The Innovative Research On The Henan Traditional Clay Sculpture In The Modern Context

This thesis is to study the traditional clay sculpture, with the very detailed analysis about its definition, distribution, schools, history and survival status, in order to figure out the factors that hider its development. For traditional clay sculpture, the modern context is a challenge as well as an opportunity. By the analysis of the modern popular toys in the modern context, the comparison with popular toys and traditional clay sculpture, this thesis tries to summarize the features of modern consumption and aesthetic tastes, and to find a breakthrough for Henan traditional clay sculpture in its innovative design. Therefore, the traditional clay sculpture could return the mainstream of mass consumption through its improved design.Henan, the center of central plains, located in the hinterland of China, is the birthplace of Chinese civilization, in which there is a very wide variety of flourishing traditional folk arts, such as wood painting in Zhu Xian, Bianjing embroidery, Qin's silk arts, and mud cuckoo in the county of Xun which is a national intangible cultural heritage shinning in the central plains area, which record the customs, traditional beliefs, and traditional arts filled with thousands of natural charm, flashing the creative wisdom of the people in the central plains. However, as these traditional arts gradually declined with the accelerated process of urbanization, many of them are in a very difficult development, particularly the mud cuckoo in Xun county which is in a survival predicament in the background of diversification of modern toys and the industrial machinery.This thesis with the methodology of case study and comparison, figures out the advantage of Henan clay sculpture and spares no efforts to solve the questions that lead to its developing predicament. Moreover, this thesis is to improve the innovative design of Henan traditional clay sculpture, to protect traditional arts and crafts with its brand-new packaging and advertisement in modern brand theory, with which more and more young people get to know the clay sculpture in Henan.