Meet Ying Shengxiang: Carrying Forward the Art of Porcelain Painting in Jingdezhen

In Jingdezhen, where porcelain has shaped the life of the city for centuries, artist Ying Shengxiang has devoted more than three decades to painting on ceramic surfaces.

The Quiet Clay is beginning a collaboration with Ying to introduce a selected group of her hand-painted porcelain works to an international audience. The collection will bring together different expressions of her artistic practice, including enamel-painted porcelain and other individually painted ceramic pieces.

Among the first works selected is an enamel-painted porcelain cup, painted by Ying herself and bearing her name on the base. As we prepare to introduce these pieces, we would also like to share the artist, techniques, and cultural traditions behind them.

Known professionally as Xiang Ya, Ying works across several traditions of Chinese porcelain painting, including famille rose, enamel decoration, blue-and-white landscapes, and finely painted figures. Her practice brings together disciplined brushwork, an understanding of ceramic materials, and a visual language shaped by both tradition and personal exploration.

A Life Shaped by Porcelain

Ying studied at the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute, now known as Jingdezhen Ceramic University. Her artistic foundation was formed through formal study, continuous studio practice, and direct learning from experienced ceramic painters.

Early in her career, she studied with Hu Shuilian, an accomplished Jingdezhen artist known for overglaze porcelain painting. She also learned figure and portrait painting from ceramic portrait artist Gao Yaozu. This combination of training helped her develop the technical versatility that continues to define her work today.

Ying has become particularly recognized for her paintings of classical Chinese women. Her figures are often poised and contemplative, surrounded by flowing garments, flowers, landscapes, and carefully observed decorative details.

Alongside figure painting, her work encompasses flowers, birds, fruit, blue-and-white landscapes, ceramic portraiture, and historical subjects. Across these different themes, her compositions share a sense of balance, refined color, and quiet elegance.

Ying Shengxiang’s artistic practice cannot be defined by a single technique. She works with several forms of Chinese porcelain decoration, each requiring a different understanding of materials, brushwork, color, and firing.

Famille rose, known in Chinese as fencai, is a form of overglaze porcelain painting admired for its soft colors, delicate shading, and subtle transitions. It is particularly suited to finely rendered figures, flowers, birds, and narrative scenes.

Enamel decoration, often associated with the Chinese term falangcai, is closely related to famille rose, but has its own history, materials, and artistic character. It is known for its rich colors, refined details, and carefully layered painting. Ying’s enamel work frequently explores flowers, birds, and fruit, combining close observation of nature with the precision of traditional porcelain decoration.

Her blue-and-white landscapes belong to a different ceramic tradition. Cobalt pigment is painted onto the porcelain body before it is covered with a transparent glaze and fired at high temperature. With its limited palette, expressive lines, and fluid brushwork, blue-and-white painting calls for a different kind of control from overglaze decoration.

Moving between these traditions involves more than the ability to draw. The artist must understand pigments, glazes, porcelain forms, and firing, as well as how a composition will follow the curve of a cup, plate, or vase.

When Painting Meets Fire

Painting on porcelain differs fundamentally from painting on paper or canvas.

In overglaze work, the artist paints onto a ceramic surface that has already been glazed and fired. The decorated piece then returns to the kiln for another firing, allowing the colors to become fixed on the glazed surface. Some designs may require more than one stage of painting and firing to achieve the intended depth and detail.

The colors visible before firing are not always exactly the colors that emerge from the kiln. Pigments may deepen, soften, or shift as they respond to heat. The artist must anticipate these transformations while painting.

A finely shaded flower, the expression of a figure, or a line following the curve of a vase may appear effortless when complete. Behind it lies an accumulation of decisions: the consistency of the pigment, the pressure of the brush, the order of the color layers, and the relationship between the painted image and the ceramic form.

For Ying, technical knowledge and artistic expression are inseparable. Her experience allows her to move confidently between different subjects and ceramic painting traditions while preserving the individuality of the painted hand.

