Easy Chinese Crafts
Learning about Chinese arts and crafts could help you gain a better understanding of Chinese culture. The country has several traditional pursuits, and kids learning about China may have fun making models and decorations for Chinese New Year.
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Traditional Chinese Crafts
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The Chinese American Museum at the University of California, Los Angeles, classifies Chinese arts and crafts into seven different categories. These are embroidering, cutting, carving, bunding, plaiting, painting and molding. An example of cutting is paper cutting, in which intricate patterns are cut out of paper and used as decorations.
Jade, stone, bamboo, wood, bone, teeth and horn carving also are traditional Chinese art forms. These artifacts can have both functional and decorative purposes.
Other crafts involve plaiting straw and threads to make such things as cushions, and embroidery includes dyeing, printing and weaving pictures into silk. Hand painting, pyrography and patchwork are all types of crafts that fall under the painting category, while other crafts include knotting, bunding kites and lanterns with silk, bamboo or paper, and knitting.
Molding also is a traditional Chinese art form that includes clay modeling, while the country is well known for its manufacturing of porcelain products.
Chinese Crafts to Try at Home
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If you want to try your hand at Chinese crafts, you may not be able to pick up paper cutting or clay modeling, but there are some activities that kids and adults can get involved in, which could be particularly appropriate around Chinese New Year.
Some of the things that may be easy to make include Chinese lanterns, while online magazine Kaboose also suggests using egg cartons to make dragons or felt and yogurt lids to create fortune cookies.
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References
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