Reinventing craft in China

The Contemporary Politics of Yixing Zisha Ceramics

Geoffrey Gowlland

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English

Sean Kingston Publishing
30 December 2017

Oriental art; Ceramics: artworks; Social & cultural anthropology; Marxism & Communism

How does a craft reinvent itself as `traditional' following cultural, social and political upheaval? In the township of Dingshu, Jiangsu province of China, artisans produce zisha or Yixing teapots that have been highly valued for centuries. Yet in twentieth-century socialist imagination, handicrafts were an anomaly in a modern society. The Maoist government had clear ambitions to transform the country by industrialization, replacing craft with mechanized methods of production. Four decades later, some of the same artisans identified as `backward' handicraft producers in the 1950s and made to join workers' cooperatives, were now encouraged to set up private workshops, teach their children and become entrepreneurs. By the 2000s ceramic production in Dingshu is booming and artisans are buying their first cars, often luxury brands. However, many involvements of the Chinese state are apparent, from the control of raw materials, to the inscription of the craft on China's national list of intangible cultural heritage. In this perceptive study, Gowlland argues that this re-evaluation of heritage is no less inherently political than the collectivism of the communist regime. Reflecting that the craft objects, although produced in very different contexts, have remained virtually the same over time and that it is the artisans' subjectivities that have been transformed, he explores the construction of mastery and its relationship to tradition and authenticity, bringing to the fore the social dimension of mastery that goes beyond the skill of simply making things, to changing the way these things are perceived, made and talked about by others.

By: Geoffrey Gowlland
Imprint: Sean Kingston Publishing
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 13mm
Weight: 560g
ISBN: 9781907774980
ISBN 10: 190777498X
Pages: 200
Publication Date: 30 December 2017
Audience: College/higher education , A / AS level , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Acknowledgements; Notes on transliteration and names; Chapter 1 Introduction; Chapter 2 Craft and industry in Dingshu; Chapter 3 Creating value in the zisha `art world'; Chapter 4 Learning in the factory and in the household; Chapter 5 Engaging with the craft; Chapter 6 Style, names and authenticity; Chapter 7 Mastery and singularization; Chapter 8 Conclusion; Glossary; References; Index.

Geoffrey Gowlland is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo. He has conducted research on crafts and apprenticeship in China and Taiwan; his most recent work addresses the politics of heritage among the indigenous people of Taiwan.

Reviews for Reinventing craft in China: The Contemporary Politics of Yixing Zisha Ceramics

Gowlland takes his reader on a captivating journey into a world of craftwork that has undergone seismic change since the era of Chairman Mao. A combination of rich ethnography, refined analysis and the author’s hands-on understanding of the potter’s materials and techniques convincingly demonstrates that craft knowledge and aesthetic appreciation are deeply embedded in the political. This is a highly significant book for all scholars of craft and material culture;Trevor Marchand,Emeritus Professor of Social Anthropology, School of Oriental and African Studies.