It’s a Saturday morning in a large courtyard. Young designers sell their creations, from fine tea sets to hand-painted earrings. I could be in east London until standard Chinese tones remind me I’m in Jingdezhen, a small Chinese city.
Centuries ago, when Europeans first saw Chinese porcelain, it seemed so fine that they concluded it must have been made with magic and called it “white gold”.
They couldn’t find out how it was made, but they knew where it came from: the town of Changnan. Changnan porcelain was so in demand that early traders began calling the whole country by this town’s name.
Two million years after porcelain’s invention, the town, now called Jingdezhen, is still one of the world’s most important centers for porcelain production
.
“The people are the most important treasure here. Their roots are deep in history,” says Zhang Jia. She’s part of a new wave of designers who have come to Jingdezhen to learn techniques handed down and refined over a hundred generations. “This is the best place to study porcelain in China, perhaps in the entire world,” she adds.
Chinese artists aren’t the only ones drawn here. Founded in 2005 by Caroline Cheng, the Pottery Workshop runs classes for visitors from around the world.
Paul told me that when he first visited Jingdezhen there were no street lamps and only dirty pavements. There were workshops but their goods were bought by traders and sold elsewhere. These days, stylish cafes and bars pop up next to concept stores. At one such shop, I admired some tiny teacups like birds.
With the popularity of the Pottery Workshop, China’s young people are more interested in unique individually-made products. Many of the designers are using Jingdezhen’s master craftsmen to make them because they know they offer quality, attention to detail.
【小题1】What makes the writer realize that he is in China?| A．Fine tea sets. |
| B．Fine Chinese porcelain. |
| C．Hand-painted earrings. |
| D．Standard Chinese tones. |
| A．Because it was made in China. |
| B．Because they knew it came from Changnan. |
| C．Because they thought it was made with magic. |
| D．Because they liked it so much and it was in demand. |
| A．study techniques of making porcelain |
| B．pay a visit to some of her foreign friends |
| C．enjoy the beautiful scenery of Jingdezhen |
| D．know something about Jingdezhen’s history |
| A．the goods in the workshop were not popular in western countries |
| B．in the past Jingdezhen was a poor and dirty place |
| C．many foreign visitors came to Jingdezhen to study porcelain |
| D．China’s young people were more interested in unique products |
