Precious imperial porcelain has become more popular, graces more homes and will continue to be promoted worldwide, a deputy said during an interview on Monday just before the conclusion of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress.
Jingdezhen in East China's Jiangxi province is known as the capital of porcelain. Jingdezhen ceramics stand out as they "are white like jade, bright as a mirror, thin as paper and sound like a bell (when tapped by a finger)", according to Yu Jihua, an NPC deputy, who is also president of Jingdezhen Porcelain Artists Association.
He started making porcelain at the age of 8 after watching and learning from his grandfather, and has been involved with the industry for nearly five decades. He said enamel porcelain, made with scarce raw materials, was precious and could only be seen in imperial courts.
But modern craftspeople have improved their techniques and make enamel porcelain just like before, but now much cheaper. Consequently, it is affordable to many more people, he said.
"Few cities can have a miraculous development with a sole handicraft industry for several thousand years, like Jingdezhen. The endless fires in kilns of the thousand-year-old porcelain capital have created countless breathtaking artifacts and left behind a ceramic culture that deserves to be protected for eternity," said Yu.
He has worked to promote the culture of porcelain in foreign countries. "A major problem in this process is the intellectual property right protection of porcelain," Yu added.
He proposed to establish a Jingdezhen intellectual property right court as an NPC deputy in 2020, and it came true in 2021, providing legal protection for porcelain.
"As a craftsman, I will create better works, spread the culture of porcelain and tell a good story of China," said Yu.
