Remembering My Teacher Shi Yuren

Lv Jinquan ：Born in 1964 in Shangrao, Jiangxi Province, Lv Jinquan graduated with a Masters degree from Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute. In 2003, he entered the doctoral program at Southeastern University in Nanjing. Currently, he is a professor in the College of Art and Design at Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute, a Masters students’ advisor, and secretary-general of the Jingdezhen Ceramic Design Association.

Remembering My Teacher Shi Yuren

by Lv Jinquan

Twelve years ago, in 1966, Shi Yuren died in a traffic accident. During his lifetime, Chinese porcelain arts gradually evolved beyond the tradition and the limitations of the folk arts. These modern arts moved more and more into the area of fine arts, whose many benefits derived from both exposure to a wider cultural art environment and the collaboration among artists to propel ceramic arts education into a more contemporary direction. The increasing number of exhibitions and better public relations has enabled ceramics to grow even deeper into the hearts of the people. New records continue to be set over and over in prices gained at sales. All the above factors advance ceramic arts as a whole.

Each individual artist has a place in this process. Those at the forefront are owed special respect, particularly artists such as Shi Yuren, who is one of the most important. As one of Shi Yuren’s graduate students, I have been waiting to write about my memories of my teacher.

In 1987, I was fortunate to be among Shi Yuren’s 3rd group of graduate students in functional porcelain design. That year, Shi Yuren chose only one graduate student whose selection of research focus was crucial. The 1980’s had been a time for modern porcelain arts to set a new direction with new ideas and innovations, which had enabled people to begin to understand modern ceramic design. That year, I had just graduated and was accepted into the graduate program. I was consumed by creative passions and motivated to promote modern ceramics. For my graduate research project, I chose to explore contemporary, creative ceramic arts. At that time, I remember meeting Shi Yuren in the art department office; when I mentioned I might like to change my research direction, he asked me why would I choose such a course. I told him honestly my thoughts. Shi Yuren said that there was nothing unimportant about pursuing functional design. We need, he said, people gifted in promoting functional daily use porcelain. With his counsel, I chose to enter this field, and I feel now certain that his approach was correct.

In the latter part of the 1980’s, the direction of Jingdezhen’s daily porcelain production had taken the wrong path. There were 10 large, well-known factories in Jingdezhen making daily functional wares, but shapes and flower patterns lacked new ideas and contemporary design. The old-fashioned, traditional ideas prevailed despite the production of many so-called new products, which featured little originality. This reliance on tradition is a common phenomenon. Shi Yuren could see the need for new designs in functional daily use porcelain, and he set about to train his graduate students in ways to become professional designers. His timely vision foretold what was needed for porcelain’s restoration.

During the 3 years I studied with Shi Yuren, I collected many sketches, pictures, and articles about product design. We talked a lot together about functional porcelain and its problems as we became independent researchers. Needing to understand the different clay bodies used in different ceramic sites, we visited Foshan, Longquan, and Zibo, places where we also made our own works using local materials and techniques. This training laid a very strong foundation for my future work. My graduate design project was awarded the silver prize in the 2nd annual national creative art design competition. In 2007, that very work, a 15-piece coffee or tea set entitled “Harmony”, was collected by the Chinese Art Museum.

Emphasis on the traditional porcelain culture legacy – this was the unwavering focus of Shi Yuren’s teaching and guidance. He did not merely teach in the abstract; he also put into practice what he taught. In a single series of his works, we can understand the breadth of our deep cultural tradition.

In 1955, Shi Yuren came from Beijing’s Central Academy of Fine Arts to teach in Jingdezhen where was in the vanguard among the porcelain art department faculty. In his first few years in Jingdezhen, he focused on traditional porcelain techniques and wrote a book entitled Porcelain Polychrome Painting. His book was a step-by-step analysis of porcelain methods that explained Jingdezhen’s traditional polychrome skills in a systematic way which was an enormous help to all of us. I reproduced a copy of this book in 2004 as a permanent, encyclopedic resource.

