Zhang Yipeng, a craftsman of Tang tri-colored glazed pottery from central China's Henan Province, has inherited the techniques for making the delicate artworks, while promoting the ancient art form to the young.
The Tang tri-colored glazed pottery is glazed pottery popular in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Featuring colorful and gorgeous glazes and lifelike figures, the pottery ware has multiple colors, with the dominant colors being yellow, brown and green.
Zhang from Nanshishan village, Luoyang is a municipal-level intangible cultural heritage inheritor, and usually works in a workshop. He dips a brush into the paint, and renders his art on the greenware, which come in different shapes such as the court lady of the Tang Dynasty and a panda practicing Chinese Tai Chi. Then he calcines the objects to create different colors. The chemicals in the glaze change gradually in the firing process.
To better promote the techniques to the young, Zhang came up with the idea of study tours. He set up exhibition halls and some classes for visitors to experience. In 2015, a study base of the Tang tri-colored glazed pottery was built, which now receives nearly 30,000 tourist visits every year. Many school-age children come to experience the making of the exquisite artworks.
There are over 70 enterprises engaged in making the handicrafts in Nanshishan village, creating more than 2,000 job opportunities.
"I hope more people will learn about the beauty of craftsmanship, and carry forward the making of Tang tri-colored glazed pottery," Zhang said.