FFC Trade Blog In Jewelry & Crafts

Chinese Folk Knife and Swords

If you know about martial arts, you must pay attention to the sword which is called the "gentleman of all weapons" in the field of Wushu. Every school of Wushu uses the sword as the basic weapon for rigorous training.

Chinese swords have a long history in China. Sword play in China was first seen in sacrificial offerings to gods or ancestors. In the Spring and Autumn Period and during the Warring States 2,000 years ago, sword play became a common practice in society. After years of refinement, it is now one of the major home decoration and Fengshui ornaments today.

Same as sword, there came knife, so-called Chinese "Dao" which is a pictographic character that looks like a long knife in the oracle bone inscriptions. The knife is one of the earliest weapons appeared in China. It is thus clear that there was a long history of using sharp weapons like knives in ancient times. The basic form of the character is little changed from the small seal script to the regular script.

Two Chinese Folk figurine Arts - Clay Figurines & Dough figurinesClay Figurines & Dough figurines represent two important type of folk art in China. They are much liked for their vivid and amu

 Miao ethnic lived in the southwest of China, has been famous for their passion for silver ornament and silver jewelry.

The Miao ethnic group's silver ornaments are second to none, both in terms of quantity and variety. Miao women's festive attire includes a variety of silver decorations, weighing as much as 15 kilos! Everyone of miao wear silver ornament and silver jewelry, they also use silver to decorate their house. When festival, miao women will wear silver jewelry from head to feet, silver bells sing on the jewelry when they dance in the shining light of the silver. Silver ornament and silver jewelry were also necessary for a bride on wedding.The purpose of wearing all this silver is of course primarily aesthetic, but it also shows affluence and is thought to wards off evil spirits. 

There is a great demand for Miao silverware but all the craftsmen are amateurs who can often only work during the farming off season. Then in some regions unique "silver villages" or large compound silver workshops appear. However,there come some little regrets for that the Miao silverware producing regions have no natural silver resources, the hardworking Miao people used to melt almost all the silver coins and ingots they earned. This led to different levels of silver purity as currencies differed from region to region.

There are three basic varieties of Miao silverware distinguished by area. The first type is represented by eastern Guizhou Province where people wear silver ornaments made with a high degree of craftsmanship. The main works are silver hats and clothes. The hats are made of dozens or even more than a hundred parts, topped by tall horn-like decorations. The second style is from the Songtao and Tongren regions, and features silverware inlaid on kerchiefs, shawls, and clothes. Delicate earrings are also made with a high degree of craftsmanship although there is now less silver decoration than before. The third type, from the  regions west of Guiyang, capital of Guizhou Province, features comparatively few varieties of silverware. Only hairpins, combs, and flower decorations are made there. All three areas make earrings, neckbands, and bracelets. 

Chinese jewelry is known to be created from ancient times in China. Chinese jewelry is meant for the Chinese. Jewelry was worn by individuals in order to portray wealth and status. Later it was used to enhance the beauty of the wearer.

Kingfisher feathers were used in the earlier times to turn the ornaments into blue color. It was later replaced by glass and precious and semi precious stones. Jade is the most favorite color of Chinese jewelry. In most of the traditional Chinese ornaments, you are sure to find ample use of the stone jade. Jade was used more in Chinese jewelry because it is hard and durable compared to other precious and semi precious stones. The green color of the stone makes it all the more attractive and the jewelry appears very regal. The designs were simple in the earlier days and with machines the designs became more complex and intricate.

Chinese jewelry is meant for both male and female. Chinese jewelery for women are more intricate and has detailing. They are made of gold and silver. Chinese jewelry for men are rings, chains, and other accessories. Earrings are the jewelry worn by both men and women in China. Chinese symbols like dragon and others that represent the Chinese year are found in the form of amulets and worn as lucky charm. Some of the Chinese jewelry are decorative items. There a lot of unusual theme jewelry which forcus on Chinese signs of the zodiac like 12 Shenxiao animal are very popular with men and for women in China, more, theme jewelry in Fengshui and lucky fortune are of very old tradition for Chinese jewelry like Zodiac and astrological jewelry, spiritual symbol jewelry, reiki jewelry, spirit healer jewelry presented with Chinese characters.

