He Shanping and his son He Haijiang were busy making a new batch of Lutang earthenware pots in the Lutang Earthenware Pot Intangible Cultural Heritage Studio in Lutang Town, Beihu District, Chenzhou City. The studio was renovated from an idle old house.

 

“Lutang earthenware pots have been passed down for a hundred years, and old houses have witnessed the changes of time. It is most appropriate to revitalize the old houses through intangible cultural heritage,” said He Shanping, who is in his sixties. His family has made earthenware pots for generations, and he is now the 20th-generation inheritor.

 

Lutang earthenware pots have a history of 800 years and are made through the ancient technique of colorless and unglazed carbonization kiln transformation. They are deeply loved by the people for their green and environmentally friendly nature, absence of heavy metals, and ability to preserve the original taste of food. In 2023, the Lutang earthenware pot firing technique was listed among provincial-level intangible cultural heritage projects in Hunan.

 

The Lutang earthenware pots may not look very attractive, but its production requires particular materials and techniques. The local unique clay and coal powder (graphite) in Lutang are used as raw materials, and 36 production methods as well as 72 processes are needed before a pot is made.

 

A few years ago, these complex processes troubled He Haijiang. In 2016, He Haijiang gave up his job in Guangdong and returned to his hometown to help his father.

 

He Haijiang gradually mastered this skill through trial and error. But earthenware pot making needs a long period, with low output, so profits are not satisfactory. When he first took over the business, he had to work outside during the off-season to support his family.

 

Therefore, they decided to explore a new path to promote the development of earthenware pots.

 

He Shanping worked to improve the firing process and tried semi mechanized production. He Haijiang has developed a series of new varieties such as earthenware cups, plates, and bowls according to market consumer demand. They purchased ball milling, billet making and other machinery with the investment of over 1 million yuan. 

 

Through repeated improvement of the raw material formula and equipment, they have increased the yield rate of finished products from 60% to 95%.

 

“In the past two years, the Lutang earthenware pot making technique has gradually gained popularity among young people,” said He Shanping. 

 

In addition, Lutang pots are displayed in the Beihu Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum of the Changjuan Cultural Tourism Block, and they have also been listed as the assistance project of Rural Revitalization in Chenzhou.

 

Free teaching and skill training has been conducted by inheritors of Lutang Earthenware Pots for disabled and left-behind women in the surrounding areas. Those that master the making skills are employed by earthenware pot making enterprises. Intangible cultural heritage classes are launched, free for students, to promote the inheritance and development of Lutang earthenware pots.

 

Lutang earthenware pots have achieved the annual output value of millions of yuan, and the making skill has become a new economic brand in Chenzhou.

 

 

Chinese source: hunantoday