Chinese Calligraphy- Discover the calligraphy on porcelain slabs

In Jingdezhen today, calligraphy is no longer a way to make a living. It’s not really a trade anymore—it’s more like a small branch of art that survives within ceramics.

So, why do people still practice calligraphy here? One reason is that many ceramic artists still need signatures on their works. A painter might be very skilled with a brush, but not necessarily with calligraphy. In some workshops, the tasks are divided—one person paints, another person signs. So, the painter may not write, and the calligrapher may not paint. That’s why the tradition of writing calligraphy on porcelain pieces is still alive in Jingdezhen.

But writing on a porcelain slab is much harder than writing on paper. Paper absorbs ink, porcelain does not. If there’s too much ink, it smears and runs. On paper, you often have lines or grids to guide you, but porcelain has no guides at all. To keep the characters straight, you need a ruler or a wooden board to create reference lines. Only then will the writing look neat and even.

There’s also the practice of copying old inscriptions. This kind of work takes a long time, because every stroke must be faithful to the original. And after the writing is done, the porcelain slab must be fired in an electric kiln. That process fixes the writing permanently into the surface, so it can last for centuries.

This is very different from paper. Ink on paper is fragile—it doesn’t last long, especially in Jingdezhen’s humid climate. Old books and documents are easily damaged. But once words are burned into porcelain, they become part of it forever.

Even so, there are other difficulties. Before writing, the porcelain must be completely clean. Any fingerprint, dust, or stain will leave a mark that becomes permanent after firing. A small speck on the white surface will turn into a flaw that can never be removed.

When you see this process, you start to realize: every craft in Jingdezhen has its masters, its specialists, and its own memories of survival. In the end, it’s another reminder that in every line of work, there are people who dedicate their lives to becoming true experts.