Tang Sancai Firing Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
Tang tri-color glazed pottery (Tangsancai) is a distinctly styled ceramic that flourished in the Tang dynasty and has a history of over thirteen hundred years to this day. Beginning in the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty, the Gao family of Mengjin fired Tangsancai in small kilns, passing the craft from men to men and not to women, so that the skill was transmitted without interruption.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The so-called "three colors" refers to applying mainly yellow, green, and white glazes over a white clay body to convey a sense of polychrome. Because large numbers of precious Tangsancai pieces were unearthed in Luoyang, it is also called "Luoyang Tangsancai." In firing, a twice-fired method is used: first the sculpted body is shaped and dried, then placed in the kiln and bisque-fired at a temperature above 1000°C; afterward various glazes are applied and the piece is glaze-fired in the kiln at a firing temperature of around 900°C. Tangsancai glaze is a low-temperature transparent glaze; during firing, the molten glaze naturally flows downward and blurs into neighboring colors, producing a unique artistic effect. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Gao Songmao of the Gao family contributed the Tangsancai firing craft without reservation, ushering Tangsancai into a new period of development. Originally, Luoyang Tangsancai could only simply imitate horse and camel shapes; now its product types have been greatly enriched, and figures, animals, vessels, and birds and beasts can all be rendered in Tangsancai. The glaze colors of Tangsancai are not pre-mixed but are the result of mutual infiltration inside the kiln. The yellow, green, and white glazes are dabbed on according to the parts of the object; when heated, the glaze layers melt and slowly flow down along the body, and neighboring bands naturally diffuse, forming a mottled effect difficult to reproduce in later ages. Sufficient drying time must be allowed between the two firings of bisque and glaze; if the body's moisture content is too high it will crack during glaze firing. Today's antique-style works in Luoyang still take local white kaolin as the body material; to produce on the finished pieces the dragonfly-wing-like fine crackle and signs of age, the works must be artificially aged after firing by brushing and wiping. This step has changed from a master-to-apprentice, word-of-mouth manual skill into a craft indicator that can be checked item by item.
The plain firing
The dried body is fired above 1000 degrees so the clay becomes a solid carrier for the glaze.
Applying the glazes
Yellow, green and white glazes are dabbed on by area; too much runs, too little dulls the colour.
The glaze firing
The second firing runs cooler, about 900 degrees, so the low-temperature glaze flows and mingles without clouding.
Crazing and ageing
Fine dragonfly-wing crazing forms as the body cools, and replicas are then washed and rubbed to look aged.
The all-handmade imitation process
The inheritor Gao Shuiwang absorbed Han and Tang ceramic painting, carving, stamping and glazing methods into an all-handmade replica process.
The Gao family kiln at Mengjin
The Gao family of Mengjin has fired sancai in small kilns since the Qianlong era, and after 1949 the craft was handed to the public.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The body material of Tangsancai consists mainly of locally produced white kaolin.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
At present, the further protection and transmission of the traditional firing craft of Tangsancai remains a very urgent issue. Gao Shuiwang (per the official archive of the related inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in September 1958, a native of Mengjin County, Henan Province. Representative inheritor of the Tangsancai firing craft, a national-level intangible cultural heritage item (third batch). Tangsancai firing technician. Interested in Tangsancai restoration and making techniques since childhood, on the basis of inheriting the traditional craft he devoted himself to studying the pottery craft since the Han and Tang, systematically drawing on and absorbing the artistic essence of Han and Tang painted pottery in painting, stone carving, sculpture, stamping, appliqué, and glazing, and successfully developing a purely handmade high-imitation Tangsancai craft. The modeling, body quality, glaze color, fine crackle (the "dragonfly-wing effect"), and artificial aging of his works are comparable to authentic cultural relics. He has held training classes many times, imparting his experience accumulated over the years, and attaches importance to strengthening the ranks of inheritors of the traditional Tangsancai making craft. He emphasizes the cultivation of younger talent, especially the echelon structure of the making team.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Gao Shuiwang 03-1351
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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