Yixing craftsman puts fingerprints in nation’s art archive

Li Shoucai and his Jun-glazed ceramic works. [Photo/wxrb.com]

The superb ceramic making skill of a Yixing craftsman has helped him secure a place in the country's fifth batch of intangible cultural inheritor list, Wuxi Daily reported on Feb 14.

Li Shoucai, 64, is a reputed Jun ware master who has spent some 47 years in the time-honored ceramic-making industry. He is well-known for the creation of embossed decorations on Jun-glazed potteries.

The Yixing, Jiangsu native has made key breakthroughs in the traditional craft by developing exquisite relief patterns on the potteries to enhance the visual effect on a three-dimensional level.

The creative combination of multiple pile and stick methods by Li Shoucai leads to a compelling artistic appeal, according to judges with the inheritor list released by the Ministry of Culture.

Li, who started his career as an apprentice, has now fostered 26 of his own to make sure the classic heritage will never lose its luster.