Rat has become a popular theme in China's "porcelain capital" as the country celebrates the Year of the Rat. The zodiac animal has not only made the procelain products more interesting, but also generated big business opportunities for artists in Jingdezhen, in east China's Jiangxi Province.
While senior artists set the trend to create rat-theme porcelain products, young people are displaying a sense of innovation by combining the rat images with popular culture.
NANCHANG, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- In his 100-square-meter workshop, Liu Yuanchang carefully creates the ears of a porcelain rat on a half-meter-high porcelain clay figurine. Beside him are dozens of clay modes waiting to be glazed.
Liu, 81, is a renowned porcelain sculptor in the city of Jingdezhen, east China's Jiangxi Province. He is putting the final touches on one of his rat porcelain products in honor of the Year of the Rat on the Chinese lunar calendar.
In 1997, the Year of the Ox, Liu made his first batch of porcelain products themed on a zodiac animal-- 100 porcelain oxen. He quickly sold out of the figurines.
"This the second time I have made zodiac animal-themed porcelain figures for the Year of the Rat," Liu said.
Porcelain-making artist Liu Yuanchang creates a porcelain work in the shape of the rat in Jingdezhen, east China's Jiangxi Province, Jan. 7, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhou Mi)
He has made many variations of the rat figurines. Some look cunning with lean faces and some look innocent with chubby faces. He said that people generally prefer cheerful rats because they believe they bring positive energy and good luck.
Chinese porcelain products themed on zodiac animals have been extremely popular with customers for years. "The Chinese zodiac is an important part of the Chinese culture," Liu said.
As a master in Chinese arts and crafts with a high reputation, Liu's zodiac animal-themed porcelain items have caused a craze among collectors. Prices continue to rise year after year. After five years, one of his works can easily rake in 10,000 yuan (about 1,400 U.S. dollars), 10 times its original price of 1,000 yuan.
GAINING POPULARITY
In Jingdezhen, Liu is not the first artist to make zodiac animal-themed porcelain. Zhou Guozhen, 89, was creating such kind of porcelain before Liu. Zhou set the trend of making zodiac animal porcelain in the city in 1996 when he made the first porcelain products themed on the Year of the Rat. Before that, artists in Jingdezhen mostly made Buddha-themed products.
Last year, Zhou made 999 porcelain pigs. This year, collectors have asked him to make 3,000 porcelain rats. Zhou has had to hire several assistants to help with the work.
"The growing popularity of zodiac animal-themed porcelain has brought business opportunities to the industry in Jingdezhen," Zhou said.
Porcelain-making artist Zhou Guozhen looks at his porcelain work in the shape of the rat in Jingdezhen, east China's Jiangxi Province, Jan. 8, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhou Mi)
He recalled that in 2010, the Year of the Tiger, porcelain tigers were in such high demand that thousands of gas kilns in Jingdezhen were working simultaneously to make the porcelain products every day.
"People regard the tiger as an auspicious animal to ward off evil things," he said.
Although "Shu," the Chinese character for a rat, is generally used to convey derogatory meanings in Chinese idioms, the image of the rat carries positive connotations in the Chinese zodiac culture.
"Rats are regarded as the embodiment of the god of wealth since rats will only appear in your home when you have an abundance of food," Zhou said. In the story of the Chinese zodiac, the rat wins the zodiac animal ranking by virtue of his wisdom and diligence, which also reflects the Chinese philosophy that people can fix their innate weaknesses by combining wisdom with diligence, he said.
Over the past few years, Zhou has spread the Chinese zodiac culture and porcelain culture abroad. One of his porcelain works, a porcelain goat, was on display at the British Museum. He made a porcelain monkey as a birthday present for the then UN chief Ban Ki-Moon, who was born in the Year of the Monkey and received a letter of thanks from him.
CREATIVE YOUNG ARTISTS
These days, more young artists are following in the footsteps of Zhou and Liu by creating Chinese zodiac animal porcelain and combining it with popular culture.
In Jingdezhen's Sanbao porcelain district, rats have stolen the spotlight in hundreds of workshops. Wu Anran, 34, sits in a pile of orange packing boxes and intently wraps porcelain rat coffee mugs and saucers. The products feature various rats throughout the four seasons. She said she wants the users to "feel like they are in a fairy tale while drinking coffee."
Porcelain designer Wu Anran checks her porcelain products themed on the Chinese Year of the Rat in Jingdezhen, east China's Jiangxi Province, Jan. 8, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhou Mi)
Wu has already sold 3,000 sets of coffee mugs and saucers, with each set costing 199 yuan. Many companies bought them as gifts for their employees and customers for the Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year.
It was impossible for Wu and her team to produce thousands of coffee cups in just one month. Today, relying on the advanced industrial production line from a local company, she can fill orders effortlessly. The company has worked with more than 200 young artists like Wu.
"I can just focus on designing the products, and they will take care of everything else," Wu said.
In addition to the coffee cups, Wu created some porcelain rats for table decorations. Unlike the traditional rat porcelain created by her seniors, her rat products are more human-like. For example, one of her works features a rat raising its outstretched hands to its ears as if to say, "Whatever!" Wu believes her creations "have their own attitudes and personalities and could be favored by young people."
Feng Qing scans a porcelain work in the shape of the rat to modify the design in Jingdezhen, east China's Jiangxi Province, Jan. 9, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhou Mi)
In Jingdezhen, young people can boldly try all their creative ideas at a small cost. Feng Qing, 31, is helping more young people turn their wild ideas into reality. At his sampling center, a batch of porcelain rats was being removed from the molds. A designer provided an idea, and Zhao's team did the rest.
"We help many artists turn their ideas into data and send it to the factory," Feng said. "I see that the little rats have turned into different creative products, and such innovation truly gives a lot of hope for the future of Jingdezhen."
(Reporting by Wu Zhonghao, Zhang Zhaoqing, Guo Jiewen, Zhong Qun, Zhou Mi; Video reporters: Wu Zhonghao, Zhang Zhaoqing, Guo Jiewen; Video editor: Zheng Xin)■
