Beijing 'Smart Lady' Shares Story ofIntegrating Chinese, Western Styles inLeather Carving to Mark 70 Anniv.ofFounding of PRC
Date:2019-11-19 13:58:30 Views:
The live-streamingfor"Experience Chinese Culture with Smart Lady" on October 18
To mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the fifth session of "2019 Experience Chinese Culture with Smart Lady" event was held at Fengtai District Women and Children Social Service Center on October 18. Zhang Yan, an inheritor of leather carving technique—an intangible cultural heritageand a Beijing "Smart Lady", shared her story of inheriting and developing the technique. The series of activity reflected how "Smart Lady" in Beijing created happy lives.The session won the attention of about 320,000 people from at home and abroad.
Leather carving originated in Europe in the Renaissance Period and was introduced to Japan during World War II (1939-1945) and then to China. Leather sculptors usually use fine, strong natural leather to create elegant works. Zhang is a representative inheritor of leather carving in Fengtai District. She was born into a family of leather sculptors and she learned the Western oil painting in college. While she inherited traditional skills, she developed her own artistic styles which feature an integration of leather carving, pyrography and colored painting and boost combination of characteristics of Chinese and Western art.
As a so-called “Smart Lady” in the series, Zhang said that the remarkable improvement of Chinese people's livelihoods and their diversified demands in clothing ornaments since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 have created a broader space for her and other practitioners of leather carving to sustain the craft and perfect personal skills.Zhang disclosed that she would further integrate leather carving and traditional Chinese painting in her future artistic creations and help the art of leather carving with Chinese characteristics become better known across the entire world.Zhang's story has received 10,000 likes on Facebook and 320,000 views. Many netizens said in their comments that the handmade products by Zhang showed good quality and had been incorporated with both traditional Chinese culture and Western culture.
Fengtai District Women and ChildrenSocial Service Center has adhered to the principle of providing females with solid support and creating a warm shelter for them. It has organized over 100 training events for some 10,000 local women over the past few years.
The "Experience Chinese Culture with Smart Lady" has become one of flagship events for Beijing Women's Federation regarding international exchanges. Under the joint operation of Beijing Women's International Center and GMW.cn, the series program has grown into a major platform to share the stories of outstanding women and grabbed the attention of over 8.3 million people since 2016.
Zhang Yan makes a leather carving product during the live-streaming session on October 18
A display of leather carving products made by Zhang Yan
Zhang Yan interacts with online followers during the live-streaming on October 18
