Review of Chinese Traditional Handicraft: Fahua Ceramic

Zhou Zhiwen

, Sone Simatrang

, Eakachat Joneurairatana

and Ninggang

Ph.D. Design Arts (International Program), Faculty of Decorative Arts, Silpakorn University, Bangkok, Thailand

Faculty of Decorative Arts, Silpakorn University, Bangkok, Thailand

Jingdezhen Ceramic University,China

Keywords: Decorative Design and Handicraft Fahua Ceramic

Abstract: Fahua ceramic which is still in the stage of arts and crafts, is one of the traditional Chinese ceramic handicrafts.

While many other ceramic handicrafts, such as blue-and-white porcelain is already going through the initial

stage of art and craft to the stage of artistic creations, expecting to conduct the development of theoretical

construction from the perspective of discipline. However, without much theoretical research, Fahua ceramic

has been stuck in the stage of "art and craft". Lacking the sense of discipline and being short of the basic

theory as well as the few description experience have limited the development of Fahua ceramic. Furthermore,

the difficulty of the craftsmanship and the special technique of painting also contribute to the lagging

development of Fahua ceramic.This research mainly uses the literature survey method to systematically sort

out the relevant related literature. From the perspective of history and craftsmanship, it attempts to comment

on the traditional handicrafts of Fahua ceramic and summarizes the viewpoints and problem involved,

expecting to excavate the long-term lags in the research of Fahua ceramic，and further recognize and solve

these problems to provide historical and scientific rational basis, and promote the inheritance and development

of this knowledge.

1 INTRODUCTION

With the development of social economy, the

popularity of various types of ceramic art in the

collection industry has been heating up. From the

various auction markets, the highest auction record of

Fahua Ceramics was sold in 2005 at 10.337 million

yuan. Compared to other popular ceramic types, it is

dwarfed. As a kind of ceramics, its fate is often a slap

(see Christie's auction in Hong Kong), and the

enthusiasm is always high, which undoubtedly gives

a turning point in its historical development and is the

beginning of a new opportunity.

As a kind of Chinese ceramic art technique,

Fahua is a familiar ‘stranger’ and enters the

traditional ceramic art of the dilemma. It lacks the

‘academy’ cultivated by a complete education

system; It lacks the inheritance of the traditional

craftsmanship of folk craftsmen; the lack of foreign

artists to inject fresh blood into them. With all kinds

of art forms impacting on the contemporary, Fahua is

faced with the embarrassing state of art loss. Today,

the inclusive and open society has not been able to

push it to the thriving market of ceramic art. What

caused people to forget it?.

2 RESEARCH ON FAHUA AS A

‘ARTS AND CRAFTS’

Fahua lacks literature or research articles from

ancient times to the present, and It is often passed by

generations of ceramics. It is also known as ‘Fahua法

花’, ‘Fahua法华’ and ‘Fahua珐华’, and is also

confused as ‘Enamel’, but it is not. According to the

Qing Dynasty literature ‘Nan Kiln Notes’, ‘The two

color methods of FaLan and FaCui have only been

named Cheng Kiln in the past, and a bright green

color like that of an emerald. is the best. In the this

Dynasty, there was a ceramic artisan Sima stationed

in Changnan, bringing these two colors, said to be

from the Shandong glazed kiln. Its production process

is made by applying color to the porcelain tires and

burning it into the kiln. Faicui's chemical formula is

made of stone, copper, and tooth nitrate. The

chemical formula of Fa Lan is to add cyan pigment

Zhiwen, Z., Simatrang, S., Joneurairatana, E. and Ninggang, .

Review of Chinese Traditional Handicraft: Fahua Ceramic.

DOI: 10.5220/0008546401050109

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Interdisciplinary Arts and Humanities (ICONARTIES 2019), pages 105-109

ISBN: 978-989-758-450-3

105

material, and there are many people who imitate it

now’.1 The reference mentioned in the literature is

the usage and formula of Fahua. Although it is similar

to ‘Enamel’, it does have two completely different

techniques. In the literature, ‘The home named Yinliu

commentary porcelain’ introduces ‘Fahua’: ‘Ding

kiln, Zhanglongquan kiln are called

engravings....The concave carving is also called the

Huahua划花, the convex carving is also called Fahua

法花, and the flat carving is also called Anhua暗花

.’2 Therefore, Fahua 珐华’s name ‘Fahua法花’

originated in the early years of the Republic of China.

