The snow on the campus has not yet melted, students from Shenyang Institute of Technology gather in small groups and enter the warm pottery studio to learn the craft of purple clay pottery making. Their passion for this craft stems from more than ten years of inheritance and innovation by Wang Yingjie, the inheritor of the Kazuo purple clay pottery making craft.
Wang Yingjie was born in Kazuo (Harqin Left Wing Mongolian Autonomous County), Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province. He began learning the craft of purple clay pottery making craft at the age of 16. Recent years, he has created a series of purple clay potteries that embody the cultural characteristics of Chaoyang City, attracting widespread attention among the pottery industry. His work “The Mysterious Orient” won the Gold Award at the Shenyang Industrial Design Competition, and the work “Charm of Hongshan” was selected for the 12th China Pottery Art Exhibition.
Wang Yingjie not only respects tradition, but also seeks greater innovative breakthroughs in material utilization and artistic expression. He frequently visits the Liaoning Provincial Museum and the Niuheliang Site Museum, studying Hongshan artifacts from various perspectives. He has incorporated the shapes of Sinosauropteryx and Archaefructus liaoningensis into his purple clay art creations, which have achieved outstanding accomplishments at international art exhibitions.
For Wang Yingjie, inheritance and creation are of equal importance. At Shenyang Institute of Technology, Wang Yingjie has shared his rich experience and superb skills of over 13 years with his students. He not only teaches university students the craft of purple clay pottery making, but also invites international students to join the pottery classes to experience and learn this unique intangible cultural heritage skill.
In the pottery classroom, rows of half-finished Hongshan Goddess statues and Jade Pig-Shaped Dragon artifacts crafted from purple clay are displayed, showcasing the achievements of students who have learned from Wang Yingjie. “As students progress from being unskilled to proficient in their exploration, the intangible cultural heritage is also being passed down to them and is increasingly integrating into the ‘social circle’ of young people,” Wang Yingjie said. “I study and create purple clay pottery, and teach this craft to the younger generation, in order to better inherit Chinese traditional culture and showcase Liaoning’s regional culture. I want more people to get to know Liaoning and fall in love with China through this ‘unique purple clay pottery making craft’.”