Transformation of Arts and Crafts in Shanghai and the Importation of Foreign Artistic Processes during Late Qing and Early ROC Periods

• In Event: Transformation and Integration of Pop Art in Shanghai during Late Qing and Early Republic of China Periods

Abstract

Shanghai witnessed a modernization process during the late Qing and early Republic of China (ROC) periods under the influences of both commerce and cultures. The incoming residents from the adjacent provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang brought about some upper-class arts and crafts such as ivory carvings, jade carvings, wood carvings, Gu's embroidery, etc. which were gradually commercialized and popularized by the civilian commerce. Furthermore, the imported arts and crafts such as drawnwork lace, foreign-style jewelry, stained glass, etc. largely enriched the types of arts and crafts then available in Shanghai with a new source of energy boosted by their up-to-date aesthetic and technological renovations. By multicultural transformation, Shanghai formed its own genre of arts and crafts with a regional character, which has been long standing as the "Shanghai Style".

Author

• Jing Zhang, East China Normal University