There is a word in the English-Chinese dictionary: "china", the initial capital is Chinese, and the lowercase is porcelain.
How can we, who are famous for porcelain, not understand the charm of porcelain?
For children, porcelain has become a part of everyday life. Many people do not know the good name of Chinese porcelain "thin as paper, white as jade, bright as a mirror, sound like a chime", and do not know the legend of "white gold". They don't understand why the image of the world we once had is inextricably linked to porcelain.
In the original grand prize picture book "A Rabbit's Journey", the little A rabbit from Jingdezhen has the same doubts as the children. How did porcelain from my hometown come to the West? Behind the rigorous process, how does porcelain touch people's hearts? Will porcelain continue to be passed on?
China Original Award Picture Book,
Tell the story of a journey through porcelain that has been sung for a thousand years
Born in Jingdezhen, the little rabbit met the magical kiln god grandmother. Little Rabbit traveled to ancient times, went to Germany, and then went to England, and met alchemists, mathematicians, and kings.
They encountered different difficulties in making ceramics. Little Rabbit and what happened to them? Did Xiao A Rabbit finally find his hometown for making ceramics?
"A Rabbit's Journey" won the 18th China Animation Golden Dragon Award (named "Porcelain Road" at the time of the award), the Excellence Award of the 2021 International Contemporary Youth Art Design Competition, and was also selected for the 2020 "Driving Force" China Original Animation Publishing Support Program.
For the author Yang Huiwen, this story stems from a curiosity.
Yang Huiwen is an outstanding young picture book writer and an outstanding graduate of the Central Academy of Fine Arts.
His masterpiece "A Rabbit's Little Porcelain Bowl" won the 2016 Zhang Leping Picture Book Award Finalist Award and the 2017 Golden Windmill International Young Illustrator Competition Finalist Award.
The illustrations in this book won the Excellence Award of the 2021 International Contemporary Youth Art Design Competition and the Bronze Award for the Best Picture Book Award of the 18th China Animation Golden Dragon Award.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Jingdezhen became the world-famous "porcelain capital". The first time the author visited Jingdezhen, he was fortunate to meet many non-hereditary heirs at the Ancient Kiln Folk Museum and saw the teachers making porcelain by hand.
What makes the earth transform into jade porcelain? This curiosity guided the author Yang Huiwen to embark on the road of porcelain exploration, and also gave birth to a cute little rabbit in her pen.
During Ah Tu's travels, the history of the spread and development of porcelain was naturally integrated: before the eighteenth century, there was no porcelain produced in Europe.
So, in this story, we see European aristocrats exploring the secrets of China's "white gold" porcelain and competing to make white porcelain; many foreigners are eager to learn Chinese porcelain-making techniques, and a missionary brings the porcelain-making process to the West...
A unique rock paint book
Gold powder draws lines, like a galaxy
In terms of drawing methods, "The Journey of A Rabbit" adopts the method of rock painting. Rock painting is a reviving genre in contemporary China, and it uses the same painting material as the historical Dunhuang murals.
If you look closely at the pictures, there are traces of gold powder lines, outlining the flying clouds and endless mountains. The bells pasted in gold leaf have a metallic texture.
The colors are also all traditional Chinese colors: the sun is as gorgeous as cinnabar, the spring water is like stone green and clear, the yellow sand is full of sky, a caravan is far away under the protection of the flying sky, and a magnificent road of communication is slowly unfolding in front of the eyes.
The rock color material is mined from natural ores and gemstones, which need to be drawn on very tough hemp paper, and the color remains unchanged for many years after completion, and it is not easy to fall off.
Not only that, the ore in the petroglyph painting will show a brilliant light in the sun, and the picture is like a shimmering galaxy. Some precious porcelain also adds gemstones and ores during the firing process to seek brilliance.
It is this rich color and unique texture that give "A Rabbit's Journey" a more fantastic color. In this way, the rock color and the porcelain met in the picture book.
72 porcelain-making processes have been passed down to this day
How is porcelain made?
In addition to the stunning picture presentation and the pursuit of porcelain history, "The Journey of A Rabbit" also shows the 72 processes of traditional Chinese porcelain making through cute little rabbits.
Prospecting, burning, making blanks, taking glazes, picking blanks... The little rabbits move in different ways, busy and busy, and have a cute attitude.
Looking closely, every little rabbit is extremely dedicated, and the picture of the small corner also makes people immersed, as if returning to the land of ceramics hundreds of years ago.
After dozens of processes, it is fired at high temperature and is as warm as jade. Porcelain, the art of rebirth from earth and fire, is not only an excellent craft that has been passed down for thousands of years, but also symbolizes the national spirit in our hearts.
Let's explore the spread of porcelain together with Little Rabbit and start a fantastic adventure!
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2022.2.27
Editor: Chu Xu | Review: Yoyo