Firing up a shining past for porcelain

In China's porcelain capital of Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province, ceramics have been woven into the very fabric of the city for centuries. At its core, the Taoyangli historical and cultural district is a beacon of this storied past, a place where kiln fires once blazed through the night, and porcelain was made every day.

This area, comprising the remnants of the Imperial Kiln Factory, the kilns of the Ming(1368-1644)and Qing(1644-1911)dynasties, and old workshops used by ceramic artisans, is a testament to Jingdezhen's illustrious heritage.

"The Taoyangli district as a whole is an open and living museum. When visitors come here, they can experience what life was like hundreds of years ago—potters living and making porcelain, and traders from all over the country who shipped the goods worldwide, "says Weng Yanjun, director of the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Institute.

The institute consists of a ceramic archaeology research institute and a kiln museum built on the site of Ming Dynasty imperial kilns. They were once used to produce the finest blue-and-white ceramics for imperial courts.

The elongated structures of the museum are built using a mix of new and recycled bricks from dismantled kilns. Many of the surrounding buildings and houses are also built using kiln bricks, as the kilns had to be rebuilt every two or three years to maintain their thermal performance.

Weng says that the museum's collection includes pieces unearthed at the ancient kilns over the past few decades. The weight of ceramics unearthed reaches dozens of metric tons. The museum opened to the public in 2021 and quickly became a popular destination in Taoyangli.

Over the past millennium, Jingdezhen has developed a rich history and is a rare example of a Chinese city dedicated exclusively to the ceramics industry, says Weng. A variety of porcelain products were discovered at the Imperial Kiln Factory, now the kiln museum, and are on display, giving visitors a glimpse into the area's bustling past.

"I grew up here and I've seen how the district has been restored to its former state, "says Weng.

The restoration of Taoyangli began over a decade ago with the repair of the late Ming Dynasty Xujia Kiln. It's the largest wood-fired kiln still in existence, and was used to produce household porcelain.

In 2012, Yu Xilai, former Party secretary of the Jingdezhen Jianguo Porcelain Factory, was surprised to receive a call asking him to help repair the Xujia Kiln, which had been abandoned for years.

Yu began working at the kiln when he was 20, following in his father's footsteps. Back then, the kiln was used by the Jingdezhen Jianguo Porcelain Factory to produce ceramics for export.

When Yu saw the crumbling bricks and walls of the old kiln, he was determined to do everything he could to restore it.

"Many former craftsmen were really excited when they heard about the restoration plan for the kiln. They volunteered to come back and help out. A lot of them were quite old then, some even in their 80s, "says the 68-year-old.

Reviving this monster, which is 17 meters long and five meters high, was no simple task.

They searched for wooden beams from other dismantled or abandoned workshops to maintain the kiln's original appearance as much as possible. Nearly 150, 000 bricks were used, and it took the craftsmen three months to piece together the arched surface brick by brick. The wooden planks used to carry firewood to the kiln were re-created from memory. In 2016, the project was finally completed, and the Xujia Kiln was once again fired up after years of inactivity.

"We need half a year to prepare for a successful firing, which can produce over 10, 000 pieces. Many people are eager to collect ceramics made in a wood-fired kiln, "says Yu.

To pass down techniques and teach ceramic culture to a wider audience, he has invited experienced inheritors of the intangible cultural heritage to display their skills at a workshop next to the Xujia Kiln. Each inheritor has a couple of young apprentices, who learn from them as they work.

"In the past, porcelain-making techniques were traditionally passed down within families. Here, we have many families with three generations of porcelain makers, and I am the third generation in my family, "says Yu. "However, to ensure the long-term survival of the craft, we must break away from past traditions and pass these skills on to more young people. "

Xu Ling is one of the experienced craftspeople invited by Yu to demonstrate their techniques in Taoyangli. When she is sitting at her workbench, she is fully engrossed in carving patterns into the porcelain bowls, and is completely unfazed by the crowd gathered around her, even as people frequently take pictures, and occasionally praise her skill.

"Whenever they ask questions, I answer them, one by one. Many children are very interested, and I think it would be wonderful if my explanations spark their interest in making porcelain in the future, "says the 58-year-old.

In recent years, Xu has taken on apprentices to ensure the skills are passed down. Two of them, both born after 2000, work beside her, demonstrating the different steps in the porcelain-making process.

When President Xi Jinping visited Taoyangli last October, he encouraged the inheritors to pursue their craftsmanship with dedication, and devote themselves to passing down their craft and to making innovations.

He said the principle of protection first and like-for-like renovation has been followed in the protection of Taoyangli, facilitating a mutually reinforcing interaction between ceramic cultural protection and the development of cultural and tourism industry.

Xu recalls working at a ceramics factory in the area when she was in her 20s. Present-day Taoyangli brings back memories of the way it looked in the last century.

In the distance, the towering chimney of the ceramics factory where she worked retains its original appearance. Xu's current workshop, where she demonstrates porcelain-making skills, has been restored to its former glory, with each brick, beam and pillar reflecting its original state.

The Xujia Kiln, which represents the ancient kiln clusters of the Ming and Qing dynasties, is surrounded by more than 100 narrow alleys. Lined with brick-paved pathways, these alleys are flanked by porcelain workshops made out of kiln bricks. For centuries, generations of artisans thrived here, passing down their craft through the ages.

"The names of these alleyways have remained unchanged for hundreds of years, "Xu says.

In 2016, the restoration of the Taoyangli historical and cultural district began. Liu Zili, president of the Jingdezhen Ceramic Culture Tourism Group, which is in charge of the project, says that they adhered to the principles of prioritizing preservation, and maintaining the original condition.

On the basis of respecting and preserving residential buildings and the historical settings of different eras, they employed an approach of juxtaposing the old with the new to return the neighborhood to life, creating a new cultural destination in the process.

Walking through Taoyangli, visitors find that advertisements and slogans from the past have been preserved. On the roads, workers meticulously fill the gaps between the stones with soil using small knives, to allow moss to grow between the bricks as it did in the past.

"Through meticulous restoration efforts, each building, every piece of porcelain, and every detail is set to narrate its own chapter of history, wrapping the entire district in the rich memories of the porcelain capital, "Liu says.