A zisha tea set made by Yu Shiyi is displayed at the Art Gallery of Jiangnan University on Jan 3. [Photo/wxrb.com]
Over 200 zisha works from 88 young artists will be on display at the Art Gallery of Jiangnan University from Jan 3 to 10, showing their understanding of intangible cultural heritages.
Zisha, or purple clay, comes from deep in the mountains near the city of Yixing in Wuxi, Jiangsu province. Yixing zisha teapots are popular not only as high-quality containers for brewed tea, but also for their polished design.
The 88 young artists have trained for five months at Jiangnan University, which was selected in 2015 to offer a training program for inheritors of intangible cultural heritage items by the former Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.
The training program, which promotes industry-college-research cooperation, not only attracts more participants but also offers potential young inheritors and people from a variety of sectors a chance to study and contribute to the protection of intangible cultural heritage items.
Zhang Yi, director of the training program and professor at the textile and clothing college of Jiangnan University, said the university has divided the program into three parts: studying at school, creating artwork at home, and displaying artworks and sharing ideas with each other.
Zhang noted that research on intangible cultural heritage items depends on people and social customs. Students must learn about both modern technology and traditional Chinese culture, which will help them create art that speaks to modern society.
This year's training program included cultural classes teaching the history of Chinese culture dating back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and field trips to Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province, which taught students about intangible cultural heritage research and preservation.
