Beijing - China
Runweb.com
Monday 15 march 2010
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Beijing - China
In Focus
Liu Wen Hai has painted snuffboxes for 17 years, a traditional art more than 200 years old and that this Beijing local learned from his father, one of the last masters in this field.
Zhang Tong Lu is a master cloisonné craftsman. A profession that this retired Beijing local began practicing by chance and by passion for drawing and painting. More than 50 years later, he is one of the last inheritors of this traditional Chinese art.
Wang Xiao Fei has been a master lacquerer for the past 20 years. At the head of a team of several dozen people, this 40 year old Beijing local explains the different stages of this millennial traditional art.
Liu Yu and his mother Xing Lanxian are from the last generations of "fire sculptors" in China. The duo performs the art of spun glass in south-east Beijing in a building that houses many artisans.
Li Qing, a 53 year old seamstress, has transformed her apartment in eastern Beijing into a garment factory. She also heads a boutique, in which she specializes in making qipao, traditional Chinese dresses.
Liu Ren cuts paper. This artist, originally from Beijing, has been practicing her craft for over two decades with the same passion. So much so that she opened Beijing's first private paper cutting museum.
Liu Bin is the only craftsman in Beijing to build and sell imperial-styled kites. A trade kept in the family for three generations before being entrusted to him.
Kong Lingli is one of the few sugar blowers who still practice this age-long craft in Beijing. This forty-something year-old Chinese artist also makes figurines in flour paste.
Located opposite the Confucius Temple, Shengtangxuan has been selling hand-made figurines and ancient toys for generations by the Tang family.
Liu Wen Hai perpetuates the tradition of painted snuffboxes
Zhang Tong Lu, the Revolutionary cloisonné master
Wang Xiao Fei, a sparkling master lacquerer
Two “fire sculptors” who are not afraid to burn their fingers
Li Qing, an Avid Qipao Seamstress
Cutting paper: a craft that is not a cut below Liu Ren
Liu Bin, a kite flyer in the wind
Sugar Blowing: a craft you just can’t leave.
Traditional toys from the Tang family; witnesses of the old Beijing
