May 18th coincides with the 50th International Museum Day, and this year's theme is "Museums: Bridges Connecting the World". The Guanshan Yue Art Museum in Shenzhen, centered around this theme, has launched a series of activities such as cultural discussions, special lectures, and ceramic workshops with the currently popular "Non Constant White - Chinese White Dehua Porcelain" aesthetic exhibition as its core. These activities aim to lead the audience to touch the pure craftsmanship of white porcelain, unlock cross-cultural romance, and receive rave reviews.

A touch of warm white porcelain: connecting the world and the East

Craftsmen come from all directions, and utensils come from all over the world. The millennium kiln fire has nurtured a magnificent ceramic culture; The Blue Sea Silk Road spreads the brilliant Chinese civilization far and wide. Dehua porcelain is renowned worldwide for its "white as snow and smooth as jade" characteristics, and is an important symbol of China's excellent traditional culture going global.

The theme of International Museum Day is "Museums: Bridges Connecting the World", and Dehua White Porcelain is one of the most touching landscapes on this bridge. Since the Song and Yuan dynasties, Dehua porcelain has crossed the ocean along the Maritime Silk Road, becoming an important carrier for the Western world to understand China and perceive Eastern aesthetics. Its warm and jade like texture not only carries the wisdom and craftsmanship of Chinese craftsmen, but is also praised by Europeans as "Blanc De Chine" (Chinese white), building an aesthetic bridge between Eastern and Western civilizations without translation.

The "Non constant White - 'Chinese White Dehua Porcelain' Aesthetic Exhibition" is currently on display at the Guanshanyue Art Museum in Shenzhen. The exhibition features over 220 exquisite white porcelain pieces, showcasing not only an aesthetic feast but also the cultural connotations carried by Dehua white porcelain from the perspective of connecting Chinese porcelain with the world's cultural context. Since its launch, it has attracted numerous audiences with its unique charm, leading them into the wonderful world of Chinese traditional culture and aesthetics carried by Dehua white porcelain. As the "World Ceramic Capital", Dehua is showcasing its millennium porcelain charm in the bay area through high-level exhibitions of this kind.

Master Lecture: Decoding the Aesthetics and Craftsmanship of Dehua Porcelain

Zhang Minggui, born in Dehua in 1977, graduated from Northeast Normal University with a major in Fine Arts. He studied ceramic sculpture under Chinese arts and crafts masters Lin Jiansheng and Xu Ruifeng. Over 30 of his works have won awards in national and provincial competitions, and many of them have been collected by cultural and museum institutions such as the National Museum of China, the National Art Museum of China, and the Fujian Provincial Museum of Arts and Crafts. He is a senior craft artist, first-class/senior technician, and master of arts and crafts in Fujian Province. His porcelain carvings are particularly famous for the statue of Master Hongyi. He is currently the Executive Deputy Secretary General of Dehua Ceramic Artists Association and the Artistic Director of Fujian Dehua Tao Zhiran Ceramic Culture and Creativity Co., Ltd.

On May 17th, Zhang Minggui gave a lecture on "Aesthetics and Craftsmanship of Chinese White Dehua Porcelain", starting from the historical context of Dehua white porcelain, deeply analyzing its unique craftsmanship and aesthetic implications, and unveiling the mysterious veil of "Chinese white" for the audience. He first starts from the perspective of "Chinese white" and interprets it from two levels. One is' very white ', only by leaving the usual white can one truly see the uniqueness and purity of white porcelain; Secondly, Dehua white porcelain is not simply a color, but a culture, a memory, and a spirit.

Subsequently, he led the audience into the millennium world of Dehua white porcelain from three perspectives: "looking at history, looking at craftsmanship, and looking at today". Dehua, this ancient porcelain capital, has a kiln fire that never goes out for thousands of years. The Dehua kiln site is one of the important heritage sites of "Quanzhou: the World Marine Trade Center of Song and Yuan China", and the Dehua porcelain firing technique has also been included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage protection list. Dehua porcelain art flourished in the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties, and flourished in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It had different characteristics in different periods, such as the simple carving techniques of the Song dynasty, which mainly produced daily-use porcelain; The emergence of masters such as He Chaozong in the Ming Dynasty pushed Dehua porcelain carving to the pinnacle of art, and "Chinese white" became famous worldwide from then on.

