Ankou, one of the four ancient towns in Gansu, was formerly known as "Ankou Kiln". Here clay, crucible, coal resources are abundant, in history there are often ceramic artists from all over the country to settle here, firing daily ceramics, at most there are 20,000 potters in Ankou Town, the name of "Ankou kiln" comes from this.
When it comes to the ceramic firing of the "Anko kiln", sand ware is an unavoidable topic. As a local business card, Anko sand ware, also known as sand pottery, is a branch of pottery, also known as black pottery, its production skills have a long history, fine workmanship, and exquisite firing, and have been passed down from generation to generation in the local area for thousands of years.
Yuan Yi, a new social class, his father Yuan Ansheng, and grandfather Yuan Xichang are all inheritors of the intangible cultural heritage of Anko's sand ware for three generations.
Yuan Yi, who was born in a family of ceramic craftsmen, under the influence of his grandfather and father, "grew up playing with mud" since he was a child. Day after day, year after year, in the process of working with clay, Yuan Yi's acceptance of ceramics at first gradually changed to active acceptance and love of the craft. During the college entrance examination, Yuan Yi did not hesitate to choose the major of ceramic technology, and after graduation, he returned to his hometown to take over the mantle of his ancestors and became the seventh generation inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of Anko sand ware.
If the words and deeds of his fathers laid the foundation for Yuan Yi to inherit the old craft of ANKO, then the university and his future travels and studies allowed him to learn from the strengths of other families, fully understand the beauty of traditional Chinese utensils, and find the direction for ANKO sandware to re-enter thousands of households.
"During my school years, I have been studying for a few years, visiting many domestic and foreign pottery exhibitions, and also visiting Jingdezhen, Zibo, Yuzhou and other places of old craftsmen and non-genetic inheritors, and slowly discovered that the color of ANKO sandware is very rare in the entire ceramic industry, and the firing methods and raw materials are also very rare in the country. Yuan Yi said, "Only then did I realize the uniqueness of the sand ware fired by my fathers, as long as someone uses modern concepts to lead, it can be made more refined." ”
The activated carbon and trace elements contained in ANKO sand ware are not only able to purify water quality, but also benefit human health through a unique firing process of "rapid heating and rapid cooling", which is the main reason for the popularity of ANKO sand ware.
Yuan Yi, who was born in the "science class", boldly innovated with the help of his father, learned from the strengths of hundreds of schools, combined ancient handicraft skills with advanced modern craft aesthetics, and applied them to the production of Anko sand ware, while firing stewpots, casseroles for boiling medicine, casseroles for making tea, tea cans, sand warming pots and other daily necessities, he explored and produced figures, animals, flowers and birds and other ornaments and artworks.
In Yuan Yi's view, ANKO sand ware is a special form of artistic expression that expresses the inner spirit and aesthetic pursuit of generations of craftsmen. He said, "Only by innovating the production process on the basis of grasping the characteristics of traditional sand ware and re-endowing ANKO sand ware with new era value can ANKO sand ware win the favor of more consumers." ”
Now, the main products of Yuan Yi's sand ware factory are nearly 30 varieties in 5 series of warm pots, stewpots, casseroles, flowers and tea sets, and the products are mainly sold to Lanzhou, Xi'an, Xiamen and other places, with annual sales of more than 2 million yuan.
In order to better condense the inheritors of pottery and pass on the skills of Anko's sand ware, the United Front Work Department of the Huating Municipal Party Committee named Longshang Kiln Pottery Culture Communication Co., Ltd. as the innovation base for pottery culture practice, Yuan Yi opened the Anko Sand Ware Craft Institute on the side of the Huating Museum, showing modern sand ware at the same time, opening a children's sand ware making experience class, popularizing Anko sand ware making skills to the society, insisting on holding pottery training classes free of charge every winter and summer vacation, teaching sand making and firing skills to young students, and also opening a pottery professional course in Huating Vocational Education Center to teach students sand making skills and make Huating porcelain renew"Out of the Circle". (United Front Work Department)