Craftsmen of Southern Fujian

杨秀晖China Culture and History Press · ChinaMay 2025

Rating 3.6
Word count
117K words
Chapters
26
ISBN
9787520545334

Tags

Documentary Literature Human GeographySocial ObservationPortrait GalleryFate and FortuneHeartwarming NarrativeDocumentary NarrativeTraditional AestheticsCultural ChangeFolk Legend

Summary

Yang Xiuhui is a member of the China Writers Association of Literary and Art Critics, deputy secretary-general of the Xiamen Critics Association, and vice chair of the Huli District Writers Association in Xiamen. Her work has been included in the ten-year volume of Selected Outstanding Literary Works of Xiamen, and she has contributed to the oral history collection Walking in Siming, the Huli District reportage collection Striving, the Publicity Department of the Xiamen Municipal Party Committee's reportage collection Island-Crossing Development, and the Jimei District reportage collection Stories of Cross-Strait Integration. Her published books include the personal collections In the Name of Love, The Taste of Minnan, and The Artisans of Minnan (2023), the collective volume by Xiamen women writers Encounters, and the short story collection You Once Came.

Editor's review

The Artisans of Minnan is a quiet, deeply warm work of nonfiction. What it records is not only crafts on the verge of disappearing but also the cultural genes and philosophy of life that have endured for centuries in this land of southern Fujian. Author Yang Xiuhui does not approach her subjects as a curious outside observer; instead, with the humility of a recorder of local culture, she steps into the daily lives and inner worlds of veteran artisans.

The book's first value lies in its documentary quality. Today, as industrialization and urbanization sweep across everything, the blacksmiths, woodcarvers, paper effigy makers, and drum makers depicted here are no longer guarding mere trades for making a living but a whole body of survival wisdom bound up with regional climate, folk belief, and clan society. With delicate strokes, the author not only portrays the precision of craft processes but also reveals the artisans' plain creed that "materials must be genuine and workmanship must be sufficient," a silent challenge to an age that worships efficiency.

Second, the book's literary quality and humanistic care are especially moving. Yang Xiuhui's prose is plain yet full of tension; she excels at capturing details: calluses on old artisans' hands, the worn curves of tools, the almost ritual silence during work. Together these details construct a Minnan that has not yet been fully told—not only a commercially vibrant homeland of overseas Chinese but also a spiritual homeland whose cultural depth has been quietly built up over the lifetimes of countless ordinary artisans. The helplessness and perseverance of the characters in the book as they confront the difficulties of passing on their crafts reflect the general predicament of traditional culture in the contemporary era and invite deep reflection.

For readers, this is not merely a tour of handicrafts but also an inspiration concerning "what constitutes a good life." In an age of widespread anxiety, the artisans' state of focusing on one thing, with heart and hand united, offers a precious spiritual reference. The book reminds us that true "slowness" is not the opposite of efficiency but the depth of focus and the texture of life.

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Reading tips

  1. Reading with traditional Minnan music (such as Nanyin) in the background is recommended for greater immersion in the book's atmosphere
  2. Readers may look up visual materials online for the craft categories mentioned in the book to form a fuller understanding
  3. Pause occasionally while reading to consider whether there is an area in your own life where you, like an artisan, "focus on one thing"

