Functions of Chinese Folk Art

The function of folk art is, in general, the combination of beauty and utility, which not only meets the practical needs of people's daily life and beautifies the living environment, but also satisfies the spiritual needs of people to send their emotions, express their respect, love and entertainment. It is the perfect embodiment of the unity of beauty and utility.

From the point of view of artifacts in daily life, agricultural production tools, fishing and hunting breeding tools, hand tools, food and beverage kitchen utensils, living supplies and other artifacts greatly facilitated the people's food, clothing, housing and transportation, and at the same time, also by the creator after the coloring, carving, dyeing, chiseling, weaving and other means, to carry out the beautification.

The Li people in Hainan Island retained a relatively ancient bone-making process, bone ware is a distinctive regional characteristics and national characteristics of the life of the artifacts, but also was the human following the invention of wood, stone invention and another important invention, in the prehistoric culture occupies an important position. Bone hairpins and bone combs are the most exquisite bone carvings among the Li bone tools. The types of bone tools include bone shovels used for digging, weeding, ash removal and eating utensils; bone knives used for collecting rice from the mountain bar; scrapers used for taking off rice from the mountain bar; weft knives used in textile machines; bone shuttles used for weaving fish nets; bone darts used for stabbing fish; bone hairpins used for beautifying and fixing hair; bone combs used for decorating hair; and necklaces used for decorating and warding off evil spirits, and so on.

Various kinds of utensils such as bowls, lamps, plates, spoons, chopsticks, and tea and wine utensils in catering and cooking utensils; and large and small objects such as lamps, candles, pillows, cap tubes, vases, mirror frames, fans, and warming stoves in living utensils are the necessary items in the daily life of the people. Various kinds of folk artifacts are simple and practical, and their shapes, paintings, carvings and other decorations have great affinity, and they are also practical works of art that unite beauty and use.

In the countryside of the farmhouse, we can often see full of local flavor, simple and lovely storage jar (some made of papier-maché, painted on the auspicious patterns), food boxes, pots box, smoking utensils, food and drink utensils, earthenware bowls, blue and white dishes, spice boxes, all things jar, oil lamps, comb, with the beauty of the modeling of agricultural tools, and so on. It can be said that people live in an artistic atmosphere, as far as the eye can see, are full of simple beauty, life is art, art is life itself. The ubiquitous folk art has cultivated people's temperament and cultivated the aesthetic vision of generations of Chinese people. The function of folk art depends mainly on what kind of place it is used in and how it is used. Each function has a certain limitation, and this limitation stipulates the functional attribution of folk art. Folk art with ornamental and amusement functions are the most popular items during the festival.

Ornamental folk art, such as New Year's paintings, paper cuttings, paper carvings, lanterns, fan paintings, kangwai paintings, screens, iron paintings, branding paintings, painted clay sculptures, face sculptures, decorative ornaments, all kinds of decorative paintings, decorative wall hangings and so on, are often those with the purpose of aesthetics and decorative, to satisfy the spiritual needs of the more pure fine arts artworks.

Play, amusement, performance in the art such as all kinds of traditional folk toys, shadows, puppets, kites, bamboo, windmills, including for martial arts and athletics, temple fairs and festivals performances, parade floats using props, instruments, musical instruments, decorations and so on. This kind of art is characterized by human participation such as dancing, posting, hanging, wearing and so on in order to reflect its function, and is mainly used in performances and amusement ceremonies and entertainment activities. In traditional societies, besides the daily life of farming and weaving, crafts are the most common means of earning a living, and mastering a craft means having an additional way out of life, and is also an affirmation of the value of life. Thus, mastering a trade became the most common requirement for men, while for women, the old saying, "A woman must be skillful to be born," has been passed down from generation to generation. Craftsmanship is a kind of affirmation for women. In traditional societies, the value of a woman was measured in terms of her looks, speech, and virtue (work). Women competed in flower cutting, weaving, embroidery, needlework, and dexterity. Qiao is also often referred to as women's red, i.e., how a woman's handwork is the most important aspect. This is especially prominent among the Miao, an ethnic minority that has no written language.

People who have been to the Miao village in Qiandongnan will be amazed at the Miao women's beautifully embroidered costumes and silver jewelry draped all over their bodies. In the Qingshui River basin, where the Miao people live, 13 or 14-year-old Miao girls used to embroider their own wedding clothes, which is a craft that everyone knows. Miao women's dress is more complex and beautiful, a set of silver jewelry, from hats, necklaces, to bracelets, earrings, sometimes up to twenty or thirty pounds of weight, embroidery process is rich and diverse, from teenage girls to sixty or seventy-year-old crone, are embroidered clothing brocade, its color or bright or soft dark, all harmonious, amazing! Miao women so dress up, because, Miao dress and silver jewelry is used by the Miao family to boast of wealth, is used by women to show dexterity. Than the workmanship, than the dexterity of the heart, is to rely on this needle and thread of the hand work. It goes without saying that a woman's value and self-confidence are all included in this dress. Folk art is full of emotional carriers, is a token of affection, handmade in a needle and thread, into the thick affection and deep love.

