CCTV News: Jizhou Kiln is a comprehensive folk kiln in the Jiangnan region of ancient my country. It was founded in the late Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Song and Yuan dynasties. It has a history of more than 1,000 years. It preserves 24 kiln bags from the late Tang Dynasty to the Song and Yuan Dynasties, and is one of the most complete ancient kiln bag sites found in the world.

Jizhou Kiln is located in Ji'an Yonghe Town, in the middle reaches of the Ganjiang River in Jiangxi Province. When encountering the sunny weather in spring, staff from Jizhou Kiln Ancient Ceramics Research Institute burned the first kiln in the year of Snake in 2025. Use traditional firewood to fire new porcelain works and inherit traditional porcelain making skills.

Archaeological discovery shows that there are more than 120 types of Jizhou kiln porcelain, creating a unique craft that mainly uses black glaze and is decorated with wood leaf patterns, paper-cut decals, kiln changes, etc., which reached its peak in the Song and Yuan dynasties.

Wu Shengle, director of Ji'an County Cultural Relics Protection Service Center and director of Jizhou Kiln Museum, introduced that the late Tang Dynasty Jizhou Kiln celadon bowl unearthed at the Xiaojialing site of Jizhou Kiln in 1981 shows that Jizhou Kiln had already fired porcelain on a large scale in the late Tang Dynasty. There are also the on-glaze deer tree pattern cups of the Southern Song Dynasty, indicating that the representative ceramic firing skills and paper-cutting decals of Jizhou Kiln were already very mature in the Southern Song Dynasty.

Due to the war, Jizhou Kiln gradually declined and eventually broke fire at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. The six major categories of Jizhou Kiln ceramic firing techniques, including the most representative wood leaf pattern cup, were lost. Starting from 1983, relevant staff from Jizhou Kiln Ancient Ceramics Research Institute and other related staff began to re-bury Jizhou Kiln, and first restored the wood leaf-patterned cup firing skills.

Luo Junping, director of Jizhou Kiln Ancient Ceramics Research Institute, introduced that they collected more than 30 leaves for comparison and refiring, and constantly tried different firing temperatures and kiln loading methods. Even they tried more than a dozen kinds of wood from the kiln, and finally determined that mulberry leaves were burned.

After 30 years of scientific research, in 2013, Jizhou Kiln lost nearly 600 years of ceramic craftsmanship and ceramic craftsmanship in Jizhou Kiln were completely "resurrected". In 2014, Jizhou kiln ceramic firing technology was listed as a national representative list of intangible cultural heritage. At present, there are nearly 40 inheritors at all levels, and more and more young ceramic people are entering Jizhou Kiln to enhance the vitality of ancient skills through innovative practices. Yang Li, inheritor of Jizhou Kiln ceramic firing technology, has devoted herself to researching technology innovation and integrating modern elements for more than ten years.

Yang Li, the representative inheritor of Jizhou Kiln ceramic firing technology, introduced that in recent years, they have fired many new leaf works, including more than 30 leaves such as Bodhi leaves, poplar leaves, and elm leaves. Traditional wood leaf cups are all black-glazed porcelain. Now they have also fired white glaze through research and development, making the varieties of wood leaf cups more diverse and modern.

At Jizhou Kiln Ancient Ceramics Research Institute, many young potters also chose to inherit traditional skills as their life goal after graduating from university.

Liu Huan, a potter at Jizhou Kiln Ancient Ceramics Research Institute, said that after graduation, the older generation is slowly going to retire, and they must inherit this excellent traditional culture.

Jizhou Kiln is a crystallization of the wisdom of generations of skilled craftsmen. In addition to inheriting the ceramic production skills in a lively manner, Jizhou Kiln has also developed experience activities such as ceramic production and VR archaeology, allowing participants to feel the long and long ancient charm through interaction.

Luo Chunhua, Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Jizhou Kiln Management Committee, introduced that in the future, they will promote the construction of Jizhou Kiln National Archaeological Site Park, explore the new "living" method of site parks, so that Jizhou Kiln ceramic culture can be seen and sensible, and take the path of living protection and inheritance.