About the publisher

China Culture and History Press China · Founded in 1980

China Culture and History Press has long devoted itself to modern and contemporary literature and culture-and-history reading matter, with publishing directions centered on classic works, social novels, prose and miscellaneous writings, and Eastern philosophy, alongside culture-and-history periodicals such as Zongheng. Among the more than 1,500 titles in the collection, representative books include Zhang Henshui's Ti Xiao Yin Yuan, Lu Xun's Complete Classic Works (10 volumes) and Wild Grass, and Lao She's Four Generations Under One Roof series and the boxed set of Lao She's Classic Works (10 volumes), while its author resources are concentrated on figures such as Zhang Henshui, Lu Xun, Lao She and Sima Qian. Its publishing character lies in solid editorial work on culture-and-history source texts and in issuing famous authors' works in sets, balancing the readability of individual texts with the systematic presentation of complete collections for focused reading and collecting. Beyond these directions, public information on the press's contemporary original publishing is limited, so it is not elaborated here.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 期待
  3. 喜欢
  4. 戏曲扇子功技艺 李秀华：一把扇子舞乾坤
  5. 戏曲水袖表演技艺 苏燕蓉：袖舞花开
  6. 戏曲界知名导演 林国辉：人生如戏，妙手偶得
  7. 歌仔戏传统唱腔 曾宝珠：天籁比霓裳
  8. 高甲戏丑角技艺 吴伯祥：献“丑”了
  9. 戏曲艺术青年工作者 杨跃宗：“宝贝小生”的爱与哀愁
  10. 戏剧盔头制作技艺 杨秀玲：鬓影朱颜十年灯
  11. 闽南小吃匙仔炸制作技艺 林友林：守护初心
  12. 闽南小吃木梳饼制作工艺 陈有粮：每一个都有灵魂
  13. 闽南咸粿制作技艺 黄亚娜：巧妇有“粿”炊
  14. 闽南糖人制作技艺 陈亚粿：最后的“吹糖人”制作者
  15. 闽南芋头粿制作技艺 李敢：做久就有名
  16. 闽南跳鼓舞传承技艺 肖淑萍：我为鼓舞狂
  17. 闽南杨梅干制作技艺 黄建通：时间的味道
  18. 闽南小吃酸笋包制作技艺 陈淑瑾：不随大潮流，坚持古早味
  19. 闽南农民画技艺 陈珠庭：天生我才为画痴
  20. 菊花茶制作技艺 宋水露：一辈子的茶人
  21. 闽南曲艺 林惠真：矢志传承“荷叶说唱”
  22. 手工盘纸技艺 陈宝珍：指尖开花
  23. 闽南炒面茶技艺 面茶阿嬷洪秀鹤
  24. 手工阿胶膏制作技艺 林月瑞：我喜欢做一个手艺人
  25. 闽南传统小吃捆蹄制作技艺 李起平和他的安海捆蹄
  26. 后记 精神

FAQ

What makes this book unique compared with other books documenting handicrafts? The book's uniqueness lies in its deep roots in the specific cultural soil of Minnan. It goes beyond recording "technique" to explore the regional beliefs, family transmission, and philosophy of life behind the "art." The author's strong local perspective and literary narrative make it more than a simple record of skills; it becomes a culturally anthropological notebook full of emotional warmth.
Is the content too specialized or obscure? The author strikes a good balance between professionalism and readability. Although the book involves technical terms and processes, they are carried by vivid stories and scene descriptions, with the core always being human fate and emotion. Even readers with no relevant background can be moved by the characters' stories and thereby understand the cultural meaning embodied in the crafts.
How does this book help in understanding Minnan society today? The book is like a key that opens a window onto the deep cultural structure of Minnan society through traditional artisans, a group that is disappearing. Their perseverance and predicaments directly reflect the collision between tradition and modernity, and the tension between material development and spiritual transmission in the course of modernization, offering a concrete and profound sample for understanding cultural change in Minnan and in Chinese society more broadly.

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About the author

杨秀晖 Author

Yang Xiuhui is a Chinese author of nonfiction and film- and television-related books, though her personal details remain limited in publicly available sources; her dates of birth and death, native place, and educational background are not clearly recorded. Judging from the two works held in the collection, The Craftspeople of Minnan and Glimpses of Minnan Opera, her writing centers on documenting and presenting regional culture and folk arts: the former turns to artisans and traditional crafts in southern Fujian, while the latter observes and organizes material around local opera. Both belong to nonfiction writing, drawing on specific local figures and opera settings, and reflect a sustained, careful attention to the folk culture of southern Fujian. Her prose tends toward plain reportage, using field observations and interviews to bring artisans' daily labor and the world backstage and onstage in opera before readers, combining documentary value with readability. Given the limited public material, a fuller picture of her work awaits more books and introductions.