Experience Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritages with Smart Lady Series: Cloisonné Enamel

By Junye Zhang, Gu Siyu, Wang Jinhong

Tune in to our live program on “Experiencing Chinese Culture with Smart Lady” supported by the Beijing Women’s Federation. Today's program is on the Chinese intangible cultural heritage of cloisonné enamel.

Cloisonné enameling, also called filigree enameling, is a traditional handicraft that uses aluminum oxide and natural colored sand to paint on wood, plastic or metal plates. It’s a “painting art” based on the traditional cloisonné art, only moving it onto a drawing board. Cloisonné has a history of over 600 years and is one of the first intangible cultural heritages of China.

Today, we are honored to have with us a senior master of cloisonné enameling, Sun Ying. Ms. Sun is a senior lecturer of Chinese traditional culture, a special lecturer of enameling at Rongbaozhai Institute, and a lecturer at the Dongsi Hutong Museum. She has studied art since childhood and has taught in renowned arts schools. She is the founder, chief designer and curriculum developer of Beijing Yanxi Culture Communication Company, and she’s also the master behind the “Yanxi Xiaoshe” brand. Ms. Sun has taught many people with disabilities the art of enameling, and she’s helped many disabled women in particular re-pick up their confidence in life. Her in-depth research on this art has led to the development of a large number of creative products. In addition, her Song Dynasty dim sum making and tea dotting courses have been well received by many schools and enterprises.

In today's program, Ms. Sun will first perform the Song Dynasty tea ceremony to show us the life aesthetic of the Song Dynasty, and then share her knowledge and stories of cloisonné enameling.