The craft of making Tibetan-style black pottery has a history of more than 2,000 years and is a national intangible cultural heritage in Tangman village, Nixi township, Shangri-La city, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China’s Yunnan Province.
Nixi township, located over 30 kilometers away from Shangri-La’s city center, holds historical significance as an important stop along the ancient Tea Horse Road. In the Tibetan language, “Nixi” translates to “the place where the sun rises.”
The region’s unique natural geography, coupled with mineral-rich soil, has made it a significant black pottery production area. Black pottery includes tea sets, wine vessels, and cooking utensils, and is of great importance in the daily lives of the local people.
Black pottery production involves several processes, including clay collection, drying, and sieving, making moulds, drying, firing, and polishing. Unlike industrialized pottery production, Nixi black pottery continues to use traditional techniques and handmade production. In June 2008, the Tibetan-style black pottery firing technique was included in the second batch of the national list of intangible cultural heritage of China.
Zhishi Nyima, head of the Tangman village, said that Nixi township is actively promoting a master-apprentice system to pass on black pottery making. As of 2022, the number of households engaging in black pottery production in the entire township has increased from over 40 to 108, and the number of practitioners has grown from 45 to over 150.
ICH Inheritors
Sun Nuoqilin 孙诺七林
Male, Tibetan, born in May 1948, passed away in July 2015, from Shangri-La City, Yunnan Province. Representative inheritor of the third batch of national intangible cultural heritage projects: pottery firing techniques (Tibetan black pottery firing techniques). A Tibetan black pottery firing technician. Born into a family of Tibetan black pottery makers, he began learning pottery from his grandfather, Nongbu Enzhu, at the age of 12. Over more than fifty years of practice, he mastered the comprehensive techniques of black pottery firing, specializing in making dragon-head braziers and teaware (shakers, tea caddies) for butter tea. He was innovative, decorating black pottery with white porcelain shards, creating a striking contrast between black and white, transforming ordinary household items into ethnic folk handicrafts. His works are characterized by their simple and rustic shapes and unique craftsmanship. He actively mentored apprentices, and under his leadership, Tangdui Village became a renowned black pottery village. He is the most representative and influential inheritor of Tibetan black pottery firing techniques. He participated in the Canton Fair in the early 1970s. Twenty-four works exhibited in Beijing in 1991 were collected by the National Cultural Palace and the Preparatory Group of the Museum of Chinese Ethnic Minorities.
Dangzhen Pichu 当珍批初
Male, Tibetan, born in May 1967, from Shangri-La City, Yunnan Province. A representative inheritor of the fifth batch of national intangible cultural heritage projects, pottery firing techniques (Tibetan black pottery firing techniques). The seventh-generation inheritor of pottery firing. Born into a family of potters, he began learning pottery from his father, Gema Dingzhu, in 1977. With over forty years of experience, in 2005 he founded Shangri-La Longba Tangdui Black Pottery Co., Ltd., using a company-plus-farmer model to help the entire village prosper. He established a pottery research laboratory and a Tibetan black pottery making technique training center, regularly offering free pottery training classes to villagers. He is dedicated to rescuing and protecting traditional crafts and developing new products, creating various unique traditional household items, Tibetan religious items, and carved decorative handicrafts. His works are exquisitely crafted, richly characterized, and combine practicality with aesthetic appeal, enjoying a high reputation in the pottery world.
