Zhan Hean
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Zhan Hean, Male, Han, from Jingdezhenshifuliang, Jiangxi, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Shuidui Building Craftsmanship (Ⅷ-281). The tradition is documented in Jingdezhenshifuliang, Jiangxi. Within the regional tradition and school record of Shuidui Building Craftsmanship in Jingdezhenshifuliang, Jiangxi: In Fuliang County the craft of building water-powered trip-hammers for the Jingdezhen porcelain industry is distributed along the streams at Yaoli, Ehu, Zhuangwan and Xianghu, preserving the siting tradition of taking materials by the river and arranging the hammers according to the fall of the stream. The wheel, the axle and the mortar are made of pine, which does not rot easily in water, while the uprights and other components use harder miscellaneous woods; the drawings, comprising the front, side, plan and structural views, are drawn by the chief carpenter in charge. The craft of building water-powered trip-hammers has a long history, and historical sources of the Song and Qing dynasties both record the use of water-powered trip-hammers to pound porcelain stone.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Zhan Hean is anchored in the documented technical standards of Shuidui Building Craftsmanship in Jingdezhenshifuliang, Jiangxi. Within the documented technical tradition of Shuidui Building Craftsmanship in Jingdezhenshifuliang, Jiangxi: The craft of building water-powered trip-hammers for the Jingdezhen porcelain industry is an important component of China's traditional craft of building water-powered trip-hammers; it is distributed mainly in the townships of Yaoli, Ehu, Zhuangwan and Xianghu in Fuliang County, Jingdezhen City, Jiangxi Province, and radiates to the surrounding districts and counties. Fuliang County lies in northeastern Jiangxi, has a high rate of forest cover and is rich in porcelain-clay resources, and has long enjoyed the reputation that "its water and soil suit pottery". With the development of the local porcelain industry, Fuliang became a very typical area of Jiangxi for making and using water-powered trip-hammers to grind porcelain clay and produce glaze frit, and the craft of building water-powered trip-hammers for the porcelain industry was thereby nurtured and transmitted from generation to generation. The craft of building water-powered trip-hammers for the Jingdezhen porcelain industry integrates the knowledge and experience that craftsmen have summed up in practice, their handicraft skills and their craft of building workshops. The main process steps of construction comprise five items: first, the user and the craftsmen together decide the form of the trip-hammer; second, siting, for which a river (stream) bank with abundant water that is not easily struck by floods is best, and an auspicious day and hour must be chosen for starting work; third, selecting materials, for which the wheel, the axle and the mortar of the trip-hammer are mostly made of pine (which does not rot easily in water) while the other components are mostly made of harder miscellaneous woods; fourth, drawing, in which the chief carpenter in charge draws the trip-hammer plans, including the front view, the side view, the plan, the structural drawing and schematic drawings for making components; and fifth, construction, led by one or more carpenters, who first make the components separately and finally install them in place. A large water-powered trip-hammer four metres in diameter requires four craftsmen and more than twenty days to complete. The water-powered trip-hammer is a traditional hydraulic machine that developed from the pestle and mortar and the stone millstone of high antiquity. To this day, in places such as Yaoli, Zhuangwan, Xianghu, Shou'an and Sanbaopeng, quite a few potters' workshops still use water-powered trip-hammers to process porcelain clay or produce glaze frit. Through the making of the trip-hammers and their routine maintenance, the craft is taught orally and by personal example in the form of mentoring and is handed down from generation to generation in the practice of construction. The craft of building water-powered trip-hammers and the Jingdezhen porcelain industry depend on one another, and the craft has made a certain contribution to the development of Chinese ceramic culture. Together with the ancient kiln sites and the customs of the porcelain industry, the water-powered trip-hammers display the rich ceramic cultural ecology of Jingdezhen. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Archival Records of Process Steps": The main process steps of construction comprise five items: first, the user and the craftsmen together decide the form of the trip-hammer; second, siting, for which a river (stream) bank with abundant water that is not easily struck by floods is best, and an auspicious day and hour must be chosen for starting work; third, selecting materials, for which the wheel, the axle and the mortar of the trip-hammer are mostly made of pine (which does not rot easily in water) while the other components are mostly made of harder miscellaneous woods; fourth, drawing, in which the chief carpenter in charge draws the trip-hammer plans, including the front view, the side view, the plan, the structural drawing and schematic drawings for making components; and fifth, construction, led by one or more carpenters, who first make the components separately and finally install them in place.
Archival Records of Process Steps
The main process steps of construction comprise five items: first, the user and the craftsmen together decide the form of the trip-hammer; second, siting, for which a river (stream) bank with abundant water that is not easily struck by floods is best, and an auspicious day and hour must be chosen for starting work; third, selecting materials, for which the wheel, the axle and the mortar of the trip-hammer are mostly made of pine (which does not rot easily in water) while the other components are mostly made of harder miscellaneous woods; fourth, drawing, in which the chief carpenter in charge draws the trip-hammer plans, including the front view, the side view, the plan, the structural drawing and schematic drawings for making components; and fifth, construction, led by one or more carpenters, who first make the components separately and finally install them in place.
Core Technique I
The craft of building water-powered trip-hammers for the Jingdezhen porcelain industry is an important component of China's traditional craft of building water-powered trip-hammers;
Core Technique II
it is distributed mainly in the townships of Yaoli, Ehu, Zhuangwan and Xianghu in Fuliang County, Jingdezhen City, Jiangxi Province, and radiates to the surrounding districts and counties.
Core Technique III
Fuliang County lies in northeastern Jiangxi, has a high rate of forest cover and is rich in porcelain-clay resources, and has long enjoyed the reputation that "its water and soil suit pottery".
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Zhan Hean was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Shuidui Building Craftsmanship, with Jingdezhenshifuliang, Jiangxi as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Shuidui Building Craftsmanship in Jingdezhenshifuliang, Jiangxi: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2021 (batch 5), with Jingdezhenshifuliang, Jiangxi as its declared area, and Fuliang County Cultural Relics Management Office (Fuliang County Museum) 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
The craft of building water-powered trip-hammers has a long history, and historical sources of the Song and Qing dynasties both record the use of water-powered trip-hammers to pound porcelain stone.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zhan Hean | Jingdezhenshifuliang, Jiangxi | — | 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。