About the Artist

Cai Wei (蔡威), born in 1984, is a Jian ware maker from the Cai family tradition in Shuiji, Jianyang and a Jianyang District representative inheritor of Jian kiln and Jian ware firing technique. He is the son and student of provincial representative inheritor Cai Bingsheng (蔡炳盛) and the elder brother of Jian ware maker Cai Jie (蔡杰).

Training & Family Lineage

Cai Wei and Cai Jie grew up around their father’s Jian ware workshop, watching the forming and firing process and helping with clay from childhood. After university, they returned to Shuiji and formally studied under their father. Reporting on the family workshop describes nearly a decade of instruction in which the brothers learned the complete Jian ware production process.

Research & Practice

Cai Wei is associated with the Cai Family Jian Kiln/Jian Ware Research Institute (蔡氏建窑建盏研究所). In 2015, he coauthored 《试论建盏的烧制工艺》 with Cai Bingsheng and Cai Jie. The paper examines iron-rich Jian ware bodies, crystalline glaze behavior, rabbit-hair and oil-spot formation, and kiln control, showing the family workshop’s combination of practical production and technical research.

References