Viewpoint
Originality is the co-career of our society
In recent two years, developing originality has become a hot wave in nations. The government plays the pioneer. The Beijing Culture Exposition, the Originality Week of Shanghai, the Shenzhen Culture Exposition, and Chongqing, who is not well-developed, also made an originality industry activity. But if you look carefully, these are just some external work. If there is no “ originality industry”, these activities are just like thematic ceremony held by government and city tour cultural festival, which dispatched buy government, led by parted leaders, held by active offices, appropriated found by financial bureau, and corresponded by police office, traffic bureau, street office. And then choosing a fine day to inaugurate and invite some leaders to make a speech. Chinese thing is covered by government except people’s marriage. Such activities are unaccountable in every-grade local government. At the beginning recruited investors, then cut the ribbon at an opening ceremony or held a ceremony of being open to traffic, now it turns originality industry.
Weather it develops, has foreground, has benefit or not, neither seeing the society itself nor the good and bad of the market. But seeing the attendance of how many officials and the statures. The more the officials and higher the official position, the more influence and more benefits. Common people can’t understand this special pattern, neither even the world is so. Only those who deal with the unit-operation can know and regard it as Chinese potential rule. From Chinese reforming and opening to now, it experienced almost 30 years. But there are till many problems like official styles and policies aren’t changed. On the contrary, potential rule is popular and forming a contorted and unhealth ethos. We have to think deeply about all of these things.
To originality industry, which managed only by government, how much benefit it can get? In fact many originality industry experts and big companies come to take part in these activities just for meeting the officials, so that they can get some favorable policies. While to Chinese originality industries, many of them are small and short super subminiature. Even many individual doors are in a very hard time for not really understanding the value of originality. To the development of originality industry, these companies need more relaxed policies, financing environment and open market resources. In this point, many local governments are just phrasemonger. The government policies pieced together from other policies about high-tech industry gardens and building industries. There are a few in practices to the real originality industry.
The well-known Beijing 798.whose real history no more the help of government than the artists’ can’t help but painstaking effort. The artists have to looking for their way out in the condition of art market downturn and ideology closed. The Sunzhuan art is so. In Chongqing almost all artists and art fans are living in a town named Huangjiaoping. Not only Sichuan Art College is here and also has low cost of living.
From this historic view, the situation of Chinese originality industry is due to the insisting and presuming of those poor artists and dreamers. Now, China wants to develop originality industry, many officials are taking part in. but they forget those real artists and original people.
Taking Chongqing as an example, because of its undeveloped level, the originality industry is just a baby. The local governments don’t understand the real meaning of it. In the programming of Chongqing originality industry, just make it as 2.5 models. And also think it should provide services like the second and third industry. This means it limits its development.
According to me, Chongqing has a folk place named Ciqikou. The government invested a huge of money on it, but it still didn’t well develop and is still in a natural condition. The main income is from Maoxuewang (the local meal) and melon seeds. The principal said this was the choice of marketing, the government has no any way.
It is to say the government doesn’t know how to make the traditional architectures and folk custom into local economic benefits. In Ciqikou, you can’t find a cafe. The price of a cup of green tea is $0.1. Comparing with Jinli of Chengdou and Sikumen of Shanghai, the price is far from theirs.
So there appear some questions, what is originality industry, which need to be understood by the society and the government. What effect does the government can make? The government should consider more except just a industry office. If the government doesn’t understand the definition of originality industry, it couldn’t be developed just setting up some offices and leader group.
Originality industry is a new economic wealth focused on individual’ innovation and making it become true by collocating social resources effectively. Absolutely, originality is not other thing but the innovation that is ignored by Chinese society. So if the originality need to develop not only rely on the outstanding achievement of government but also be not replaced by any bureaucracy standard minds. We need to do is to respect and protect original person, to attract person with ability, to incubate person with ability, to cultivate person with ability by reforming education, to contain them by opening mind. So originality can work out.
A principal of Chonqqing arts and crafts said, Chongqing doesn’t lack masters of Arts and crafts, but many folk arts and crafts are in a low benefit and inability to continue developing, the key is lacking effective market leading and invert system, lacking practical market policy. Even some key industries have no way to solve the transformation form excellent arts and crafts to industrialized market. In this condition, some traditional arts and crafts are facing the danger of dieing out. Chongqing has directly under the jurisdiction of government for ten years. Only Tanmujian got development. In fact, there are still some other products, such as, paper fan an pottery arts of Rongchan, Dazushike (World immateriality cultural patrimony) and the unique three gorges tour. I saw many tourists like those handicraft products very much in some small town of Europe and Korea, and many people travel the world every year to bring back a lot of products. China, such a big country, has several decades people hardly has some special souvenirs and original city-gifts. Guangzhou has a Wu sheep; Xi’an has military forces tomb figures and Ma ta fei yan. China is still in a low situation that we just rely on heritages of our ancestors left behind. Beijing becomes better except Tian’an men. We can see some new thing like the door of yard in Beijing’s bystreet. A company of city- souvenir was set up in Shanghai. The company put the old and new Shanghai stories together; the products are diaphanous, having an international and fashion quality, while other cities need to improve in these aspects. Richard Florida point out in the Growing up Original class, America is coming into a new age, the whole world will in the “original society”. He thinks American society can’t be treated in traditional industrialized view. “Original class” is becoming the leading actor. While other aspects are divided into labor class and service class. In this trendy, the new development of China will put cultural original into first place.
A friend of mine works on collecting the contemporary art in China. He built a small industry chain from meal to art. Like he said, he used his own power and market to success not relied on the government. He bought a land as contemporary art gallery in Suzhou until now. then coming a group of officials to help ,but he didn’t request any. It became the model place. He thinks such thing like this is really ridiculous. He spent four months to travel the world every year to pursue afflatus. He said China doesn’t have such a atmosphere for him to produce afflatus. He told me even in Copenhagen, the local people can say the name of the designer of the utensil and coffee cup. So we can see originality and design is full of western countries, while every person begins to consume originally except dairy consumptions. To Chinese of 21st century, people’s recognize of originality is just some fashion and band. Much more are following the materials. And many national-class technical masters and artists are still stay at home till one day they are disinterred by officials and are invited to take part in a meeting and then come back waiting for death. This feeling is very real and lifelike. Guodegang said, today you are very popular is duo to yourself not the government. His friends and his hard experience was can’t be experienced by those officials.
As a new economic style based on individual talent and imaginative, originality industry needs a process of realization. And it also needs the government to create an environment to benefit their growing. If we just rely on government, it may lead originality hasn’t its own life-force. At the same time it will bring some informal socialism industries, and more perhaps it will make originality industry die in the officials’ limitation. The government thinks much of originality industry was a good thing, but there have many disadvantages like bad communications and disagreement concepts. Based on these different, the government and original persons should square their own positions. While the government needs to create a relaxed and delightful city environment, provide a stage and life and career space for originality industry, build a good human environment which people could recognize originality and respect original person. So everyone is free and live in peace with each other. If the whole country is in such a new situation, the originality industry can develop.