VISIT TO KINGTEHCHEN, THE CHINA-TOWN OF CHINA

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 22915, 6 April 1949, Page 5

VISIT TO KINGTEHCHEN, THE CHINA-TOWN OF CHINA

PORCELAIN IN THE MAKING

(By J. S. Muir) SHANGHAI, Alar. 20. “HERE we are at last,” remarked my travelling companion as we brought our truck to a stop at the river-bank, facing the famous porcelain city of Kingtehchen, in Kiangsi Province.

"It is now 2 p.m. and we should get away in a couple of hours,” I replied, as we were crossing on the sanpan (a flat-bottomed boat sculled by one man, and assisted at the bow with a companion using a long pole). We were making an emergency trip up to Nanchang with three tons of supplies for the China Inland Mission schools where our children are on Ruling mountains. The round trip was just on 1200 miles—over some mountainous country with bandits, as well as several deep rivers to ford. Owing to the illness of one of the missionaries we did not get away for another two days, so we saw the sights of the city after all.

Began 10 or 12 Centuries Ago

Little as its name is known tp the ouside world, or even to China itself, Kingtehchen makes more porcelain than all the rest of the former Flowery Kingdom. The manufacture of porcelain began 10 or 12 centuries ago more or less by accident. At first the Chinese made ordinary pottery such ns is found in the graves of lost civilisations, and chanced upon the form that has developed toejay. The products of the Imperial Potteries of Kingtehchen are the royal porcelains of great collectors. Sung, Ming and Ching china, the despair of makers today, came from this squalid town on the Chang River. I looked in vain as we walked along the cobblestone main street for evidences of the world-famous porcelain factories. Not until I turned down a side lane, or into the alleyways did 1 see the thriving home industries. It seemed as if every household was in on the business.

Done at Amazing Speed

The clay arrives at kingtehchan in white coloured bricks. There are broken down and mixed with water in big open vats into the “flesh” clay, which is kneaded with hands and feet. We wandered into one of the courtyards, past the vats, and on into an open shed, where we found the ageless potter’s wheel. A young man was deftly moulding with his hands a teapot. On completion of his task he added it to a row of others on the drying rack below the rafters.

The wheel was simply a circular fiat platform, approximately 3ft. across. A lump of clay is set in the middle, and then by placing a slick in a notch near the outer edge, and rotating it as fast as possible, sufficient speed was attained to complete one vessel. On the next wheel, the potter was trimming up to standard size, teapots which had already hardened sufficiently in the sunshine.

Further along another workman was drilling holes on the side of the pot and then attaching the spout and handle. On yet another wheel the potter was engaged in moulding rice bowls. I’hc whole operation was done at an amazing speed and the articles turned out were as uniform as if they had been machine-moulded. Wood Used to Fire Furnaces We moved on down the alleyway, past the kilns which were not yet in use, as the Chinese New Year holidays were hardly past and several months must elapse ere there are sufficient articles ready to warrant lighting up the furnaces. Coolies were to be seen carrying loads of wood cut to stove lengths, on the ends of carrying poles. This type of wood has proved the most suitable for firing the furnaces, and throughout the area the use of this firing for any other purpose is a punishable offence. Coal deposits are near, at hand, but the fumes from the coal turn the porcelain a yellowish tinge. Wheelbarrow loads of white bricks were pushed past us as we jostled with the passers-by. Two kinds of clay are used, I was informed; “chi-men” and “kao-lin”, the “bone” and the “flesh”

as the Chinese call them. The bone is weather crumbled rock found on the surface; the flesh is hand-pounded rock. A third kind of clay is used for the glaze. The “biscuits,” as they call the unbaked vessels, are dipped in a liquid clay to give the glaze.

Mixing the Colours

Back along the side streets we found the small shops and doorways were occupied by the semi-artists at work. Men. mostly blind, who had formerly dope the hand decorating of the porcelain, were laborously using outsize mortars to mix the colours. These pale pastel shades come out into bright colours on being baked. One lad was painting flowers, another was etching the outline of a dragon on a pale pink background. A woman was adding a dab of gold paint to a teapot lid and the spout of a teapot.

We caught glimpses into the warehouses where rice bowls were stacked in piles some eight feet high, one bowl nesting into the other; shelves of bright coloured teapots, handleless cups, porcelain smiling Buddhas, and shapely vases.

Princess Elizabeth’s Plate

“Take us to see Princess Elizabeth’s plate,” we suggested to our guide. Soon we were being ushered into the House of Yao, famous for generations; in fact they are the descendants of the Imperial Potteries. It was an empty barn to look at, but without asking, from a room in the back, the treasured plate was brought forth. A fine white pprcelain with an inch-wide band in which was etched a dragon painted in pale yellow, with pale green for the background and edged with gold. General Marshall s plate, which we were also shown, was a rose red embossed type. _ But the dainty design of Madame Chiang Kaishck’s took my fancy; a fine thousand flowered pattern.

What a Transformation!

“We would like to buy some nice vases to take home,” I asked hopefully. They produced some very ordinary blues and greens.

"Sorry, this is all we have at present, but we will send a man to take you to a place that has them.” Bowing our way out gratefully, in Chinese custom, we followed along more alleys until we came to a small open shop where several artists were working on a number of lovely pieces. It was the thousand flowered pattern with a gold background. “Excellent, when will these be finished?” I asked.

"In three days they will have the final baking We will keep them for you,” they answered. First the outlines in black were painted on by the artists, then the colours were applied with an ordinary Chinese writing brush. The colours were pale and the gold appeared almost black. But a week later what a transformation. The oven had turned our vase into a treasure. Today the porcelain adorns our Shanghai home.