Tradition as a Living Language

Ying’s work draws from the precision of traditional Chinese porcelain painting while also reflecting the influence of Chinese ink painting and Western approaches to color and composition.

Rather than simply reproducing established patterns, she treats tradition as a visual language that can continue to evolve. Her paintings retain the grace and craftsmanship associated with historic Jingdezhen porcelain, while their composition and use of color give them a clear personal identity.

Her works have received recognition at ceramic art and design exhibitions in China. Among her documented award-winning works are porcelain paintings featuring figures, landscapes, historical subjects, and decorative compositions.

Her porcelain works have also entered museum collections in China. The vase Lotus Rhythm was collected by the China National Arts and Crafts Museum, while Quiet Dwelling in the Mountains entered the permanent collection of the Museum of Ethnic Cultures in China. Her artistic practice has also been featured in Chinese newspapers and publications devoted to ceramic art.

Passing Knowledge Forward

Beyond her own studio practice, Ying has contributed to the continuation of Jingdezhen porcelain painting through teaching, research, and community engagement.

She is a senior arts and crafts artist and a bearer of the intangible cultural heritage associated with traditional falangcai enamel painting. She also serves as Vice Chair of the Jingdezhen Society of Artists and Director of the Imperial Kiln Falangcai Research Institute.

Through training programs, demonstrations, and cultural exchange, Ying has shared traditional porcelain painting techniques with students, fellow practitioners, and wider audiences. This work is essential to the continuation of the craft, as knowledge of brushwork, color preparation, ceramic materials, and firing must be practiced and passed from one person to another.

Ying has also supported educational and disaster-relief initiatives through donations of her porcelain works. Following the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, she contributed works and support to a special education school in Mianyang. She later participated in charitable projects supporting students and communities affected by natural disasters.

Through teaching, research, and charitable work, she has extended her practice beyond the studio, helping porcelain traditions remain connected to future generations and the wider community.

A Collaboration Rooted in Craft

The Quiet Clay works with artists and makers whose ceramics reflect a distinctive creative vision and a deep knowledge of their craft. Our collaboration with Ying Shengxiang grew from a shared appreciation for hand-painted porcelain and for the skills that give each piece its individual character.

We are preparing to introduce a selected group of her porcelain works, representing different subjects, forms, and painting traditions. These include enamel-painted pieces as well as other hand-painted cups and ceramic objects chosen from her wider artistic practice.

Each work is considered individually, from the relationship between the painting and the porcelain form to the details that reveal the movement of the artist’s brush. One of the first selected pieces is an enamel-painted porcelain cup, painted by Ying herself and bearing her name on the base.

Because these pieces are individually painted by hand, subtle variations remain part of the finished work. These variations record the movements and decisions of the artist, making each piece distinct rather than mechanically identical.

For us, this collaboration is not only about bringing finished objects to an international audience. It is also about presenting the artist, techniques, and cultural knowledge behind them, so that every piece can be understood as more than decoration.

The Human Hand Behind the Surface

When we look at a finely painted porcelain cup, plate, or vase, it is easy to focus only on the completed image. Yet every surface contains the rhythm of its making.

A slight variation in a flower petal, a change in the weight of a line, or a softly layered area of color reveals the presence of the artist. These differences are not imperfections. They are part of what distinguishes a hand-painted ceramic piece from one produced through mechanical repetition.

Ying Shengxiang’s work reminds us that traditional porcelain painting is not an art form confined to the past. It remains alive in Jingdezhen’s studios, in the relationship between teachers and students, and in the concentration of artists who continue to return to the brush.

The Quiet Clay is honored to collaborate with Ying and to prepare a selection of her hand-painted porcelain works for our collection. Through this partnership, we hope to bring greater attention to the artist, knowledge, and cultural traditions behind each piece.The Quiet Clay is honored to begin this collaboration with Ying and to prepare the first selected piece from her work for our collection. Through this partnership, we hope to bring greater attention to the artist, knowledge, and cultural tradition behind each porcelain object.