Liu Meizhen
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Liu Meizhen, Female, Li, from Changjianglizuzizhi, Hainan, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Li Yuanshi Pottery Making Craftsmanship (Ⅷ-4). The tradition is documented in Changjianglizuzizhi, Hainan. Within the regional tradition and school record of Li Yuanshi Pottery Making Craftsmanship in Changjianglizuzizhi, Hainan: The pottery techniques in Li areas are preserved in regions of the Ha, Run, Sai, and Meifu dialects, among others. For instance, the "Records of Various Barbarians" (Zhufan Zhi) of the Song dynasty, in its lower volume, recorded the Li people as "using earth for cauldrons and gourds for vessels," and Gu Yanwu's "Treatise on the Advantages and Disadvantages of the Provinces" (Tianxia Junguo Libing Shu) of the Qing dynasty likewise recorded the Li as: "they spin tree bark into cloth, and mold clay into earth-cauldrons."
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Liu Meizhen is anchored in the documented technical standards of Li Yuanshi Pottery Making Craftsmanship in Changjianglizuzizhi, Hainan. Within the documented technical tradition of Li Yuanshi Pottery Making Craftsmanship in Changjianglizuzizhi, Hainan: Hainan Island has a long history of pottery-making; pottery shards have been found at prehistoric sites in Li-inhabited areas, and documents are not lacking in related records. Li pottery tools include wooden pestles, wooden mortars, wooden beaters, wooden scrapers, bamboo knives, clam shells, bamboo sticks for drilling, and bamboo mats, among others. The pottery process consists of twelve steps: digging clay, carrying clay, sun-drying clay, crushing clay, sieving clay, kneading clay, shaping the body, drying, preparing for firing, lighting the firing, retrieving the pottery, and reinforcing. Finished products are mainly of forms such as fu (cauldron), zeng (steamer), weng (urn), bowl, jar, liquor-steamer, and rice-steamer. The body-shaping technique reflects the level of Li primitive pottery-making from one aspect; it includes pinch-forming, coil-building, and fast-wheel pottery-making. The slab-pasting method, the coil-building method, and the fast-wheel throwing method, among other body-forming methods, are still preserved in Li areas to this day. Among them, coil-building is characterized by the absence of tempering admixture, simple pottery tools, open-air firing, no potter's wheel or turntable, and few vessel forms—simple and practical. However, with social development, rising living standards, and the convergence of social culture, porcelain, glassware, metalware, and plasticware have entered daily life as substitutes for pottery, and Li pottery-making has gradually shrunk; especially during the "Cultural Revolution," production nearly ceased entirely. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Digging and carrying the clay": The first two of the twelve stages: suitable clay is dug nearby and carried back to the working place in baskets, with no dedicated kiln workshop involved. "Drying, pounding and sieving the clay": The clay is sun-dried, pounded with wooden pestles, then sieved; coarse grit is discarded and only the fine powder is plastic enough to survive low-temperature firing. "Mixing the clay and forming blanks": The sieved powder is kneaded with water into clay, then formed by pinching, coiling or fast-wheel turning; few forms, all practical in the manner of early pottery. "Open-air firing": Air-dried blanks are fired outdoors over brushwood at only six or seven hundred degrees; the heat is governed by how fuel is fed, and the fired pots are then dug out and braced.
Digging and carrying the clay
The first two of the twelve stages: suitable clay is dug nearby and carried back to the working place in baskets, with no dedicated kiln workshop involved.
Drying, pounding and sieving the clay
The clay is sun-dried, pounded with wooden pestles, then sieved; coarse grit is discarded and only the fine powder is plastic enough to survive low-temperature firing.
Mixing the clay and forming blanks
The sieved powder is kneaded with water into clay, then formed by pinching, coiling or fast-wheel turning; few forms, all practical in the manner of early pottery.
Open-air firing
Air-dried blanks are fired outdoors over brushwood at only six or seven hundred degrees; the heat is governed by how fuel is fed, and the fired pots are then dug out and braced.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Liu Meizhen was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Li Yuanshi Pottery Making Craftsmanship, with Changjianglizuzizhi, Hainan as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Li Yuanshi Pottery Making Craftsmanship in Changjianglizuzizhi, Hainan: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2006 (batch 1), with Changjianglizuzizhi, Hainan as its declared area, and Changjiang Li Autonomous County Cultural Center as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
For instance, the "Records of Various Barbarians" (Zhufan Zhi) of the Song dynasty, in its lower volume, recorded the Li people as "using earth for cauldrons and gourds for vessels," and Gu Yanwu's "Treatise on the Advantages and Disadvantages of the Provinces" (Tianxia Junguo Libing Shu) of the Qing dynasty likewise recorded the Li as: "they spin tree bark into cloth, and mold clay into earth-cauldrons."
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.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yang Bailiang | Changjianglizuzizhi, Hainan | 01-0124 | Same declared area |
| Liu Meizhen | Changjianglizuzizhi, Hainan | — | This page |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。