Tomb Figures Full of Life

IN the early 20th century when arailway was being built in Luoyang,Henan Province, large qnantitiesof pottery shards were excavatedfrom a number of ancient tombs that hadbeen exposed during the eonstrnctionwork. The fragments were glazed in threecolors-yellow, green and white. A fewyears later, utensils glazed in the samethree colors and unmistakably identicalstyle were unearthed in Xi’an, ShaanxiProvince.

This type of earthenware was namedTang tri-color (tangsancai), since theywere all discovered in tombs of the TangDynasty (618-907).

Chinese pottery skills date back atleast 10 millennia. In the Han Dynasty(9o6 BC-AD 92o), people found thatminerals could be used as pigments.They made glaze with hematite or manganese oxide and fired the pots to makesingle-color works.

Under the Tang Dynasty, China wasone of the most prosperous empires inthe world. The economy and culturedeveloped rapidly, as did technology inalmost every field. Craftsmen acquiredvast knowledge of the properties of metallic oxides and improved the techniqnesof pottery production. Based on skillshanded down fi’om the Han Dynasty, theTang craftsmen added more lead to thepigments and gave the pottery two kilnfirings. In this way, the glazes melted andcommingled, forming a multi-colored coating.

Most Tang tri-color glazed earthenwarewas handmade in Xi’an and Luoyangthe capitals of the Tang Dynsty in different periods. Archeological research showsthat burial practice then was extremelylavish. The upper class decorated theirtombs with splendid murals and packedthe space with exquisite objects including this kind of earthenware, whereascommon people could afford only a fewsimple and crude clay objects.

However, the unending battles in thelast years of the Tang Dynasty produceda gradual decline in tangsancai potteryowing to the short supply of pigmentsand other materials, and a falling demand for such crafts. In the succeedingSong Dynasty (960-279), ceramic techniques were further developed and tangsancai pottelT gave way to porcelains ofa more fine and delicate texture. So thetechnique fell into oblivion. For that reason, those Tang pieces that have survivedare limited in number and very precious.

Around 192o, some artisans in a village near Luoyang managed to repair thepottery fragments. With the gradual improvement of their skills, they tried to revive the lost craftsmanship. One of them,Gao Liangtian, building on what he hadlearned in pottery repair, was the firstto succeed in resurrecting tangsancai.His skills were passed on in the village,where most residents today earn theirliving through making tri-color glazedpottery.

This work calls for high skills in claymodeling, painting and firing.

The base is made of kaolin clay, whichis shaped into a multiplicity of formshuman and animal figures and differentutensils-before being dried. The dried but unglazed base is kiln fired at between1,000℃ and 1,100℃. Craftsmen then usevarious metallic elements to create theglaze colors: the green is made of copper oxide and quartzite; the white is theproduct of zinc oxide and lead powder;and the yellow comes from a mixture ofiron oxide and quartz.

The glaze concoctions are then applied to the surface of the single-firedbody, after which the item is fired againat between 8oo~C and 9oo~C. The coolersecond firing causes no change in shapebut is hot enough to melt the pigments.In the hot kiln the glazes spread and run,mingling with each other and forming avariegated and unique patina.

Many kilns that formerly producedthis type of pottery have been discoveredin Henan and Shaanxi, which were important places along the Silk Road, alongwhich merchants and goods passed between China and countries of West Asia,Middle East and Europe during the TangDynasty. Different cultural elementstraveled this road too: the artistic influence of West Asia and the Middle East isvery apparent in many of these wares.

Camel figurines are common. Tangpotters were inspired by merchants fromWest Asia with their caravans of camelsladen with goods to trade.

A pottery camel is usually glazedin yellow. Its head is high and its legsstrong. A green bell hangs around its neck and a colorful blanket covers itsback. Perhaps it carries goods or a fewforeign-looking riders, reproducing a scene of merchants and camels mak ing an arduous desert journey. Some of the excavated camel figures carry a fewartistes on their backs. Generally, two ofthem are playing musical instrumentswhile a dancer or acrobat performs between them. Their faces, clothes andinstruments represent true-to-life characters from West Asia of that time.

A great variety of tangsancai potteryhas been discovered. Aside from animalfigurines such as camels and horses, theother two categories are human figuresand household utensils such as bowls,plates and jars.

The female figures in tangsaneai arereal visual evidence of the Tang conceptof feminine pulchritude-plump bodyand chubby face with narrow eyes andthick eyebrows. Mostly they portray aristocratic ladies, standing gracefnlly, handsclasped in front of theln. Their coiffureis elegant, predominantly in bun style.Chubby was the thing to be if you were aTang Dynasty woman.

Another typical theme is women playing polo. Polo is one of the oldest sportsin the world and it started to be playedin China under the Han Dynasty. By thetime of the Tang it was hugely popular atthe imperial court.

Showcasing the colorful social life andsplendid culture of this golden age ofChina, the lifelike figures aud the elegantcolors of tri-color glazed pottery are theepitome of Tang artistry.

Booming foreign trade at that timehelped to export these brilliant artifactsto foreign lands. Their great fame alsopromoted the development of potterymaldng in other countries.

Today, on the basis of traditionalskills, China’s craftsmen have improvedthe techniques and are producing agreat variety of such wares, reviving thebrightness and beauty of this centuriesold art. tn 2oo8, Tang tri-colored glazedpottery was approved as a national in-tangible cultural heritage by the Chinesegovermnent.