13 Episodes Documentary "Introduction to China's Folk Arts"

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1、Embroidery

As a handicraft, embroidery has, throughout history, represented the wisdom and aesthetic appreciation of China's women. Embroidery is both valuable as a source of historical information, and appealing as a work of visual art. The style can range from traditional double-point, to the reproduction of classical paintings. But whatever the style, great skill is required in the design, thread selection and needling. The question is; how many people can still master the techniques of traditional embroidery today?

2、Kites

China is famous for its kites, which have been made for over 2000 years. First used as a means of conveying military information, they became a form of public entertainment about 1200 years ago. Today, kites continue to fascinate people, old and young alike. In skilled hands, fine bamboo sticks and gauze or silk can be transformed into beautiful flying objects large or small, with human or animal designs. Kites can range from monsters that are over 2000 pounds in weight and a hundred metres in length, to tiny ones that are no bigger than the palm of a hand. To Chinese people, flying a kite is a symbolic act, expressing a desire for peace and happiness.

3、Paper-cuts

A pair of scissors and a couple of sheets of red paper can, in the hands of a clever Chinese woman, produce images of historical figures, delightful animals or scenes from a historical drama. Human figures, animals, flowers and birds are the most common subject matter. Even the most dilapidated dwelling can, when decorated with beautiful paper-cuts on its windows, generate a sense of warmth and an appreciation of family life. Moreover, as a brilliant flower in the garden of Chinese culture, paper-cuts reveal the aesthetic appreciation and cleverness of China's women.

4、Folk Songs

A product of hard work and love, folk songs feature strong regional characteristics. Their forms are multiple; solo, duet, chorus and epic. China's folk songs, as performed by the country's 56 ethnic groups, can be heard from a galloping horse, beside a stream or on top of a towering mountain. In their variety, they reveal the many facets of China's national character.

5、Puppets

It’s hard to believe how wooden puppets can be given life on stage; they perform acrobatics like the greatest masters of Peking Opera, breathe fire, dance together, change face, put on and remove clothes – virtually everything a real person does in their daily life. But this is no 3-D animation; it is a product of the skills honed by the puppet masters during a lifetime of study. Who could fail to applaud – if only in disbelief?

6、Clay Figurines

150 years ago, a legendary artist named Zhang Mingshan astounded his contemporaries and later generations alike, with the clay figurines he made. There were some 10,000 of them – all in bright colours and all very life-like. Some were modelled on characters from classical stories or plays, while some were figures from various trades and social classes. Vivid, emotional and comical, these masterpieces were like snapshots of the era in which they were made. Sadly, only a few of them have survived. Many more have been lost in history and faded from memory.

7、Nuo Dance

Nuo dance – called a living fossil – originated in China's southwestern areas and Tibet, as a ritual designed to expel evil spirits. The dancers wear fearsome masks and animal hides, and hold whips, spears and shields. They call out the names of the gods who eat devils and fierce beasts, as they dance to the accompaniment of resonant music and drumming. Spectators often get the sense of being transported back to ancient antiquity.

8、Silhouette Puppet Show

For this ancient animation show, the performers use dried ox or donkey hide. The skin is scraped until it is so thin that it is transparent, and is then cut into human figures, animals and stage props, before colour is applied. The performers manipulate the figures behind a piece of white silk, which serves as a screen onto which their shadows are projected. For thousands of years, these puppets have staged numerous dramas of life, accompanied by music, drumming and singing, as well as applause from the audience.

9、Cheongsam

Still today, women wear the elegant cheongsam on formal occasions to enhance their figures. Made from fine materials such as silk and brocade, cut tight, and revealing not even the wearer's neck and certainly not her cleavage, this charming dress sets off the curves of the wearer's body. The cheongsam has developed from the long Qing-dynasty gown women wore over a hundred years ago. Dressed in a cheongsam, a shapely lady becomes more shapely, and a stout one, slender. Colourful and elaborately tailored, the cheongsam is still popular among Chinese women, even after a hundred years and more.

10、Lion Dance

The lion is a symbol of prestige and courage in China. The lion dance, which is native to China, is an essential part of holiday celebrations. The lion is made of bamboo, cloth and silk. A lion dance usually involves from three to five lions, each carried by a pair of strong men. To the sound of drumming and firecrackers, they walk, turn, leap and dodge in a series of highly skillful manoeuvres. With its vigour and prestige, the lion is believed to bring good luck to those who watch it dance.

11、Yangge Dance

The yangge dance, originally designed to worship the god of the sun in ancient China, is now seen at almost all traditional celebrations. A group of people, numbering from a handful to several hundred, perform a series of dance moves, accompanied by drums, gongs and trumpets. The dance is most often seen these days in the countryside or city parks. There are many variants of tune, tempo, costume and formation. The colourful costumes, the dancers' exuberance and their humour, never fail to entertain those who watch.

12、Acrobatics

Acrobatics is believed to have developed from the fighting and hunting skills of our remote ancestors. The dazzling array of traditional forms of acrobatics, enhanced by contemporary innovations, have made China the undisputed "home of acrobatics". Acrobats today are admired for their ability to push physical boundaries to the extreme and make the impossible, possible. Celebrated almost as much, are the stories behind their incredible skills.

13、Pottery and Porcelain

Porcelain from China, which every European aristocrat dreamed of owning, acquired another name, "china", after the country it came from. Chinese porcelain comes in many different forms; Ge, Jun, Ru, Ding. But all have something in common – they are extremely valuable. This documentary outlines the evolution, varieties and appreciation of porcelain, as well as stories about some of the priceless pieces that have been passed down through history.

Tag:13,episodes,documentary,introduction,to,china,folk,arts

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