A lump of clay spins in a craftsman’s hands, gradually taking shape—much like Jingdezhen’s thousand-year-old ceramic culture, which evolves with the times yet remains true to its roots.
“To make a single piece of porcelain, it must pass through seventy-two pairs of hands before completion.” This Ming Dynasty record vividly depicts the complexity and precision of Jingdezhen’s handcrafted porcelain-making processes. Today, this millennium-old art form is thriving with new vitality in the hands of both intangible cultural heritage (ICH) inheritors and young artisans.
Four Generations of Inheritance: The ICH Code of Jingdezhen’s Handcrafted Porcelain-Making
The inheritance of Jingdezhen’s handcrafted porcelain-making skills dates back over 2,000 years to its early pottery-making history. The city boasts a 2,000-year pottery-making legacy, a 1,000-year imperial kiln history, and a 600-year royal kiln history—making it a rare city in China and the world that has thrived on handcrafted artistry for a millennium.
The traditional handcrafted porcelain-making system is comprehensive, encompassing mining, washing, clay preparation, kneading, aging, throwing, trimming, painting, glazing, and firing. Each step requires specialized expertise.
The adage “seventy-two pairs of hands for one piece” aptly illustrates the intricacy of the process, with countless minute sub-steps involved.
In 2006, “Jingdezhen’s Handcrafted Porcelain-Making Skills” were listed in the first batch of National Intangible Cultural Heritage, solidifying their cultural status.
Wang Yansheng, a representative inheritor, comes from a family of five generations of clay throwers. Renowned for his masterful skill of throwing up to 13 hollow, interconnected gourds in a single session, he was named a National ICH Inheritor. Even in retirement, he continues to demonstrate clay throwing at the Ancient Kiln Folk Customs Expo Area, showcasing this millennium-old craft to domestic and international visitors.
ICH Inheritors: Guardians and Innovators of Traditional Craftsmanship
In Jingdezhen, outstanding master potters have taken on a new identity: Representative Inheritors of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Through their dedicated efforts, they safeguard the flame of traditional handcrafted porcelain-making.
Ye Dongxi, a master glazer with over 40 years of experience, describes his craft with three principles: “A calm mind, steady hands, and precise eyes.” In his hands, an unglazed bowl spins gently as it is dipped into glaze. When lifted quickly, the glaze level at the bowl’s rim remains perfectly controlled, with no glaze seeping into the bowl’s interior.
Sun Lixin, a Provincial ICH Inheritor of traditional blue-and-white porcelain painting, recalls President Xi Jinping’s inspection of Jingdezhen on October 11, 2023: “The President asked detailed, professional questions—he is truly an insider!” Today, he has freely taught his skills to more than 60 disciples.
Master Deng Xiping, a leading expert in colored glazes, unlocked the secrets of langyao red glaze. She discovered that langyao red only forms within a narrow 5°C temperature range. By improving the glaze formula, she expanded this range to 80°C, significantly reducing the difficulty of firing.
Zhu Xiaoping, an ICH Inheritor of rouge red glaze, spent eight years conducting hundreds of experiments to revive his family’s ancestral rouge red firing technique. In 2015, he successfully recreated rouge red porcelain. His works have repeatedly been selected as national gifts, showcasing Chinese culture to the world.
Modern Transformation of ICH Craftsmanship
Jingdezhen’s handcrafted ceramic industry once faced challenges such as talent drain and a shrinking consumer base. Today, by embracing new technologies and channels, this millennium-old porcelain capital has found a path to inheritance and innovation.
Live-stream e-commerce has emerged as a new engine for the handcrafted art ceramic industry. According to data from the Jingdezhen Culture and Tourism Group:
- In July 2020, the first month of handcrafted art ceramic short-video live streaming, transaction volume reached only 700,000 RMB.
- Four months later, this figure surged to over 30 million RMB.
- Full-year transaction volume hit 3.067 billion RMB in 2021 and further rose to 5.67 billion RMB in 2022.
Lü Yating, a post-90s ICH Inheritor of linglong porcelain, returned from studying abroad to take over her father’s ceramic company. She promotes linglong porcelain through
live-stream e-commerce. Her short videos introducing linglong porcelain have garnered over 8 million likes, and her Douyin store has sold more than 100,000 pieces.
Xu Zhijun, an ICH Inheritor of famille rose porcelain, uses short videos to showcase the 72 processes of famille rose production. One of his videos, documenting the creation of the Xu Kiln Six-Peach Branch Cup, received over 5 million views. It attracted a large number of young consumers, boosting sales volume by approximately 500%.
Jingdezhen City has continued to invest in infrastructure and live-stream e-commerce skills training, guiding the incubation of benchmark bases such as the Ming and Qing Gardens, and building platforms for young artisans. In the first half of 2023, the transaction volume of small and medium-sized merchants in the Jingdezhen ceramic industry belt on the Douyin e-commerce platform increased by 95% year-on-year.
