In praise of the spirit of the craftsman

趙睿齊

“Precision， the looking for excellence， the pursuit of perfection” is the core concepts of the “spirit of the craftsman”. The craftsman has the special talent of arts and crafts in general， engaged in handicraft production specifically. Nevertheless， the “spirit of the craftsman” is no longer exclusively belongs to the craftsmen now， the spirit has been extended to individuals， businesses and the whole society.

For individuals， the “spirit of the craftsman” isnt a moment of passion from the heart， but the persistence and dedication for the cause and the continuing research in the course. For the love of aerospace industry，Hu Shuangqian， chief fitter of Chinas large aircraft manufacturing corporation， processed hundreds of thousands of precision parts without defective with his own hand in 35 years. For the passion for tradition Chinese medicine， Tu Youyou and her team finally extracted antimalarial effective ingredient， artemisinin， after 190 failed experiments. Day and night and hardships， never pay any regrets， numerous individuals with their personal experiences are interpreting the “spirit of the craftsman” vividly in the seemingly ordinary post.

For businesses， the “spirit of the craftsman” is the collective constraints for the whole group， and it is not only the foundation for the groups uniting strength， but also the lighthouse of the collective progress. Japanese foods， tea， and lots of other businesses， paying great attentions to the developing and inheriting of the “spirit of the craftsman”， which made them internationally recognized with the saying， “of the hundred years old stores in the world， Japan accounted for thirty percents”. German automobile industry limits their annual car production， it is a business philosophy for the long-term quality control purpose， “l(fā)et every Germany car can using twenty to forty years”. The “spirit of the craftsman” is of great significance for business and industry， not only a free advisement to establish a good image， but also a business magic to get an invincible position in the market competition.

For society， the “spirit of the craftsman” looking back upon the nations outstanding traditional culture in everyday life， and looking forward a broad ideal future for the society above all， is a culture trickle slowly down the history. For hundreds of years， Switzerland won the world reputation for high precision in making clock， which come from the meticulous spirit closely relating the Swiss national character， attention and loyalty， it is a positive impression winning more favorable environments for the Swiss in the international communication. As ancient saying goes， “the diamond cant gleam without great cuts”. The Chinese nation is never lack of the cultural foundation for the “spirit of the craftsman”， we have the story of Paoding cutting the cattle with great ease， and of Luban surveying the land with a carpenters ruler. Mason， blacksmith， coppersmith， dyer......， every kind of the craftsmen， all pursuing the connotation of “precision” in countless repeats， integrating wisdom about life into seemingly ordinary technical skill， it is a inheritance of the skill and also of the cultural heritage.

The development of economy and technology has catalyzed the development of machinery， and made the mode of social production， “l(fā)ow input， high volume”， becoming predominating. Today， we bring up again the “spirit of the craftsman” and remold it， its significance isnt limited in the inheritance of a special excellent craftsmanship， but in a broader extent， more individual way to practice and feel the new force of the traditional spirit.