This book seeks to understand the evolution of Jingdezhen handicraft culture from the micro to the macro perspective by comparing the recently arising ceramic workshops with the traditional approach to the craft.
Following 1978 and China's economic reforms, Jingdezhen, known as "the capital city of porcelain," adopted a new look under the impetus of modernization. The author examines the change of social structure, people's reaction, as well as the cultural motivation behind the change through research into the disappearance and reappearance of family porcelain workshops in Jingdezhen in the 1990s. This volume further discusses culture and techniques of Jingdezhen handicraft, as well as changes in art forms and art production during the process of China's modernization.
Representing an ethnographic account of the revival of local traditions within the broader context of globalization, this work is perfect for scholars of history, political science, sociology and cultural studies.
Autorentext
Lili Fang is Professor at the Institute of Art Anthropology, China National Academy of Arts. Her recent works include Construction of Localization in the Theory of Anthropology of Art (2023), From Production Centre to Art District: The Hyper-modern Development Model of Jingdezhen (2024), The Millennium Evolution of Jingdezhen's Folk Kilns: Volume I (2025), The Formation and Development Toward a World Ceramic Center: Volume II (2025), The Construction and Transformation of Artisan Knowledge and Culture (2025) and Rethinking From the Soil (2025). Her book A History of Chinese Ceramics (2013) has been translated into English, Spanish and Russian.
Translator:
Jia XU is Professor of English at Beijing Institute of Technology. Her recent monographs include Shakespeare in China's Academic Journals: A Research on Shakespearean Criticism in the Field of Foreign Literature, Theatre and Film (1949-2019) (2022) and Childhood and Coming of Age in Shakespeare's Plays (2016). Her translated books (English to Chinese) include On Colour (2018) and DK the Shakespeare Book (2015).