About the Artist

Cai Binglong (蔡炳龙), born in July 1952, is a Jian ware maker from Shuiji, Jianyang and a Fujian provincial representative inheritor of Jian kiln and Jian ware making technique. He belongs to the Cai family ceramic tradition associated with Shuiji and is one of the three brothers frequently described in local Jian ware history alongside Cai Bingkun (蔡炳昆) and Cai Bingsheng (蔡炳盛).

Training & Career

Published biographical accounts place Cai’s early ceramic training at the Qilipai ceramics cooperative/factory in 1968, where he studied ceramic production under Cai Helong (蔡和隆). Sources describe him as turning increasingly toward Jian ware research and production in the early modern revival period, with sustained work beginning in the 1980s.

Artistic Practice

Cai’s documented repertoire includes rabbit-hair, oil-spot, partridge-feather, tiger-skin, leaf, and pearl-pattern Jian ware. Local reporting describes his use of natural mineral glazes and experimentation across electric, gas, and wood-fired kiln approaches. His work is closely associated with the revival and continuation of Jian ware production in modern Shuiji.

Recognition

In 2010, the Fujian Provincial People’s Government listed Cai Binglong among the province’s second group of representative inheritors for Jian kiln and Jian ware making technique. In 2013, he was also recognized among Nanping’s first group of noted arts-and-crafts practitioners.

References