China - the land of unique handicrafts

Applied Arts of China - from the ancient times to the present day

Culture of China is one of the oldest in the world. It includes not only the artistic direction such as music, literature, dance and painting, but also crafts. It is not a secret that many innovations have come to the west from China. Chinese masters of ancient times knew how to make paper, manufacture gunpowder, and weave finest silk fabric - the best in the world. Chinese artisans for five millennia were creating unique art works of stone, making the world's best porcelain, lacquer ware, fabrics, etc.

One of the oldest forms of Chinese art and crafts is stone carving. Unique antiquities of jade, jadeite and jasper created by the hands of Chinese artists are displayed today in the world’s best-known museums.

China is inhabited by different peoples. The Uygur, who live in its western part, in Xinjiang, are famous for traditional crafts such as carpet weaving, manufacturing of musical instrument and household items. Uygur silk carpets were one of the main commodities in the Great Silk Road cities, and now they along with Turkmen and Persian ones are rightly among the best ones in the world.

Today, the Chinese ceramics and porcelain, in particular, enjoy world popularity. Magnificent decorative vases covered with delicate glaze and decorated with sculptures, porcelain figurines created by the method of puddle porcelain carving – all this is the result of centuries-old creative search of the talented Chinese artists who from generation to generation passed down their knowledge to the descendants.

The immense popularity is still enjoyed by the wood carvers. As is well-known, almost all ancient and medieval monuments in China were built of wood. Palaces, pagodas, gardens with pavilions, and temples were decorated with wood carvings. The modern Chinese masters are every bit as good as the ancient ones, and in many respects even superior to their ancestors.

Arts and crafts of China are a part of the Chinese nation’s cultural heritage, which has been carefully preserved and passed down from generation to generation. Different kinds of crafts that exist today in China, demonstrate the wealth and diversity of Chinese culture.