Zhang Yunqing: Keeping the craft of porcelain repair alive

Zhang Yunqing, a reporter from Ha'erbin, Heilongjiang province, is also a professional craftsman who repairs broken porcelain, July 15, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

Ju ci, or repairing broken porcelain, is a traditional Chinese handcraft. Craftsmen who mend porcelain can be found in the famous painting Along the River During the Qingming Festival, a work of Zhang Zeduan from the Song Dynasty (420-479).

Zhang Yunqing, a reporter from Ha'erbin, Heilongjiang province, is also a professional craftsman who repairs broken porcelain.

"My grandpa made a living mending porcelain wares in Shandong province," Zhang said. Zhang was impressed by his grandfather's craft when he was still a little boy. Despite his father later became the successor, things didn't go well due to a lack of clients.

In 2013, Zhang began to study about the craft and soon became a professional repairer. Now, he has a small workshop to teach more people who are interested in the craft.