Book Review:

Chinese Ceramic Cultural Sites

Potters Guild of British Columbia, Canada May 2005
Chinese Ceramic Cultural Sites: A Traveler's Handbook
by Guangzhen Zhou and Guabku Zeng, English Editor Deborah Brochette
Soft cover, 237 pages, 210 colour photos
Wushing Books Publication Co., Ltd. Taipei, Taiwan
Distributed by Chinese Clay Art Corporation, Cupertino, CA, USA

Tel:1-800-689-8319
ISBN 957-8964-18-8

Guangzhen Zhou is a ceramic artist and writer
born in Shanghai. He is the director of the
Chinese Ceramic Art Council in the United
States and also the director of the Chinese Clay
Art Corporation in San Jose, California. In the
preface to this traveler’s handbook, one author
sums a travel strategy by stating the book
“includes ceramic-related museums, galleries,
kiln sites, schools, organizations, magazines,
studios, and manufacturing facilities, represent-
ing over 150 sites in 17 cities, provinces and
other areas”. He selected “places that are impor-
tant both in Chinese history and in the present
time, and that may interest western ceramic
scholars, educators, artists, students, or other
travelers”.

While traveling in China without a tour guide
may seem like a daunting venture, this book
certainly provides an excellent starting point.
The authors have created a north to south trav-
el itinerary beginning with Beijing, in main-
land China. Written in both English and
Chinese, the descriptions of each site are mini-
mal but contain all the essentials. Web site con-
nections and email addresses are included

wherever they exist. Several city and site maps
are included, and because they are all in
Chinese, they may prove useful when asking
strangers for directions. Guangzhoug is the last
stop in mainland China; after this the tour
continues into Hong Kong and on to Taiwan.
Public transportation information is provided
as well as the hours of operation sites are open
to visitors. A list of hotels, useful web sites and
general travel information are all included at

the back of the book.

Several small colour photos in the book offer
glimpses into the rich ceramic experience this
vast country will provide. Zhou says in the
introduction that the impetus for writing this
type of book, the first of its kind, came from
feedback from the Chinese Clay Art E-newslet-
ter, established in 1999. He says it was difficult
getting all this information from Chinese
sources and encourages travelers to write him
with their own findings for a foreseen second
edition of this publication. For further infor-
mation about this book and the Chinese Clay
Art Corporation see www.ChineseClayArt.com

Rachelle Chinnery

Turn, turn, my wheel! Turn round and round
Without a pause, without a sound:

Said one among them: "Surely not in vain
My substance of the common Earth was ta'en
And to this Figure moulded, to be broke,
Or trampled back to shapeless Earth again."
Omar Khayyam. The Rubaiyat (st. 84),

So spins the flying world away!

This clay, well mixed with marl and sand,
Follows the motion of my hand;

For some must follow, and some command,
Though all are made of clay!

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Keramos (1. 1)

JulylAugust2005 Potters Guild of British Columbia Newsletter

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