Manufacturing Art Continued...

To make cloisonné, a pattern is rubbed onto the metal object, in this case a brass vase. Then, using tweezers, tiny strips of metal or pieces of wire are soldered onto the outlines of the design forming compartments, or cloisons. Using an eyedropper, the intricate cloisons are filled with beautifully colored enamel paste. Then the piece is fired by burying in charcoal. This fuses the enamel to the surface. Finally it is polished with a stone on a water wheel.

In an effort to preserve traditional arts and modernize techniques, the Chinese government established these state-run Arts and Crafts Factories in important craft

centers across China as research centers and design institutes. In the process they removed feudal and superstitious elements from old designs, and introduced new symbols based on legends and folk traditions, often promoting social realism. Master craftsmen, a few paid as much as senior physicians, teach their skills to young apprentices, earning a mere pittance, who are chosen by the state for their aptitude in drawing and design. Catering mostly to the export trade, these factories produce cloisonné, jade and ivory carvings, lacquer ware and paintings.

Emerging from the workshop, we entered the associated Friendship Store. Friendship Stores are department stores expressly for foreign visitors. They stock a substantial range of Chinese goods destine for export. These goods (such as silk garments, handmade carpets, jewelry and lacquer-ware furniture) do not circulate in the local economy and the Chinese people themselves cannot shop here without special authorization, which is granted only to those in managerial positions. Perhaps this explains part of our guide's insistence that we stop. Unlike shopping in the local shops, prices in the Friendship Stores are nonnegotiable. Tourists can count on a fair price and reasonable quality, but rarely a bargain, and never the flavor of shopping in the crowded neighborhood shops. Friendship Stores, particularly the larger ones, carry a wide variety of goods including clothing, leather coats, furs, silks, cashmere, jade, porcelain, embroidery, scrolls, antiques, carpets and furniture.

As we browsed, Chinese girls in pink suits dogged our every step, making the most of any opportunity to sell us something. The selection of finished cloisonné vases was reasonable. Sizes ranged from four to five inches, selling at about $20 to $25 a pair, up to four to five feet with an asking price of $12,000 to $17,000 a pair. Vases in China are