Chinese folk arts and crafts have a long history and were essential items for diplomats to take with them on foreign excursions in ancient times. The National Art Museum of China has compiled the very best of these works into a single exhibition - the "Chinese Arts and Crafts Exhibition". It opened Saturday in Beijing.

Choosing what to include in an exhibition of Chinese arts and crafts is truly a daunting task given the vast number of impressive creations throughout the country's history.

Covering all of the nine halls on the Museum's first floor are 350 objects chosen from 31 provinces and regions on the Chinese mainland. They compose the first ever exhibition on Chinese folk arts and crafts in the museum's 46-year-history.

The exhibits are invariably being chosen for their fine craftsmanship and ingenuity in design.

The centerpiece of the main hall is an emerald cabbage by Jiangsu artist Jiang Chunyuan and Shi Qingmei. The clear and bright texture of the emerald display shows a greenish hue. The carving of the cabbage leaves is different in every fold. And the devil horse resting on the stalk seems ready to jump away as visitors come close.

Another jade ware is this clumsy and lovable rhino, designed by Gao Jinyi, a Jiangsu folk artist. The neat and elegant use of the chisel has brought the rotund beast to life.

This mammoth ivory carving depicts 108 children celebrating the birthday of the God of Longevity. Li Dingning, an artist for 60 years, employed various chisel techniques during carving.

The exhibition features works by masters from the 50's to the 70's. But the bulk are works from burgeoning artists in the 80's and 90's. For every folk artist, the National Art Museum of China is the place they want to be shown. The exhibition not only realizes their ambition, but also points to a future path.

Yang Bingyan, deputy director of National Art Museum of China, said, "There are two concepts in curating this show. Firstly, the exhibition pays tribute to Chinese traditional arts to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of New China in 2009. Secondly, while some of the artistic value is lost during inheritance, the exhibition will help facilitate the change from crafts to arts, from craftsman to artists."

Family workshops are where most folk arts and crafts are practiced and handed down. A folk craftsman could either take an apprentice or teach for posterity the craft to be inherited. In 1950s, a considerable

number of specialty schools were established to break the limitations of this form of inheritance. The arts blossomed, branching into over 18-hundred categories. Over two million people are in the business, with an additional 15 million in the countryside.

Since 1979, over 350 have been qualified as craftsmasters of state-level and over 1,400 as provincial-level craftsmasters. In 2008, 17 Chinese artists gained the Asia Pacific Region Craftsmaster Award.

Though a few have formidable titles, the vast number of folk craftsmen have little fame or fortune.

Wang Shan, secretary of China Arts & Crafts Assoc., said, "Our jade carving artists, sculptors, and pottery masters have worked under spartan conditions. They have spent years on a single work and to exclude them from the range of artists will be a huge mistake. That the National Art Museum of China has invited them back to museums, acknowledge their labor and give them due respect is a move we all should applaud."

As the museum's opening exhibition, the Chinese Arts and Crafts will run throughout the spring festival holidays to Feb. 10th.