Development of the Undergraduate Major of Applied Jade Sculpture Design Based on Regional Resources

Abstract

The School of Jewelry at West Yunnan University of Applied Sciences was founded to meet the market demands during the economic transition and address the challenges confronting the local industrial development, which also makes full use of the local advantage of sufficient jade resources. However, it is indeed a challenge to develop distinct regional features for its major of jade design and to meet industrial and market demands on talents by developing a unique curriculum. As a teacher at the jade sculpture design major, School of Jewelry at West Yunnan University of Applied Sciences, the author is trying to offer some personal insights into this problem from the author’s teaching practices and observations about the jade industry in Yunnan. The jade sculpture design major should focus on an in-depth integration of craftsmanship and design, inheritance and innovation, academic and fashion, education and industry, school and society, so as to lead the whole jade industry in Yunnan in its transformation and upgrading.