerwares
9.5 Lacquer Painting
9.6 The Beauty of Lacquering and the Way of Lacquering
9.6.1 The Beauty of Lacquering
9.6.2 The Way of Lacquering
10 Furniture Making
10.1 Evolution
10.2 Categories and Styles
10.2.1 Chairs and Stools
10.2.2 Beds
10.2.3 Table and An
10.2.4 Box and Cabinet
10.2.5 Other Categories
10.3 Design and Production
10.3.1 Design
10.3.2 Tools and Equipment
10.3.3 Material Selection
10.3.4 Material Preparation
10.3.5 Component Preparation
10.3.6 Splicing and Assembly
10.3.7 Mortise and Tenon Structure
10.3.8 Decoration
10.3.9 Accessories
10.4 Ming-Style Furniture
10.5 Furniture Making in Suzhou, Beijing and Guangzhou
10.5.1 Furniture Making in Suzhou
10.5.2 Furniture Making in Beijing
10.5.3 Furniture Making in Guangzhou
10.6 Rules of the Furniture Manufacturing Industry and a Brief Introduction of Furniture Culture
11 Making Calligrapher’s Tools
11.1 Paper
11.1.1 Definition of Paper and Mechanism of Papermaking
11.1.2 Origin and Development of Papermaking
11.1.3 Production of Hemp Paper
11.1.4 Production of Bark Paper
11.1.5 Production of Bamboo Paper
11.1.6 Production of Letter Paper
11.1.7 Papermaking and Its Impact on Chinese Society and the World
11.2 Writing Brush
11.2.1 Evolution
11.2.2 Making Techniques
11.3 Ink Stick
11.3.1 Evolution
11.3.2 Preparation of Pine Smoke and Lampblack
11.3.3 Production Techniques of Huizhou Ink
11.4 Inkstone
11.4.1 Evolution
11.4.2 Making Techniques
12 Printing
12.1 Engraved Block Printing
12.1.1 Origin and Development
12.1.2 Materials, Tools, and Procedures
12.1.3 Major Printing Centers and Institutions
12.2 Movable Type Printing
12.2.1 Ceramic Movable Type Printing
12.2.2 Wooden Movable Type Printing
12.2.3 Bronze Movable Type Printing
12.3 Chromatic Printing, Watercolor Block Printing, and Gonghua Printing
12.3.1 Chromatic Printing
12.3.2 Watercolor Block Printing
12.3.3 Gonghua Printing
12.4 Conclusion
13 Carving and Painting
13.1 Paper Cutting
13.1.1 History
13.1.2 Variety and Distribution
13.1.3 Paper Cutting Process
13.2 Woodblock New Year Pictures
13.2.1 History
13.2.2 Production Techniques
13.3 Shadow Play
13.3.1 History
13.3.2 Production and Performance of Shadow Play
14 Special Handicrafts and Others
14.1 Drilling Wood to Make Fire
14.1.1 Drilling Wood to Make Fire
14.1.2 Making Fire with Bamboo Tubes
14.1.3 Making Fire with Paibo
14.2 The Oroqen Ethnic Minority’s Roe Deer Skin Clothing Manufacturing Techniques
14.2.1 Roe Deer Skin Clothing
14.2.2 Processing
14.2.3 Sewing
14.2.4 Decoration
14.3 The Oroqen Ethnic Minority’s Birchbark Products
14.3.1 Birchbark Products
14.3.2 Tools for Birchbark Processing
14.3.3 Production Techniques
14.4 The Hezhe Ethnic Minority’s Fish Skin Clothing
14.4.1 Fish Skin Clothing
14.4.2 Processing
14.4.3 Fish Skin Clothing Production Technique
14.5 Yunnan Ethnic Minorities’ Fireweed Cloth Production
14.5.1 Preparation of Raw Materials
14.5.2 Weaving Fireweed Cloth
14.6 Jinuo People’s Bark Clothing
14.7 Bronze Restoration Techniques
14.7.1 Restoration Technique
14.7.2 Rust Removal Technique
14.7.3 An Example: The Restoration of the Bronze Chariots
14.8 Ceramics Restoration Techniques
14.8.1 Restoration of Song Dynasty Porcelain with Crack Patterns
14.8.2 Restoration of the Blue-and-White Flat Pot Painted with Branches and Sea Waves
14.8.3 Restoration of Ming Dynasty Three-Color Glaze
14.8.4 Restoration of Five-color Porcelain from the Ming Dynasty
14.9 Painting and Calligraphy Mounting Restoration Techniques
14.9.1 Development of the Mounting Techniques
14.9.2 Painting and Calligraphy Restoration Techniques
15 Protection, Inheritance, and Revitalization of Traditional Crafts
15.1 Forms of Protection
15.1.1 Autonomous Protection
15.1.2 Protection for Cultural Memory
15.1.3 Government Protection
15.1.4 Supportive Protection
15.1.5 Maintenance Protection
15.2 Inheritance Mechanisms of Traditional Crafts
15.3 Development and Revitalization of Traditional Crafts and Market Exploitation
Conclusion: Destiny of Traditional Crafts in Contemporary Times
Postscript
Appendix I
Appendix II