Geological Treatise: Tracing Chinese Folk Traditional Handicrafts

Author: Cai Cheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: The author's effort is not merely to complete a book in the form of text and images, but to strive to discover, explore, and reveal the true essence of folk art. It is also an act driven by a strong sense of urgency to preserve. The author hopes his efforts can achieve several goals: First, to record the craftsmanship of handicrafts as thoroughly as possible; second, to delve beyond the economic and practical aspects of handicrafts, uncovering their rich connotations in culture, art, spiritual expression, and other areas, as well as their value as "living fossils of history"; third, to reveal the real social life hidden beneath the surface of handicraft activities—meticulously depicting the lifestyle and social details that are gradually fading away in the field of handicraft production. Such travel and writing can also be considered a form of craftsmanship. The author, like an old stonemason wielding a hammer and chisel, carves deeply into the material, but instead of hard, cold stone, he carves words and images onto soft, warm paper.