Basic Introduction to Huilí Bronze Hotpot
The craftsmanship of making bronze hotpots is still preserved in Huilí County, Sichuan Province. This technique, according to research, has a history of over 600 years. The people of Huilí enjoy cooking with bronze hotpots all year round. Almost every household owns one, which is drum-shaped at the top and flattened at the bottom, resembling a tripod, imbued with a strong influence of Central Plain culture.
Nutritional Value
It is said that due to the frequent use of bronze hotpots for cooking by residents of Huilí, their copper intake is well-supplemented, and they rarely suffer from cardiovascular diseases, osteoporosis, gout, premature graying, and other ailments.
Product Features
Each bronze hotpot is composed of three parts: the base, the pot body, and the lid. The base and pot body are connected by a pin, weighing about 4 kilograms, making it easy to disassemble and carry. Its exquisite shape and fine craftsmanship make it a magnificent work of art.
When people gather around the bronze hotpot, enjoying their meal, they are also inadvertently experiencing a craft tradition passed down for hundreds of years. Nowadays, Huilí bronze hotpots are not only in high demand locally but are also sold as far as Beijing and Guangzhou, becoming a source of pride for this ancient city.
Historical Folklore
According to legend, during the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang stationed troops in Huilí to suppress remnants of the rebel forces at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. Soldiers from the Central Plains brought advanced technology and culture of the time, combined with the abundant copper resources in Huilí, leading to the creation of the unique Huilí bronze hotpot.
From the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, the mining and smelting industry in Huilí entered a prosperous era. Copper mines were extensively exploited in areas like Luchang, Lixi, and Tongan. After the Qing dynasty lifted restrictions on mining, large numbers of people from Jiangxi, Huguang, and other regions flocked to Huilí to mine, with thousands gathering at the Limah River's Qingshan Mine alone, marking a significant migration. In the 17th year of the Qianlong reign, nickel white copper, known as “Chinese silver,” was mined and smelted in Lixi and Limah River. During the Tongzhi period, copper production from factories in Daxiaoyibei, Jinsi, Lixi, and other locations reached over a million pounds annually, making it the largest copper mining area in Sichuan.
As copper mining and smelting developed, the crafting of copperware became a unique artisanal skill in Huilí. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, copperware produced in Huilí was widely used in neighboring cities and counties in Sichuan and Yunnan, and white copper utensils were even exported overseas. Copper basins, pots, kettles, pans, and other utensils were commonly used by the public. Lanterns, candlesticks, Buddha statues, sacrificial implements, and some buttons, hairpins, and jewelry were made of copper. Possession and use of copperware were symbols of wealth in both urban and rural areas. During the Republic of China period, there were still many workshops in the county, Luchang, and Lixi that crafted copperware using traditional methods. A small street in the northern part of Luchang Town was named “Copper Beating Street” due to the concentration of copperware workshops there. In 1920, there were seven copperware workshops in the county with 28 craftsmen, producing an annual value of 6,800 silver dollars, with products sold as far as Yunnan and Xikang provinces.
After liberation, with the emergence of new materials such as enamel, glass, aluminum, and plastic, which were lighter and more durable, the heavier and rust-prone copperware gradually faded from daily life. During the “Great Leap Forward,” almost all household copperware was collected and remelted. Due to limited raw materials, most copperware workshops had to cease production.
After the reform and opening up, private copper-beating workshops gradually resumed production, processing copper pots, kettles, basins, and other utensils from scrap red copper and recycled copper wire. Particularly famous were the bronze hotpots from Luchang. By 1985, there were five copperware workshops in the county with 25 workers. The Luchang Copperware Factory was the largest, producing over ten thousand pounds of copperware annually with a value of over 60,000 yuan. To this day, there are still four craftsmen in Luchang who process and manufacture copperware, with their copper pots and hotpots sold throughout the province.
Production Method of Huilí Bronze Hotpot
What is the process involved in making a bronze hotpot? In his humble workshop, Master Wang demonstrated the process adeptly. First, scrap copper is placed into a graphite crucible and smelted at high temperatures until it becomes molten copper, which is then cooled in water to form copper ingots roughly the size of a hand. This is the first step. After smelting over ten ingots, each is repeatedly hammered and thinned to create a rough shape. At this point, the basic shape of the pot emerges. Next, a layer of salt mud is brushed onto the surface, heated at high temperatures, and then immersed in water to remove the oxide layer and give the rough shape a bright red sheen. Then, it is repeatedly hammered on an iron anvil to fit the desired size and shape of the hotpot. Master Wang explained, “Copper hardens when cold, so if the shape is not fully formed, the piece must be reheated in the furnace before hammering again until it is complete.” The phrase “forged through thousands of hammers” aptly describes the process of making a bronze hotpot. Master Wang said, “To make a single bronze hotpot requires over ten thousand hammer strikes, and only one can be made per day.”