Before that, Before that, what is the specificity of

Fahua, and today’s statement is different. This is one

of the reasons that will inevitably affect the

inheritance of Fahua. ‘The home named Yinliu

commentary porcelain’ also has a more specific

explanation for the Chinese ware: ‘Fahua's products,

sprouted in Yuan, prevailing in Ming. Most of them

are in the northern kiln, the best in Puzhou; blue Such

as the dark blue of the gemstone, the purple as the

purple amethyst, the yellow as the bright gold peru;

Its pattern decoration is mostly based on biological

flowers and plants. The ceramics produced in

Pingyang and Huozhou are made of half ceramic and

half pottery (half-ceramic and half-watt). Blue

slightly purple, green slightly black, not a fine. The

ceramics produced in Xi'an and Henan are relatively

bright , and the cover is a porcelain . In the early years

of the Qing Dynasty, Jingdezhen began to imitate, it

was pure glass glaze, the ornamentation was

exquisite, the texture was delicate and clean, and the

hairs of the characters and beasts were all visible.

There was imitation manufacturing after

Yongzheng years, but there was no skilled

craftsmanship. Therefore, although the Qian kiln is

well-made, it is slowly moving toward the engraving

road, and there are few ways to make the Fahua’.3

The literature explains in detail the origin, material

and origin of the Fahua, and the description is derived

from the experience of the craftsman, that is, it stays

at the description level of its craft. The description is

based on the surface and the description.

Interpretation from the existing literature is an

overview of Fahua. Most of the traditional craftsmen

are born with apprentices, without the influence of

cultural background and artistic cultivation, so the

ceramics they make are life, practical, and

technological.

From the perspective of modern researchers, the

research of Fahua is still in the category of ‘craft’. The

Shanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Appraisal Group

published ‘A preliminary study on the Fahua’ 4 in

1995. The article revolves around the origin of the

name of Fahua, and proposes that it belongs to the

alkaline glaze system and chemical composition and

material, glaze color analysis.Explain the research on

the research of Fahua.The angles described by the

researchers are technical and chemical. From the

limited research, it is not difficult to find out that for

the research of Fahua, experts and scholars have

discussed the theory and process from the

perspectives of history and archaeology. Some

scholars even talk about it in general. Just talking

about one point is not comprehensive enough.

According to the literature, Fahua originated from

Yuan Dynasty. Why was the earliest record of Fahua

in the early 20th century, what was it called in the

Yuan Dynasty? From the technical point of view,

what is the difference and connection between Fahua

and glazed pottery of the Han Dynasty, emerald

glaze, tricolor, glaze and enamel . Who influences the

other party?Upgrade to the entire ceramic system,

what is the vital role of Fahua?

3 RESEARCH ON FAHUA AS

‘CERAMIC ART’

Some researchers pointed out that ‘the vast majority

of current aesthetic studies on ceramic art still remain

in traditional concepts and methods... The study of

ceramic art aesthetics needs an ontological turn...

especially the breakthrough of the art and crafts

category.’5 An associate professor Gong Baojia

mentioned in ‘The Influence of Modern Ceramic Art

on Modern Life’: ‘Modern ceramic art is a relatively

new cultural phenomenon and behavior... From the

rebellious tradition as a starting point, it directly

reflects modern society.The instinct of the human

being, the new relationship between man and man,

man and nature. It emphasizes individuality,

emphasizes sensibility, emphasizes one's own

emotions, and has been rid of years of use in a set,

deformed, free, unconstrained art form. The shackles

of ideas constrained by traditional aesthetic standards

have become the means used by modern art creators

to challenge and establish new ideas. In a new way of

perception, change the art form that modern people

view the world and re-recognize the world.’6 So far,

Fahua has not been baptized, and has never broken

the claws of traditional pottery. Li Pei-Jing,‘ in the

archaeological study of the emerald glazed porcelain

and the enamelware’7,from the archaeological point

of view, the different types of features and basic

ornamentation of the middle and late Ming Dynasty

dynasties were sorted out as a data. It is believed that

ICONARTIES 2019 - 1st International Conference on Interdisciplinary Arts and Humanities

106

the emerald glaze porcelain is the origin of the

enamel.The conclusions she concluded are

undoubtedly compared from the technical perspective

of the two. The latter's technology and color are

earlier than the former, while the former adds a

vertical line of craft based on the latter. The basic

content of Fahua she wrote in the whole article is

basically the same as traditional ceramic art, and there

is no shadow related to modern ceramic art research.

