Step into the Zhang family’s old house, where pottery horses freeze mid-gallop on shelves and windowsills. This isn’t a museum – it’s the living workshop of China’s tangsancai masters, guardians of a ceramic art form born during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE).
For 13 generations, the Zhangs have breathed life into clay using the iconic tri-glaze technique, layering amber, green, and cream hues to create flowing manes and rippling muscles. 'The horse isn’t just clay – it’s a bridge between past and present,' says 28-year-old Zhang Li, who mixes ancient methods with digital design tools to reach global collectors.
Why horses? In Tang-era China, these creatures symbolized ambition, freedom, and resilience – values that still resonate today. The family’s latest collection, featuring horses with abstract geometric patterns, recently went viral on Douyin (China’s TikTok), proving ancient crafts can ride modern trends.
As young artisans like Li reinterpret tradition, one thing remains constant: Each piece still undergoes the same 72-hour wood-fired kiln process their ancestors used. Talk about #ThrowbackThursday – but make it timeless.
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