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Yixing Factory Number One is the oldest teapot factory in China.〔Evil Genes by Barbara Oakley, Page 213〕 The factory houses skilled artisans who set strict standards for their work. ==History== In 1918, the Jiangsu Provincial Ceramics Factory was established for the production of pottery using Yixing clay. By 1932, more than 600 craftspeople worked in Yixing. During the Japanese invasion, the artists scattered and many subsequently died. Under the People's Republic of China government, industry began to revive.〔'Yixing Pottery: The World of Chinese Tea Culture' By Chunfang Pan, page 20〕 In 1954, 59 potters began the Zisha production group of the Shushan workshop with funding from the Tangdu Pottery co-operative. The government established Factory No. 1 in October, 1958. Before that time, no proper ranking existed for the craftsmen. Every maker mined, mixed and took courses and exams to be recognised. It took about three years of training to advance through the system. At each stage the craftsmen were required to complete a test to attain a new title. The craftsmen would begin as an 'Assistant Master Craftsman', then ascend through the ranks of 'Master Craftsman', 'Senior Master Craftsman' and finally 'National Master Craftsman'. Their signature product was artisan-crafted teapots. Starting in 1966, the Cultural Revolution〔 led Factory No. 1 to begin to produce utilitarian pots in a style known as shui ping hu in vast numbers. Instead of having the name of the craftsman who made the pot on the bottom, these pots had characters that represented Yixing. During this time, the factory walls were filled with slogans painted in red that insisted that art was for the people and not for self-aggrandisement. According to Barbara Oakley, the quality of these pots was far worse than before the revolution.〔 Despite this, many connoisseurs still prize these pots for their simplicity and quality. With the end of the Cultural Revolution, new ranks for craftsmen were subsequently introduced in the 1970s: * Technician (Xing-siu) * Craftsman (Ji-su-yuan or Gong-yi-mei-su-yuan) * Craftsman (Ming-jian-yi-ren) – independent porters * Assistant Master craftsman (Zu-li-gong-yi-si) * Master craftsman (Gong-yi-si) * Senior Master craftsman (Gao-gi-gong-yi-si) * Provincial Grandmaster * Grandmaster craftsman. Today, teapots produced by the factory are diverse and creative; masters have resumed signing their work and their creations are in high demand. Waits for a master craftsman's commissioned pot can reach up to two years. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Number One Yixing Factory」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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