Chinese folk art are artistic forms inherited from a regional or ethnic scene in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. Usually there are some variation between

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

. Individual

folk art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative art, decorative. The makers of folk art a ...

s have a long history, and many traditions are still practiced today. The general definition of folk art incorporates

Chinese art Chinese art is visual art that originated in or is practiced in China, Greater China or by Chinese artists. Art created by Chinese residing outside of China can also be considered a part of Chinese art when it is based in or draws on Chinese ...

forms that are not classified as

Chinese fine art Much traditional Chinese art was made for the imperial court, often to be then redistributed as gifts. As well as Chinese painting, sculpture and Chinese calligraphy, there are a great range of what may be called decorative or applied arts. Chin ...

. Chinese Folk art is the ancient forms of art that originated in China. Some of these ancient art forms include jade carvings,

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

such as music and their respective instruments, textile art such as basket weaving, paper art and clothing.

Jade Carving

Jade is a semi-rare green mineral. This mineral is prominently found in Chinese art. Due to the toughness of Jade, It is believed that Chinese Jade Carvings were first carved into weapons such as swords, it is unclear if the sword carvings were used for ceremonial or utilitarian use. As time went on Jade was carved into many different shapes and forms, an example of a Jade Carving is a circular disk which is usually used as a ritual function. By 3,000 BC Jade was referred to “yu” which means “the royal gem”. By 206 BC Xu Shen a Chinese Scholar during the Han Period listed the Five Virtues of Jade; they are: Benevolence, Honesty, Wisdom, Integrity, and Bravery. Unlike gold, diamonds, pearls Jade is considered priceless in China. Jade is extremely difficult to form hence why the mineral is so expensive. Jade is a precious gemstone that in the Chinese culture represents love, strength, purity, luck, and gentleness. Jade is also used in the ancient art of Feng Shui in China. Jade in the aspect of Feng Shui adds an element of harmony and balance to the space the jade is placed in. Carvings using jade was a common folk art in China. From objects such as masks to animals, jade - along with bamboo and wood - was used to craft many works of art. It is believed that Chinese Jade Carvings were first carved into weapons such as swords, it is unclear if the sword carvings were used for ceremonial or utilitarian use. As time went on Jade was carved into many different shapes and forms, an example of a Jade Carving is a circular disk which is usually used as a ritual function.

Basket weaving

Baskets are mainly woven with bamboo or plant stems. File:Baskets in Haikou 03.jpg, Baskets in

Haikou Haikou (; ), also spelled as Hoikow is the capital and most populous city of the Chinese province of Hainan. Haikou city is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River. The northern part of the city is on the ...

City,

Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...

Province,

Chinese kites

is the birthplace of the

kite A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. ...

, and

Weifang Weifang () is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province, People's Republic of China. The city borders Dongying to the northwest, Zibo to the west, Linyi to the southwest, Rizhao to the south, Qingdao to the east, and looks out to the ...

is one of the chief places where Chinese kites originated. Kite-flying became prevalent in Weifang in the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

(960–1279). By the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

(1368–1644) kite-flying had become even more popular, and kite fairs on a rather large scale had appeared. Kites were sold not only across

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

, but also to

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

and other places. The noted English scholar Joseph Needham listed kites in his book '' History of Science and Technology in China'' as one of the important contributions in science and technology that the Chinese introduced to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. File:Kite museum weifang 2010 06 06.jpg, Photograph of the entrance hall of the Kite Museum in

Food art

Sugar

Sugar painting Sugar painting (糖画) is a form of traditional Chinese folk art using hot, liquid sugar to create two dimensional objects on a marble or metal surface. Melted sugar is carried by a small ladle made by bronze or copper. After it cools, it will be ...

(Simp. 糖画, Trad. 糖畫 -''Tánghuà'')is a form of traditional Chinese folk art using hot, liquid sugar to create two dimensional objects on a marble or metal surface.

Sugar people Sugar people (糖人: ''Tángrén'') is a traditional Chinese form of folk art using hot, liquid sugar to create three-dimensional figures. These fragile, plump figures have a distinct brownish-yellow colour, usually with yellow or green pigment ...

(糖人) is a traditional Chinese form of folk art using hot, liquid sugar to create three-dimensional figures. File:Chinese candies.jpg, Sugar figures

Flour figures

Mian Ren (Flour Figure) Mian Ren is a form of traditional Chinese folk art. Flour figures are made of coloured rice flours, colouring, stone wax and honey. Craftsmen can make lively figures out of the coloured flour balls with a small bamboo knife. They used to carry the ...

are made of coloured flours. Craftsmen used to travel with their tools to villages and towns to make and sell flour figures for a very basic income. Sometimes flour figures are used in dishes together with vegetable carvings.

Paper art

The first two forms of paper art began in the Han dynasty with

Chinese paper cutting The art of paper cutting ( zh, t=剪纸, p=jiǎnzhǐ) in China may date back to the 2nd century CE, when paper was invented by Cai Lun, a court official of the Eastern Han Dynasty. As paper became more affordable, paper-cutting became one ...

and

Chinese paper folding Chinese paper folding, or ''zhezhi'' (), is the art of paper folding that originated in medieval China. The work of 20th-century Japanese paper artist Akira Yoshizawa widely popularized the Japanese word ''origami''; however, in China and other ...

