Yue Kiln Celadon Firing Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
The main production area of the Yue kiln lay in the dwelling lands of the ancient Yue people; in the Tang dynasty it was called Yuezhou, from which the Yue kiln takes its name. Because the limpid glaze was well suited to carved, stamped, and incised floral decoration, and because of the developed brown-color painted form, together with the influence of Tang-dynasty gold and silver ware, silk, lacquerware, and other craft patterns, a distinctive decorative style of Yue-kiln celadon was formed.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Yue kiln is a kiln system with a long continuous history of ceramic firing, an extremely broad sphere of influence, and rich cultural content; it was the earliest kiln to break through the firing of proto-porcelain and move toward the production of mature porcelain. The Yue kiln is famous for producing celadon; its porcelain-making skills, decorative craft, and modeled forms all reached extremely high levels in ancient China. In particular, the 'secret-color porcelain' (mise ci) specially fired for the court became a classic of ancient Chinese ceramic firing. The mature craft of Yue-kiln celadon enabled it to reach a very high level in both form and decorative art. The pinched-and-modeled ceramic sculptures are numerous among Yue-kiln celadon, becoming one of the important features of its plastic art. Today's kiln workers, building on the traditional Yue-kiln celadon craft, have inherited and developed its glaze color and form-decoration craft; they have preserved such traditional methods as carving, incising, brown color, and pinching-modeling, and have developed celadon painted decoration, not only protecting and carrying on the traditional Yue-kiln craft but also truly integrating Yue-kiln celadon into modern life.
Carved and incised decoration
The most demanding decorative step of Yue ware: the carved and incised patterns open different depths under the glaze and are usually combined with iron-paint painting.
Iron-paint painting
Painting with iron-bearing pigment over the glaze; its graded tones answer to the knife marks of the carving and warm the cold blue-green surface.
Figurative modelling
A major branch of the kiln's modelling art, adding figures and animals by hand onto the body so the kilns turned out sculpture as well as wares.
Dragon-kiln firing
A long, high-heat firing in the dragon kiln melts the glaze layer; the shift from proto-porcelain to mature celadon happened in such chambers.
Hydrangea and Moonlight over the Lotus Pond
Works by the inheritor Ji Xigui, noted for refined celadon decoration, now held by the China Arts and Crafts Museum, the National Museum and the China National Ceramics Museum.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Yue-kiln celadon lineage of Hangzhou takes Xihu District as its transmission center, and the Guishan Kiln Ceramic Art Research Studio where Ji Xigui works is a node of this craft. Born in December 1941 in Hangzhou, she graduated from the Ceramic Design program of the Fine Arts Department at the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute; over more than sixty years of practice she repeatedly broke down the light-and-dark gradations left by carving and incising and the shaded transitions of brown color into teachable steps, so that the ancient kiln tradition of the Shanglin Lake line continues to grow in Hangzhou's workshops. Compared with the workshops around Shanglin Lake that emphasize the mass production of daily-use wares, the Hangzhou transmission leans more toward the pairing of form and decoration, often using vases, jars, and various sculptural works to experiment with the combined effect of incised floral decoration and brown color.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Yue Kiln Celadon Firing Craftsmanship · Yue Kiln Celadon Firing Craftsmanship.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Yue kiln continued firing for nearly a thousand years, leaving not only many fine Yue-kiln celadon pieces but also transmitting the exquisite Yue-kiln celadon firing technique. Ji Xigui (per the associated inheritor's official archive record): Female, Han ethnicity, born in December 1941, a native of Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province. Representative inheritor of the fourth national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage item 'Yue Kiln Celadon Firing Technique.' Senior industrial arts craftsman; master of Chinese arts and crafts. Graduated from the Ceramic Design program of the Fine Arts Department at the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute. Over more than sixty years of practice, she emphasized inheriting traditional skills and continually sought innovation in the practice of transmission; her artistic cultivation is deep and her skill exquisite. She summarized and codified decorative techniques such as Yue-kiln celadon carving and incising and celadon brown color, attaining accomplishment from design and firing to theoretical literacy. Her ceramic works cover diverse themes and show profound skill, excelling in celadon decoration: freshness within weightiness, exquisite and splendid, of a unique style. Representative works include 'Hydrangea,' 'Moonlight over the Lotus Pond,' 'Magnolia,' and 'Heavenly Bamboo,' among others. Her works have repeatedly won national-level awards and are held in collections such as the Chinese Arts and Crafts Treasures Hall, the National Museum of China, and the China Ceramics Museum. She persists in taking on apprentices and passing on the craft, inheriting the traditional technique.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Jixigui 04-1917
- Chen Pengfei
- Shi Zhen
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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