Reviving Ancient Colors: Li Yanxun’s Tang Sancai Journey!
Hey there, art enthusiasts! 🎨 Have you ever heard of Tang Sancai? It’s a super cool type of pottery from China’s Tang Dynasty (that’s over 1,000 years ago!). “Sancai” means “three colors” – typically green, yellow, and white – that were used to decorate these beautiful ceramics.
Meet Li Yanxun, a modern-day artist on a mission to bring Tang Sancai back to life! But he didn’t just want to make the same old pottery. He wanted to transform it into something new and exciting for today’s world.
But guess what? It wasn’t easy! 😮 During his 103rd attempt, 48 of his test tiles broke in the hot kiln (that’s the super-hot oven used to bake pottery). Instead of giving up, Li picked up a tiny mineral piece that his daughter found. It was a pretty willow-green color, and it gave him a brilliant idea!
Li decided to change things up. He raised the kiln temperature by 300°C (that’s like adding three ovens’ worth of heat!) to make the pottery stronger. He also solved the “pink problem” – a tricky color to create in ceramics – by using special minerals instead of gold to get a bright red hue. 🌈
With these changes, Li transformed fragile, old-style ceramics into durable pieces that can be used every day, like countertops and light fixtures! How cool is that? Now, Tang Sancai isn’t just ancient history; it’s a part of our modern world.
So next time you see a colorful piece of pottery, think about Li Yanxun and how he reimagined ancient art for today. Maybe you’ll be inspired to create something amazing too! 🏺✨
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