During those first few years in Jingdezhen, Shi Yuren met with older artisans to learn the basics and often invited them to his classroom as teachers. This respect for traditional skills and artisanal knowledge reveals Shi Yuren’s concern for the culture and passion for its traditions. Today we continue to promote just this kind of respect. After all, isn’t our “intangible cultural heritage” exactly this legacy worthy of protection? From these activities, we can see Shi Yuren’s wisdom and vision. From his works, although not many in number, we can see his control of the intricate skills required to make traditional porcelain. No matter whether antique colors (gucai) or blue-and-white with polychrome overglaze (qinghua doucai), his techniques are all masterful. Examples drawn from tradition such as “Prosperity and Fish” or the pomegranate plate “Many Seeds, Many Sons” express multiple layers of meaning and show a very high level of painterly accomplishment.

During the 3 years of my graduate study, Shi Yuren arranged for me to take classes in traditional polychrome arts and crafts. At that time, embedded in Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute was a factory with coal-fired and wood-fired kilns. Convenient for our study and observation, this factory was rented out to private firms which did archaism (fangu) that is imitations of functional porcelains. Shi Yuren made it possible for me to study throwing and trimming done by the older artisans. My studies there inspired me to want to learn the whole range of traditional Chinese porcelain skills. I copied large Yuan dynasty plates and vases – and fell completely in love with blue-and-white (qinghua). Even though the time was relatively short, I benefited greatly from this direct, hands-on study. Most students today have learned the traditional skills of the studio potter, but then, it was unusual to learn these crafts. Shi Yuren emphasized that the porcelain artist must have a wide range of skills, be versatile, and be involved in the entire process of porcelain production. Only by so doing can we really understand and appreciate our porcelain heritage.

Shi Yuren was a respected and kind teacher beloved by his students and colleagues. I had heard about him when I was an undergraduate but did not know him personally; I could never have imagined that I was soon to have such a meaningful student-teacher relationship with him. Those days, Shi Yuren was a professor of porcelain art and design. He always had a nice smile along with his strong Zhejiang accent. Early on, in 1957, I had learned about his designation as a Rightist (you pai) which was followed by further persecution in the Cultural Revolution until 1978 when his reputation was officially restored. During more than 20 years, he was punished, denied his right to teach, and sent to a countryside porcelain factory to undertake “reeducation through labor”. After the recovery of his proper status, he went back to teach – yet he never complained about the persecution he had suffered. He faced life with courage and resumed doing what he loved doing: teaching and making art. Shi Yuren also enjoyed singing and dancing. On weekends, at the departmental parties, we could always see him engaged in lively dancing. The accuracy of his steps and his natural style made others not but a little jealous of him!

After I became his graduate student, we had a lot of contact with each other. I often went to his house to study and work. His wife always greeted me warmly and enthusiastically and asked about my life. Their apartment was in an old-style building where they lived on the 1st floor with diminished indoor lighting. In his studio, he hung traditional rice-paper paintings and displayed some students’ works. If we didn’t turn on the lights, we couldn’t work there, but when you opened the door, there was a small, bright little garden full of vegetables and flowers. Everyone had told me about Shi Yuren’s abilities to grow plants, but I never would have imagined how skilled he was unless I had seen it for myself. He grew all kinds of fruits and vegetables which required both patience and knowledge – not easy skills to accomplish. After graduation, I stayed on to teach; I moved two times and tried to plant jasmine and camellias, but they all died because I neglected to water them or paid insufficient attention. From this experience, I can appreciate Shi Yuren’s dedication and optimism, apparent in his entire approach to life.

Such a passion for life was also revealed in his series of works. If you open the book, Dao yu Qi ~ Spirit & Vessel, you can see immediately the intensity of his passion for life. His blue-and-white (qinghua) and decorative polychromes are full of energy. His work exudes an optimistic attitude, a positive spirit toward life. In shape and decorative motif, his work flows naturally, as if completed in a single stroke or just one breath. It is as if all the pain and anxiety he suffered vanish in his art, which conveys such strong, positive feelings to us, his audience.

A treasured artist and a beloved teacher, Shi Yuren made a contribution to Chinese arts that will be permanently written into our history.

In today’s era, Jingdezhen’s porcelain arts have a status not comparable to the past. All of the students trained by Shi Yuren have become professors and masters throughout China. They are making work of increasing importance, which is what the tradition expects of them. Although he is gone, Shi Yuren left us an indelible memory. He lives in our hearts forever.

Translated by Yenfen Huang and Carla Coch