Although Chinese Kesiorigin is being recognized in various ways at present, yet its history of textual research lasts at least more than two thousand years. Moreover, a change occurred in Song Dynasty that high-grade works of art of Kesi paintings and calligraphies emerged, which formed the peak of Chinese Kesi art. In Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Kesi in the south region of Yangtze River inherited the skill of that in the Southern Song Dynasty, but it gradually declined after the Republican Period. After new China was founded, Kesi developed vigorously in Suzhou, and it had already been enrolled to the National Non-material Cultural Heritage list. This paper aims to explain the origin, the mutation, and the inheritance carrying of Chinese Kesi, then make a summary concerning the regulation. Not only will a clear cognition be made based on the previous research, but also it might be usible for reference about the protection of non-material cultural heritage in the future.
Characterizing the sealing materials of the merchant ship Nanhai I of the Southern Song Dynasty
