Basic Introduction to Tubao Pottery
The pottery factory in Guanyao Town, Qichun County, known historically as “Kiln State,” was established in the second year of Hongwu during the Ming Dynasty (1369). For over 600 years, it has continued unique traditional techniques such as hand-thrown molding, hand-painted decoration, and earth dragon kiln firing. This produces more than 100 types of ceramic goods including jars, stoves, pots, vats, and teapots that are both practically useful and artistically collectible. These products are popular across 16 provinces and municipalities, 74 regions, and six countries, making Qichun County one of the oldest and most famous pottery-producing areas in Hubei Province.
Historically, the manual pottery production in Guanyao was mainly distributed around Chi West Lake, with villagers in each town mostly engaged in pottery-making, naming their kilns after their surnames: Xiao Family Kiln, Hong Family Kiln, Shen Family Kiln, Cao Family Kiln, Wang Family Kiln, Wan Family Kiln, Lu Kiln, Li Kiln, and Guan Family Kiln, among more than a hundred other pottery workshops. The clay used for Guanyao pottery is taken from the shores of Chi West Lake, specifically the loess clay that has settled at the bottom of the lake. This clay can be divided into yellow and white, with the yellow clay from the surface layers being harder and suitable only for simple pottery shapes like jars, vats, basins, and teapots. The deeper layers contain white clay, which is more adhesive and pliable, allowing for the creation of more complex and refined pottery. After the Ming Dynasty, Guanyao's manual pottery-making absorbed local paper-cutting and floral decoration techniques, leading to the emergence of incised and relief-decorated pottery, thus forming its own distinctive artistic style. During the late Qing period and the Republic era, Guanyao pottery further developed its craft by integrating Chinese ink painting techniques, using bold brushwork to create patterns on the pottery in a vivid and ingenious manner, enriching the decorative content. Important forming processes in Guanyao pottery-making were already established by the Ming Dynasty. Specialization within the pottery industry increased, with typical procedures including kneading clay, digging out forms, coiling, stamping, painting, glazing, and firing. These steps were closely linked, with the level of specialization rising. In terms of incised decoration, themes primarily revolved around flowers, birds, fish, and insects in everyday life, with motifs like “Magpies Fluttering Among Plum Blossoms,” “Carp Swimming Through Lotus,” and “Mandarin Ducks Picking Lotus” being the most representative.
Historical Folk Customs
The pottery industry in Guanyao Town, Qichun County, can be traced back to the third year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1369), with a history spanning over 600 years. It is known as “Kiln State” and is one of Hubei Province's renowned producers of daily-use pottery and artistic pottery. It embodies the essence of China's thousands of years of pottery-making tradition, vividly and completely recreating ancient pottery-making processes.
In the Zhengtong period of the Ming Dynasty (1436), the pottery industry evolved from Xiao family's single household workshop to a joint venture between the Xiao, Hong, and Shen families, establishing three workshops and one earth dragon kiln. Leveraging the abundant clay resources near the river and the advantages of Yangtze River water transport, they produced a large number of daily-use pottery items. The workforce grew from just over 20 people to more than 200, and the range of products expanded from about ten varieties to over 100. The production process involved selecting clay, drying it, kneading it by foot, molding it by hand, air-drying, sun-drying, inspecting, and then entering the earthenware dragon kiln, where pine wood was used as fuel for baking, roasting, and firing. Based on experience, techniques such as calling, increasing, and closing the fire were employed until the final product was achieved. The main tools used included mud hoes, carrying boards, potter's wheels, and dragon kilns.
In the mid-15th century, during the thirtieth year of the Qianlong era in the Qing Dynasty (1766), with social progress and the development of folk handicrafts, pottery products gradually became finer and more decorative. Potters began using hand-painted techniques on the pottery, adorning them with beautiful patterns. In the sixth year of the Xianfeng era (1856) on April 12, twelve kiln owners pooled together 31 silver dollars to build a small cargo dragon kiln on a small hill southeast of the village. They successfully produced green-glazed pottery. From then on, ancient pottery was adorned with colorful decorations, marking a qualitative leap. Notably, skilled female artisans named Wang and Ye were renowned for their exceptional hand-painting abilities, able to touch, point, and paint various flowers and lifelike depictions of birds, fish, insects, and animals on the pottery. They later created incised and appliquéd techniques, complemented by colored glazes, which were highly favored by domestic and international customers. Their products were exported to countries such as Japan, the Philippines, and Singapore.
In the early years of the People's Republic of China, the government showed concern and support for the manual pottery production in Guanyao. In 1950, an ironware production cooperative was established; in 1958, it was renamed Lantouji Artistic Pottery Factory, Guanyao Pottery Factory, Li Kiln Pottery Factory, and Lu Kiln Pottery Factory. Mr. He Chunzhi had the honor of attending the first National Arts and Crafts Conference in 1958 and was recognized by the Chinese Folk Artists Association as an outstanding folk artisan. During the late Cultural Revolution and the early 1980s, Chinese culture and arts experienced a renaissance, and the manual pottery production in Guanyao also entered a springtime of art. The pottery skills at Lantouji Artistic Pottery Factory continued to improve, and they successively developed a series of rare-earth color glazes to replace lead glazes. They also transformed the pottery from low-temperature to high-temperature (with kiln temperatures reaching around 1200 degrees Celsius), making the glaze adhere more tightly to the body and the glazes more vibrant.
In 1987, Guanyao Town was named the “Pottery Capital” by the Hubei Provincial Government. Over 350 types and 310 different designs of products have been introduced, winning numerous innovation design and quality awards at national, provincial, and municipal levels. Their products are sold in Europe, America, Japan, Southeast Asian countries, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and more than 26 provinces in China. When former Defense Minister Zhang Aiping went abroad on a visit, he presented Guanyao pottery as gifts to foreign guests.
In 2013, Guanyao artisans He Liangfa, He Dengming, Fan Chengxiong, and others won two gold and one silver awards at the 14th Chinese Arts and Crafts Exhibition. In 2014, Master He Liangfa's works were invited to participate in the “Teapot Observation 2014 International Teapot Art Exchange Exhibition.” In 2014, Guanyao Town was named a “Folk Art and Culture Hometown of Hubei Province” by the Hubei Provincial Department of Culture. Master He Liangfa led the way by registering “Hubei Mingyao Ceramic Art Co., Ltd.” in 2014, patenting the “Guanyao Red” series of products.