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December 29, 2014

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Professor forges ahead in domestic ceramics

LI Youyu is ambitious but it’s not about personal glory. The ceramist is devoted to restoring China back to the summit of world ceramics.

He is proud because his Hanguang ceramics have been chosen for government banquets, including during the APEC summit in Beijing.

“The leaders’ wives at the summit were impressed by the ceramics,” Li says. “Chinese ceramists, after all, have something to prove to the Western world and showcase the charm of China’s porcelain.”

However his success story begins from a humbling moment when he was left embarrassed by a simple question from a Japanese university student.

In 1989, Li was a professor in ceramics at the Art and Design College of Shanghai University and was sent to Japan’s Osaka Arts University as an exchange scholar.

“One day when I was talking about China’s glorious porcelain history, a student rose and asked why the same traditional designs were always copied over and over in Chinese porcelain. He wanted to know why there was no technical or artistic innovation,” he recalls. “I felt like I had been slapped in the face. I stood there speechless and ashamed.”

It was an open secret in China’s academia. Ceramics experts all knew but no one wanted to step up and change things.

“It felt like as if a nobleman from a once wealthy and powerful aristocratic family who had become a street beggar after his family’s downfall,” Li says. “I felt bad.”

Only one set of China-made porcelain made in the past 100 years had shown any innovation – it was known as “7501.”

The 7501, or Chairman Mao Porcelain, was produced for late leader Mao Zedong in 1975. To produce high-quality porcelain experts from Hunan and Jiangxi provinces engaged in intense research for years. The set of white porcelain pieces produced at that time were painted in light red patterns, such as plum blossoms, which were Chairman Mao’s favorite flower.

“It was a kind of renaissance,” Li says. “But unfortunately there was only one set. A political task could not save China’s porcelain industry,” Li says. “History is already past. We should look to the future, if we do have a future.”

Yet Li describes 7501 as a shooting star.

“Though its bright streak disappeared soon, it at least gave me hope,” the ceramist says.

Li left the university in 1993 determined to restore glory to China’s porcelain industry.

Glory at long last

The first thing, he says, was to find the right materials and good clay. Over the next two years, Li and some of his students traveled around China. They traipsed up and down mountains and ventured to the most dangerous mines, he says.

“Sometimes I had to disguise myself as a farmer when entering a mine in some remote regions because of the strict safety system,” he says, “But looking back today, I feel so proud of myself because I have done something that many thought was impossible.”

After Li returned from his two-year field trip around the country he established a porcelain workshop in suburban Fengxian District.

But the right material wasn’t enough. The next challenge was directing production.

“I tested, tested and tested in order to get my exclusive formula,” he says.

After numerous testing sessions, Li and his staff finally developed an ideal mineral ingredient for ceramics.

He named his creation Hanguang, which translates as glory to the Han nationality. Li says he updated old techniques by adopting better technology, a big step for the domestic ceramics industry.

Hanguang porcelain is characterized by its purity, smoothness and elegant illustrations. When put in a dim light, it glitters and shines, almost transparent and crystalline, radiating a special glaze reminiscent of a baby’s tender skin.

Hanguang vases and tea sets eschew many traditional patterns such as “God of Fortune” and plaited characters for “longevity.” Instead, they feature patterns of light-hued leaves with detailed veins, blossoming pink peonies or a beautiful lady-in-waiting.

“At the beginning, I just wanted to make porcelain that could compete with the 7501 set,” he says. “But I found I could do better.”

Zhang Shouzhi, a veteran ceramics critic at Tsinghua University, says the craftsmanship of Hanguang porcelain exceeds the renowned 7501 ceramics.

"In addition to quality, shape and pattern, design is also crucial," Li says. "Some of China's ceramic centers are still faithfully copying tradition, but that is not progressive. Those obsolete concepts and craftsmanship are a bit behind world trends and do not cater to the tastes of modern urbanites."

The Hanguang brand has won many awards nationwide and at world art fairs, beating foreign rivals and winning a global thumbs-up. Some of the pieces are presented as gifts to foreign leaders and some State Council members also collect them.

In a showroom in his office, several tea sets from different brands like Wedgwood and Royal Albert are scattered about.

“I don’t have a complete set of any one brand. For me, they are too expensive,” Li explains. “These pieces are here just to motivate me to do better.”

Li says one dream has been realized with the creation of Hanguang but another has yet to come true.

Li says his brand still has a long way to go since the company faces marketing and image building challenges.

Although Hanguang ceramics are widely acclaimed around the country, the outside world largely remains oblivious to the beauty of these porcelain sets. It’s also not easy to find the brand. There are only two boutiques in Shanghai — one in a five-star hotel and another on Nanjing Pedestrian Road.

“It is my earnest hope that one day, when a person is strolling along 5th Avenue in New York, he might unexpectedly encounter a Hanguang boutique,” Li says. “All of the pieces will be labeled ‘Made in China.’ That is a dream I would really like to see come true.”




 

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