Posts Tagged folk
Kite
Posted by ancient chinese culture in Chinese Arts & Crafts on July 7, 2009
Kite, also known as Zhiyuan or Fengzheng in Chinese, first appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC – 476 BC). However, the first kite was a wooden one made for military purposes.
Gradually, the use of kites changed from military to entertainment. Kites began to be made of paper after the invention of paper and from then on, they became popular among common people. Meanwhile, the popularity also promoted the kites’ development in size, design, decoration, flying skills, etc.
It was said that flying a kite and letting it go would sent off one’s bad luck and illness. Therefore, sometimes, it also acted as a gift sent to friends and relatives.
As time goes by, kite flying has publicized as a sports activity as well as entertainment. The well-known Weifang International Kite Festival held in Weifang city of Shandong Province attracts a large number of participants from home and abroad each April.
Naxi Ancient Music
Posted by ancient chinese culture in Folk Music&Dance on June 26, 2009
Known as a living fossil, Naxi Ancient Music was listed as one of the masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity.
The music is a collective of literary lyrics, poetic topics, and musical styles from the Tang (618-907) and Song dynasties (960-1279).
It is composed of three styles: Baisha Fine Music, Dongjing Music and the now-extinct Huangjing Music.
What’s more, Naxi Music bands are famous for their “three olds”:
Old Performers: Most of the performers are more than 70 years old;
Old Musical Instruments: Many instruments have a history of more than 100 years. Some are unique ones.
Old Songs: All are antiquated classical music.
Nowadays, when you walk on the ancient streets of Lijiang, Yuannan Province, you may still hear this wonderful music.
Chinese Paper Cutting
Posted by ancient chinese culture in Chinese Arts & Crafts on May 8, 2009
Chinese Paper Cutting, also known as Jianzhi in Chinese, is a unique art form and has a long history. Originally, it was only popular among the nobility since paper was highly precious at that time. Later, the art spread among the commons and became a part of everyday life of Chinese.
Most paper-cut artists are women and their main tools are scissors. The themes of their works include almost everything in daily life. Paper-cut are chiefly used as decoration, especially for doors and windows, so sometimes they are also referred to Window Flower (known Chuang Hua in Chinese).
Nowadays, paper-cut can often be found in wedding ceremonies and festivals in China.
Nut Carving
Posted by ancient chinese culture in Chinese Arts & Crafts on April 27, 2009
Nut carving, also known as Hediao in Chinese, is a kind of traditional folk art exclusively owned by China. The delicate carving skills on the small fruit stones or walnuts make the art form of high value.
Net carving has a long history in China and its earliest record dates back to Song Dynasty, more than a thousand years ago. It attained great achievements in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and at that time, it was quite popular to wear a piece of nut carving for the upper class.
Limited by the differences in texture, density, rigidity and flexibility for each piece of the raw material, there is no established rules to follow when the artists do the carving. The artist should have a blueprint in his mind before he starts and when he meets problems while carving, such as hidden holes, he has to reconsider his plan and make adjustment.
Nowadays, this traditional art form is still gaining much attention and artists today give it a new luster.
Dough Figurine
Posted by ancient chinese culture in Chinese Arts & Crafts on April 10, 2009
Dough Figurine, also known as mianren or miansu in Chinese, is a traditional Chinese folk handicraft with high artistic value. It has a history of more than a thousand years. Till today, you can still find such folk artist in some cities, such as Beijing, Tianjin, etc.
In ancient times, people sacrificed dough animals to the gods. With time went on, the art gradually lost its religious purpose but became a pure artistic creation.
The vivid figurine is made from purified wheat flour, glutinous rice flour mixed with bee-honey and glycerin. The colorful figurines will remain colorfast and intact without getting decayed for decades.
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