When it comes to traditional craftsmanship, Zhang Minggui provided a detailed analysis of the complex process of firing Dehua porcelain. Traditional ceramic craftsmanship involves 72 major processes and over 200 minor processes, with each process being rigorous. Take firing as an example, "once the kiln door is closed, it's difficult for immortals to help" and "three parts molding, seven parts burning". Firing is a key process that tests patience. Observing flames is also a discipline, as the color and temperature of flames vary at different stages of combustion. It is necessary to listen to the sound to determine whether to keep warm or stop the fire.

On the basis of using stale formulas to form fetal bones, innovate. At the same time, he also introduced the innovative exploration of contemporary Dehua porcelain. He stated that the new generation of Dehua craftsmen not only adhere to traditional craftsmanship, but also actively integrate contemporary aesthetics to create more modern white porcelain works. Finally, Zhang Minggui elaborated on the widespread influence of Dehua porcelain in terms of dissemination. With the promotion of the "the Belt and Road" initiative, Dehua Porcelain has crossed mountains and seas to the world. Dehua Ceramics frequently appears in international exhibitions, conquering global audiences with its unique charm and winning widespread praise, fully demonstrating the international influence of Dehua Ceramics.

After the lecture, the audience was still unsatisfied and asked questions about the firing temperature and collection appreciation, creating a lively atmosphere of communication. Zhang Minggui highly praised the "Extraordinary White - Aesthetic Exhibition of 'Chinese White Dehua Porcelain'". He stated that in the forefront city of reform and opening up, Shenzhen, this exhibition is not only a concentrated presentation of high-quality white porcelain, but also a comprehensive review of Dehua ceramic art. Through Shenzhen, this window also allows more people to understand Dehua white porcelain and Dehua.

In his opinion, there are three major highlights worth paying attention to in this exhibition. One is the complete presentation of historical depth. The exhibition system outlines the development of Dehua white porcelain from the Song Dynasty to the present day, allowing visitors to intuitively experience the enduring power of the thousand year old kiln fire. The second is the concentrated expression of contemporary innovation. The exhibition gathers over 220 exquisite white porcelain pieces, showcasing both traditional classics and innovative breakthroughs by contemporary artists. The third is the bridge significance of cultural dialogue. Based on the theme of this year's International Museum Day "Museums: Bridges Connecting the World", Zhang Minggui believes that Dehua white porcelain has been crossing the ocean along the Maritime Silk Road since the Song and Yuan dynasties, and is an important carrier for the world to understand China and perceive Eastern aesthetics. Viewers can understand the chapter of Eastern and Western civilizations communicating through beauty in a touch of warm white porcelain.

Cultural Dialogue: From Dehua White Porcelain to Cultural Bridges

On the morning of May 18th, during the cultural dialogue "Non constant White: A Bridge Connecting the World - China's Porcelain and Compassion", guests such as Chen Junyu, Director of Shenzhen Guanshanyue Art Museum, Tang Hao, Director of the Social Policy Research Center of Shenzhen International Public Welfare College, Cheng Ping, Exhibition Planning Director of Guanshanyue Art Museum, Zhang Minggui, Dehua Porcelain Art Master, Lin Huibing, and others started with Chinese white porcelain to explore the significance of museums and art museums as bridges connecting the world, as well as how China and the world can achieve deeper dialogue through culture. The event is hosted by Zhu Shuzhen, an expert from the Shenzhen Cultural Industry Expert Database.

