Title: The Thoughts of Workmanship

Author: Hang Jian

Publishing House: Shandong Pictorial Publishing House

Publishing Date: 2017.03

Price: 48.00

ISBN：978-7-5474-2043-0

Pages: 336

Size: thirty-two mo

Content in Briefs:

   Under the background of social change, there are some things that cannot be explained clearly hidden behind one embroidery, one earthenware or one wooden plane. In addition, system and things outside the system are like the rumbling engines, which have their own historical route and traditional inertia. For those things, I am incapable of action. I am the offspring of the craftsmen. It seems to be fateful that I became a so-called “intellectual” after graduating from university as a graduate student, but I still do not leave the handicraft, which is the means of livelihood of my ancestors, because I majored in history of arts and craft in university. I have a kind of unspeakable affection on workmanship, but I also know that the affection cannot take the place of intellect. Today, my older generation is growing old. Some things originated from rural area will disappear slowly following disappearance of rural areas. Even though a few of them still exist by means of factitious forms, but they are not same as the original things after all. I often ask myself whether my affection on the handicraft is a kind of reminiscence, whether this kind of reminiscence is unreasonable and lacks strength and we will have what kind of mode of life in future. When I hesitate, I alert myself all the time like the person who has the action tendency of orchid fingers. However, as I get older and I read too many Chinese and foreign famous artistic works, when I meet with rural workmanship with ashen faces and full of life traces, I still cannot help but be delightful and feel a kind of pure strength.

— Hang Jian