Koji pottery introduced to foreigners studying in Taipei

Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Taipei

The old man expertly molded the previously shapeless gray lump of clay into the form of a head.

With little twists of his fingers he kneaded a beard and sideburns on the figurine, and with the knowledge that comes from years of practice, he added to the figure an elaborate traditional Chinese headdress.

We were indeed in the presence of a master. Despite having to use a hearing aid, 95-year-old Yao Zhi Lai's wrinkled hands never shook when they were kneading clay.

Yao has made Koji pottery his life's work and for 78 long years his hands were never completely clean of clay dust. Thousands of Koji figurines in the form of human figures, plants, animals and mythical beasts have emerged from his handiwork since he first started.

Koji pottery originated from the Guang Dong and Fu Jien provinces in Mainland China and was mainly used in decorating traditional temples, palaces, ancestral houses, and the residences of the wealthy.

The art was believed to have been brought across the straits to Taiwan during the Qin Dynasty where it found a niche and flourished in the island's Chiayi county.

Today, this low-heat-fired, lead-glazed, soft pottery can not only be seen as roof and wall decorations in traditional Chinese temples, but also as art with a secular but more familiar themes of daily life.

In the effort of introducing Koji pottery art to foreigners studying in Taipei, the Taiwan Koji Art and Culture Foundation, together with the Taipei Confucius Temple, recently organized a one-day course for students of the Center for Chinese Language and Culture (CCLC) at the National Taiwan Normal University.

More than 50 people from all nations showed up at the Taipei Confucius Temple, where the course was held, and were amazed at the skill and ease that Master Yao showed in manipulating the clay into forms of a lobster, a human hand and even a theatrical head.

Each of the participants were given a mold to make the basic shape of a human head, a lump of clay and sculpting tools. The results were as varied as the participants' background and traditions, but interesting nonetheless.

"Look at the headdress on that one, it looks like a voodoo queen," a participant from Indonesia remarked on the creation of a Spanish participant.

The dark gray malleable clay gradually lightens into a whitish color as it dries, and when it becomes completely white it is ready to be fired. After the first firing, the pottery is glazed with colorful glazes bit by bit, with the resulting end product of dazzling blues, fiery reds and sunny yellows.

Besides the kneading technique, Koji pottery art also employs the cut-and-paste technique, which results in a unique form of mosaic. Regular ceramic bowls and tiles are broken to bits to create armor for the warlord figurines, princesses' dresses, scales on dragons, as well as feathers on phoenixes.

As temple decorations, Koji pottery art can be seen on both ends of the curved bridge of a traditional temple roof, in the form of dragons, fish, or other religious symbols. It can also be found in story panels on temple walls with themes of religion, ethic, and moral teachings.

The location of the one-day seminar, the Taipei Confucius Temple, is full of Koji pottery decorations. On the walls of its main hall, the Ta Cheng Hall, for example, story panels created from Koji pottery depict stories from the classical Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Romance was written in the second century B.C., based on the history of the period toward the end of the Han dynasty when corruption reigned supreme in the government and the country was gripped by fear of bandits.

Of the three political powers that had emerged during that time -- Wei, Shu, and Wu -- the exploits of Shu leader Liu Bei were the most popular because he was considered the most charming and fair of the three powerful leaders.

One story panel tells the popular story of how Liu Bei successfully rallied the support of the famous war strategist Zhuge Liang in the war against the other two kingdoms, known as Three Visits to the Thatched Hut.

When looking at the story panels, one should note the dynamic poses of the figurines, which was another special feature of the Taiwanese Koji temple art.

"The poses are not idle poses, but characteristic of the traditional Chinese theater," a guide said through an English translator.

The panels were probably the closest thing they have at the time of capturing a crucial moment in a theatrical performance, and therefore were created very dynamically and full of action.

Koji pottery art has now become unique to Taiwan, and modern day folk ceramicists have strived to innovate and reinvent Koji pottery art by introducing richer and more diverse themes, forms and shapes to the already vast collection of temple gods, mythological creatures, flowers and decorative plates.

Next time you are in Taiwan, you'll know what souvenir to take home.