Tibetan ornaments and tibetan jewellery is ethnic charm unleashed

Tibetan ornaments seem naturally imbued with a mystical flavor. The main materials may include turquoise, yak bones, red and yellow corals, Tibetan silver and other natural elements. Features come together in a simple, unconstrained motif, and the brilliant colors and bold, wild designs instill high fashion. With little need for complicated craftsmanship, a wild, trendy bracelet or necklace can come into being simply by joining several natural stones, corals, and a yak-hide string.

Tibetan jewelry reflects the religious belief of the people of Tibet. The culture and religion of Tibet combine to create unique jewelry.

The Chinese wood carving contained two branches: wood carving of art, and wood furniture sculptural.

The wood carving of art can be traced back to the New Stone Age. Our ancestors mad the articles for daily use with the simple stone tools, and the primitive art of wood carving accordingly appeared. Although wood works were hard to be preserved, especially after thousands of years, we are handpicked some of them, in order to give you a contour of this storied arts of China.

As one of the independent schools of Chinese artisanship, Huizhou Woodcarving is one important of woodcarving which boasts the most exquisite craftsmanship renowned in China.

Huizhou Woodcarvings are made of quality timbers like cypress, catalpa, firry, and maidenhair trees. In order to manifest the superb material, the carved articles are commonly unvarnished and thus present their elegant luster in nature. Besides, the unembellished technique well protects the engraved delicacy from spoilage and gives the best view of the perfect workmanship of the artisans.
  
At mention of wood furniture, there are also tow parts: reproduction of Ming style and the modern padauk furniture.

Lacquerware, as a kind of household utensil or craftwork, is made by lacquering on object's surface. While lacquer,in a general sense, is a clear or coloured coating, that dries by solvent evaporation and often a curing process as well that produces a hard, durable finish, in any sheen level from ultra matte to high gloss and that can be further polished as required. In a narrower sense, lacquer consists of a resin dissolved in a fast-drying solvent which is a mixture of naphtha, xylene, toluene, and ketones, including acetone.

If you go to beijing for Olympic games, then you must go to one place where buy featured Chinese traditional arts and crafts.

Beijing's Panjiayuan Market is an ideal place for shopping for all types of Chinese arts and crafts.The market is very popular among westerners. Even former US first lady Hillary Clinton has shopped here."

It also is one of the key tourist attractions to receive Olympic guests to find the best products.

Located in the Panjiayuan sub-district in the south-eastern part of Beijing, the Panjiayuan Market used to be a small road-side flea market. It started to take shape in the 1990s and has eventually become the largest antiques market in the capital.

Covering 48,500 square meters, the market consists of over 3,000 individual stalls with a wide variety of goods and collections. You can find handicrafts, century-old furniture and items for daily use, ancient paintings, chinaware, bronze ware and second hand books.

Paper-cutting is one of China's most popular and characteristic folk artwork. It has more than 2000 years of history in China. All paper-cuttings are hand-made, which usually takes red rice paper as the material and scissors or engraving knife as the tools.

Paper-cuttings have different uses or purposes.In ancient times, the paper-cuts were mainly used for festival gifts decoration, sacrificing decoration, embroidery carving patterns, and product trademarks etc. In modern times, paper-cuts can be used as an ornament in gates, windows, walls, columns, mirrors, lamps and lanterns. They are still widely used today in some important festivals especially during New Year & marriage celebration to deliver happiness and peace. It is very important to put paper-cuttings at entrance of gates for it brings good luck for the family.
 

Batik, as one of the most ancient handworks, has been appreciated as a part of ancient Chinese civilization since the foundation of dyeing and weaving technology in China. It is a traditional Chinese folk art which combines painting and dyeing.

Batik is the process of waxing and dyeing cloth. The word batik is thought to be derived from the word 'ambatik' which translated means 'a cloth with little dots'. The suffix 'tik' means little dot, drop, point or to make dots,this description is the same as the resist process for dying where the patterns are reserved on the textiles by tying and sewing areas prior to dying, similar to tie dye techniques.

Batik, also known as laran or wax printing, is a form of dyeing or printing folk art made by applying beeswax to create different shapes. The cloth is generally dyed with indigo, and when the wax is removed with hot water, the images appear. Indigo is used chiefly for the basic cloth to give dark blues. A paste is made from the harvested plants which have been soaked in a wooden barrel.

Batik is one ancient art handicraft of long tradition in China, especially, it is still very popular with in Chinese ethic group like Yi, Miao in Guizhou, Yunnan Province. Most batik painting and batik fabric crafts exported to the world from China are based on craftman and handicraft in these Chinese province.