Martie (aka the Kiln Priestess) on fri 9 jun 06
My husband and I just returned from our trip to Taiwan and I am happy to
report that the kiln god traditions there are alive and well. (We actually
returned a week ago - this is the second time I am trying to post this.)
Because this was our first trip to Taipei, Taiwan, we spent three of our
five days visiting museums, one day at the Jade and Flower market (an
unbelievable flea-market that is held on the week-ends under a huge free-
way over-pass), and one day visiting the ceramic town of Yingke, which is
located on the far outskirts of Taipei. Yingke is the capital region for
the production of Taiwan=92s porcelain and ceramics, and many independent
studio potters are located there. Also, some ceramists from Hong Kong also
go to Yingke to make and fire some of their pieces because this region has
woodfire kilns and gas kilns, (as I have mentioned in other posts, these
types of kilns are unavailable in Hong Kong). The town of Yingke gets its
name from the shape of the stone located on the northern range of the
mountains, which looks like a nightingale. The word nightingale in
Mandarin is pronounced =93yingke.=94
One of my main goals while visiting the town of Yingke was to see their
acclaimed ceramics museum, which was opened in 2002. However, I was very
disappointed to find that the museum had decided to close for the entire
month of June. This information was not posted on their web-site, and I
noticed by the small groups of people milling around in front of the
museum that my husband and I were not the only people who had made a
special journey to this site only to be locked out.
However, our trip to Yingke was rewarded by a visit to a huge outlet
warehouse selling everything from a wide selection of Japanese serving
dishes, Chinese steamers, knick-knacks and fine production ceramic ware.
Kong and I purchased a lovely medium sized porcelain pot with a superb
adventurine glaze. The piece even had an artist=92s chop and was dated.
We also visited a wonderful new gallery called =93Legendary Woodfire Ceramic=
Art Gallery.=94 The owner of the gallery, Ming Chao-Chien, who speaks
English, explained to me that he fires his work in a Japanese style dragon
kiln, which belongs to his master-teacher and is located in another town.
The entire aesthetic of the gallery was very Zen, and all of the art on
display had been fired in his dragon kiln. Also, while I was visiting I
asked Mr. Chien if he knew anything about the folklore of kiln gods in the
region and he turned me over to two of his assistants who were also
artists. While Mr. Chien attended to gentleman who was an obvious
connoisseur of pottery and looking to purchase or set aside a tea bowl
(none of the works had a price and Mr. Chien said that the gallery was
still exhibiting all of the works there and that if I wanted to buy
anything that perhaps I could contact him in the future about the matter)
one of his assistants, Mr. Chen, Man Fu, explained to Kong and me in
Mandarin about the local customs of kiln god veneration. The story that
Mr. Chen told, and which I recorded on video, is the same story that is
most noted in Jingdezhen, China. However, he said that they did not have a
temple to the kiln god or anything like they do in Jingdezhen, and that
the story of T=92ung Bun jumping into the kiln to save the pottery was a
folktale that everyone knows by heart. It is passed on by word of mouth.
The way that Mr. Chen and the other potters worship the =93kiln god=94 deity=
at the dragon kiln is by vertically writing the title =93Fire God=94 on a
piece of red paper before a kiln firing. It is believed that this sign can
protect the firing. The sign itself is worshiped or honored in the typical
manner of personal prayer and the burning of incense. I cannot locate the
fire god=92s Romanized name, but the name of the stove god that is sometimes=
worshiped in areas around Hong Kong is =93Tsao Chun.=94 Mr. Chen also
mentioned a couple of other deities that he has heard are worshiped in
mainland China.
Martie Geiger-Ho (aka, the Kiln Priestess)
University Fellow, HKBU Academy of Visual Arts
Hong Kong
www.kilnlore.com
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