Challenges And Strategies Of The Inheritance And Development Of Suzhou Traditional Handicrafts

Traditional handicrafts is a representative form of folk culture, also a great accomplishment showcasing people’s wisdom. In a history of more than8000years, traditional handicrafts have boomed among the varieties of Chinese folk culture and have become a unique subject. In the past period of economic development, the status of arts and crafts remained under-recognized due to their ’hand-made’ characteristics. Many traditional crafts techniques have been lost as they were passed down from masters to students. Suzhou is an ancient city of over2500years of history, well-known for its rich cultural resources including intangible cultural heritage. The inheritance and protection of Suzhou traditional handicrafts is the object of study in this paper, which uses governance theory and public choice theory to analyze the historical background and present situation of handicrafts protection. The author concludes that a lack of government responsibilities, a bleak market prospective and a significant loss of talents plague the current situation. The paper uses Suzhou Taohuawu Woodcut New Year Pictures which is a classic form of local traditional handicrafts as case-study example. The developmental history and existing challenges facing Taohuawu are discussed. At the end of the paper, the author proposes that a combination of strategies including greater support from the government, more participation from corporate bodies and investment in talent cultivation in higher education institutes will jointly contribute to the improvement of local handicrafts management.