Xu Wenkui

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Xu Wenkui, Male, Han, from Quzhoushikecheng, Zhejiang, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Wuzhouyao Ceramic Firing Craftsmanship (Ⅷ-214). The tradition is documented in Quzhoushikecheng, Zhejiang. Within the regional tradition and school record of Wuzhouyao Ceramic Firing Craftsmanship in Quzhoushikecheng, Zhejiang: Quzhou white porcelain uses finely proportioned local body and glaze materials; under specific measures it forms a mulite crystal "bird's-nest" structure that can overcome deformation (a 3 mm-thick body can be made into a product 50 cm tall), can support huge hanging pieces, and presents an unusual, highly transparent appearance. Its rich cultural connotations fully embody the humanistic spirit and artistic sensibility of the Quzhou region, and it has become a local cultural calling card for external dissemination and exchange. The project actively integrates into the rural revitalization strategy, playing a positive role in enhancing cultural confidence and boosting local cultural prosperity and economic development. The Quzhou white-porcelain firing technique is an important branch of the Wuzhou kiln, originating in the Eastern Han dynasty. The earliest record concerning inheritors of the Quzhou white-porcelain firing technique is that of Zeng Yuluan, who fired kilns and made porcelain at Gouxi Wanyao in Quzhou in the thirtieth year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty (AD 1691); this amounts to more than 400 years to the present. Its clearly documented lineage, from Zeng Fantai of the Qing dynasty to the present, has reached the sixth generation.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Xu Wenkui is anchored in the documented technical standards of Wuzhouyao Ceramic Firing Craftsmanship in Quzhoushikecheng, Zhejiang. Within the documented technical tradition of Wuzhouyao Ceramic Firing Craftsmanship in Quzhoushikecheng, Zhejiang: The Quzhou white-porcelain firing technique is one of the representatives of the Wuzhou kiln ceramic firing technique. It mainly spreads within Quzhou City, Zhejiang Province, and also extends to surrounding county-level cities such as Jinhua, Wuyi, and Dongyang. Since ancient times, Quzhou has been a land-and-water distribution hub for Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, and Anhui, with abundant vegetation and mineral resources; its hills and river valleys are all siltstone soil layers, and the porcelain-clay deposits lie not deep, making them easy to mine and crush. This uniquely favorable natural environment provided high-quality porcelain-clay raw materials, fuel, and water sources for porcelain making, while also creating distinctive conditions for the centuries-long continuous development of the craft and the circulation of its products. The Quzhou white-porcelain firing technique upholds the ancient Wuzhou-kiln production process while continuously exploring, improving, and innovating in formulation, carving, bonding, and firing, thus forming a distinct local style. Quzhou white porcelain uses the characteristic porcelain clay and feldspar unique to the western Jin-Qu basin as raw materials, processed into a specific formula, then decorated through such distinctive techniques as thin-body carving-and-piercing before being fired by a special process. Compared with other kiln traditions, its formula is unique and its technique distinctive. In addition, the high-difficulty thin-body finishing, the thin-body carving-and-piercing method, the body-joining method, and the strong-oxygen negative-pressure firing method innovated on the basis of the ancient reduction-flame technique are all features unique to this craft. Finished Quzhou white porcelain has a fine, delicate, pure-white, and translucent body, praised as "thin as brocade, pure as jade, smooth as fat, bright as crystal." It is one of China's important white-porcelain series and a locally representative famous porcelain. The Tang and Song periods were the time of its development and prosperity. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Openwork carving on a thin body": The body is thinned to about three millimetres and then pierced; every cut must be closed within a thin wall, making this the riskiest stage. "Joining the thrown sections": Thin sections are joined so the seam matches the body in thickness and whiteness, allowing tall forms without warping. "Strong-oxygen negative-pressure firing": An innovation on the ancient reduction firing, it pairs with the old methods of recipe, carving, joining and firing to produce a clear white body. "The mullite nest structure": A fine local body-and-glaze recipe forms a nest-like mullite crystal structure that resists warping, allowing a 50-centimetre piece at three-millimetre thickness.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Xu Wenkui was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Wuzhouyao Ceramic Firing Craftsmanship, with Quzhoushikecheng, Zhejiang as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Wuzhouyao Ceramic Firing Craftsmanship in Quzhoushikecheng, Zhejiang: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2021 (batch 5), with Quzhoushikecheng, Zhejiang as its declared area, and Quzhou Huoshenciye Co., Ltd. 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

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. Xuwenkui (Quzhoushikecheng, Zhejiang) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Xuwenkui · China ICH Official Archive