1、The Tradition of Handicraft Art: Reflection on Knowledge System of Traditional Handicraft Art Abstract: Chinas knowledge system is a text-based knowledge system; it is knowledge that is disseminated and imparted through behavioural or other non-scriptual means. The body of knowledge embodied in and
2、based on traditional handicrafts belongs to the second category, which involves expertise in materials, techniques and forms in the production of handicraft products and general knowledge of social life, such as the selection, use, maintenance and preservation of artifacts, as well as the quality, s
3、pecifications, configuration and legends related to them. In contemporary times, traditional handicrafts mainly refer to the process of applying some means (or multiple means) to a material (or materials) to change its shape and its results by hand in the pre-industrial period. For a long time, in o
4、rder to facilitate transmission and dissemination, people have transformed the know-how associated with it into specific paradigms, procedures, mantras, and stories used in the making of crafts and artifacts, and have passed on and disseminated them through the father-son, master-apprentice, worksho
5、p, and social life of the traditional crafts. The practice of various crafts throughout history has proven that the knowledge and grasp of systematic expertise in materials, processes and forms is essential in the implementation of traditional crafts. Nowadays, in the process of inheriting tradition
6、, restoring and rebuilding Chinese handicraft culture, the knowledge system embodied and relied on by the essence of traditional handicraft should be re-understood, and must be valued and grasped in the practice, transmission or teaching of traditional handicraft. Keywords: handicraft traditions, kn
7、owledge systems, materials, techniques, forms In the process of modernization, can Chinas traditional handicrafts continue to be passed on? What kind of knowledge and skills should be imparted in the transmission or teaching of traditional Chinese handicrafts in contemporary times? At a time when Ch
8、inese society has changed dramatically, such issues have come before practitioners, researchers and enthusiasts of traditional handicrafts (arts and crafts). Before discussing these issues in depth, it is necessary to re-understand the body of knowledge that embodies and underpins the essence of tra
9、ditional Chinese craftsmanship. There are two types of knowledge systems in China: the first type of knowledge is that which is recorded in writing, such as the three tombs and five canonical texts1 in Chinese history, as well as various kinds of knowledge that are written in bamboo and silk, cut in
10、 gold and stone, and carved in a pond2 and later in books and documents; the second type of knowledge is that which is disseminated and imparted through behaviour or other non-written means, such as various kinds of common knowledge and expertise in civil society life. (Some of them are printed in b
11、ooks, but they are only circulated in the harem, or secretly among the same people, and never appear in the hall of fame) The body of knowledge embodied in and based on traditional handicrafts belongs to the second category, which involves expertise in materials, techniques and forms in the producti
12、on of handicraft products and general knowledge of social life, such as the selection, use, maintenance and preservation of artifacts, as well as the quality, specifications, configuration and legends related to them. For a long time, practitioners of traditional handicrafts have developed a relativ
13、ely complete knowledge system related to traditional handicrafts, based on learning and practice on the one hand, and knowledge innovation on the other hand, based on inheriting tradition. The nature of the body of knowledge embodied in and dependent on traditional crafts is determined by their char
14、acteristics and traditions. In contemporary times, traditional handicrafts mainly refer to the process of applying some means (or multiple means) to a material (or materials) to change its shape and its results by hand in the pre-industrial period. For a long time, in order to facilitate transmissio
15、n and dissemination, people have transformed the expertise associated with it into specific paradigms, procedures, mantras, and stories used in the making of crafts and artifacts, and have passed on and disseminated them through the father-son, master-apprentice, workshop, and social life of traditi
16、onal crafts. Over time, a situation has developed in which those who know create things, those who are clever tell them, and those who keep them3 and practitioners of traditional handicrafts know only what they do and do not know what they do. In fact, the practice of various handicrafts throughout
17、history has proven that the knowledge and grasp of systematic expertise in materials, processes and forms is essential in the implementation of traditional handicrafts. Nowadays, in the process of inheriting tradition, restoring and rebuilding Chinese handicraft culture, the knowledge system embodie
