Life Is Like Water – Memories of My Teacher, Shi Yuren

Zhang Yalin Originally from Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, Zhang Yalin graduated with a Masters degree in 1989 from the Graduate School of Art of Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute. Currently, she is director of the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute Graduate School, a Masters students’ advisor, leader of the Jiangxi Province expert teachers’ group, and vice-president of the Jingdezhen Ceramic Arts Women’s Association.

Life Is Like Water – Memories of My Teacher, Shi Yuren

By Zhang Yalin

Thinking back to those times more than 10 years ago makes me recall unforgettable stories that replay over and over, like a movie in my mind. Life is like water in that way; would that we could slow the current down … make it slower . . . slower.

My teacher Shi Yuren, slender, plainly dressed, with a kind and friendly face; always spoke in a soft, quiet tone. He did not talk very much, but when his students achieved success in their art, he would volubly express his happiness. His persona was characteristically subdued, but when he danced, he revealed his rarely-shown, lively, even child-like expressiveness. These are some of my impressions of my teacher, Shi Yuren.

Shi Yuren was my undergraduate teacher, and after the final question-and-answer discussion, I chose Shi Yuren to be my graduate advisor because of his superior scholarship and diligence as an art educator. That year, I was the only student to be his advisee; previously, Zhu Legeng and Cao Ruixin were his advisees, but they had graduated, so I felt a little bit lonely. I remember a hot summer day in June, 1989. I was nervous, even anxious in front of the 11 professors on the panel for the orals: Qin Xilin, Ouyang Shibin, Wu Tianbao, Xi Longxue, Zhang Xuewen, Ge Shenyue, Wu Gaoming, and He Bingqin. Fortunately, also among them was Shi Yuren, sitting directly across from me. I remember so clearly that question-and-answer discussion format and I can conjure up Shi Yuren’s every expression. I moved from being uneasy to focusing intently on all the teachers’ questions. I felt sufficiently confident to express my own concepts, and Shi Yuren listened attentively to my answers. His facial expressions kept changing according to what I was saying, and then, at the end, he gave me a satisfied look.

After so many years, when I recall this look, I understand its significance. Now I am also middle-aged and a teacher myself. I too can follow my students’ body language which so affects our responses. The 3 years I spent with Shi Yuren created a kind of father-child relationship with all the worries and concerns of family. In fact, the things that most deeply touched me about that time cannot be expressed in words. One look was enough, a look that remains imprinted in my memory. After I was admitted to Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute, Shi Yuren used this kind of look to show his favorable interest in my work. In October, 1994, there was an international ceramic competition, and my work won 2nd prize. When Shi Yuren heard this good news, he came to my house to tell me even though the route was long and bumpy. Once again, he did not talk very much, but he revealed his excitement with his customary praiseworthy look. My family and Shi Yuren sat together to share that joyful moment together.

During the three years I studied with Shi Yuren, I gained a deep impression of his philosophy toward life. In 1987, he took Zhu Legeng, Cao Ruixin, and me to China’s northwest to study for several weeks. There, we spent a wonderful time together, a time which gave me new ways of seeing. In every place we visited, Shi Yuren would expertly teach us what was worthwhile to learn. He was always a person concerned about life and always had a passion for nature. The smallest detail of scenery – every little thing – sparked his emotions; If something inspired him; he remained tirelessly, excitedly engaged for a long time.

I remember when we were in Shaanxi Province, in the city of Fengyang, where the local specialty is the artisan craft of paper cutting. Examining every detail, Shi Yuren visited folk artists practicing their craft and asked many questions. I believe the folk art of paper-cutting became inseparable from his own later work, and when I see that work, I always recall the time when he was learning how to do paper-cutting himself. From that connection, we can see how much Shi Yuren loved the folk arts. He is especially gifted at combining the beauty of crafts with the spirit of porcelain. This mixture defines his personal character too and enables him to bring a new, special meaning to the contemporary era of the porcelain arts.

Fu Baoshi once said, “Only when you really live your own life deeply can you understand tradition. And only with such intensity can you creatively develop that tradition further.” I this think quote perfectly describes Shi Yuren’s experience and creative process. Shi Yuren’s ideas, too, were grounded in theory, and he would assert, “This is my philosophy” which was at the foundation of his approach to art – a foundation so important to all of us working in porcelain. Ordinarily, he was humble and modest with a keen interest in folk artists with whom he frequently talked about techniques and creativity. We can immediately see from Shi Yuren’s work that he was a master in control of all of Jingdezhen’s traditional porcelain skills: blue-and-white (qinghua), famille-rose (fencai), and antique colors (gucai).

Shi Yuren was always opposed to mere copying – really, truly against that practice. “Do not be a slave to style,” he insisted. “I want to use – and be of use to – the tradition,” not just imitate it. Shi Yuren’s work is different from that of his forerunners, but he absorbed and digested the essence from the past. Thus, he brought fresh life into his art and the past into the present in new ways. As his student, I could understand immediately his courage to breakthrough from the past and move beyond the formal patterns he inherited. Quietly, persistently, he expressed his artistic philosophy and spirit. His work clearly reveals a power emanating from between the lines and amid the colors. Just like his character – quiet but full of passion – when he shows his deepest reverence for the things he loves, life becomes like water – controlled from within and enduring.

Lao Tze said, “Just as water is kind to everyone, but not in competitive, so too are kind people like water. Water goes to all places, even those that are unloved. It belongs to the Dao.” The kindest people are like water which nourishes yet does not seek to overcome. It stays in unfavorable places that are hardest for us to get to, so it is most like the Dao. To me, Shi Yuren is like that water: without a care for fame, contributing his life’s energy to others, never competing to achieve renown or reward. This is his “Dao” and his “Qi” – his spirit and vessel. He found the perfect equilibrium between the two, which will enable future generations to forever respect him and to be deeply touched by the enduring beauty of his work.

Translated by Yenfen Huang and Carla Coch