Baimaqunjia

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Baimaqunjia, Male, Tibetan, from Nangqian, Qinghai, is a fourth-batch national representative bearer of Pottery Firing Craftsmanship (Ⅷ-98). The tradition is documented in Nangqian, Qinghai. Within the regional tradition and school record of Pottery Firing Craftsmanship in Nangqian, Qinghai: At first, Tibetans exchanged pottery pots and the like for grain and other goods; now Axi black pottery has entered the market and become a handcraft with distinctive local characteristics. It is said that the Nangqian Tibetan black pottery craft was introduced to the local area when Princess Wencheng of the Tang dynasty entered Tibet for a marriage alliance and passed through the Yushu region; from this perspective, it is the crystallization of the fusion of Tibetan and Han cultures.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Born in October 1978 in Nangqian County, Qinghai Province, he is a man of the Tibetan ethnic group. He is a national representative bearer of pottery firing craftsmanship (Tibetan black pottery firing craftsmanship), a fourth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. He is a second-class folk craft artist of Qinghai Province. In 2001 he became a pupil of the elderly black pottery artisan Zhawang, devoting himself to learning the ancient hand techniques of black pottery, and he has continued to make black pottery handicrafts in his home region. His works have also been collected by institutions including the National Museum of China, the China National Arts and Crafts Museum, the Qinghai Provincial Museum and the Yushu Prefecture Museum. Within the documented technical tradition of Pottery Firing Craftsmanship in Nangqian, Qinghai: The Tibetan black pottery firing craft has a long history and distinctive features. It is mainly distributed in Tibetan-inhabited areas such as Tangdui Village, Nixi Township, Shangri-La County, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province; Axi Village, Chitu Township, Daocheng County, Sichuan Province; and Nangqian County in the Yushu region of Qinghai Province. The black pottery firing technique of Tangdui Village uses highly adhesive, highly plastic white and red clay, combined with stone powder ground from weathered sandstone, mixed to form the raw material for shaping the body. Its making tools consist mainly of wooden paddles, wooden scrapers, wooden pads, and wooden mallets, extremely primitive and simple. By contrast, the firing process is quite sophisticated. Firing black pottery must go through twelve process steps in sequence: clay selection, clay tempering, body shaping, porcelain inlay, polishing, decoration, shade-drying, firing, carbon infiltration, and crack prevention. Shaping the pottery body uses the coil-building method, which requires a high level of skill. First, take well-kneaded and mixed clay, beat it into strips with a wooden paddle and place it on a base, then, according to the shape of the desired vessel, pinch out the outline by hand, then polish the inner and outer walls and the rim, then inlay white porcelain shards and dot on animal and geometric patterns, and finally fire at high temperature for about one hour to produce the finished piece. The Tibetan black pottery handicraft products of Tangdui Village can be roughly divided into two major categories: daily household items and religious implements. They come in a complete range with wide uses; all kinds of tableware, cooking utensils, tea sets, wine vessels, drinking vessels, as well as incense burners and butter lamps used by the Tibetan people, are fully supplied. This kind of pottery integrates utility, aesthetics, and craftsmanship, fully demonstrating the creativity and expressive power of Tibetan folk pottery art. Axi Village, Chitu Township, Daocheng County, Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, fires Tibetan black pottery. Axi black pottery uses local earth mixed with two other kinds of earth as raw material, then is shaped through manual techniques such as pinching, hammering, tapping, and beating, and then decorated with patterns using porcelain fragments. After these steps are completed, pine firewood is stacked and lit for firing, and the yellowish-brown clay turns black in the process. The fired pottery pots, jars, basins, kettles, and bottles are all indispensable household utensils for the Tibetan people. Nangqian County, Qinghai Province, is the birthplace of Yushu civilization, with a long history and brilliant culture. Nangqian Tibetan black pottery is a traditional handicraft of the Nangqian area, mainly produced in Shanrong Village, Nangqian County. Nangqian Tibetan black pottery is made by primitive manual methods, with careful material selection, using locally pure and fine red loam and clay as raw materials. Through manual crushing, screening, throwing the body, airing, trimming, burnishing, and painting, the body is formed, sealed in a large pottery jar, and then fired using the unique method of sealing the jar and smoking it to infiltrate carbon. During firing, the temperature and humidity are strictly controlled so that carbon particles infiltrate the pottery body during the smoking process, finally becoming black pottery that is 'black as carbon and hard as porcelain.' Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Sealed-pot smoking": Bodies are sealed in large pots and smoked so that carbon soaks in while heat and humidity are held steady. "Working the red clay": Only local red clay is used, crushed, sieved, thrown, dried, trimmed, polished and drawn without any additive. "Jars and ritual wares of Shanrong": Jars, pots, censers, butter lamps and ritual goods, with the religious pieces and tribute ware made most carefully. "Learning from master Zha Wang": Baima Qunjia apprenticed to the potter Zha Wang in 2001; his work is held by national and provincial museums.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

He broke with the old tradition in Tibetan black pottery making whereby the craft was passed on to only one disciple, teaching thirty-eight apprentices and thereby ensuring that this ancient craft is well transmitted and protected. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award in Chinese Pottery Art from the China National Arts and Crafts Society.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Baimaqunjia · National Representative Bearer Archive