18、d and relied on by the essence of traditional handicraft should be re-understood, and must be valued and grasped in the practice, transmission or teaching of traditional handicraft. I. Awareness of the physical and material properties of materials Since ancient times, born five materials, people use
19、 them, waste one cannot 4. The natural creation of all things in the world has provided the most basic material basis for the creative activities of handicrafts for a long time. The development of traditional handicrafts in Chinese history has been based on a complete understanding of the physical a
20、nd material properties of materials obtained from nature. In the practice of various traditional handicrafts, the selection and implementation of specific technical means of craftsmanship requires a good grasp of the physics of the material, while in the production of various kinds of objects with d
21、ifferent purposes, the physical properties of different materials need to be fully understood. The flexible application of knowledge of the physical and material properties of materials allows for the full adaptation of traditional handicrafts and their products to the different needs of social life
22、. In the body of knowledge related to traditional craftsmanship, physics refers to the basic properties of natural materials, such as shape, specific gravity, quality, color and structure, strength, composition, density, water content, oil content, etc. Therefore, when selecting and utilizing materi
23、als, emphasis should be placed on factors such as appearance, specific gravity, quality, color, etc.; while when processing or synthesizing a material, emphasis should be placed on factors such as structure, strength, composition, density, water content, oil content, etc. The nature of things comes
24、from mans comprehensive sense of natural materials, things have their own sex, sex has its own pole 5, and warmth, coolness, cold and heat, the nature of things also 6, such as water is said to run down, fire is said to inflame, wood is said to be curved and straight, gold is said to be from leather
25、, earth is said to surrender the harvest. The grass is salty when it is moistened, bitter when it is inflamed, sour when it is curved and straight, pungent when it is grown from leather, and sweet when it is gathered in harvest7. Therefore, when selecting materials for specific handicraft products,
26、the physical properties of the materials must be considered from the perspective of health, in addition to the physical selection of the materials. The Chinese believe that instead of seeking healing after an illness, it is better to take care of the illness before the disease. It is futile to cover
27、 up the disease and then take the medicine. Before illness, cure first, so Ming regimen8, conditioning the body and mind in daily life to prevent illness before it happens, is also one of the functional indicators of traditional handicrafts and their products. The traditional handicraft and its prod
28、ucts of material selection and functional configuration of the requirements, but also more or less should take into account these aspects of the factors, the reason is that although everything is different from man, but not this heaven and earth is born of one gas, special things get a gas of bias;
29、man gets the whole ear of heaven and earth. If a persons Qi is on the strong side and on the weak side, he or she will become sick. I also borrowed the bias of one breath of medicine to regulate my bodys prosperity and decline, and returned to peace, then no more disease! Covering the yin and yang o
30、f false things in order to change the yin and yang of people. 9 Knowledge of the physical and material properties of various natural materials has been gradually accumulated through the practice of peoples social life over a long historical process. Hundreds of thousands of years ago, in order to su
31、rvive and reproduce, the ancestors of China, in the difficult process of obtaining food, in the laborious practice of picking, hunting, planting, harvesting, etc., through the observation of thrilling and interesting natural phenomena, with their gradually developed brains to constantly think and su
32、mmarize, began to understand the unpredictable natural things. The Orange is more than the Hovenia in the north; the mynah is not more than the Jehovah, and the Bird is dead10 because if one is away from its native land, the quality is the same but the effect is different; if one is good at picking,
33、 it is a matter of time and not of time. 11 This is the result of experience based on the analysis of observations of natural things. As people became more aware of natural things, they began to select and use natural things in various forms to serve as tools in the process of labor and as objects i
