A Preliminary Study On Beijing Cloisonne In The 30 Years Of Reform And Opening Up

During three decades of the opening-up reform in China, a transition from planned economy to market-oriented economy led into a great change of Chinese society which affected the way of production, lifestyle, ideology, and art. Either creation of paintings and sculptures or consumption of arts and crafts was altered prominently. Beijing cloisonne, an outstanding representative of Chinese traditional arts and crafts, experienced unprecedented reformations in the three decades, and adjusted its artistic features by the times.This thesis studied on Beijing cloisonne, which introduced the history of Beijing cloisonne in the past three decades, summed up the basic characters appeared during the period, and analyzed the causes of the characters. And then this thesis collected and selected the experiences in the traditional arts and crafts to provide references for the further studies on Chinese modern and contemporary art history, material and non-material cultural heritage protections, etc.In process of the transition of economic system, Beijing cloisonne changed greatly from an export industrial product into a work of art. Especially the policy of non-material cultural heritage promoted the change of Beijing cloisonne's characters, and made the traditional culture hidden within it revived.Based on the first-hand information from a thorough investigation, this thesis made a comprehensive and concrete study of Beijing cloisonne in the past three decades. This thesis comprised of three chapters: chapter I introduced the general history of Beijing cloisonne through three development stages—expansion stage, transition stage and reborn stage; chapter II, by comparing with techniques, moulds and patterns, discussed the characters of Beijing cloisonne in different times to find out the adjustments of design and manufacture; chapter III summarized the achievements and deficiency of Beijing cloisonne's design and manufacture in the past remarkable three decades, and concluded that the development of Beijing cloisonne was being with considerations of tradition, times, innovation and consumers'tastes.Beijing cloisonne, a representative of material and non-material cultural heritage, was endowed with the national history, culture and emotion. The period of three decades since1978played a connecting role for the history of the Beijing cloisonne. In new era, Beijing cloisonne was unique by its profound culture and distinctive features of times. It witnessed the transition of arts and crafts from traditional to contemporary. Above all, the study on Beijing cloisonne, with a high art and historical value, provides references for cloisonne merchants, enterprises and relevant administrative departments.