Hong Kong Story | Hong Kong Ceramic Artist: Clever Hands Pinch Peony to Open Peony | Ceramics | Hong Kong

Xinhua News Agency, Hong Kong, August 6th - Question: Hong Kong Ceramic Artists: Clever Hands Pinch Peony Blossoms

Xinhua News Agency reporter Huang Qiantian

A ball of porcelain clay and a pair of skilled hands, after more than 10 processes and 1300 degree high temperature firing, after 12 hours of heating and 12 hours of cooling, a lifelike ceramic peony bloomed. The skill of this "skillful hand making flowers" is evident in every inch, and the details are breathtaking.

"The ancients said, 'Falling red is not a heartless thing, but transformed into spring mud to protect flowers.' As someone who loves flowers, I hope to use modern techniques to protect the eternal beauty of flowers with soil." Hong Kong ceramic artist Wang Junxian said.

Hong Kong ceramic artist Wang Junxian is in an interview with Xinhua News Agency reporters. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Shen

Ceramic flowers that shape the gods

Wang Junxian's love for pottery originated from his childhood: "My grandparents have a huge garden in the New Territories. Sometimes, my grandmother and I search for duck eggs along the path, and every week we harvest ripe vegetables from the field. I like to play in the mud and shape different shapes with it."

After graduating from university, Wang Junxian became a horticultural designer. During an overseas exchange, he was deeply attracted by a ceramic flower on a vase in a European castle, and the happy memories of childhood when he pinched dolls with soil were awakened.

"At that time, I thought that ancient people could produce such exquisite porcelain flowers solely through traditional craftsmanship. In today's technologically advanced world, how should we improve our technology to make the petals of ceramic flowers thinner and non reflective, so that the flowers are not only beautiful, but also 'real'?" Wang Junxian said.

After returning to Hong Kong, he apprenticed and studied Lingnan pottery culture, and consulted a large number of ancient and modern Chinese and foreign classics on ceramics, experimenting with various techniques and formulas... Gradually, he discovered that traditional porcelain making methods would glaze and color, making the petals thicker and more reflective. He tried to add ceramic glaze medicine to the mud to make flowers, and this change made the ceramic petals not only non reflective, but also thin like cicada wings, with wrinkles at the edges giving a sense of "east wind cutting".

He also used porcelain clay containing kaolin to make it, with a firing temperature of up to 1300 degrees, comparable to volcanic magma, thus creating a crystal smooth and translucent texture of porcelain flowers. With exquisite skills, he made each petal show the direction of the wind, achieving the effect of using motion to complement stillness, and achieving the transformation from "resembling a flower in shape" to "resembling a flower in spirit".

Wang Junxian's innovation in traditional craftsmanship has revitalized ceramic flowers. "Whenever I bring my works to exhibitions abroad, many viewers can't distinguish between halal flowers and ceramic flowers, and they all praise Chinese style ceramic art," he said.

Hong Kong ceramic artist Wang Junxian demonstrated on site how to make incense sticks. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Shen

"Hiding" Tang poetry and Song lyrics into ceramic peonies

The ancients said, "People love peonies very much.". Among all the flowers, peony is also Wang Junxian's favorite flower.

"Peony is our national flower, but unfortunately, it is a cool plant that is more resistant to cold and not to humid heat. The hot climate in Hong Kong is not suitable for planting, so many Hong Kong citizens do not have the opportunity to appreciate the elegance and splendor of peonies." Wang Junxian said that most peony lovers in Hong Kong can only buy a few branches from flower shops for flower arrangement, with a flowering period of only about two weeks.

This gave him a sense of mission when creating - "I want to use ceramics as a medium to let peonies' bloom 'in Hong Kong, and also let more Hong Kong citizens experience the artistic conception of' only peonies have the true national color, and when flowers bloom, they move the capital '."

In order to better shape the stunning beauty of the peony, the king of flowers, Wang Junxian often seeks inspiration from Tang and Song poetry.

"When I was a child, my mother gave me a book called 'Three Hundred Song Ci Poems'. I loved to memorize and read poetry and songs since I was young, and the seeds of Chinese culture quietly took root in me, which has had a huge impact on my current creations," he said.

Peony has been popular since the Tang Dynasty, and a large number of literati and calligraphers have written poems for it. Wang Junxian said that ancient people used extremely refined language to describe images, which could be vividly conveyed with just a few strokes. Beautiful poetry also provided rich reference materials for his creations.

For example, when coloring ceramic peonies, Ouyang Xiu's "Luoyang Peony Chronicle" mentions the four famous varieties of peonies: Yao Huang, Wei Zi, Zhao Fen, and Ou Bi, which makes him suddenly enlightened; When fabricating the form of peonies, Su Shi's poem "The Song of the Water Dragon: The Poems of the Second Rhyme Zhang Zhifu and Yang Hua" "lingers and damages the soft intestines, drowsy and delicate eyes, wanting to open and close", making him suddenly enlightened.

Nowadays, with the development of ceramic technology, ceramic artists from all over the world are creating various types of ceramic flowers. When talking about his creative characteristics, Wang Junxian said, "My ceramic flowers contain Tang and Song poetry, which makes them not only ordinary handicrafts, but also the 'narrators' of Chinese cultural stories."

The ceramic peony made by Hong Kong ceramic artist Wang Junxian is as thin as cicada wings. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Shen

Let peonies "bloom" into ordinary people's homes

In recent years, Wang Junxian's ceramic flowers have received more widespread attention and have been collected by multiple internationally renowned brands. He also showcased his works in countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Singapore, Japan, and shared the stories behind his works.

In July of this year, Wang Junxian made an appearance at the important cultural and artistic event in Hong Kong - the May Art Festival in France. The visual art exhibition "Gorgeous and Fierce: French Chinese Style" curated by him has been very popular among audiences.

He said that in the 18th century, due to the barrier of Guanshan, the French could only imagine the elegant way of life in China. "So, I created an 18th century French garden with blooming ceramic peonies, tea, silk, Eastern paintings, and showcased the influence of Chinese style on European culture and modern life with nearly a hundred blue and white peonies."

Wang Junxian said he has two dreams, and showcasing ceramic culture to the world through exhibitions is one of them.

"I believe that ceramic art can become a 'messenger' of cultural dissemination." He hopes to use these opportunities to tell the world the splendid stories of Chinese culture.

His other dream is to share the craft of making ceramic flowers with more people. He said, "I want ceramic peonies to 'bloom' into ordinary people's homes."

For this reason, he opened his own workshop to pass on his skills and share his insights. The workshop has always been fully registered, and so far more than 3000 people have studied.

"In this class, we are going to do the Yao Huang peony, a precious variety of peony. As the ancient saying goes, 'People call the peony flower king, but now Yao Huang can be the king, and Wei Hua is the queen.' You don't have to worry about whether you make it or not, because there are countless popular peony varieties, so no matter what you make, it will always look like a variety..."

Every class often begins with Wang Junxian's rigorous yet humorous narration.

"Many people tell me after finishing ceramic flowers that they really hope to start with ceramics and learn more about the colorful Chinese culture," said Wang Junxian.