Complete Collection of Traditional Chinese Arts and Crafts (Zhongguo chuantong gongyi quanji 中国传统工艺全集): A Work of Ingenuity

In 1996, the Institute for the History of Natural Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences began work on theComplete Collection of Traditional Chinese Artsand Crafts(Zhongguo chuantong gongyi quanji中国传统工艺全集). In 2016, Elephant Press published this twenty-volume magnum opus under the chief editorship of Lu Yongxiang 路甬祥. This rich and informative book series systematically details traditional arts and crafts in over ten main categories that demonstrate Chinese scholars’ mastery of fields such as lacquerware, ceramics, metal crafts, machinery, spinning and weaving, dyeing, brewing, processing of traditional Chinese materia medica, papermaking and printing, sculpting, and armor restoration. The authors are well versed in traditional Chinese arts and crafts and have the pertinent academic credentials, elevating research on the subject to a new level and breadth. However, theComplete Collectionhas not yet covered all significant arts and crafts, and the cultural implications have still to be explored.