, together with the

hand fan A handheld fan, or simply hand fan, is any broad, flat surface that is waved back-and-forth to create an airflow. Generally, purpose-made handheld fans are folding fans, which are shaped like a sector of a circle and made of a thin material (su ...

and

pinwheel (toy) A pinwheel is a simple child's toy made of a wheel of paper or plastic curls attached at its axle to a stick by a pin. It is designed to spin when blown upon by a person or by the wind. It is a predecessor to more complex whirligigs. History D ...

. Chinese paper-cutting, or ''jianzhi,'' (剪纸) is a type of folk art that has roots in China during the 6th century and is attributed to Cai-Lun during the

Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

. Known to be very intricate with the use of negative space, ''jianzhi'' is used for mostly decorative reasons, appearing on mirrors, lanterns, walls, etc. In most cities and

Chinatowns A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austr ...

, paper art will adorn many street corners, business fronts, and inside buildings.

Performances

Puppetry

One of the oldest forms of

is puppetry. Puppeteers use various kinds of puppets, including

marionette A marionette (; french: marionnette, ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed ...

s, glove puppets, rod puppets, cloth puppets and wire puppets in performances incorporating folk songs and dances over some dialogues. The subject matter is derived mainly from children's stories and fables. File:Taiwan-Puppet-Monkey-god2.jpg

Shadow play

Chinese shadow theatre is a form of puppetry that is performed by moving figures made of

animal skin Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different de ...

s or

cardboard Cardboard is a generic term for heavy paper-based products. The construction can range from a thick paper known as paperboard to corrugated fiberboard which is made of multiple plies of material. Natural cardboards can range from grey to light ...

held behind a screen lit by lamplight. The subject matter and singing style in shadow plays are closely related to

Chinese opera Traditional Chinese opera (), or ''Xiqu'', is a form of musical theatre in China with roots going back to the early periods in China. It is an amalgamation of various art forms that existed in ancient China, and evolved gradually over more tha ...

, except without using live actors or actresses. Chinese shadow theatre is a form of puppetry that is performed by moving figures made of

s or

held behind a screen lit by lamplight. This art style was passed down in a Master-Apprentice style until recently. The most common troupe roster is one puppeteer, singer and musicians whose subject matter and singing style in shadow plays are closely related to

, except without using live actors or actresses. Shadow puppetry was banned by the government in 1966 during the cultural revolution, but puppetry was allowed back in the late 1970s. File:OFB-Qianlongsatz03-Krieger.JPG, Chinese Shadow Play Figures, Two warriors;

Qianlong era The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 t ...

set; approx. 1780, Deutsches Ledermuseum, Offenbach,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Textile arts

Chinese knot

Chinese knotting Chinese knotting, also known as () and decorative knots in non-Chinese cultures, is a decorative handcraft art that began as a form of Chinese folk art in the Tang and Song dynasty (960–1279 CE) in China. This form of craft originated and w ...

(中國結) is a decorative handicraft art that began as a form of Chinese folk art in the Tang and Song dynasty (960–1279 AD) in China. It was later popularized in the Ming. The art is also referred to as Chinese traditional decorative knots.Chang, 2006). One of the more traditional art forms, it creates decorative knot patterns. During the Culture revolution it was not practiced, but nowadays it is very popular again. In other cultures, it is known simply as "decorative knot". File:Chinese knot and lanterns at Temple of Heaven Lunar New Year Celebration.jpg File:Chinese Knot P4R.jpg, thumbnail, A 4-row Pan Chang knot with cross knots File:Eight chinese knots.jpg File:Chinese Butterfly Knot.jpg

Tiger-head shoes

Tiger-head shoes (虎头鞋) are an example of traditional Chinese folk handicraft used as footwear for children. Their name comes from the toe cap, which looks like the head of a tiger.

Musical instruments

Bolang gu, a traditional Chinese

pellet drum Pellet drums, or rattle drums, are a class of membranophone, or drum, characterized by their construction and manner of playing. They have two heads (either a single double-headed drum or two hemispherical single-headed drums joined together with ...

and

toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pet ...

. File:Bolang-gu-chinese-instrument.jpg

Muyu Muyu may refer to: * Muyu people, an indigenous ethnic group of Western New Guinea **Muyu language Muyu, Moyu,Zahrer, Alexander. 2019. ''First data of Moyu, a lowland Ok language of New Guinea''. 11th International Austronesian and Papuan Langua ...

, a rounded woodblock carved in the shape of a fish, it is played by striking the top with a wooden stick; often used in Buddhist chanting. File:Chinese Muyu QM r.jpg

References

Bibliography

* Chang, Zonglin. Li, Xukui. (2006). ''Aspect of Chinese culture.'' 中国文化导读. 清华大学出版社 publishing {{DEFAULTSORT:Chinese Folk Art

Folk art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative art, decorative. The makers of folk art a ...