Kashi molded earthenware firing technique
The Uyghur molding method of earthenware firing technology has a history of more than 2,000 years. It rose with the opening of the Silk Road, and has been continuously developed and innovated, and has been passed down to this day. It was passed down by word of mouth, and there are no detailed written records. The Kuoziqi Yarbisi residential area under the Guzer Community of Kashgar City is a place where earthenware production has been carried out for generations. The soil here is clay, which is an important raw material for pottery making. Earthenware makers use this clay to make pottery. Without any processing or adding ingredients, they use water and mud to make utensils, and then paint them with different colors and burn them into shiny and beautiful daily necessities. Yingjisha County is also an important area for Uyghur pottery making. For a long time, its products have been sold all over southern Xinjiang. Its products are exquisitely shaped and simple, with typical Uyghur style. Yingjisha's earthenware is divided into two categories: plain pottery and glazed pottery. Both are made of yellow mud. Plain pottery is fired directly, while glazed pottery is fired after the blank is glazed. Because the glaze contains different ingredients such as aluminum, black iron slag, quartz stone, and red clay, the colors after firing are dark green, light green, brown, white, earthy yellow, earthy red, and milky yellow. The Uyghur molded earthenware firing in the Turpan area also has a long history. Turpan Uyghur earthenware can be divided into three types: plain pottery, plain glazed pottery, and colored glazed pottery. The production process includes preparing soil, mixing mud, simmering mud, kneading mud, shaping, glazing, firing, and processing. The shape and style of the finished products are unique. These earthenware and their skills are material evidence of the exchange between the East and the West on the Silk Road. Many works clearly bear the imprint of Buddhist culture, and at the same time have a distinct Arabic style. In-depth research on the Uyghur pottery making skills can help people understand the situation of cultural exchanges between China and the West at that time. With the rapid development of social economy and culture, earthenware is used less and less in people's daily lives, resulting in a sharp decrease in varieties. For example, Turpan has reduced from hundreds of varieties to just a few, and the colors have also changed from complex to simple. Except for flower pots and flower jars, earthenware has basically withdrawn from people's lives. Due to the impact of the market economy, most earthenware craftsmen have idled their ancestral crafts, and the younger generation has no intention of learning and inheriting traditional firing techniques. Before 1949, there were more than 100 households of earthenware craftsmen in the Kuoziqi Yaerbixi residential area in Kashgar City. Now there are only 11 households left, of which there are only 17 craftsmen. Faced with this situation, measures must be taken quickly to rescue and protect the Uyghur molded earthenware firing method. (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)