Yaozhou Yao Ceramic Firing Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
The Yaozhou kiln was already a famous center of ceramic firing in China in the Tang dynasty; in the Song dynasty it reached its peak, becoming the largest of China's 'six great kiln systems,' and its products became the representative of northern celadon. After the devastation of war in the Jin and Yuan dynasties and the upheavals of successive dynasties, all the other pottery sites ceased firing; only Chenlu Town has continued to this day, becoming a major porcelain-producing center in the northwest region. In the 1970s, with the help of experts such as Li Guozhen, the traditional skills of the Yaozhou kiln were restored, producing six major series of ceramics — Yaozhou celadon, black-glaze and sgraffito porcelain, white-glaze and sgraffito porcelain, orchid porcelain, iron-rust-blossom porcelain and fancy glaze — which became a pillar industry of Tongchuan City. Over the past twenty years, under the impact of modern industrial products, the ceramics industry of Chenlu Town has at times been depressed; coupled with young people going out to work in large numbers and the older 'craftsmen' dying one after another, the traditional ceramic craft transmitted for more than a thousand years now faces the danger of having no successors, and urgently needs rescue.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Yaozhou kiln took Huangbao Town in Tongchuan as its central kiln site, densely arrayed along both banks of the Qi River, historically known as the 'ten-li stretch of pottery workshops.' There were also kiln sites at Lidi, Shangdian Village, Chenlu Town and Yuhua Village, arranged in sequence and stretching for a hundred li. In Chenlu Town, nearly every household in its eleven villages fires porcelain, earning it the reputation of 'Chenlu never sleeps.' After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the town's workshops were merged into a state-run ceramics factory. The traditional craft of the Yaozhou kiln is mainly embodied in seven aspects: the selection and proportioning, composition and processing of raw materials; the storage, pugging and kneading of clay; hand-throwing and body-trimming; hand carving, incising, scratching, applique and stamping of floral designs; the selection, preparation and application of glaze; the making of saggars and kiln furniture and the loading of kilns; and the furnace atmosphere and firing. The completion of a single piece requires seventeen process steps: material extraction, selection, weathering, proportioning, clay mashing, aging, refining, kneading, hand-throwing, body-trimming, glaze selection, mixing, glazing, hand decoration (carving, incising, applique, stamping), kiln-furniture making, kiln loading and firing. Each process step has its corresponding technical requirements, and those who master the relevant skills are called 'craftsmen.'
Archival Records of Process Steps
The completion of a single piece requires seventeen process steps: material extraction, selection, weathering, proportioning, clay mashing, aging, refining, kneading, hand-throwing, body-trimming, glaze selection, mixing, glazing, hand decoration (carving, incising, applique, stamping), kiln-furniture making, kiln loading and firing.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Yaozhou kiln took Huangbao Town in Tongchuan as its central kiln site, densely arrayed along both banks of the Qi River and historically known as the 'ten-li stretch of pottery workshops'; there were also kiln sites at Lidi, Shangdian Village, Chenlu Town and Yuhua Village, arranged in sequence and stretching for a hundred li. In Chenlu Town nearly every household in its eleven villages fires porcelain, earning it the reputation of 'Chenlu never sleeps'; after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the town's workshops were merged into a state-run ceramics factory. The Tongchuan Municipal Ceramics Research Institute is the project's protecting institution.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Meng Shufeng (recorded in the official archive of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in 1955, from Tongchuan, Shaanxi. Representative inheritor of the Yaozhou kiln ceramic firing technique, a national-level intangible cultural heritage project in the first national-level batch; master of Chinese arts and crafts. Meng Shufeng learned pottery in the family workshop from childhood alongside his family, and later was admitted to the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute for further study. Yaozhou kiln ceramic firing is a purely local craft, ancient and restored after an interruption of eight hundred years. After entering the Chenlu Ceramics Factory in Tongchuan City, Meng researched and restored Yaozhou celadon and Tongchuan folk porcelain, and trained basic technical teams for these two porcelain types. Meng Shufeng created the 'two-knife method' and the 'half-knife paste' forms of carving, incising and engraved-floral techniques for Yaozhou porcelain, with blades that are sharp, smooth and bold. His ceramic works have a solid foundation and a refined, bold quality, possessing considerable artistic value. Representative works include the Orchid Umbrella Jar and the Nine-Blessings Bowl with Orchids.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Meng Shufeng 01-0126
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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