[Xinhua/Yang Chenguang]

Qiao Lin, 30, a resident of Yangcheng, a county in Jincheng, a city in North China's Shanxi Province, is an inheritor of the Qiaos' enamel pottery-making craft. The craft was added to the list of Shanxi's provincial intangible cultural heritage in 2011. Enamel is the colorful result of fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750℃ and 850℃. The powder melts, flows and hardens — to a smooth, durable vitreous coating — on metal, glass or ceramic.

Yangcheng has long been known for the production of color-glazed porcelain. Making color-glazed porcelain involves dozens of complicated procedures, including kneading clay into various items (such as cups, plates and vases), applying the glaze to the porcelain's base (made of clay, feldspar or quartz), heating the materials to shape the porcelain, and examining the products.

[Xinhua/Cao Yang]

Qiao returned home in 2015, shortly after she graduated from Binghamton University (a state university in New York, the United States), with bachelor's degree in actuarial science. Within a short time, she picked up the "baton" (of creating potteries) from her seniors. During the past several years, she has put much effort into inheriting and revitalizing the traditional craft.

As managing director of Yangcheng Qiaofeng Porcelain Industry Co., Ltd., Qiao during the past few years has led the company's craftspeople in promoting the inheritance and innovation of the traditional enamel-pottery-making craft. For example, to cater to the aesthetic tastes of modern people, Qiao has led the craftspeople in adding modern, fashionable elements to their potteries. They have also created potteries with designs of cultural and natural landscapes. Many of the cultural products (including those sold to tourists created by the craftspeople), with distinctive local features, have sold well both at home and abroad. Some artworks created by Qiao and other craftspeople (in the company) have been housed in Shanxi Museum. Given the sound development of the company, jobs have been created for many residents of Yangcheng.

"Our company has set up a studio, in which residents may create potteries under the guidance of our craftspeople. We hope that will help the residents better understand the beauty of the artworks. We also hope more young people will join us in promoting the development of the traditional craft," says Qiao.

[Xinhua/Cao Yang]

[Xinhua/Yang Chenguang]

Qiao's heart is filled with all sorts of emotions, especially as she recalls the many sweet, and bitter, incidents she has experienced on her unique career path over the years. "We have to make many choices during our lifetime. Although the living conditions of residents of a big city (in China) are better than the living conditions of people in my hometown, I have never regretted my decision to return home to promote the development of the traditional craft. I have felt obliged to do something to promote the art form globally ... As I pursue my dream (of revitalizing the traditional craft), I will achieve my self-realization," says Qiao.

She believes passion and careful work are essential to one's career success. "I'll make greater efforts to bring new vitality to the time-honored craft," says Qiao.

[Xinhua/Cao Yang]

(Source: Xinhua/Women of China English Monthly June 2022 issue)