Standing with Grace:

Zhang Haiyang and the Celadon Rebirth of Longquan

On a quiet day in Paris, beneath the soft lights of the Paralympic stage, a set of green-glazed porcelain vases shimmered with quiet dignity. These were not ordinary gifts. They were Longquan celadon works titled “Yuli”—graceful Jade Elegance Meiping Vases crafted by master ceramicist Zhang Haiyang, and presented to the leaders of the global Paralympic movement.

With its warm jade hue, delicate crackled glaze, and timeless silhouette, each vase embodied not only the spirit of the athletes it honored—but also the legacy of a craft that once defined the peak of Chinese ceramic artistry.

But “Yuli” was more than a diplomatic gesture. It was the latest milestone in one man’s decades-long devotion to breathing life back into Southern Song Dynasty official kiln celadon—a pursuit as noble as it is unforgiving.

A Legacy in Clay

Zhang Haiyang was born in 1978 into a Longquan family where the air was thick with kiln smoke and tradition. At seventeen, he became a student of renowned Chinese arts and crafts master Zhang Shaobin, beginning his lifelong study of celadon. Over the years, he became known for recreating antique-style porcelain, earning respect across both academic and collector circles.

In 2006, Zhang founded his own studio—Haiyang Celadon Studio—dedicated entirely to the revival of Guan Yao (official kiln) ware from the Southern Song era, a category of porcelain famous for its noble simplicity and intricate firing techniques. But with this ambition came a question he could not ignore:

Should he pursue artistic purity, or maintain commercial success?

To recreate Southern Song celadon authentically meant giving up lucrative commissions, investing in research, and accepting years of financial uncertainty. “It would mean pausing everything—no clients, no income—just study, trial, and error,” Zhang recalls. But ultimately, it was the support of his wife that gave him the courage to follow his dream.

A Scientist in the Studio

Zhang threw himself into research like a scientist. He trekked into the mountains to source ancient mineral deposits, crushed stone by hand, and recorded experiments in five densely packed notebooks. From clay preparation to glaze formulation to the precise orchestration of kiln temperatures, every detail had to mirror that of the Song Dynasty.

He fired more than 90 kilns, yet success remained elusive. “Each time, I was just a little off,” he says, remembering the mountains of flawed pots that piled up around him.

Whenever he needed inspiration, Zhang would retreat into the Zhejiang Provincial Museum, spending hours absorbed in ancient fragments, quietly searching for meaning. One day, by chance, he was given access to the museum’s restoration center, where he met esteemed scholars Hua Yunong and Shen Qionghua. Their casual conversations and passing thoughts offered him new perspectives that subtly shaped his way of seeing.

Then, finally—in February of this year—Zhang opened the kiln to find it. His first truly successful Song-style official kiln celadon.

The glaze was a soft, powdery blue-green, smooth as fat jade. The iron-rich foot had taken on a deep purplish-black, and the signature ice-crack veins danced across the surface in delicate webs. “I was speechless,” Zhang recalls. “I had told myself: If I didn’t succeed this year, I would quit celadon altogether.”

From Paris to the Marketplace

“Yuli”, which later graced the 2024 Paris Paralympic stage, was one of Zhang’s proudest creations—a tribute to resilience. Its plum vase form, known as meiping, carries deep cultural significance. Just as plum blossoms bloom through snow, so do Paralympic athletes rise through hardship.

Each Yuli vase was handcrafted by Zhang himself: two large vases, each 34 cm tall, and eight smaller ones, each 20 cm. It took over three months and 20 kiln firings to complete the set, with a success rate under 10%—a brutal ratio, but one that yielded perfection.

The vases were gifted to Andrew Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee, and Majid Rashed, President of the Asian Paralympic Committee. Parsons praised the work and promised it would take pride of place in his new office.

This global debut built on Zhang’s earlier public success. His special exhibition “After the Rain, Sky Turns Celadon Blue”—featuring 56 fully restored Southern Song official kiln pieces—was his first attempt to reach collectors through an exhibition-sales model. It was a hit in Shanghai, earning him significant acclaim in the art market.

Recognition and Renewal

Later, Zhang presented two of his most prized creations—a Purple Cone Vase and a Tripod Washer—to Wang Guangyao, renowned ceramics expert, archaeologist, and senior researcher at the Palace Museum. Wang offered high praise without hesitation:

"In form, proportion, glaze, and overall spirit, these pieces come remarkably close to official kiln standards."

It was a moment of validation Zhang had long waited for. With that recognition, he finally exhaled. From then on, he approached his work with greater confidence and ease, going on to create pieces like “Inscriptions on Yanshan”, which gained strong recognition and demand in the collector’s market.

Still, challenges remain. Even now, his best success rate is only around 30%, meaning the majority of his pieces still fail in the fire. But he’s undeterred. “The lower the yield, the more precious the success,” Zhang says.

And success is exactly what he plans to chase: better techniques, purer materials, and perhaps, someday, the full resurrection of every Southern Song guan yao form ever made.

A Broader Vision for Longquan Celadon

Zhang’s achievements are part of a larger resurgence in Longquan’s cultural heritage. According to Qiu Zhangping, director of the Longquan Celadon & Sword Industry Bureau, the city is pursuing a dual strategy:

• Preserving artistic celadon traditions, like Zhang’s Song-style work

• Expanding into daily-use porcelain, such as tableware, incense burners, and coffee cups

With over 4,000 businesses and 20,000 workers, Longquan’s celadon industry is thriving. But what sets Zhang apart is not just his skill—it’s his unrelenting pursuit of the irreplaceable.

“Celadon is more than clay,” Zhang says. “It’s my spiritual foundation. It’s how I measure my life.”

The Fire Never Dies

Zhang Haiyang’s journey is not one of overnight acclaim, but of decades marked by persistence, setbacks, and quiet breakthroughs. From a young boy growing up in a family of potters to a master whose works are now held in museum collections and displayed in the offices of global leaders, his path mirrors the very qualities embodied in his celadon: resilience, refinement, and unwavering strength through adversity.

In each vase, each crackle, each faint shimmer of jade green, lives a legacy rekindled—and a future still firing in the flames.