Ａｒｔｉｓｔ’ｓ Ｌｉｆｅｌｏｎｇ Ｄｅｖｏｔｉｏｎ ｔｏ Ｐｏｔｔｅｒｙ

Zhang Haiguo is a preeminent pottery artist of national renown. He went to a pottery academy in Jingdezhen， the famed china town of China. After graduation he was assigned to work at the Jingdezhen Pottery Research Institute under the Ministry of Light Industry. He was involved in research on the high-end porcelain. It was during this time that he learned a great deal from state masters in terms of research methods and strict professional criterion.

The 1960s was an era of extreme scarcity in China. Without adequate fund and research material， Zhang engaged himself in field studies. He frequently trekked to the sites of ancient kilns tens of kilometers away from the institute and went through huge piles of porcelain and pottery shards. The silent shards were telltale specimens of porcelain designs， dynasties， and kilns of origin. He became excited and sleepless for a week or two if he discovered a complete piece of ancient pottery at a site. Through the field studies and theoretic research during these years he became extremely knowledgeable on pottery.

Zhang Haiguo is a diligent writer. He writes about his field and theoretical studies and compares notes with peers. For over four decades he has published over 3，000 essays and articles in more than 1 million words. These articles have been published in various newspapers. He also published six academic books on pottery.

After his retirement to Shanghai， Zhang Haiguo turned his home into a miniature museum of ancient pottery. His private museum displays about 1，000 ancient pottery pieces， which he has bought from antique markets across the country. His display shelves highlight fine pottery pieces spanning more than two thousand years from the Warring States period (475-221 B.C.) down to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

If Zhang’s ancient collection reveals the past glory of potteries， his collection of hundreds of novel and innovative potteries presents the charms of modern aesthetics， design， philosophy and art. The collection includes representative masterpieces by all the great names in the history of modern China’s pottery.

Recently Zhang has bought a small room downstairs with his lifelong savings and turned it into a display room. Today， Zhang’s private museum is open to visitors from home and abroad. It has been designated as “A private museum with outstanding features?in Shanghai and its phone number and address are listed in the metropolis?green pages. Mr. Zhao Qizheng， the ex-director of the Information Office with the State Council， inscribed the museum title. Zhang has been honored by Shanghai Collectors Association for his lifelong passion for pottery and his collections.

In addition to writing extensively on various topics of pottery and publishing them in newspapers， Zhang Haiguo also regularly gives lectures on television and radio and at community colleges for elderly people. He travels regularly to Jingdezhen to visit masters of porcelain and pottery there. These masters are often invited to hold exhibitions in Shanghai. Recently Zhang has been engaged as a guest professor by his alma mater.