Detailed Introduction
From the same lump of clay that others fire at over a thousand degrees into porcelain, koji pottery is fired slowly at a low heat of only about 800°C — and it is precisely this just-right temperature that draws a jewel-like luster from the glaze, rouge red and emerald blue, brilliant yet never harsh. Koji pottery (Koji ware) is the most artistically valuable traditional craft in Taiwanese temple decoration. Originating in the Lingnan region of southern China, it developed a distinctive style after being carried to Taiwan by migrants from Fujian and Guangdong, and is hailed as "Taiwan's national-treasure art." Every piece is a one-of-a-kind work shaped by an artisan's bare hands, holding an irreplaceable place in the decorative architecture of Taiwanese temples.
The Craft and the Beauty of Its Glaze
Koji pottery is fired with low-temperature, multicolor glazes (about 800°C), utterly unlike high-fired porcelain (over 1,200°C). The low firing gives the glaze its distinctive "jewel-like" luster, colors vivid and bright yet not harsh — most characteristically "rouge red," "ruby green," "emerald blue," "amber yellow," and "bronze brown." Each artisan has a secretly handed-down glaze recipe, so every artisan's work carries its own personal palette. The subjects are drawn mostly from historical tales (the Three Kingdoms, the Investiture of the Gods), operatic figures (the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, Journey to the West), and auspicious motifs (dragon-and-phoenix harmony, the qilin bringing a son) — each hand-formed and impossible to reproduce with a mold, a one-of-a-kind creation.
The Making Process
Koji pottery passes through several intricate steps, every one a test of skill:
1. Shaping: modeling the figure or animal by hand from clay (specially chosen pottery clay). The artisan must master human proportion, the flow of drapery, and facial expression, working with only the hands and simple tools — an elaborate figure may take several days to shape.
2. Bisque firing: a first firing to set the form (about 700°C), hardening the clay body without fully vitrifying it, keeping enough absorbency for the glaze to follow.
3. Glazing: applying the various colored glazes to the bisque-fired body — the step that tests skill most. Different glazes take on different colors at different temperatures, and the artisan must foresee the fired result from experience, judging the thickness and pairing of the glazes with precision.
4. Glaze firing: a second firing to completion (about 800°C), in which the glaze melts and fuses with the body, emerging with a crystalline, translucent luster. Kiln temperature is critical — too high and the glaze runs and deforms, too low and the colors turn dull and lifeless.
Master Artisans and Schools
Koji pottery flourished most in the Chiayi region, known as the "Hometown of Koji Pottery." Among the masters over the generations:
● Ye Wang (Ye Linzhi, 1826-1887): the legendary artisan of Qing-era Chiayi, hailed as the "founding master of Taiwanese koji pottery." His works survive at Ciji Temple in Xuejia, Tainan, their figures vivid and their glazes deep and mellow, designated national-treasure-level relics.
● Hong Kunfu (1865-?): heir to the Quanzhou techniques of Fujian, his works spread across the temples of northern Taiwan, with the koji pottery at Taipei Baoan Temple the most famous.
● Lin Zaihua, Lü Shengnan, and other modern masters have continued to advance the craft and its innovation.
● Chiayi City is home to a "Koji Pottery Museum" that displays this precious cultural art and holds regular hands-on classes.
What to Look For, and the Challenge of Preservation
When visiting a temple, koji pottery is mostly set on the roof's shuiche du (the long decorative band beneath the eaves) and on wall panels. Look closely at the figures' expressions, the details of their costumes, and their dynamic poses, and you can feel the artisan's deft hand and invention. In recent years, with the high cost of handwork, too few young successors, and some temples switching to cheap industrial substitutes, traditional koji pottery faces a severe crisis of succession. Fortunately the government has placed koji-pottery craft under intangible cultural heritage protection and, through cultural-creative promotion, is helping more people come to know this precious art.