Colored Glass Firing Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
Taiyuan began producing glazed ware around the Wanli era of the Ming dynasty, and production has continued uninterrupted ever since. The firing of glazed ware in Yangcheng began in the Yuan dynasty and reached its peak in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The firing of Hejin glazed ware also began in the Wanli era of the Ming dynasty, concentrated mainly in the Dong and Xi Yaotou villages west of the city; the Lü family was the local glazed ware dynasty. Jiexiu is an early area of glazed ware firing in Shanxi; glazed tiles were already used in local Tang-dynasty temple architecture, reached their greatest flourishing in the Ming dynasty, and left behind many historic sites. Beijing was the capital of five dynasties — Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming, and Qing — and glazed ware can be seen in a great number of its palaces, gardens, tombs, pagodas, and temples. The firing of glazed ware in Beijing began in the Liao dynasty; Longquanwu Village in Longquan Town, Mentougou District, still has the ruins of a Liao-dynasty kiln site. In the early Yuan dynasty, the government established a glazed ware kiln at Liuliqu Village in Mentougou, known as the "official kiln" or the "Western Kiln." During the Qianlong era of the Qing dynasty, the Mentougou official kiln entered a period of prosperity. The glazed ware firing craft of Liuliqu Village was introduced to Beijing by the Zhao family, a glazed ware dynasty from Yuci County, Shanxi Province. The kiln fired glazed ware according to the regulations of the Qing-dynasty Ministry of Works, regulations that have always been regarded as the standard official firing method.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
"Liuli" (glazed ware) is the common name for low-temperature lead-glazed pottery, a decorative material often used in buildings such as palaces, imperial tombs, monasteries, temples, and pagodas. Through long production practice, glazed ware has reached considerable heights in form and style, decorative style, and craft technique. Glazed architecture organically combines traditional Chinese ceramic culture with architectural culture, becoming a building form with strong ethnic characteristics and cultural depth. Locally, the Su family is the most famous for firing glazed ware. The firing site was initially at Dongguan in the county seat and was later moved to Houzeyao Village, where the Qiao family was the most famous. A single piece of glazed ware generally takes more than ten days and more than twenty process steps to complete firing. First, qianzi clay must be selected and put through crushing, screening, elutriation, and refining into shape; after drying, it is fired in the kiln to form the body, commonly known as "plain firing" (sushao). Then glaze colors are applied and it is fired in the kiln again, called "color firing" (caishao). Today, with the decline of traditional architectural forms, demand for glazed ware is gradually decreasing. Moreover, because firing glazed ware in coal kilns poses environmental problems, compounded by industrial contraction, loss of personnel, and the abandonment of craft skills, the traditional craft of glazed ware firing is on the verge of extinction and urgently needs attention from relevant parties.
Liuli in Tang temples at Jiexiu
Liuli appears in Tang-era temples at Jiexiu and reached its height in the Ming, leaving monuments that corroborate the records.
Kilns at Yangcheng and Hejin
Yangcheng firing began in the Yuan and Hejin in the Ming Wanli era, where the Lü family dominated the kilns at Dongyaotou and Xiyaotou.
Taiyuan and the capital kilns
Taiyuan has made liili since the Wanli era, and the Zhao family of Yuci carried the craft to the Beijing kilns under official specifications.
Glaze formula and mixing ratio
The glaze formula is the guarded core of the craft; Ge Yuansheng mastered it and later patented a composite tile and fast-ignite coal.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Glazed ware production is widely distributed in Shanxi Province, mainly in Taiyuan, Yangcheng, Hejin, Jiexiu, and other places.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Colored Glass Firing Craftsmanship · Colored Glass Firing Craftsmanship · Colored Glass Firing Craftsmanship.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Ge Yuansheng (record from the official archive of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in May 1940, from Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province. Representative inheritor of Glazed Ware Firing Craftsmanship, a national-level intangible cultural heritage project in the third national batch. After years of dedicated research and practice, he finally mastered its core techniques — glaze making and raw material proportioning — and made innovations on the traditional basis. In 1992 he led the invention of combined glazed tile and fast-burning kindling coal technologies, for which he received national invention patents.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Jiang Jianguo 03-1347
- Ge Yuansheng 03-1348
- Wang Shubao
- Su Yongjun
- Liu Kaibao
- Zhao Changan
- Sun Yunhao
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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