Chapter 10
附录
Appendix
637
of 659
Page 637

English Translation

I present the achievements of several historically recognized masters of zisha pottery art, offering my personal views in hopes of sparking discussion and providing material for those passionate about zisha art to explore together. Today's zisha craft is flourishing under the policy of "letting a hundred flowers bloom," yet opinions still differ on what direction it should take in the future. The spiritual and material culture of human society continues to evolve and develop; old things are always replaced by new ones. The same is true for aesthetic tastes in the plastic arts. The differing requirements people of each era have for utilitarian objects correspondingly reflect different aesthetic views. At present, science and technology in human society are advancing by leaps and bounds, changing with each passing day. The lifestyles and aesthetic approaches of the past cannot possibly return unchanged. However, culture is also accumulated through inheritance from generation to generation; it belongs to all humanity. Artistic appreciation and aesthetic activity know no national boundaries. "Making the past serve the present" and "making foreign things serve China" have already become common understanding. Obviously, the excellent traditions of our ancestors should be critically inherited. For example, regarding Chinese folk arts and crafts, especially those parts involving highly difficult techniques, we should study and master them rather than abandon them. Failure to recognize this point represents shortsightedness and ignorance. By the same logic, we should also selectively adopt new things from abroad for our use, but this "use" is meant to broaden our horizons and achieve innovation, not to abandon our national forms and local characteristics, because it is precisely these national forms and local characteristics that give our art its precious independent value. Should we innovate on the foundation of inheriting tradition, or should we destroy tradition and then pursue novelty for its own sake? I believe the correct choice should be the former. To inherit tradition while innovating means to explore history and understand tradition. In the field of zisha art, only by refining and mastering highly difficult fundamental techniques can craft reform achieve breakthrough innovation. A person's life is brief; assuming one lives to eighty, their creative years amount to at most sixty years. If the next generation kicks away their teachers and starts from scratch, there can never be any cultural accumulation. Even if they attract attention through sensationalism, it can only be a flash in the pan, lacking the vitality for promotion and transmission to future generations. The development of national culture cannot abandon its source and pursue only the flow; only by not forgetting one's roots and being willing to forge ahead can we continuously improve without limit. Art objects need not be utilitarian objects, but utilitarian objects should be made artistic. We should seek from ever-changing forms one that can coordinate and unify with specific content, bringing it to a state of perfection. In this way...