Sun Yunyi looks at the chicken-oil yellow colored glaze entitled Li yue gong ming, which represents the rites and music culture in ancient China. [Photo/zbnews.net]
Artist Sun Yunyi from Zibo city – located in East China's Shandong province – recently received national recognition after being included in the eighth edition of the Chinese arts and crafts masters list, released by the China National Light Industry Council on Aug 5.
The appellation master of Chinese arts and crafts is a national honor awarded only to those who have attained the highest skills in their field and represents the wisdom of traditional Chinese arts and crafts.
Sun grew up in an environment where colored glazes were everywhere. In 1983, at the age of 16, he was fascinated by the complex technique of making chicken-oil yellow colored glazes.
Chicken-oil yellow colored glazes contain a similar yellow color and smooth texture as the chicken oil in a hen's belly. The glazes were developed in the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and became popular in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The production process was once lost in China.
To resurrect the technique, Sun's father and uncle founded a small colored glaze factory in the 1990s, invested in tremendous resources and manpower, and finally succeeded in 2007.
Based on his family's efforts, Sun devoted himself to studying and researching the craft over the years. He solved technical problems and improved the process of making the glazes greatly.
His works were selected as cultural and creative works for long-term display in the Baoyun Building of the Palace Museum in Beijing in 2015. In 2016, more than 10 pieces of the works created by Sun and his team were displayed in the building and took the art world by storm. The Palace Museum then signed a cooperation agreement with Sun to print his drawings of the ancient chicken-oil yellow colored glazes with a 3D printer.
This year, Sun and his team cooperated with universities and held creative colored glaze design competitions for students.
This chicken-oil yellow colored glaze is entitled Guo tai min an, which means the country to be prosperous, and the people to live in peace. [Photo/zbnews.net]
"Paintings must carry auspicious meanings. We will create more artworks integrating traditional culture and fashion culture and bring positive and artistic feelings to people," Sun said.
