Heze artisan feels passionate about black pottery

[Video by Zheng Deyin and Meng Ziheng for chinadaily.com.cn]

Wang Baoxiang, an inheritor in Chengwu county – located in Heze city in East China's Shandong province – has persisted in making time-honored black pottery art shine with a fresh new appeal and vitality.

As a municipal intangible cultural heritage inheritor, the 60-year-old artisan has specialized in the art of ceramics for over 30 years.

During the creative process, he shows a special zeal for depicting revered ancient officials who were renowned for their probity. He once carved Guo Xi – an official from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and from Chengwu county – onto black pottery to pass on his culture of integrity.

The process of making black pottery is intricate and complex, with over 20 steps required. Wang Baoxiang insisted that those complex steps are very valuable for building up people's quality. (Edited by Chen Chuxuan)