Li Ximei
李细妹Li Xinhong 李欣红 · Kaihe Kiln 开河窑 · modern Jian Zhan revival
Biography
Li Ximei (李细妹), also known by the art name Li Xinhong (李欣红), was born in 1955 in the Jianyang area of Fujian and belongs to the generation that helped expand the modern revival of Jian ware. She began experimental work with Jian Zhan in 1987 and, after years of research, achieved successful oil-drop firing in the early 1990s.
Her practice grew beyond oil drop into rabbit-hair, partridge-spot and kiln-transmutation surfaces, with sustained attention to iron-rich glaze, reduction atmosphere, temperature and cooling. She is closely associated with Kaihe Kiln (开河窑), where she is identified as founder and design director.
Jian Ware Revival
Li Ximei’s career spans more than three decades of technical experimentation during the period when Jianyang artists were rebuilding and expanding the lost firing vocabulary of Jian ware. She has worked across traditional glaze families while also developing more pictorial kiln-transmutation effects in which flowing markings suggest rain, mountains, clouds or landscape.
Heritage Recognition
Li Ximei is recognized in Nanping as a municipal-level representative inheritor of Jian kiln/Jian Zhan firing techniques. The craft itself is a national-level intangible-cultural-heritage project, while her documented individual designation is municipal.
Kaihe Kiln · 开河窑
Kaihe Kiln is a central part of Li Ximei’s professional identity. The kiln operates in Jianyang and focuses on Jian ware development, production and cultural promotion. Her technical research and intellectual property also connect directly with the Kaihe organization.
Oil-Drop Research
Oil-drop Jian Zhan is one of the strongest technical threads in her career. Patent CN108439953B, for a traditional black-glazed silver oil-drop Jian Zhan firing method, names Li Ximei as the inventor. The patent formally documents her work with glaze formulation and controlled firing rather than leaving the technical history only in commercial biographies.
Notable Work · 万山可染
万山可染 (Wan Shan Ke Ran) is Li Ximei’s best-known large-scale work. The approximately 49 cm Jian Zhan was fired with her son Lu Yi (卢毅) and develops a rabbit-hair kiln-transmutation surface that resembles mountains and clouds. At a Jian ware auction in Jianyang on September 29, 2017, the work sold for RMB 26 million.
Partridge-Spot Work & Identification
Another documented line under Li Ximei’s name is 鹧鸪斑, commonly translated as partridge spot or partridge feather. Certificates using both 李细妹 and the art name 李欣红 connect individual works with Kaihe Kiln. The initials KHY appearing on associated documentation are consistent with the romanized kiln name.
Importance
Li Ximei’s importance to modern Jian ware rests on the combination of long-term firing experimentation, documented technical research, Kaihe Kiln, representative-inheritor recognition and highly visible works such as 万山可染. Her career shows how contemporary Jianyang makers have continued traditional glaze families while developing new kiln-transmutation effects.
Artist Media & Documentation
References
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Digital Museum · Jian kiln/Jian Zhan firingOfficial background for the nationally recognized Jian kiln/Jian Zhan firing project.View reference →Nanping municipal representative inheritor recordSupports Li Ximei’s municipal-level representative-inheritor recognition.View reference →Google Patents · CN108439953BGranted patent naming 李细妹 as inventor of a traditional black-glazed silver oil-drop Jian Zhan firing method.View reference →Feiyiw · Li Ximei profileSupports her long Jian Zhan career, representative-inheritor status and the RMB 26 million sale of 万山可染.View reference →Kaihe Kiln feature · Li Ximei and Lu YiSupports her 1955 birth, Kaihe Kiln role, son Lu Yi, the 49 cm 万山可染 and its 2017 auction result.View reference →Works & Tagged Posts
