Families fired up about ceramics

Family craftsmanship

He is devoted to making the Sun's kiln not only a workshop but also a place for doing research on ceramic making.

Sun Lixin's modern aesthetic perfectly complements the craftsmanship of the classic designs from Chinese ink painting.

His ceramic panels are widely collected by museums such as the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, as well as individuals. He is one of the inheritors of intangible cultural heritage conferred by the Jingdezhen authorities.

In 2006, the Jingdezhen ceramic hand-making technique was included in the first batch of traditional skills in China's national intangible cultural heritage list. There are 1,899 inheritors of Jingdezhen's intangible cultural heritage, more than 90 percent of whom are engaged in the inheritance of ceramic hand-making skills.

When Sun Lixin found that his son was not into the porcelain making, he and his wife decided to have one more child. They had a daughter when Sun Lixin was 41.

The girl's early interest in drawing gives her parents and grandparents pleasure. "It seems that drawing is in her bones. She is making sketches much better than I do," Sun Lixin said as he beamed with pride.

While his 24-year-old son was studying biological engineering in Dalian city in Northeast China's Liaoning province, his daughter, 16, is learning fine art in Beijing.

As the intangible cultural heritage inheritor, Sun Lixin is taking on six young people as his apprentices. They learn to draw the traditional Chinese patterns such as lotus, peony, peach, bat and persimmon.

"These flora and animals used as decorative motifs on porcelain pieces are symbols of traditional Chinese culture, which young people had better have a understanding of," Sun Lixin said.

The Bat, for example, represents good fortune, lotus stands for good luck and the peach means longevity.

"I am obliged to tell them what I know about traditional Chinese culture," he said.