Sustainability and Authenticity of Chinese Traditional Crafts in the Contexts of Luxury and Tourism

Chinese crafts have been examined from economic, historical and aesthetic perspectives, but rather less attention has been devoted to them in the literature on luxury and tourism. When considering the former, it is worth noting that some of the world’s leading brands had their origins in craft businesses, notably Louis Vuitton, and that craft skills remain important for this industry in the 21st century. On the other hand, there is a common assumption that craft souvenirs represent a cheap and debased version of human material culture but, as many academics have asserted souvenirs come in a wide variety of forms, including what Graburn (2000) has called ‘pride goods’, in which peoples visited by tourists sell products that are simultaneously economically useful and boosters of esteem on behalf of the producing community. It is with these thoughts in mind that we turn our attention to the production of Chinese craft products in the early 21st century. As one of the leading handicraft producers in the world, the expanding demand for Chinese craft products has generated commercial opportunities and strong economic returns, it has also created challenges to the Chinese traditional crafts sector which may influence the direction and sustainability of its future development, and as such is worthy of deeper investigation and discussion.


INTRODUCTION
China is one of the leading handicraft producers with around 30% share of world trade (Ernst & Young 2012).
According to a report published by the what Graburn (2000) has called 'pride goods', in which peoples visited by tourists sell products that are simultaneously economically useful and boosters of esteem on behalf of the producing community. It is with these thoughts in mind that we turn our attention to the production of Chinese craft products in the early 21 st century.
In this paper, we review the issues and challenges that the Chinese traditional craft sector is facing due to the historical transformation, before we propose a 'luxury approach' as a strategy to seek for a more sustainable trajectory of development. What should be noted from the outset is that this work refers to the products of the Han Chinese, the country's major ethnic group, and not the country's renowned minorities, though the authors have been inspired by work in this area by authors such as Gina Corrigan (2002).

CRAFT & ART
The ultimate etymology of the attribute to the special nature of artisanal products" (ibid). As Greenhalgh (2002:1) argued "crafts are a consortium of genres" which have been "deliberately placed together" but can "make sense collectively for artistic, economic and institutional reasons".
Greenhalgh's remark might sound harsh, but it indicates some important properties of crafts which help define and justify the identity of crafts and craftspeople, and being institutionally connected is one of them. Furthermore, both Thornton (2002) and Shiner (2012) contended that it is the multifaceted institutional nature of craft industry that has shaped the developing trajectory of 'craftworld' in the western culture, and it has certainly happened in China too, but often with more political interference.

'Crafts' in Chinese Translation
What is significant is that crafts What is also interesting about China is that its crafts people attracted the attention of its renowned sages, namely Mozi (c.470-391BC) who is thought to E-Journal of Tourism Vol.7. No.2. (2020) circumstances. Accordingly, we will explore the meaning of authenticity in the context of Chinese traditional crafts in two specific contexts: tourism and branding.

Authenticity in the context of luxury branding
Authenticity is a concept that has been widely researched but often overused, particularly in the field of marketing. A widely held position is that authenticity is important for consumers and that customers want to acquire something that is real and not something that is fake (Gilmore and Pine, 2007), though as these authors e and 'existential (subjective) authenticity' (Cohen 1988).
Cohen and Cohen (2012) point out that the "…three discourses are not on the same level: while objective (object) authenticity and existential (subjective) authenticity denote different types of (personally experienced) authenticity, constructed authenticity does not; rather, it relates implicitly to the process of social construction of the other two types". In an attempt to get to the heart of the authenticity debate in tourism, Tom Selwyn (1996) offered the distinction between "hot" and "cool" authenticity. Selwyn (1996: 20-21) conceived of "hot" authenticity as that given object risks losing its initial investment if it is simply copied by another commercial concern that did not have to invest in the creativity vested in a high quality and desirable item.
There are "craft experts"both

CAN 'LUXURY BRANDING' PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR CHINESE TRADITIONAL CRAFTS?
It may sound irrelevant or controversial to bring 'luxury' into the   (2013) have explored what they call 'prophets of nature' and the ongoing relevance of Romantic ideals in considerations of the relationship between tourism and the environment. This is perhaps one of the areas that we should be investigating when consider the sustainability and authenticity however conceived-of Chinese traditional crafts.