Marriage is a great gift of life, and one of the most elaborate ceremonies in life etiquette, and one of the celebrations that has the most connection with folk art. Traditional Chinese culture, has always emphasized the parents, the matchmaker's appointment, young men and women in the past did not love the autonomy of marriage, the yoke of feudal rites of passage confined people's marriage behavior. So, in the opposite sex interaction by ritual restrictions, can not be free love in feudal society, the exchange of tokens between couples and gift is particularly important.

In the folk known as love things, often those belonging to the category of folk arts and crafts of the exquisite embroidered handkerchiefs, shoe pads, purse, tobacco bag, pocket, belt, handmade shoes. Because it is a gift to the lover, so the woman is embroidered with extra care. In folk customs, matchmakers take a woman's embroidery work for its search for in-laws is quite common, the woman looking for a husband's requirements are also expressed in her work. Feudal society to measure the standard of the lady virtuous woman is the appearance, words, work, moral four aspects, women's intelligence and wisdom and often to her handwork to show out, the needle and thread warp and weft, injected with all the women's emotions, to give the lover as a token is the most suitable.

The widely circulated northern Shaanxi folk song "Embroidered Lotus Bag" is about embroidering a lotus bag as a token to give to a lover as a witness. The "December Song" is about the custom of making a pair of ox-nose shoes for a girl's lover on the 7th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar, which shows the skill of the woman's craftsmanship, but mainly expresses her love for her. The song reads:

Italics: "In July, when the bean curd is white,

we make a pair of shoes for the fifth brother,

make a pair of ox-nose shoes,

deserve to be strong and strong, and you Zha Zha (see) the sister to come.

This song expresses the love and emotion between lovers very aptly, which is typical of folk art as a token of affection, which is also a symbol of love. Although there are no religious deities in the strict sense in China, worship of various gods and goddesses is widely practiced, and more precisely, the Chinese people's attitude toward the gods is one of respect and courtesy rather than deification.

Decorative works of art related to folk religion and beliefs are usually statues of gods and goddesses made of various materials, some of which evolved from props of sorcery, and are glorified tools of sorcery, which are mediums for communicating between people and gods, and are the carriers for people to express their respect to the gods and goddesses.

Mingtang (hall) is a religious meaning of the residence of the gods, the Shang and Zhou Dynasties to Mingtang as a place of worship. Commonly, all kinds of gods and three-star statues, the eight immortals, god of wealth and so on are often enshrined here. The statues of Buddha, the three gods of fortune and longevity, and the statues of the gods of the earth and heaven and earth enshrined in the shrines are the main subjects of folk religious art in the halls of folk houses. In the past, folk opera troupes used to worship the gods of the industry before the beginning of the performance, which is the rule of worshiping the gods of the industry, a necessary ritual in the opera business, and a reflection of the psychology of deity worship and heaven and earth worship. Among the various types of folk temples, we are familiar with the statues of the goddess who sends her son, the statue of the Medicine King, the statue of the Heavenly Master, the statue of Zhong Kui, the statue of the King of Zao, and the paintings on water and land, etc., which are common images of deities, while the ceremonial buns, the river lamps, the Karma paper, the moon-glow 祃(月光)(Luna(月光)娘娘, and the Goddess Guanyin (观音)), the "mud dogs" (the statue symbolizing the heir apparent), the decorations used in the ceremonial rite, the Lingcuo(coffin cover, also known as a coffin cover), and the characters of the papier-maché belong to the media of this type*** Biological products. An important function of folk art is that it has a beautifying and decorative effect, and this type of artwork is mainly concentrated in the furnishings of courtyard buildings and apartments. The courtyard is the main place of family and household life in China, and the space on which people depend for their survival; the apartment is the more specific place of family life. These two types of environmental spaces, from large to small, demonstrate the different types of Chinese folk art and the context in which they exist. Folk art with decorative and beautifying effects survives in courtyards and indoor furnishings.

The construction of courtyards is the art of modeling and structure, which includes the arrangement, combination, decoration and beautification of a variety of architectural components. Such as eaves arch, tiles, gate, plaques, brick carvings, door drums, door decorations, shadow wall, wall, Fengshui building, shrines, flower walls, windows, lintels, etc., on the horse stone, the hitching post, the door squatting lions, the courtyard of other carvings and decorations, and so on.

In the interior furnishings, the furnishings of the main hall focus on the expression of ideas and decorative, is to meet the "spiritual utility" of the artwork, the performance of the ornamental art form, to display more. We commonly see various carved woodwork, stone shrines, antique heaven and earth tables (also known as the Eight Immortals' Tables), and old-fashioned furniture, which are simple, generous, and architecturally beautiful. The atmosphere here is also the most solemn during the New Year festivals. Dressing up the atmosphere of the festival with New Year's paintings, paper cuttings and other art forms is one of the most important elements of indoor furnishings.

Auspicious paintings such as "Pine Crane Extends Longevity" and "Eight Immortals Celebrate Longevity" are often hung above the offering table in the center hall. Table skirts and door curtains are usually embroidered and handmade works such as blue prints, batik fabrics and brocade are embroidered or painted with auspicious motifs. Ancient boxes, lamps, tables, screens, etc., which continue the traditional shapes, colors and decorative patterns, still exist in large numbers in folklore.