On January 23, 2022, a unique "Rongchang Pottery Cultural Innovation Research and Artistic Creation Demonstration Base and Jifen Kiln Listing Ceremony" was held as scheduled at No. 151, Anfu Taobao Ancient Street, Rongchang District, Chongqing. The ceremony was attended by prominent academic figures from the School of Arts of Chongqing Technology and Business University, Chongqing University and Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, as well as representative inheritors of many national -level "intangible cultural heritage" projects "Rongchang Tao". The whole ceremony takes place in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere, both like a party and a grand event. Academic giants and inheritors gathered together, talking happily around the stove, and familiar faces glowed with a different charm under the fire.
In a listing ceremony, reminisce about the historical changes of an ancient street
For Anfu, Taobao Ancient Street is like a leafy tree, and every brick and tile carries the rich history of Anfu. On the lintel of No. 151 Taobao Ancient Street, there is still a sign with historical significance: "Anfu Exhibition Department of Rongchang Pottery Factory in Jiangjin Area". For the old craftsmen of Anfu pottery, it was an unforgettable period. According to the memories of the surviving Rongchang pottery old craftsmen, the Rongchang Pottery Factory was established in the mid-1950s of the last century, and the factory site was located in rongchang Anfu Yakou Village No. 1 Society. At that time, Rongchang Pottery Factory produced both daily pottery and packaging pottery and craft pottery. At its peak, Rongchang Pottery Factory had more than 800 workers. In 1964, Rongchang kimchi altar began to be exported abroad as a packaged pottery, with the largest export of 320,000 pieces a year. In 1979, the Sichuan Provincial Economic Commission awarded the kimchi altar of Rongchang Pottery Factory the title of high-quality product. In 1982, the No. 5 kimchi altar of Rongchang Pottery Factory won the Sichuan Provincial Packaging Use Award. In 1983, Rongchang carved kimchi altar won the China International Tourism Association Tourism Souvenir Appraisal Excellence Award. In June 1987, the "kimchi altar" of Rongchang Pottery Factory was rated as "excellent product" in the national ceramic product quality evaluation, and in December, it was named the title of national light industry quality product named by the Ministry of Light Industry.
Further back in history, Anfu Town was founded in the forty-first year of the Qing Kangxi Dynasty (1702), which has a history of 320 years. During the period from Qianlong to Jiaqing, a large number of immigrants moved into Anfu during the "Lake Filling Sichuan" period, and in order to continue their hometown, they discussed business and worshiped the ancestors, and successively built temples and ancestral halls such as: Nanhua Palace, Huimin Palace, YuWang Palace, Imperial Palace, Fire Temple, etc. People built houses according to temples and ancestral halls, built residential buildings and shop halls, and used the street as a city, and the scale continued to expand, and in the early years of the Republic of China, a five-mile long street was formed.
Historically, Anfu was famous for its pottery production. "Anfu Field, Five Mile Long, Magnetic Kiln, Shochu Factory, Clay Pots Lined Up, Shochu Dripping Alley", this folk song that has been circulated for hundreds of years confirms the prosperity of Anfu in that year. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the early years of the Republic of China, Anfu was also known as the magnetic kiln, at that time, Anfu pottery production was very prosperous, the trade industry was prosperous, and at most there were more than 100 pottery factories.
The renovation of an ancient building opens a new chapter in the revitalization and protection of the ancient street
However, in the flow of time, the glory of the late Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China gradually faded, the prosperity of the 1970s and 1980s also became a cloud of smoke, and the Anfu Wuli Long Street, which was lost in the depths of history, once became bleak: the overall construction of the old street and the facilities and roads were relatively old, the living environment of residents was also poor, and the traditional industries were withered. In 2015, the government spent money to repair one of the sections of Wuli Long Street as old as it was, and its building still retains the characteristics of the integration of Huguang buildings and western Sichuan houses of immigrants during the "Huguang Filling Sichuan" period. After two years, Tao Bao Ancient Street grew out of the folk song that had been sung for more than three hundred years, and this century-old street engraved in The memory of Anfu ushered in the moment of rebirth.
This time, initiated by Chongqing Xia Xing Rongchang Pottery Cultural Research Institute, the transformation and restoration of Taobao Ancient Street No. 151 and the surrounding old buildings follows the method of "no demolition, no construction, marketization, gradual and micro-transformation", gradually repairing, activating and cultivating, through excavating the practicality of old buildings and old blocks in the contemporary era, optimizing and improving the functions of commercial and cultural tourism, so that the ancient street is old and the charm is always there.
After several months, the original "Anfu Exhibition Department of Rongchang Pottery Factory in Dangjin District" located at No. 151 Taobao Ancient Street and the surrounding old buildings were finally renovated, and on this basis, a set of valuable experiences on the "Road to Revitalization and Protection of Ancient Streets" was summarized.
