The Chinese capital has conferred for the first time the honorary
titles of "Beijing Arts and Crafts Masters" and "Beijing Folk Arts
Masters" on 140 artists, the Beijing Municipal Economic Committee
has announced.
The city has developed comprehensive categories of highly skilled
arts and crafts with distinctive local features going back more
than 900 years, a committee source said.
However, with increasing market competition in recent years, some
traditional arts and crafts have been lost or endangered, and
talented personnel have been decreasing.
To
solve the problem, the municipal government has launched a
preservation campaign involving the authentication and conferring
of titles of masters on artists and crafts people.
The Beijing Arts and Crafts Group and the Beijing Arts and Crafts
Association had appraised 152 arts and crafts masters and 12 folk
arts masters in five groups between 1986 and 2002, the source said,
adding that 24 of them have passed away.
The municipal government has set up a special fund to preserve and
develop the traditional arts and crafts with an annual sum of 3
million yuan (US$360,000).
The masters are allowed to draw allowances of up to 800 yuan
(US$96) every month for training apprentices, in a bid to promote
the development and education of talented personnel, the source
said.
Meanwhile, the masters are expected to become shareholders of the
relevant arts and crafts enterprises by fixing prices for their
skills and techniques.
The source said the city would build 100 studios for arts and
crafts masters by 2005, with a total floor space of 35,000 square
meters in Chongwenmen District.
(Xinhua News Agency March 11, 2003)