In the study of Fahua , the lack of research on the

creation of ‘ceramic art’ lacks the study of the life

creators of the art creators and the painting process. It

lacks the source of artistic creation, artistic concepts

and the interpretation of works, and is even more

lacking Fahua's heirs inject the direction of emerging

ideas. In the ‘Chinese peacock blue glaze artifacts and

their causes’8, Ren Zhilu summed up the categories

unearthed by Fahua and speculated that Fahua and

Taoism have deep roots. Why did he not go deep into

it? Some studies have shown that Fahua has an

inextricable relationship with Buddhism. Is it true that

Buddhism is deeply influenced by Buddhism, or is it

profoundly influenced by Taoism? In Wang Huahui's

‘Fahua Short-Term Character Appreciation’9, from

the perspective of the artist's observation, a picture of

the vase of the Fahua hollow character unearthed in

the Ming Dynasty was described and appreciated.

The level of appreciation only stays on the surface of

the picture. What is the background of this work but

did not elaborate, but did not delve into the beauty of

ceramic art aesthetics how to be beautiful? At present,

the lack of research on the phenomenon of ‘art and

craft’ is regarded as ‘art creation’, and there is a lack

of humanistic spirit from the level of craftsmanship to

the ‘Taoism’ and ‘Confucianism’ research thoughts,

lacking from the boring ‘form’To the ‘meaning’.

Only when more and more researchers began to

explore Fahua from the perspective of aesthetic and

cultural implication, Fahua has its up-and-coming

day.

4 ATTEMPT TO CONSTRUCT

THE FAHUA EDUCATION

SYSTEM AS A ‘DISCIPLINE’

COURSE

Today's ceramic creation activities are regarded as

‘art creation’, which promotes the prosperity and

development of Chinese ceramic art. However, the

research of Fahua is still in an ‘unconscious’state,

both in the field of arts and crafts and in the field of

ceramic art. Most of them are based on the experience

of the artisan population, the root of the research is

basically not, and the theoretical expression of the

complete system is lacking. Tu Zhihao was worried

about ‘The Characteristics and Inheritance of Fahua’:

‘This traditional craftsmanship that has lasted for

hundreds of years, combines the characteristics of the

South and North kiln, but now it is clearly facing a

serious crisis of inheritance and development.’10

Researchers mainly want to express their concerns

about the inheritance and development of Fahua. If

Fahua rises to the ‘conscious’ research state, it should

be regarded as a science and even subject curriculum

construction. The conventional record of relying on

experience is elevated to theoretical research relying

on abstract generalization, with theoretical,

systematic research and openness of

multidisciplinary participation. In November 2018,

The National Art Foundation Training Funded

project ‘Fahua Skills Heritage and Innovative Talents

Training’11 completed the four-month advanced

seminar, which means that the state used another way

to protect and pass on the skills of Fahua in time. .

However, the author believes that this is only the

beginning of Fahua's re-launch on the stage, and only

a few people know the technique of ‘hot’, but it is not

enough for the public. The author believes that the

fastest and most effective way to spread it is to try as

the education system of the subject curriculum.

Students are the main force of communication and

inheritance, which is the hope of innovation.

The first person to propose the idea of the course

is Tu Zhihao. He thought deeply in the

‘Characteristics and Inheritance of Fahua’: ‘On the

one hand, the inheritors of Fahua should not rest on

their laurels, actively promote art and expand the

team of inheritors; On the other hand, we try our best

to enable Fahua to enter some of the college's ceramic

art education classrooms and become one of its study

subjects, and to train Fahua reserve talents with

advanced art education level.’10 But unfortunately,

how to Fahua's education system as a subject

curriculum has not been constructed or involved by

scholars. Fahua’s research lacks ‘consciously’ to

learn and discipline, and the research article lacks the

rigor and consciousness of ‘discipline’. The author

tries to construct it as a systematic subject curriculum

system, and promotes the ‘unconscious’ research to

the state of the knowledge structure system of

‘conscious’theory research, rather than a single

historical statement and technical description,

breaking the research. The existing stalemate has led

more people to take the initiative to learn and study

the pattern of Fahua.

