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 Chops
(seals )
Perhaps one of the conspicuous differences
between Chinese and Westerners is that the Chinese do not attach much
importance to signatures, preferring to use chops. From ancient imperial
courts to modern government offices, and from emperors to ordinary citizens,
it is common to use chops for offical documents and for personal affairs
.So while you are in Beijing you may want to buy one . Large hotels provide
a service for carving chops. The carver can help you to choose a Chinese
name to carve on the chop or you can ask a Chinese friend to give you
a Chinese name . The seal makes an interesting souvenir, or a personalized
gift for a family member or friend if his /her name is carved on it. Make
sure that you don't forget to buy a
small box of red paste to use with your seals. The price for seals,
which are made of stone, wood or metal, can vary a great deal
Painted
Snuff Bottles
These are mainly made of glass, though
jade, crystal agate and jadeite are also used to make the precious ones.
They are pretty in shape , but their unique feature is that the paintings
are done from the inside . First, small flat bottles are made. Then iron
sands are put into the bottle and shaken to make the inside of the bottle
turn a smooth milky white. After cleaning, a tip -bent bamboo painting
brush is used to paint the inside of the bottle. Since the bottle is small
and its neck narrow, the painting requires extreme skill . The paintings
are normally of flowers , birds, landscape, calligraphy, beauties,
or
scenes
from historical or legendary
stories .
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Jade
Carving
 ade
carving appeared first in the Shang and Zhou dynasties about 3,000 years
ago when it had become a separate profession and excavations have shown
the fine workmanship of that time. The materials used for jade carving
include all kinds of hard stones , such as jadeite, nephrite , red agate,
white agate, crystal , amethyst, coral, ruby and sapphire. It is a special
skill to exploit the natural color of a piece of jade to create an effective
design. So the most expensive ones are not those of one single clour,
but those of multiple colours, the carving skillfully enhancing the different
colours in an object. These jade carvings are highly collectable .
Cloisonne
loisonne, one of the traditional arts and crafts in
Beijing, is an enamel handicraft made with roughcast brass and copper
wire in day. The cloisonne process begins with the casting of bronze into
different shapes -vases, bowls, boxes, and even bracelets -to which flat
copper wire is then affixed in decorative patterns. Enamels of different
colours are applied to fill the cloisons or hollows . Each cloisonne piece
is fired three time with a fresh coat of enamel each time. After firing,
the pieces are ground and poli shed
to
look like gold . This requires sophisticated techniques and artistic flair.
Chinese cloisonne received first prize at the Chicago World Fair in 1904.
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Exquisite
Paper-cuts
The paper-cut is an old folk handicraft art
that has been done for over 1,500 years in China. Originally it
was created for religious and ritual activities, but later it developed
in juxtaposition with the life of the people. Today it has become aunique
art form of its own, and has developed from single-colored to multi-colored.
Paper cuts demand connection of strokes. When a figure's head is cut,
the eyes, ears, mouth, nose and eyebrows must be liked with one another.
So these facial features are exaggerated.
Meanings of Traditional Designs :
Dragon: suppresses evil, shows prowess
and male heroism
Phoenix: suppresses evil, implies grace and heroism in women
Bat: implies happiness and fortune
Monkey: refers to human ancestry and longevity
Tiger: exorcises evil spirits and protects life
Elephant: implies flourishing and prospering
Peach: longevity and good harvest
Fingered citron : Buddha, Happiness and longevity
Ruyi: implies satisfaction
Military book and sword: exorcises evil spirits and devils
Pictures :
1 .Figure from
Dunhuang Murals
--- amonochrome
paper-cut
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2. Butter-
flies Flying
Amidst
Flowers 
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4. Dragon, a
dot-color paper
cut
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3. Painted pottery |
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