Integration of Tradition and Modernity: Innovative Practices of Young Artisans
Young artisans are injecting new vitality into traditional handcrafted ceramic art. They combine modern fashion with traditional IPs, creating innovative handcrafted ceramic products that appeal to young consumers.
Cai Wenjuan, a post-80s ceramic artist and Provincial ICH Inheritor of Jingdezhen’s handcrafted porcelain-making (decorative crafts category), leads a team that adopts a “post-00s designer creativity + master craftsman quality control” model, bringing intangible cultural heritage into daily life.
Their blue-and-white porcelain speakers have become a sought-after “ICH trend item” among young people. The team has also collaborated with well-known brands such as Carslan and Bawang Cha Ji, transforming ICH from display cabinets into everyday life.
Post-90s artisans like Yu Yin combine modern fashion with traditional IPs to attract young audiences using famille rose ceramic techniques. After joining Douyin in 2020, their follower growth exceeded expectations—proof that the public has a strong interest in ceramic art and culture, which previously lacked accessible channels for engagement.
The Taoxichuan Cultural and Creative Block, renovated from old factory buildings, has become a popular check-in destination. Since its opening in 2016, the number of stalls has grown from 55 to over 15,000 maker applications, with nearly 2,000 stalls operating weekly. It attracts numerous young people to display and sell their creative ceramic works.
Policy Support and Institutional Guarantee
Jingdezhen City has developed a comprehensive “policy package” to protect intangible cultural heritage:
- In January 2024, the Implementation Opinions of Jingdezhen City on Further Strengthening the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritagewas issued.
- In March 2024, the Master Plan for the Jingdezhen Ceramic Cultural and Ecological Protection Zone (2021–2035)was released.
- In April 2025, the Regulations of Jingdezhen City on the Protection of Porcelain Cultural Heritagewas enacted, further improving the legal system for ceramic cultural heritage protection.
Talent is the core of ICH inheritance. In August 2024, Jingdezhen carried out the selection of the 8th batch of Municipal Intangible Cultural Heritage Representative Inheritors, certifying 1,349 individuals and bringing the total number of inheritors to over 3,000.
Jingdezhen has also effectively addressed the “talent shortage” dilemma through initiatives such as university cooperation research programs, the establishment of an “ICH Young Talent Pool,” and the selection of Master Skill Studios.
Peng Yufeng, one of the newly certified municipal ICH inheritors, stated: “Being named an inheritor fills me with pride, but it also makes me acutely aware of my greater responsibility. I will walk the path of inheritance with even more determination.”
Benchmark Enterprise: Chen Dexuan’s Path of ICH Innovation
Chen Dexuan is a National Demonstration Base for the Productive Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage (Jingdezhen’s Handcrafted Porcelain-Making Skills). Since its
establishment in 2003, the enterprise has been dedicated to the inheritance, innovation, and promotion of Jingdezhen’s handcrafted porcelain-making skills.
Bringing together a large number of highly skilled craftsmen, Chen Dexuan fully inherits dozens of traditional processes, including throwing, trimming, firing, and painting.
Adhering to the philosophy of “Striving for zero defects, for you,” the enterprise promotes the integration of traditional craftsmanship with modern aesthetics, creating numerous high-quality ceramic works that combine artistic value with practicality.
Currently, Chen Dexuan owns four major brands: Su Gong Kiln, Chen Dexuan, Yuan Jia Kiln, and Yuan Xin Hao. Through tiered brand positioning, it achieves product diversification and full market coverage. The enterprise has won numerous awards, including consecutive recognition as a National Demonstration Base for the Productive Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage from 2023 to 2025.
Chen Dexuan actively explores the “ICH + Tourism” model. It has built a production base and exhibition hall in the Mingfang Garden of Changnan New District, Jingdezhen, creating a ceramic cultural experience park that integrates ICH exhibitions, handcraft experiences, and scientific research displays.
Guided by the principle of “Growing inward, expanding outward,” the enterprise plans to promote Jingdezhen ceramics to the global stage through continuous participation in international exhibitions and deeper cultural exchanges. It aims to build a globally influential ceramic brand within 30 years.
Today in Jingdezhen, the Taoxichuan Cultural and Creative Block—renovated from old kiln factories—has become a popular tourist attraction, with nearly 2,000 creative stalls operating weekly. Young makers gather here to display their ceramic works.
Data shows that Jingdezhen is home to over 60,000 “Jing Piao” (people who have moved to Jingdezhen to pursue ceramic careers), including more than 5,000 “foreign Jing Piao.” This millennium-old porcelain capital attracts ceramic enthusiasts from around the world with its inclusive spirit.
Looking to the future, Jingdezhen is advancing the creative transformation and innovative development of ceramic culture with greater cultural confidence and an open attitude toward exchanges. The millennium kiln fire burns on, and this golden card of Chinese civilization will surely shine more brightly on the world stage.
