【KeepthesecraftsaliveTHEaveragelifeexpectancy(寿命)ofabuildinginChinaisjust25to30years,comparedwith132yearsinBritain,accordingtoanarticleinChinaDailyearlierthismonth.AlthoughIdon’tknowhowaccuratethesefigures】

　　Keepthesecraftsalive

　　THEaveragelifeexpectancy(寿命)ofabuildinginChinaisjust25to30years,comparedwith132yearsinBritain,accordingtoanarticleinChinaDailyearlierthismonth.AlthoughIdon’tknowhowaccuratethesefiguresare,itwouldnotsurprisemeiftheywerecorrect.

　　ThelasthouseIoccupiedinBritainwasmorethan150yearsold,anditstillhadmanyoriginalfeatures,suchasafireplace(壁炉)ineachroom.Thewindows,doors,andceilingswereeachmadebyaspecialistcraftsman(工匠).

　　MyBeijingapartmentisadifferentstory.Builtabout30yearsago,itisalreadyshowingsignsofage.Someofthewindowsdon’topen.Mostofthedoorhinges(铰链)arebroken,andtheceilinghassomelargecracks.

　　ThepoorqualityofChinesebuildingshasbeencriticizedrecentlyaswastefulanddangerous.Butthere’sanotherproblemthatbothChinaandBritainshare–traditionalcraftsaredyingatanalarmingrate.

　　Stucco,amethodofcreatingbeautifuldecoratedceilingsandwalls,isnowpracticedbyjustfivepeopleinBritain.Makersoftraditionalbarrels(桶),wheels,fishingrodsanddozensofothercraftworksareoftenwellbeyondnormalretirementage.Withoutapprentices(学徒)topasstheskillsonto,theywilltaketheirvaluableskillswiththemtothegrave.

　　ThesituationisthesamehereinChina.YaoFuying,aBeijing-bornmasteroftraditionalChineseembroidery(刺绣),saysthatyoungpeopleareinterestedinhisworkandthefactthatitisallhandmade.Still,helacksasingleapprenticetopasshisskillsonto.

　　MasterYaoisnotalone.Of1,865recognizedChinesehandicrafts,47percentareendangered,accordingtotheChinaArtsandCraftsAssociation.

　　Traininganapprenticetakestimeandmoney.It’sapracticethatinmanycountriesissupportedbythegovernment.Japan,FranceandSwedenarenotedfortheirbackingoftraditionalcrafts.Forinstance,Japanisprotecting200traditionalcraftsbygivingfinancialsupporttocraftsmen.Obviously,it’sallworthit,sincetraditionalcraftshavesuchanappealandtheirhighqualitymeansyouwillbeabletopassthemontoyourchildrenaspricelessheirlooms.