Yuan Shufan
I started the porcelain industry at the age of 13 for 65 years until the end of this year. The hairy child of that year is now the winner of the "Lifetime Achievement Award of Chinese Ceramic Art". The dazzling porcelain leaves behind colorful memories, and the most haunting thing for me is the hibiscus lotus seed large flower jar.
It was said that on the afternoon of June 20, 1977, in front of the office building of Liling Qunli Porcelain Factory, there was an unprecedented event. Leaders at all levels from provinces, cities and counties gathered with more than 2,000 employees of the Qunli Porcelain Factory and moved out of the hibiscus lotus flower jar presented to the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall in Beijing. Twelve flower jars were temporarily placed in the sun, flashing with an indescribable light. This flower jar is 42cm high and 60cm in diameter, just like a large lotus seed that has been topped, and the blue hibiscus flowers seem to swim on the surface of the cylinder, dignified and atmospheric, magnificent and abnormal. As soon as they appeared, the scene erupted into thunderous applause, and various fireworks jumped into the sky with different sounds... Everyone happily carried the twelve large flower jars to three floats, beat gongs and drums and paraded on the streets of Liling. As soon as the flower jar arrives, there is a sound of gongs and drums and a sound of blowing! That afternoon, Liling City was really a crowded alley, very lively.
At that time, it was not an easy task to present a lobby flower jar for chairman Mao's memorial hall. There are many porcelain factories throughout the country that report to their superiors and are willing to provide flower jars. But the Liling Qunli Porcelain Factory used to provide Chairman Mao with porcelain for daily use. How can such an opportunity to provide porcelain cylinders for Chairman Mao's memorial hall fall behind the Qunli Porcelain Factory? Designer Li Xiaonian is a key figure in the design and molding of the hibiscus lotus flower jar. Li Xiaonian said that Chairman Mao loved the Victory Cup before he was born, and the shape of the Victory Cup was exactly lotus seeds. We use lotus seeds as the shape and decorate the flower surface with hibiscus flowers, which not only conforms to Chairman Mao's hobbies, but also symbolizes the pilgrimage in the country of Furong, expressing the deep nostalgia of the people of Hunan for Chairman Mao. On February 1, 1977, the engineering headquarters of Chairman Mao's Memorial Hall praised the drawings and theme ideas, which passed the examination.
After the drawings pass the examination, the selection of porcelain materials begins. After many tests, the large ball mud of the Hongjiang River under the Xuefeng Mountain in Xiangxi, Hunan Was finally selected. This kind of large ball clay porcelain material is like an egg, which is cut open and removed from the heart inside, and the porcelain bone made is white and crystal smooth. Chen Yuefa, an old artist who made blanks, led two apprentices to work together, and the close cooperation of various processes, many experiments, and created a new process of large-caliber flower jar one-time overall drawing blank molding, which is the first time in the country. Liu Haiqing, a teacher of Li Billet, holds a mud scraping knife and has a sharp billet on three sides. Also specially invited out of the river Guiyun to modulate a deep atmosphere, bright and vulgar blue pigments. My brother Zhang Zhen and I then painted the line and filled the water. Due to the large size of the blank, the area of the pattern color block is enlarged, and the arc is not easy to master, which is difficult to operate. Finally, we pioneered the new process of double cooperation with Fenshui, so that the hibiscus flowers in the flower jar are even and full of vitality. The People's Daily later sent a special message on this issue. "Born in mud, died on the kiln." Finally, everyone brushed their eyes to the kiln master Wu Gongrong. A small square coal kiln of 15 cubic meters is fixed with a squeeze box bowl and burned for two days and two nights. At that time, there was no instrument, all by looking at the heat, and Wu Gongrong's eyes were boiled red. Kung Fu pays off, and the first kiln is a great success. Next, I accompanied the factory leader Hu Jianqiu to send the hibiscus lotus seed flower jar to Beijing. The railway department specially equipped us with a carriage.
Since then, the 12 large jars of hibiscus lotus seeds designed and produced by the Qunli Porcelain Factory have been placed in the hall of worship and often appear in my dreams. Later, I was also specially invited to the memorial hall to tell the staff the story of our cylinder making with tears in my eyes. Relevant leaders told me that the hibiscus lotus flower jar has now become an important national artistic treasure. After the surprise, I remembered the 9 colleagues we designed and produced together. They're all gone. I'm the only one still alive. The days and nights of those six or seven months of struggle appeared in the mind. One by one, they were shirtless and wearing shorts in the workshop, sweating profusely. I seemed to see the factory leader Hu Jianqiu come over and say, everyone is working hard, report to the superior for approval, and provide half a kilogram of wine and half a kilogram of meat free of charge every day. There was a burst of laughter in the workshop. How fulfilling, sweet and happy this laugh is...
Originally published in Hunan Daily (December 24, 2021, 17th edition)