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. 🔥