34、n their daily lives. While acquiring a large amount of material materials from nature for their daily needs, they have also learned to process and modify natural materials using simple tools to adapt their form and quality to the prevailing production methods and social life, thus accumulating the m
35、ost initial knowledge related to various natural materials. In Chinese folk life, wood is used extensively, so woodcraft technology has a large share in the practice of traditional handicraft activities, and the relevant knowledge involved is complete. Wood is a plant, one of the five elements. Its
36、a good nature to be a mockument in the valley. It is caused by gasification, but I love it. Tree-striped bracts irrigated, roots and leaves luxuriant. Crunchy beauty and evil, each with its own Tai Chi. The color and scent distinguish the species. Eat the fruits and vegetables and fill the medicine
37、vessel with herbs. The cold temperature is poisonous, it is straightforward. 12 Natural wood is a natural composite made up of cellulose and lignin that retains its original serviceability under the long-term effects of general destructive factors. Shanxi Wutai Shan Nanzen Temple Hall was built in t
38、he Tang Dynasty, is the earliest surviving wooden building in China, built in the Tang Dynasty for three years (782) after rebuilding, and it has been 1200 years since the original wooden beam frame and wooden arch archives were never repaired to replace 13, which can be seen in the selection of woo
39、d and treatment is very delicate. In general, wood that has been infested with insects or microorganisms cannot be used as building materials. In ancient times, where wood is felled, the tough and horses are not infested with insects in April and July14, in order to choose good wood that has not bee
40、n infested with insects. If it is where not the time of the wood, water macerated in January, or fire to take the dry, insects are not born. 15 Treating wood that does not contain decay-resistant substances in a manner that makes it virtually impossible for insects to reproduce extends the life of t
41、he wood. The proverb a thousand years dry, a thousand years wet, half dry and half wet for half a year, which has been passed down among the artisans of large woodworks in recent times, can be seen as another continuation of the ancient knowledge of wood selection and treatment techniques. It is ext
42、remely difficult to describe the physics of the stone and its changes with such clarity under the limited conditions. The ancients also called the beauty of stone17 jade, and by extension, its physical nature, the gentleman is more than virtuous in jade. Warm and moist, and benevolent. The meticulou
43、sness of the process is the chestnut, the knowledge. Clean and not bad. Its like a team, and its also a ritual. The sound of the kowtow is so long that it stuttered with pleasure. The flaw does not surprise the yogi; the yogi does not surprise the yogi; the faithful also. The first of the two is the
44、 first of the two. Qi is like a white rainbow, and so is the sky. The spirit is found in mountains and rivers, and in the earth. Kuijang Teda, Tokuya. There is nothing under heaven that is not noble, and so is the Tao. 18 It is an alloy of copper and tin and a small amount of other elements (such as
45、 zinc and phosphorus, etc.), which is greenish-gray or grayish-yellow in color. Ancient Chinese craftsmen developed a more complete knowledge of alloy material techniques through the practice of making bronzes. The first Qin document, Cao Gong Jie records the alloy distribution ratio of six types of
46、 bronze artifacts: gold has six Qi: six points of its gold and tin in one, called the Zhong Ding Qi. It is called an axe of gold and tin. The quarter of its gold and the tin is one, called the Qi of the gorse. It is called the Great Blade of Qi. It is called the chipping and killing of the yage-qi.
47、The half of gold and tin is known as the Kansui no Chi. 19 The actual alloy ratios of the various bronzes cast at that time are richer than documented, according to the examination reports of the various bronzes excavated during the pre-Qin period, and the knowledge of the materials and techniques i
48、nvolved is close to that of modern metallurgical theory. The grasp of materials in the practice of traditional handicrafts has led to the gradual institutionalization of Chinese knowledge of the physical and material nature of natural things. The systematic knowledge provides theoretical support for
49、 the widespread application of various natural materials in different periods of social life, and strongly promotes the development of traditional handicrafts and the improvement of the quality of different types of handicrafts. The quality of materials is the main factor that determines the quality
50、 of traditional handicrafts, and the knowledge of materials is the theoretical basis for judging the quality of materials. The Tang Dynasty archers could judge the quality of a bow based on the nature of its material. If the bows heart of wood is not straight, then all chakras are evil, and although
