Xiangqian
01 · Historical Records
Chaozhou porcelain inlay has a long history; it was already in use among the people as early as the Wanli reign of the Ming dynasty. By the Qing dynasty, the building of ancestral halls and grand residences in the "four-horse-drawn-carriage" style was extremely fashionable throughout the Chaozhou-Shantou region, and the porcelain-inlay craft used to decorate buildings developed further as a result.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Chaozhou porcelain inlay, commonly known as "tierao" or "kourao", is a technique peculiar to the Chaozhou-Shantou region in which coloured porcelain pieces are cut and inlaid to depict images. Because of its solid texture, it withstands long exposure to wind and rain or fierce sun without fading, and is acclaimed as an art of everlasting brilliance. At that time ceramic production in Chaozhou was highly developed and folk sculpture was in a flourishing period; people began cutting porcelain pieces into simple flowers and inlaying them on buildings. At the end of the Qing dynasty, porcelain-production workshops cooperated with inlay artists to fire various kinds of low-temperature coloured porcelain bowls specially for the purpose; after being broken and cut, these were inlaid into flat, relief or three-dimensional patterns and motifs to decorate the roofs, roof corners, eaves, door surrounds and walls of buildings, and some were also used for interior decoration in gardens. The subjects of porcelain inlay include flowers and plants, birds and animals, historical figures and opera stories. The process steps of Chaozhou porcelain inlay are roughly as follows: first a draft is drawn to fix the outline; then bowls are selected and colours matched according to the position; the coloured porcelain bowls are broken into small pieces and cut into shape with pliers and cutters; and finally the pieces are stuck on one by one with lime mortar or sugar-water lime on to the modelled ground made in lime sculpture. For large three-dimensional figures an armature of iron wire and clay must first be built up. Porcelain inlay and lime sculpture often work together: the ground is modelled by the lime-sculpture artisan and the porcelain pieces applied by the inlay artisan; the two, one modelling and one inlaying, are indispensable to each other.
Flat, relief and three-dimensional inlay
Flat, relief and fully three-dimensional modes, all three commanded by the inheritor Lu Zhigao over fifty years of practice.
Breaking bowls, shearing shards, setting with sugar-lime
Coloured bowls are broken and sheared into petals, feathers and folds, then set piece by piece in sugar-lime mortar.
The grey-modelled core beneath the shards
Large pieces are built up in wire and lime mortar before the shards go on; the core's modelling governs the final volume.
Already in use by the Wanli era
The craft was already used in the Wanli era and expanded with the great wave of Qing hall and mansion building.
Lu Zhigao's family of inlayers
The inheritor Lu Zhigao, born in Chao'an in 1946, comes from a family of inlayers and has trained a generation of independent craftsmen.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
It reflects the local people's desire to praise uprightness, seek benefit and avoid harm, and pray for blessings, embodying their fine wishes for good fortune, luck, happiness and wellbeing. Chaozhou porcelain inlay is most concentrated in the urban area of Chaozhou and in the Chao'an and Raoping areas; the Chaozhou Arts and Crafts Research Institute is the protecting unit. In the Qing dynasty the fashion for building ancestral halls and "four-horse-drawn-carriage"-style mansions in the Chaozhou-Shantou region was at its height, so roofs, roof corners, eaves, door surrounds and walls all became places where porcelain inlay could be put to use, and some works were also moved into interior decoration in gardens. In this way porcelain inlay extended from an architectural component into an independent craft object capable of being enjoyed on its own.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Xiangqian · Xiangqian · Xiangqian · Xiangqian · Xiangqian · Xiangqian.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Today, under the impact of the market economy and the process of urbanisation, and owing to changes in people's living environments and customs, the traditional porcelain-inlay craft faces a situation in which the ranks of practitioners are not being renewed and successors are lacking; it urgently needs to be rescued. Lu Zhigao (recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in October 1946, a native of Chao'an County, Guangdong Province. He comes from a family of Chaozhou porcelain-inlay artists. Building on the tradition he inherited, he constantly explored, making breakthroughs and developments in the porcelain-inlay technique. He has practised the art for more than fifty years: flat inlay, raised inlay and three-dimensional inlay all come readily to his hand, and he is equally versed in flowers and trees, birds and animals and opera figures, creating many fine works that people love to see and hear. He actively teaches apprentices and has already trained a group of students who have mastered the porcelain-inlay technique and are capable of taking charge on their own. He is a representative inheritor of Inlay (Chaozhou Porcelain Inlay), an item of national-level intangible cultural heritage included in the fourth batch.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Mouchengjin 03-1298
- Chen Mingwei 03-1299
- Lu Zhigao 04-1815
- Xie Binghua 05-2700
- Xu Shaoxiong
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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