Travel Notes from Hebei: Handan Hebei Province Cizhou Kiln Art Museum
On April 9, 2023, at 4:05 PM, we took bus 605 and got off at Congtai Square. Getting off here left us still one stop away from our hotel, but it wasn't far to walk back. The main reason was that navigation showed a Cizhou Kiln Art Museum near the square. We wanted to verify if it really existed and if we could visit it. By then it was already 4:30 PM, typically the closing time for such venues.
Following the navigation, we couldn't see any museum anywhere. There was only a courtyard with its west gate closed. Through the gate, we saw an elderly man inside and asked if there was a Cizhou Kiln Art Museum. He said yes, it was in the courtyard, but we had to enter through the east gate. We walked around to the east gate, which turned out to be a hotel. It didn't look like an ordinary hotel; it seemed quite upscale, with a guard at the entrance. After asking, we learned that the museum was indeed inside, and we could enter and visit. It was located in a building near the west gate. We walked over and saw a sign reading 'Hebei Cizhou Kiln Art Museum.' The name was impressive, but the entrance was modest, more like a research institute. We decided to go in and take a look. A lady greeted us at the door, and after we explained our purpose, she not only agreed to let us visit but also immediately arranged for a young woman to accompany us and provide explanations. We were pleasantly surprised.
From the young woman, we learned that this was a private institution for the research, development, and exhibition of Cizhou kiln ware. Although the exhibits were not numerous, they were all quite ancient treasures, mostly genuine pieces from the Song and Ming dynasties. Online, you can find that the Hebei Province Cizhou Kiln Art Museum is located in the Fengfeng Mining District of Handan, but it is temporarily closed and cannot be visited. However, we also found out about another Cizhou Kiln Art Museum—the one we were currently in—which is run by a company. The company is named Hebei Province Cizhou Kiln Art Museum Co., Ltd., established on September 12, 2018, and registered at Room 1109, Building C, Zhaodu Hotel, No. 113 Zhonghua North Street, Congtai District, Handan City, with the legal representative being Xu Tian. Its business scope includes advertising design and production, graphic design, exhibition design, packaging design, creative planning, introduction and development of new ceramic technologies and equipment, development and sales of ceramic arts and crafts, ceramic technical services, technical consulting, and technical promotion; development and operation of ceramic internet platforms and other services related to the ceramic industry; planning of ceramic art and calligraphy and painting exchanges; sales of ceramic raw materials, auxiliary materials, cultural supplies, and office supplies; and hosting various exhibitions and events as well as foreign cooperation. However, unlike others, it has an exhibition hall featuring ancient pieces rather than modern ones, and it is open for visits, though it seems few people come.
The young woman guided us through the exhibition, patiently explaining everything. When we felt that the exhibits were somewhat few, she proactively took us to see two additional inner halls. The pieces there were even better than what we had just seen in the museum, allowing us to fully indulge in our Cizhou kiln fascination.
I have a particular fondness for Cizhou kiln ware. Although it only uses black and white, its distinctive lines are like sketches—bright, lively, and captivating to the eye.
Cizhou kiln is a treasure of traditional Chinese porcelain craftsmanship and the largest folk kiln system in ancient northern China. It is also a famous folk porcelain kiln, with the saying 'In the south there is Jingdezhen, in the north there is Pengcheng.' Cizhou kiln originated in the mid-Northern Song dynasty and reached its peak at that time, continuing through the Southern Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. The kiln sites are located in the Pengcheng Town of Fengfeng Mining District and Guantai Town of Ci County in Handan City, Hebei Province. During the Song dynasty, Ci County was called Cizhou, hence the name. Craftsmen of Cizhou kiln absorbed techniques from traditional ink painting and calligraphy, creating a white ground black painted decorative art with an ink painting style, pioneering the polychrome painted decoration of Chinese porcelain. Cizhou kiln has a wide variety of types, with white ground black decoration (iron rust), incised and carved patterns, and kiln-transformed black glaze being the most famous. Its decorative techniques broke through the limitations of the monochromatic glazes of the five famous official kilns of the time (Ru, Guan, Jun, Ge, Ding), employing dozens of rich and varied decorative methods. Authentic Cizhou kiln porcelain features include: 1) reasonable and natural proportions of each part, giving an overall pleasing appearance; 2) often showing a loose body with well-melted glaze; 3) a thick, glossy glaze layer like ice and jade, with fine crackle patterns.
The high development of painting and calligraphy art in the Song dynasty had a significant impact on contemporary ceramic decoration art. Whether in painting or calligraphic decoration, the brushwork, composition, layout, and charm of authentic Song and Jin dynasty Cizhou kiln pieces are indistinguishable from those of Song dynasty painting and calligraphy.
Visiting the art museum allowed us to learn more about Cizhou kiln. At 5:20 PM, we ended our visit, very grateful to the young woman who accompanied us. We promised to promote them online so that more outsiders would know that near Congtai Square, inside the Congtai Guesthouse, there is a Cizhou Kiln Art Museum that can be visited and is worth visiting. After leaving the museum, we walked back to our hotel, having dinner on the way.
