Jiangsu Province – A Fertile Soil for Traditional Crafts

Jiangsu, located in the Yangtze River Delta, is famous for its rich cultural heritage and traditional crafts, ranging from silk embroidery, alcohol production to wood carving, and tofu making.

In 2018, Phoenix Education Publishing Company released Traditional Crafts of Jiangsu: A True Record《江蘇老行當百業寫真》, a book featuring photographs by Mr. Gong Wei (龔為) with explanatory texts by Mr. Pan Wenlong (潘文龍). The book documents traditional daily life, customs, and traditional crafts in Jiangsu Province.

In 2019, the book was awarded China’s “Most Beautiful Book” in the “Best Book Design from all over the Word” Competition held in Leipzig, Germany.

With the permission from the Phoenix Education Publishing Company to use Mr. Wei’s and Mr. Pan’s photos and texts in the book, we select some of the excellent records in this book to share with our audience.

  • Chinese Painting Pigments

    Chinese Painting Pigments

    Chinese painting pigments are divided into two main categories: mineral colours, also known as stone colours (石色), and plant-based colours, also known as water colours (水色). …

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  • Carpentry

    Carpentry

    Carpentry

    Carpentry is one of the oldest traditional crafts. …

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  • Silk Weaving

    Silk Weaving

    Silk Weaving

    Brocade silk (緙絲) is an ancient silk weaving craft originated from China. …

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  • Bamboo Craftsmanship

    Bamboo Craftsmanship

    Craftsmen who make bamboo products are called bamboo weavers. They use bamboo to make furniture and other household items. …

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  • Artisanal Paper-making

    Artisanal Paper-making

    Traditional artisanal papermaking follows has a specific set of production processes, including soaking, cooking, rinsing and sun-bleaching the materials used before they are hand-beat to form the paper pulp to be scooped, pressed, and dried to produce the final product. …

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