The four great inventions of China (四大發明) are the compass, movable type, gunpowder, and paper.  In contemporary art, artists give these "traditions" a rebirth, using them for unconventional purposes or altering them in some form.  

 

Through their work, artists also look back on China's past, pre-globalization (改革開放以前) and the drastic ways Chinese society has modernized in China's "new age."