Bookart

SWORD DANCE

The 剑 (jian) is a double-edged sword that comes from a family of small ancient arms dating back to the time of the Shang Dynasty, over 4,000 years ago. It is known as the "gentleman of a hundred soldiers." 剑 (jian) is an ornamental weapon, combining both elegance and lethal power. In ancient China, many people would carry a 剑 (jian), and use it not only between fights but also as a means to express feelings and connect spirits. Sword dance in China known as 剑舞 (jian wu). People use dance to interpret the different meanings that 剑 (jian) represents, and the fluttering 剑 (jian) also adds a sense of boldness and vigor to the dance. 剑 (jian) and dance are the combinations of hardness and softness, bringing about thousands of changes with graceful, heroic, and touching movement to impress the time. It is an incredible art that no one would forget.

DOWRY

This is an original box-book design and the idea comes from traditional Chinese Weddings. The shape of the box is inspired by the bride's dowry. Some items with special meaning to marriage like wedding bed, quilt, wedding dress, phoenix crown, jewelry, vase, and dining gift are inside. And there is an interlayer in the box that separate small pop-ups to show all the gift. The whole set can be displayed either as a whole or independently. It can also be used as an actual wedding candy box.

FOUR TREASURES

The Four Treasures of the Study are unique Chinese calligraphy and painting tools, namely brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.

The brush is a writing and painting tool that is usually made of fur/hair and wood. Ink is the pigment of writing and painting. Paper is one of the greatest inventions in the world. Inkstone is a tool for grinding pigments.

They are indispensable to ancient Chinese literati, and also an important carrier of recording human civilization and inheriting culture, so they are regarded as treasures.

THE CRANE IN THE JAR

The Crane In The Jar is a book about the change in human understanding and cognition of the crane. Crane in Chinese culture has auspicious, loyal, long-lived meaning, often associated with the divine. With the development, cranes appears in Encyclopedia books, and they were recognized by us as a kind of bird. We can also see different kinds of cranes in the zoo that are deprived of their freedom. Perhaps in the future, the crane may just be one of the specimens of extinct animals in the laboratory. The use of white, black, and red is inspired by the color of Red-Crowned Crane feathers. And the design of using the silhouette of the jar as the shape of the book is also to express that our various perceptions of the crane are nothing but also limits the crane to human understanding.