White Beauty

張語迎

Over 400 pieces or sets of Dehua white porcelain are on display in the National Muse- um of China in Beijing， with the exhibition run- ning from Aug 26 for three months.

Dehua white porcelain is famous for its pure white color. According to Chen Chao， an artist dedicated to porcelain research， Dehua porcelain is extraordinarily pure and white because the kaolin in Dehua county in Fujian has a low percentage of iron， making the porcelain stainless like white jade， earning it the French name“Blanc de Chine ”， or“white from China ”.

Sitting in Quanzhou city， where the an- cient Maritime Silk Road started， Dehua white porcelain has sold like hotcakes at home and abroad since the Song Dynasty （960—1279）. In 2006， Dehua white porcelain was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage.

Despite the past glories， Dehua craftsmen never stop refining their skills. One impressive skill is“the eggshell technique ”.

The eggshell technique in Dehua dates back to the Ming Dynasty. With the technique improved by generations of craftsmen， today s? eggshell porcelain can be made as thin as paper and gauze .

400余件（組）德化白瓷作品自8月26日 起在中國國家博物館展出，本次展覽為期三 個月。

德化白瓷因其白、透、潤而名揚天下。 據青年陶藝家陳超介紹，德化白瓷色澤純凈 無暇、猶如白玉，這得益于其用料——福建 德化地區的高嶺土，含鐵量較低。德化白瓷 也因此在世界上享譽著“中國白”的美稱。

不僅如此，德化縣位于福建泉州，這里 是 海 上 絲 綢 之 路 的 起 點 ，自 宋 代（960— 1279）以來，德化白瓷就因其精美而暢銷海 內外。2006年，德化瓷燒制技藝列入國家首 批非物質文化遺產保護名錄。

德化白瓷藝術歷久彌新，有賴于德化工 匠一直以來對于技藝的追求精益求精。德 化瓷燒制技藝中，最令人嘆服的莫過于“薄 胎技藝”

“薄胎技藝”明代以來就有。歷代德化 工匠不斷對“薄胎技藝”進行挖掘、改進、發 展，時至今日，依托這一技藝燒制而成的瓷器藝術作品可以薄如紙紗。

Standing before an artwork named“Paper”at the exhibition， many of the attendees wondered how it could be made from porcelain.“First， a layer of kaolin is applied to sheets of paper. Then， the paper is heated in a kiln for several days until it turns into ashes . Finally， whats left is kaolin. This is how the artwork was made，”explained Chen.

However， this is much easier said than done. Careful attention is given to make sure the clay stays the same as when it was sent to the kiln.

“The temperature and formula of the clay are key. Every component in the clay has its function，”said Su Xianzhong， the artist who created Paper.“The failure rate is extremely high， so every work consumes the craftsmans time and energy.”He added that even a small artwork like Paper needs continuous focus for a whole week.

Chen said that the refined eggshell technique is just one of the achievements that Chinese porcelain craftsmen have made on the long path of innovation.

“By combining traditional Chinese artistic skills with modern disciplines like material science and humanities， Blanc de Chine will continue to enhance the cultural confidence of the Chinese people as they create even more outstanding works，”said Chen

站在《紙》這件展出的藝術作品前，觀眾 無不嘆服這樣的工藝是怎樣造就的。陳超 解釋道：“首先，工匠們會將一層高嶺土附在 一張紙上。接著，附在紙上的高嶺土將被放 入窯中進行燒制，直至幾天之后所附之紙被 燒成灰。去紙留瓷，這樣，作品《紙》最終就 完成了。”

不過，說起來簡單做起來難。保持黏土 入窯前后狀態的一致，是需要非常小心謹慎 的。

“窯內溫度控制和黏土混合配方是燒制 成功的關鍵。混合而成的黏土，其中含有的 每一種成分，都有它的作用，”作品《紙》的作 者，中國陶瓷藝術大師、蘊玉瓷莊第四代傳 人蘇獻忠說，“燒制失敗的幾率非常高，每一 件作品都飽含著工匠的心血和時間。”蘇獻 忠還說，哪怕像《紙》這樣一件小作品，都需 要花費一整周的時間專注去做。

陳超指出，經過改進發展的“薄胎技 藝”，只是中國陶瓷工匠堅持守正創新，達成 的偉大藝術成就之一。

“將中國傳統美學和工藝與現代學科技 藝，比如材料科學和人文科學相結合，擁有 ‘中國白美稱的德化白瓷藝術，未來也將繼 續探索更加巧奪天工的技藝，不斷加強我們 的文化自信。”陳超說。

選自《21世紀英文報》