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China News Service, Lishui, April 4 (Reporter Fan Yubin) "My father's persistent pursuit of Longquan celadon and his charisma are my most precious spiritual wealth." On the eve of Qingming Festival, he was born in Zhang, Longquan City, Lishui City, Zhejiang Province. Zhang Yingying, the seventh-generation descendant of celadon, the inheritor of the human intangible cultural heritage "Longquan Celadon Traditional Firing Technique", a senior arts and crafts artist, and a master of arts and crafts from Zhejiang Province, Zhang Yingying, remembered her father Zhang Shaobin in an exclusive interview with a reporter from Chinanews.com.
Zhang Yingying's creation of Longquan celadon works courtesy of Zhang Yingying
Zhang Yingying was born in the family of Zhang's celadon in Baoxi, Longquan. She is the daughter of Zhang Shaobin, a master of Chinese arts and crafts, a master of Chinese ceramic art, a representative inheritor of national intangible cultural heritage, and a recipient of special government allowances from the State Council.
Seven generations of the Zhang family have continued to inherit the traditional firing techniques of Longquan celadon. What remains unchanged is the inheritance and excellence of traditional techniques, as well as the ingenuity and innovative development of Longquan celadon art.
Growing up in a longquan celadon family, Zhang Shaobin never asked his daughter Zhang Yingying and son Zhang Durian to inherit the family craftsmanship when they grew up.
"But my father must hope that we can inherit the ancestral business of celadon." Zhang Yingying said that it was her father's subtle guidance, and celadon became the most beautiful memory of her childhood.
Zhang Yingying's work "Distant Mountains with Green" Photo courtesy of Zhang Yingying
"Every time after school and during the winter and summer vacations, I would go to my father's studio and watch him transform the mud in his hands into celadon works of various shapes, which ignited my curiosity about celadon, and I also began to grab the china clay. I tried to make porcelain." Zhang Yingying recalled, "My father was very busy, but whenever he saw that I wanted to try making porcelain, he would put down his work and let me use the only electric billeting machine at home. "
Zhang Yingying introduced her first work "Liang-Liang Pot" to reporters from Chinanews.com Photo by Fan Yubin
"When a satisfactory work is made, my father will help me burn it." Zhang Yingying said, "When I was 15 years old, my 'first work' was born. Served with glaze and firing."
Zhang Shaobin has a very high attainments in Longquan celadon, which makes Zhang Yingying have a deeper understanding of celadon since childhood.
From the ancient Longquan celadon porcelain "Shougui" and "cabbage bottle" made by ancestors to the Longquan Celadon Museum, to the father Zhang Shaobin's in-depth practice and research on the characteristics and firing techniques of Longquan celadon body glaze, and successfully restored the thin celadon The traditional crafts such as thick-bodied glaze firing, gold wire and iron wire decoration, and pedestal firing have won the reputation of "contemporary official kiln" for his works.
In Zhang Yingying's view, the Zhang family's generation of porcelain is a vivid portrayal of the inheritance and development of Longquan celadon.
Zhang Yingying's work "Seeking" Photo courtesy of Zhang Yingying
"Glaze is the soul of Longquan celadon, and the glazed surface of Longquan celadon is like jade but not jade but surpasses jade." Zhang Yingying always likes to quietly look at her father's celadon works.
She said that Longquan celadon is a kind of elegant and quiet art. It does not have complicated shapes, but has a unique charm, which can make her stare for a long time, calm her heart, and better devote herself to creation.
"My father has always been my spiritual leader." Zhang Yingying said bluntly. Now, she can regard her strong interest in celadon as a career that she strives to pursue her life, which makes her very happy.
It is true that Longquan celadon art embodies the creative talents of generations of celadon people.
For example, Zhang Shaobin pioneered the Zikouwu Phnom Penh process, which solved the long-standing problem of celadon lip flow glaze; the successful firing of a large-caliber blue sky hat bowl broke through the stereotype that celadon thin body and thick glaze could not be fired for large pieces; The new beige-yellow Ge kiln, the glaze color is blue in the middle, yellow in the yellow, transparent in the yellow, the glaze layer is rich and lustrous, and the content is meaningful.
Innovation has never stopped. Zhang Yingying continued to innovate the technique of "full glaze firing", making up for the traces of "support nail firing".
At the same time, in the miniature celadon works, they bravely climbed the peak of craftsmanship.
In the four years since Zhang Shaobin's death, Zhang Yingying has re-engraved many of his father's masterpieces.
"On the one hand, I miss my father, and I want to enter his spiritual world through re-engraving works; on the other hand, it is also to hone my skills." Zhang Yingying said, "My father always believed that an artist needs to keep the innocence forever, and only innocence can be pure. , without any misunderstandings."
Zhang Yingying's work "Fat Condensation Pot" Photo courtesy of Zhang Yingying
Zhang Yingying believes that the creation of celadon should be done from the heart and ingenuity. He hopes that through his own growth and experience, he can make more works that convey the voice, emotion and warmth.
Zhang Yingying pointed to her work "Growing" and introduced to the reporter that this group of works consists of several pots, "At first, I thought that growing up was growing up with age, but with the death of my father, I grew up. I have a different understanding of growth, and sometimes growth can be instantaneous, so the last pot suddenly became bigger."
Looking back on the past, from the Three Kingdoms and Jin Dynasty to the present, Longquan celadon kiln fire has not been extinguished for thousands of years, relying on the persistence of generations of celadon people.
The traditional firing technique of Longquan celadon has also become the only ceramic project in the world to be included in the "Representative List of Human Intangible Cultural Heritage".
Zhang Yingying's creation of Longquan celadon works courtesy of Zhang Yingying
Looking at the present, Zhejiang is working together to create Song Yun culture.
Zhang Yingying mentioned that Longquan celadon has become an aesthetic expression of minimalism in the Song Dynasty with its simple lines, beautiful shape and warm and jade-like texture. Among them, tea sets, incense sets, flower utensils, etc. are integrated into the daily life of Chinese people. Porcelain, playing with porcelain, using porcelain, understand the art of celadon, feel the culture of Song Yun.
At the same time, Longquan celadon has frequently appeared on the international stage in recent years, showing the charm of celadon to overseas audiences.
Zhang Yingying's work "Growing" Photo by Fan Yubin
Longquan, a national historical and cultural city deep in the mountainous area of southwest Zhejiang, has been engaged in porcelain for thousands of years, and now it is on the way to common prosperity. circulation.
Thinking about the future, Zhang Yingying said that she will continue to work hard to continuously improve her cultural and artistic level, and approach her father and grandparents.
"I want to inject traditional handcrafts and thoughts and emotions into the creation of celadon, and make great efforts in the inheritance and creation of celadon step by step, forming my own unique artistic style, and promoting the art of Longquan celadon to reach a new peak." (End)