Review of Chinese Traditional Handicraft: Fahua Ceramic

107

5 CONCLUSIONS

‘From the artistic point of view, the expression of

personality and thought should be the soul of

artistic creation.’12 Fahua is also an angle scholar

who needs a group of professional ceramic art

aesthetics to study it. In summary, the academic

research on Fahua stays in the state of empirical

description, and basically discusses the research on

its crafts, styling and materials, and lacks the

discussion of the ‘art creation’ vision with spiritual

meaning; For the blue-and-white ceramic and

pastels ceramic of the technique, the research

foundation of Fahua is still relatively shallow, so it

is very important and urgent to construct a subject

education system.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My greatest debt of gratitute is to Prof. Sone

Simatrang、Prof.Veerawat Sirivesmas、Prof.

Eakachat Joneurairatana、Prof.Jirawat，advisors of

Design Arts (International Program), Faculty of

Decorative Arts, Silpakorn University.They are

encourage me to take up my research and give me lots

of professional advises.Second,my thanks go to

Inheritor of Fahua Tu Jinshui and Tu zhihao ,leader

of Ministry of Light Industry of China,for providing

their informations and give me support of

technique.Finally, my thanks to The National Art

Foundation of China11 for choosing me as one of the

members to have an in-depth understanding of this

reseach. I feel very honored.

REFERENCES

(Qing) Anonymous. ‘Nan Kiln Notes’ [M]. Guilin:

Guangxi Normal University Press, 2012.

Original document:“法蓝、法翠二色，旧惟成窑有，翡

翠最佳。本朝有陶司马驻昌南，传此二色，云出自

山东琉璃窑也。其制用涩胎上色，复入窑烧成者。

用石末、铜花、牙硝为法翠，加入青料为法蓝，今

仿者甚夥”。

(Republic of China) Xu Zhiheng. ‘The home named

Yinliu commentary porcelain’ [M]. Beijing: Forbidden

City Press, 2005.

Original document:“定窑、章龙泉窑之花，皆雕花也.....

凹雕亦名划花，凸雕亦名法花，平雕亦名暗花”.

(Republic of China) Xu Zhiheng. ‘The home named

Yinliu commentary porcelain’ [M]. Beijing: Forbidden

City Press, 2005.

Original document:“法花之品，萌芽于元，盛行于明。

大抵皆北方之窑，蒲州一带所出者最佳；蓝如深色

宝石之蓝，紫如深色紫晶之紫，黄如透亮之金珀；

其花以生物花草为多。平阳、霍州所出者，其胎半

属瓦质（即半瓷半瓦），蓝略发紫，绿略发黑，殆

非精品。西安、河南所出者，较平阳、霍州略为鲜

亮，盖属瓷胎。至清初始有景德仿造，则纯是玻璃

釉，花既玲珑，地尤细净，人物众兽，毫发毕现矣

。雍正以后间有仿造，已失良工。故乾窑虽精，亦

趋入雕瓷一途，罕见法花之制”。

Guo Xuelei. A preliminary study on the Fahua [J].

Cultural Relics Quarterly, 1995 (04): 63-70.

Li Xiangwu. On the theoretical thinking of ceramic art

aesthetics [J]. Journal of Ceramics, 2011

Gong Baojia. The Influence of Modern Ceramic Art on

Modern Life and Its Significance[J]. ART

100,2006(07):222-223.

Li Pei Ning. Archaeological study of emerald glazed

porcelain and enamelware [D]. Jilin University, 2015.

Ren Zhilu,Meng Yaohu.Discussion on the Origin and

Causes of Chinese Peacock Blue Glaze[J].Chinese

artifacts,2002(01):69-72.

Hei Wanghui. The flower bottle hollowing out the bottle

reward [J]. Collection, 2012 (06): 58.

Tu Zhihao.Study on the Characteristics and Inheritance of

Fahua[J].China Ceramics,2014,50(08):73-74+77.

The National Art Foundation training funded project

‘Fahua Skills Heritage and Innovative Talents

Training’,2018

Chen Yuxian. Chinese traditional ceramic art research [M].

China Academy of Art Press, 2001.

APPENDIX

Agreement of the National Art Foundation Training

and Funding Project "Fahua Skilled Heritage and

Innovative Talents Training",Project Number: 97.

ICONARTIES 2019 - 1st International Conference on Interdisciplinary Arts and Humanities

108

Chinese traditional handicraft——Fahua ceramic

Painting Fahua ceramic by Zhouzhiwen

Review of Chinese Traditional Handicraft: Fahua Ceramic

109