When talking about the museum as a bridge connecting the world, Chen Junyu, the director of Shenzhen Guanshanyue Art Museum, said, "Guanshanyue Art Museum takes the Lingnan School of Painting as its research object, and the geographical scope covered by this topic is far beyond Guangdong, extending to Hong Kong, Macao, Canada and other countries in China. For a long time, the museum has always shouldered the mission of international cultural exchange, communication with the audience, and serving the public. It is itself a cultural bridge connecting the world. We need to deeply understand the contemporary spirit, place excellent cultures from ancient and modern times, China and abroad on the same platform, and carry out wise contemporary transformation and absorption. Only in this way can we better shoulder the responsibility of a bridge

Tang Hao, Director of the Social Policy Research Center at Shenzhen International Public Welfare College, said that the "Non constant Whiteness - Aesthetic Exhibition of 'Chinese White Dehua Porcelain'" not only shows us beautiful objects, but also the humanistic connotations reflected behind them. The biggest characteristic of art is that it has no boundaries. The development of art comes from the exchange of civilizations, and Dehua porcelain has set a good example

Cheng Pingping, the head of exhibition planning at Guan Shanyue Art Museum and curator of the "Extraordinary White - 'Chinese White Dehua Porcelain' Aesthetics Exhibition," shared his curatorial story and insights: "To prepare for this exhibition, we spent over a year visiting artist studios in Dehua five times. During this process, I saw a wisdom of the Chinese Way: 'The metaphysical is called the Way, and the tangible is called the vessel.' This formed the general framework of the exhibition." At the same time, he also expressed his hope that when watching the exhibition, everyone can go beyond appearances and return to the most essential cultural and spiritual levels for observation. The exhibition also extracted and quoted words and phrases from classic literature such as the Book of Changes, Book of Songs, Tao Te Ching, Zhuangzi, and Wenxin Diaolong, presenting the understanding of "white" in Chinese culture and helping the audience better understand it.

Craftsmanship Workshop: How a piece of mud can turn into "jade"

At the Dehua White Porcelain Workshop held on May 18th, Zhang Minggui and Fujian ceramic art master Lin Huibing worked together to lead the audience to experience the process of ceramic production from the soil. In the dialogue between hands and soil, the audience not only feels the warm texture of white porcelain, but also deeply understands the craftsmanship and inheritance behind intangible cultural heritage skills.

Lin Huibing, born in Dehua, studied under two national level masters of Chinese arts and crafts, Huang Wenshou and Lai Litong. I am currently a senior craft artist, a first-class/senior technician, a master of traditional Chinese handicrafts, a celebrity in Fujian's arts and crafts, a master of ceramic art in Fujian, a master of arts and crafts in Quanzhou, a high-level talent in Quanzhou, a member of the Ceramic Art Committee of the Fujian Arts and Crafts Society, and a member of the Fujian Intangible Cultural Heritage Society. I am currently serving as the Artistic Director of Shiyunxuan Ceramics Co., Ltd. in Dehua County, Fujian Province. My works have won numerous awards and have been collected by museums.

On International Museum Day, the workshop was sold out, which shows the enthusiasm of the citizens. Two masters demonstrated the process from clay to artwork on site for the audience, from kneading and shaping to repairing and shaping, each step requiring the craftsman's extremely stable hand feel and patience. As Zhang Minggui said, after thousands of trials and tribulations, the soil is burned at a high temperature of 1330 degrees Celsius, and finally becomes a crystal clear, warm and jade like white porcelain. 'Non constant whiteness' is the accumulation of thousands of years of kiln fire, the perseverance of generations of craftsmen, and also the growing Chinese aesthetics today.

Many citizens have expressed their hope that the art museum can launch more similar interactive experience activities in the future. I used to think that museums and art galleries were a bit far from life, but today I personally molded pottery and listened to stories here, and I feel that cultural relics and artworks suddenly come to life, "said Ms. Zhao, an audience member.

The enthusiasm of the citizens also impressed Lin Huibing. He stated that the "Non constant Whiteness - Aesthetic Exhibition of 'Chinese White Dehua Porcelain'" has both historical thickness and contemporary sharpness. It not only allows the audience to appreciate the visual beauty of Dehua white porcelain, but more importantly, it shows people that the reason why Dehua ceramic art can last forever is that it inherits tradition and innovates.