China’s porcelain city carries centuries-old heritage to a new generation

Jingdezhen, China — Renowned Chinese porcelain artist Chen Qing carries a cherished memory of her grandfather, who wrote down the formula for her family's distinctive red pigment. Unfortunately, her grandfather burned the paper containing the formula shortly after writing it. Chen's mother only revealed the formula to her in her thirties.

Jingdezhen has been China's "Porcelain Capital" since around 1860, located in Jiangxi province. This city's pottery-making history dates back over 2,000 years, beginning during the Han Dynasty.

The city's porcelain sites were inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2026. Jingdezhen's craftsmen have preserved techniques once used to produce imperial porcelain, which later spread to private artisans. Chen's family adopted some of those traditions after the Qing Dynasty's fall in 1912.

Creating porcelain is an arduous task for outsiders. A family might spend nearly a century perfecting a single technique. Chen's studio is filled with brushes, unfinished pieces, and pigments, creating an atmosphere charged with silence and meticulous focus. Painting a teacup can take days, and even the smallest particle of dust or sweat could ruin the piece, forcing Chen to start anew.

Artists like Chen often collaborate with archaeological sites and museums to preserve China's porcelain heritage. Jingdezhen's Imperial Kiln Institute researches and restores ceramics excavated from the adjacent complex, employing new technologies such as artificial intelligence to match and reconstruct ancient porcelain fragments. Weng Yanjun, the institute's president, stated that they hope to retrieve ancient technology using modern science.

Porcelain-making in Jingdezhen was surrounded by spiritual beliefs. A shrine dedicated to Tong Bin, the protective spirit of ceramics, stands within the imperial kiln complex. Known as the "Immortal Master of Wind and Fire" or "Kiln God," Tong was revered during the Qing Dynasty for sacrificing himself to protest against the abuse of kiln workers. The shrine remains open today, housing a statue of Tong and figures representing other traditional roles in porcelain-making.