Jieshou Caitao Firing Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
The Jieshou painted-pottery firing craft originated in the Tang dynasty and is the quintessence of Huaibei handicraft. In 1999, the excavation of the Liuzi Canal in Huaibei unearthed a large quantity of Jieshou sancai (three-color) pottery shards, which became one of the nation's top ten archaeological discoveries of that year.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
In making the body surface, Jieshou painted pottery is coated with two layers of slip; in the carving process it displays two basic contrasting color schemes—ochre-and-yellow or ochre-and-white. In its carved subject matter, besides taking flowers, birds, fish, and insects from daily life as creative motifs, it also draws heavily on the artistic elements of traditional opera, presenting them as a series of scene-like tableaux—Lu Shanyi's "soldiers-on-horseback" (Daoma Ren) series being representative. In firing, the craft first removes moisture, then bisque-fires at generally 700–800°C, yielding brick-red carved pottery; after bisque-firing it may be glaze-fired—coated with a glaze of lead, silica, and clay powder, placed in a clay sagger, with the temperature gradually raised to 1000–1050°C and fired for two days and two nights, yielding the finished Jieshou painted pottery of red ground with white designs. Jieshou painted pottery embodies the honest and simple character of farmers and an aesthetic taste of "great clumsiness yielding great skill," reflecting the Chinese folk art's inclination toward nature and harmony. In 1958, Jieshou established the Jiyi Ceramic Factory on Shunhe Road on the north bank of the Ying River; it is now the main production site of painted pottery, where the Jieshou painted-pottery firing craft is carried on. However, in recent years, under the impact of modern industrial products, painted pottery made by traditional craft has seen sluggish sales and a depressed market, and young people are mostly unwilling to take up apprenticeship; thus the Jieshou painted-pottery firing craft faces the worry of having no successors, and it is necessary to protect it.
Two layers of slip on the body
Two layers of slip are laid over the raw body to create ochre-yellow or ochre-white contrasts; the incisions cut through the upper layer to reveal the lower one.
Carving the daomaren stage figures
Beside flowers, birds and insects, many subjects are lifted from opera: mounted warriors in confrontation, the so-called daomaren series, the most demanding carving subject.
The bisque firing
After carving, the piece is dried and bisqued at 700-800 degrees to a brick red, which removes residual moisture and fixes the loose dust in the cut lines.
Glaze firing in saggars
Coated with a lead and silica glaze, the pots are set in clay saggars and brought slowly to 1000-1050 degrees over two days and nights, yielding red-ground white-flower ware.
Hand-throwing the blank
Form depends on throwing: the potter's hands even out the wall, keeping the profile upright and the lines fluid, giving a smooth curved surface for glazing and carving.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Jieshou painted pottery inherits the legacy of Tang sancai (three-color ware) while absorbing the artistic styles of paper-cutting and woodblock New Year prints, forming its own school within pottery craft. Historically, the Jieshou painted-pottery craft was mainly distributed across thirteen villages on the south bank of the Ying River in Jieshou City, Anhui Province. Because the inhabitants of every village made their living from pottery, and each village name contained the word "pottery kiln" (Taoyao), there came to be the saying of the "Thirteen Kilns"; these villages are now under the jurisdiction of Tianying Town, Jieshou City, Anhui Province.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Such artworks are warmly welcomed in both domestic and foreign markets; the Victoria and Albert Museum in Britain holds Jieshou three-color carved pottery in its collection. Wang Jingsheng (per the official archive of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born 1944, a native of Jieshou, Anhui. Representative inheritor of the first national-level batch of the Jieshou painted-pottery firing craft, an Intangible Cultural Heritage project. Jieshou painted pottery has a plain ethnic style and local character. Wang Jingsheng began his craft in 1960; under the guidance of the older generation of potters, he studied assiduously and soon mastered the entire production process. From the 1970s he served as director of the painted-pottery workshop; after the 1980s he became deputy technical factory director, responsible for the factory's technical work and ceramic research and new-product development, with remarkable results. The hand-throwing technique is difficult and is the key to shaping; the bodies Wang Jingsheng throws are even in thickness and thinness, with graceful forms and fluid lines. His pottery technique is comprehensively superb, his works finely crafted; while inheriting traditional style he boldly innovates and strives for perfection, producing a great variety of works in endless transformation. Representative works include: a special-shaped large twin-dragon vase, tao-shou (a set of roof beasts), and three-color carved vases. Although now retired, Wang Jingsheng still persists in refining and innovating his technique, has created his own "pottery-art bowl," actively participates in artistic exchange, and devotes himself to transmitting the painted-pottery craft and developing new products. Lu Qunshan (per the official archive of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born 1950, a native of Jieshou, Anhui. Representative inheritor of the first national-level batch of the Jieshou painted-pottery firing craft, an Intangible Cultural Heritage project; a Folk Arts-and-Crafts Master of Anhui Province. The Lu family's Jieshou painted-pottery firing craft was handed down from ancestors; Lu Qunshan learned to make painted pottery from his father from childhood. Building on inherited traditional technique, he made new attempts and adjustments to the firing process. To pursue even better artistic effect, from 1963 he studied painting under the renowned painter Han Meilin. Lu Qunshan pays great attention to shaping the linear contours of his works, which possess a beauty of harmony, balance, and composure. Many decorative patterns of Lu Qunshan's works derive from folk opera; his works carve out scene after scene of historical dramas, with strong artistic quality and ornamental appeal. His "soldiers-on-horseback" (Daoma Ren) carved painted-pottery jar—in its form, decoration, and firing technique—won unanimous praise from experts. Over the years, the painted-pottery works he designed and created have repeatedly won national and provincial awards and been collected by institutions such as the National Museum of China. Main representative works include: the "soldiers-on-horseback" three-color under-glaze carved flower jar and jar-forms, the four-ridge jade-vase bottle, the gourd bottle, and others.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Wang Jingsheng 01-0121
- Lu Qunshan 01-0122
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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