Only the revitalization and protection of ancient streets based on industry has real significance
According to Ji Junchun, head of the Chongqing Xia Xing Rongchang Pottery Cultural Research Institute, "The revitalization of the ancient street is not just a simple transformation and decoration. The revitalization and protection of the ancient street must be built on the basis of industry. Lu Hong, secretary of the Rongchang District PARTY Committee, emphasized in an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency reporter during the two sessions: "In the next five years, Rongchang will adhere to the industrial strong zone and build two 100-billion-level industrial clusters, the first of which is to focus on traditional industries, give play to the characteristic advantages, expand the consumer goods industry dominated by food, clothing and ceramics, and the agricultural and animal husbandry high-tech products based on the whole industry chain of animal husbandry, and build a 100-billion-level pillar and characteristic industrial cluster."
Therefore, only the industry can stimulate the vitality of the ancient street itself and make it have its own hematopoietic function.
So, how is the layout of the industry of the former "Kangjin Area Rongchang Pottery Factory Anfu Exhibition and Sales Department" after the revitalization and protection? Ji Junchun, head of Chongqing Xia xing rongchang pottery cultural research institute, said: In terms of industrial layout, we follow the principle of "two please come in". The two please come in is both inheritance and innovation, and the two complement each other and complement each other. Regarding the first "please come in": "It is to relocate the most representative kiln of Rongchang pottery, "Giffin Kiln", and establish the Giffin Kiln Studio. There are many new kilns in Rongchang Anfu, but the kilns that can best represent Rongchang pottery are xiaxing kilns. Master Liu Jifen has been working in Xia Xing Kiln in his early years, and it can be said that Liu Jifen is a master who came out of Xia Xing Kiln. Liu Jifen was born in a pottery family and has been passed down through five generations of non-genetic inheritance. Therefore, the "Giffin Kiln" founded by Master Liu Jifen can be regarded as a model of rongchang pottery traditional culture. In this sense, choosing to cooperate with Master Liu Jifen is to choose to comprehensively inherit the traditional culture of Rongchang Pottery. In the future, the Giffin Kiln Studio will also hold the "Master Liu Jifen Apprenticeship Ceremony" and the "Giffin Kiln" kiln firing and opening ceremony. We will do more thoroughly in the cultural inheritance of Rongchang pottery. ”
Regarding the second "please come in": "It is to invite teachers and students from the School of Art of Chongqing Technology and Business University, Chongqing University and Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, as well as porcelain and pottery masters from Jingdezhen, Yixing, Jiangsu, Jianshui, Yunnan and Qinzhou, Guangxi, and establish a "Rongchang Pottery Cultural Innovation Research and Artistic Creation Demonstration Base". Compared with the craftsmen in the Rongchang Anfu Pottery Production Area, teachers and students of colleges and universities have solid and profound theoretical knowledge and high aesthetic literacy, and they are more able to "innovate" in the creation of pottery. The masters of Jingdezhen, Yixing, Jiangsu, Jianshui in Yunnan and Qinzhou in Guangxi represent the highest level of local porcelain and pottery, and they can learn their advanced concepts and technologies by introducing them, which has a multiplier effect on the development of Rongchang pottery. ”
With the spirit of hard work, do a good job in the revitalization of the ancient street and the inheritance of Rongchang pottery culture and welcome the arrival of the next outlet
The revitalization of ancient streets and the inheritance of Rongchang pottery culture are two relatively large topics, and it is easy to stay at the level of generalization. This group of people, led by Ji Junchun, head of the Chongqing Xia Xing Rongchang Pottery Cultural Research Institute, was able to devote themselves to practical work to vigorously grasp the implementation, which was something that had to be impressive.
As Gao Hongbo, mayor of Rongchang District, said at the two sessions: "Persist in taking responsibility in a down-to-earth manner, take the improvement of execution as the lifeline of work, and take implementation as the main method of carrying out work." This time, Chongqing Xia xing Rongchang Pottery Cultural Research Institute responded to the government's call with practical actions and handed over a satisfactory answer sheet for the development of Rongchang Pottery. The renovation and listing ceremony of No. 151 Taobao Ancient Street and the surrounding old buildings is a useful attempt to combine rongchang pottery culture with the revitalization and protection of old streets, and it is also a milestone summary of the traditional culture of rongchang pottery.
Finally, Ji Junchun, head of the Chongqing Xia xing Rongchang Pottery Cultural Research Institute, said when looking forward to the future of Rongchang pottery: After completing the "two please come in", Rongchang pottery will also "go out": "In the future, Rongchang pottery will carry out publicity and cooperation activities in the twin cities of Sichuan and Chongqing, in the north, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, and even in various ceramic production areas across the country." The development of Rongchang Tao will be market-oriented, absorb the expertise of hundreds of companies, broaden the horizon, open the pattern, innovate and forge ahead. Chongqing Xia Xing Rongchang Pottery Cultural Research Institute will, as always, contribute to the revitalization of Anfu Old Street and the development of Rongchang Pottery. Rongchang pottery will surely become the future star of China's ceramic industry, and Rongchang pottery will also become the next outlet of China's ceramic industry. ”