Page 10 - YunnanTourismCultureTimes (103)

09 FOCUS | 焦点

A village united in protecting pottery

一个村的共同守护

As evening falls, the village of Tangdui kilometers, there are over 150 practitioners of
in Shangri-La City, Yunnan’s Diqing Zang earthenware, with their products even exported
Autonomous Prefecture, comes alive with to countries like Vietnam.
the scent of smoke rising from chimneys. Deng Keman, a 34-year-old villager, is the
Inside traditional Zang homes, the aroma ninth-generation inheritor of Huize’s pottery. He
of broth wafts from a modern kitchen, em- proudly said, “The clay we use can withstand
anating from a simple, rustic black clay pot temperatures over 1,300 degrees Celsius; it’s one
crafted by local artisan Lurong Enzhu. of the rare fire clays.”
At the age of 15, Lurong Enzhu began Building on the foundation of traditional pot-
learning pottery from his father, Sunnuo Qilin, a tery techniques, Deng has successfully embraced
representative inheritor of the national intan- innovation, creating earthenware products that
gible cultural heritage of Zang black pot- combine artistry, aesthetics, and practicality. “As
tery. At that time, the black pottery of Nixi a new-generation inheritor, I strive to produce
was relatively unknown, with only six ar- pottery and crafts that consumers will love,” he
tisans in the village. The production was said.
low and sales limited, and the income In the small village of Miaocun, situated in
only sufficed to cover basic food Yunnanyi Town, Xiangyun County, the Yinyan
and living necessities. Dragon Kiln production base features a variety
In recent years, Shangri-La of handmade pottery. Site leader Cha Jialong en-
City has launched a cultural thusiastically was showcasing teapots and cups
inheritance project focused during a live stream, saying, “Come, take a look!
on Zang black pottery, es- This is a handmade dragon kiln-fired teapot; it
tablishing two workshops brews tea beautifully……”
dedicated to the craft. This Cha Jialong studied e-commerce at university
initiative has provided and returned to his hometown after graduating in
villagers with a place 2018 to open a Taobao store. He started sourc-
to learn black pottery ing traditional pottery, including clay pots and
making skills free of bowls crafted by local artisans, and selling them
charge, ensuring that on e-commerce platforms. Through live stream-
the tradition is passed ing, he shares the stories and histories of these
down to future gener- traditional crafts, successfully connecting with
ations. customers throughout China.
Meanwhile, in Today, Yunnan’s diverse pottery offerings in-
Huize County of creasingly blend modern aesthetic elements and
Qujing City, the functional designs, integrating with various in-
village of Wanizhai dustries such as “pottery plus small appliances,”
is renowned for “pottery plus coffee,” and “pottery plus e-com-
its pottery. In this merce.” This approach not only revitalizes tra-
small village, cov- ditional pottery but also enhances contemporary
ering only 11 square living spaces with cultural charm and warmth.