CHINA DAILY August 18, 2014 Page 7 AROUND JIANGSU The paper-cutting art of Yangzhou Grand tradition slowly fading away as artists struggle to earn a living and pass on their skills to next generations Yixing clay teapot By XU JINGXI about the teapots spread all By XU JINGXI over the world and especial- [email protected] The clay teapot is a cultur- ly along the Maritime Silk al symbol of Yixing, a county- Road, from Europe to Japan he art of Chinese level city under the adminis- and Southeast Asia. Euro- tration of Wuxi, Jiangsu prov- pean nobility bought them paper-cutting has ince. The Yixing clay teapot is as valuable collectibles and been popular in known for its high artistic val- some had them inlaid with T ue and is made from Yixi clay, gold and silver. The Yixing Yangzhou, Jiangsu or zisha. The city’s tradition- clay teapot stimulated the province, since the Sui Dynasty al style of making the teapot development of ceramics in dates back to the 15th century. Europe and Japan soon after. (581-618) and is closely linked Zisha, which translates to In recent years, the Yixing to the city’s local customs. “purple sand or clay”, is stone- clay teapot has become a hot ware that is purple, red and item in the art auction market. During the Tang Dynasty (618- brown. After it is fired in a A pot by Gu Jingzhou (1915- 907), paper was cut into patterns kiln at a temperature between 96) was auctioned in 2010 for of birds and fl owers and placed in 1,100 C and 1,200 C, the stone- a record price of 12.32 million women’s hair or used as fl oral dec- ware can be turned into an yuan ($2 million). orations on Lichun Day — the fi rst assortment of colors such as Those who want to browse of the 24 divisions of the solar year claret, copper, sunfl ower yel- museum pieces or buy tea- according to the traditional Chinese low and blackish green. pots at an affordable price calendar — to celebrate the begin- Yixing clay teapot is known may find Yixing’s Dingshu ning of spring. for its artistic quality. In 2006, town a good place to vis- During the Qing Dynasty (1644- it was listed in the coun- it. Most of the clay used for 1911), the art of paper-cutting rose try’s fi rst batch of state-level making Yixing teapots comes to prominence because of economic intangible cultural heritages. from Huanglong Mountain prosperity at the time. There was a It retains heat well and has located in Dingshu. surge in the number of paper-cut- good air permeability. It grad- In ancient times, kilns for ting artisans and the use of paper- ually takes in the scent and ceramics in China were built cuts expanded to include patterns color of tea after prolonged like dragons. There are only for embroideries. Tailors made use — you can smell the fra- three such kilns still in use in small handkerchiefs and big quilts ment has hosted exhibitions of grances of tea even if you just China. One of them is located using embroidery patterns based on paper-cutting to introduce the art pour hot water in it. in Qianshu village of Dingshu paper-cutting. to the public and set up funds to Chinese painting, calligra- town and was built 800 years In 2006, Yangzhou paper-cutting encourage apprenticeships. phy and seal cutting are all ago. It has been used to fi re was listed among the country’s fi rst In 2007, the Chinese Paper-Cut- compulsory education for a zisha ware since the mid- batch of state-level intangible cul- ting Museum opened in Yangzhou Yixing clay teapot maker. By Ming Dynasty. tural heritages. Chinese paper-cut- for tourists to appreciate master- molding teapots into di erent Yixing Ceramics Muse- ting was included on the UNESCO pieces and shop for souvenirs. Pop- shapes and engraving paint- um, accredited by the China Intangible Cultural Heritage List in ular items include desk lamps cov- ings and verses onto them, Arts-Crafts Association to be 2009. ered in paper cuts and paper-cut craftsmen deliver their artis- the “China Zisha Museum” The Yangzhou artform represents postcards of the city’s tourist attrac- tic views and values of life. in January, has about 2,000 the paper-cutting style of southern tions. The teapots became popu- pottery items out of its col- China, which is intricate, uses deli- The museum has a large work- IF YOU GO lar during the Ming Dynas- lection of nearly 10,000 arti- cate colors, has a heavy infl uence on shop devoted to paper-cutting mas- ty (1368-1644) after a monk facts. Visitors can talk with embroidery patterns and is collected ters Zhang Xiufang and Zhang Muli. The Chinese Paper-Cutting Muse- from Jinsha Temple in Yixing Yixing clay teapot craftsmen as paintings. Paper cuts in northern Zhang Xiufang, 71, was appointed um, located at 2 Majia Xiang, Dong- handcrafted a teapot from at their workshops in the China prefer bright colors, which by the Ministry of Culture as the guan Street, in the Guangling dis- local clay during the reign museum to learn more about are bold and vigorous, and are most- representative inheritor of Yang- trict of Yangzhou, Jiangsu prov- of Emperor Zhengde. Word the art. ly used as window decorations. zhou paper-cutting in 2007. Zhang ince, is open from 8 am - 5:30 pm. Today, the art of paper-cutting Muli is the daughter of Zhang Yong- The telephone number is 0514- IF YOU GO is on the decline. It is often diffi- shou (1907-1989), the most respect- 87335122. Yangzhou is a 90-minute cult for artisans to live on sales of ed modern paper-cutting artist in The Yixing Ceramics Museum, located at 150 Dingshan Bei their paper cuts and to fi nd young Yangzhou. Visitors to the museum bus ride from Nanjing. Lu in Dingshu town of Yixing, Jiangsu province, is open from 8 apprentices to inherit their skills. can watch the two masters display To preserve the art, the govern- their skills in the workshop. am to 4:45 pm. The telephone number is 0510-87188321..