>[!NOTE]+ Record Author:: Chang Wu & Xu Wu Reference:: Wu, C. and Wu, X. (2021) ‘The Art-Craft Boundary in Contemporary Central China: The Case of Root Carving’, _The Journal of Modern Craft_, 14(2), pp. 141–154. Date:: 2021 Tags:: #China WeftLinks:: [[World Craft Dictionary]] > [!SUMMARY] Summary > Rigidness or "wooden" craft was criticised during the Ming dynasty. > derogatory term jiangqi (craft’s air, craft’s rigidity, vulgarity, journeyman-ness or crafts- man-ness), which denotes the lack of flexibility, vividness and spirituality in an artistic/craft work. In pre-Qing dynasty times, craft (jiang)- related terms were given some positive meanings, as reflected in idioms such as craft-mind (jiangxin) or craft-will (jiangyi), which were associated with ingenuity or creativity. During the Ming dynasty, zuojiaqi (zuojia means producers or authors) was one of the terms close to the term craft-rigidity (jiangqi). Tang Zhiqi, a Ming dynasty scholar, once commented on zuojiaqi: “For a painting (of plants), craft-spirit (zuojiaqi) is not dispensable: one must be naive if without craft-spirit but vulgar with too much of [it].” > Western art history also possessed words that describe the rigidness or lifelessness of a painting even if it is technically competent, such as the English word “wooden,” which is like the meaning of the Chinese term jiangqi, but was usually applied to the work itself rather than the producer’s identity ### Comment This suggests that craft should be in combination with other modalities, such as art, so that there is a balance between skill and expression.