Ｂｅａｕｔｉｆｕｌ Ｍｅｌｏｄｉｅｓ ｆｒｏｍ Ｐｏｒｃｅｌａｉｎ Ｉｎｓｔｒｕｍｅｎｔｓ Ｅｎｃｈａｎｔ Ａｕｓｔｒｉａｎ Ｇｕｅｓｔｓ

Editor’s note: A high-level Austrian-Chinese Friendship Association (ACFA) delegation led by Harald Reisenberger， president of the Austrian Federal Council and member of the Supervisory Board of the ACFA， visited China from April 2 to 12. Included in the delegation were Susanne Neuwirth， vice president of the Federal Council; Stefan Pehringer， deputy director of the Asia Department of the Ministry for European and International Affairs; Gisela Wurm， member of the National Council; and principal leaders of the ACFA and the Committee of Overseas Chinese. The delegation visited Beijing， Shanghai， Jiangxi， Fujian and Guangdong. Jia Qinglin， chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference， met with the delegation.

In April， the weather is beautiful in Jingdezhen， a city known as the porcelain capital of China. In this pleasant season a 16-member delegation of the ACFA led by Harald Reisenberger， president of the Federal Council of Austria， paid a visit to the city.

On the morning of April 7， with Zhu Bingfa， vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the Jiangxi Provincial People’s Congress， and Li Fang， mayor of Jingdezhen， in company， President Reisenberger and his party visited an old kiln to see how pieces of porcelain for imperial palace were made and enjoyed the music played by a porcelain instrument orchestra.

Upon arriving at the kiln area， the Austrian guests were greeted by the tune Welcoming Guests. Following a flagstone path， they first entered a workshop built with wood and watched an old craftsman making a vase on a potter’s wheel. As the wheel spun， the old man turned a lump of white clay into a gourd-shaped vase with his deft fingers. “Fantastic! This is how ancient Chinese porcelain was made，” marveled the guests， impressed by the old man’s superb skill. Some took out cameras to take pictures and some turned on their video cameras to record this interesting moment.

As the Austrian guests proceeded to see the next process—painting， the cheerful Austrian classical music Radetzky March was heard in the workshop. This familiar tune played by porcelain instruments having a special clear and pleasant effect touched the Austrian guests who could not help clapping their hands. Amid the lively music， the delegates watched women painters painting camellias， the city flower， on bowls. The result showed the unique charm of the oriental art and the skills of these women painters impressed the guests greatly.

The Austrian guests were greeted at the kiln by the porcelain instrument orchestra that was ready to perform for them. The performers in traditional Chinese costumes played Jasmine Flower， Crescent Moon at Dawn， Joyful Atmosphere and other Chinese folk songs and music. The beautiful melodies and the lively rhythm intoxicated the guests. When the performance came to an end， the Austrian guests gave a prolonged warm applause. President Reisenberger and his wife walked up to shake hands with the performers， congratulated them on their successful performance and said the porcelain music was very appealing. Touching the blue-and-white porcelain musical instruments—ou， qing， chime bells， flute and erhu， he tried his hand at ou with great interest. President Reisenberger loved music. He said it was an unforgettable experience for him to play a porcelain instrument.

After the visit， the Austrian guests thanked the hospitable hosts and expressed that they would tell people about the porcelain musical instruments， the long history of ceramic culture of Jingdezhen and the annual China Jingdezhen International Ceramics Fair when they returned home and that they would as always work to promote cultural exchanges andeconomic cooperation between Austria and China.