Sun Jianxing (孙建兴)

Quick Facts

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Biography

Sun Jianxing (孙建兴) is a Chinese ceramic artist, researcher, and
China Arts & Crafts Master (中国工艺美术大师)
whose career is closely tied to the modern revival of Jian ware.

Born in Quanzhou, Fujian Province in 1952, Sun began ceramic research in 1972.
His work would eventually place him at the center of one of the most important
chapters in the modern history of Jian Zhan: the effort to recover firing
techniques that had disappeared after historic Jian Kiln production declined.

Sun is officially recognized as a
National Representative Inheritor of the Jian Kiln and Jian Ware Firing Technique
and is listed by China’s national Intangible Cultural Heritage system under
inheritor number 04-1918.

His career has combined archaeological-inspired restoration, ceramic materials
research, experimental firing, artistic production, teaching, and the transmission
of Jian ware techniques to later generations.

Rebuilding a Lost Jian Ware Tradition

In 1979, Sun Jianxing was transferred to the Fujian Provincial Light Industry
Research Institute and joined the organized effort to restore historic Jian ware.

The project brought together ceramic researchers and the Jianyang Porcelain Factory
to investigate the materials and firing methods behind the famous black-glazed
bowls produced at Jian Kiln during the Song Dynasty.

Sun worked on glaze formulation and firing processes. With little surviving
technical documentation available, the research depended heavily on experiments
involving local clay, mineral glaze materials, kiln temperature, firing atmosphere,
and repeated analysis of the resulting glaze effects.

Rabbit’s Fur was among the fundamental glaze traditions restored during this
period. The successful reconstruction of Jian-style glazes helped create the
technical foundation from which the modern Jian ware industry later developed.

Sun continued researching Jian ware long after the original restoration team
completed its early work, pursuing increasingly difficult glaze effects and
refining the materials and firing technology required to produce them.

Glaze Research & Innovation

China’s official Intangible Cultural Heritage record credits Sun Jianxing with
developing more than thirty Jian ware glaze variations, including
Golden Rabbit’s Fur,
Golden Oil Spot, and
Partridge Feather.

His wider research has encompassed many of the glaze families now associated
with modern Jian ware, including Rabbit’s Fur, Oil Spot, Yohen-style effects,
iridescent surfaces, and numerous experimental variations.

The two bowls above are specifically identified as works by Sun Jianxing in
China’s national Intangible Cultural Heritage documentation.

Silver Rabbit’s Fur

After achieving success with Rabbit’s Fur glazes, Sun continued to explore
variations in color, crystal formation, and firing conditions. Silver Rabbit’s Fur
became part of this broader technical investigation into the visual possibilities
of iron-rich Jian glaze.

Sun’s long-term research expanded far beyond recreating a single historical
appearance. The China National Arts & Crafts Society credits his research
with more than forty glaze and ceramic variations over the course of his career.

Career & Research Timeline

Research Institutes & Preservation

Sun Jianxing founded the Jian Kiln Ceramic Research Institute
and has served as artistic director of the
Nanping Xingchen Tianmu Ceramic Research Institute
(南平市星辰天目陶瓷研究所).

The Xingchen institute was founded in 1991 and became closely associated
with the research, reconstruction, production, and preservation of Jian ware.

The modern research program has investigated the entire production process,
including local raw materials, clay preparation, glaze formulation, forming,
firing temperature, kiln atmosphere, and crystallization.

The China National Arts & Crafts Society’s Jian Ware Firing Technique
Master Workstation brings together the Nanping Jian Kiln Ceramic Research
Institute, Xingchen Tianmu Ceramic Research Institute, and related organizations,
with Sun Jianxing serving as workstation director.

Museum Collections

Sun Jianxing’s official national heritage biography documents multiple works
held by major Chinese museums.

Family & Transmission

The modern restoration of Jian ware became a multigenerational family undertaking.
Sun Jianxing’s father-in-law, Li Jinwang (栗金旺), had studied the
historic Jian Kiln tradition and became a Fujian provincial representative inheritor.

Sun’s wife, Li Yun (栗云), also studied ceramic techniques and
participated for many years in the work surrounding the restoration of Song-style
Rabbit’s Fur glaze.

Their daughter,

Sun Li (孙莉)
,
grew up surrounded by this ceramic research tradition and learned the craft
from her family.

Sun Li is now herself a Fujian Provincial Representative Inheritor of the
Jian Kiln and Jian Ware Firing Technique and a Fujian Arts & Crafts Master.

The family’s story connects several generations of research and transmission,
from Li Jinwang through Sun Jianxing and Li Yun to Sun Li.

Research & Publication

Sun Jianxing’s contribution to Jian ware has included formal ceramic research
as well as artistic production. He has participated in exhibitions and
international ceramic exchanges and has published research concerning the
recovery of Jian Kiln production.

Why Sun Jianxing Matters

Sun Jianxing occupies a particularly important position in modern Jian ware
because his career reaches back to the period before today’s large Jianzhan
industry existed.

He was not simply working within an already-revived ceramic tradition.
He participated directly in the research required to rebuild that tradition.

The recovery of Jian ware depended on understanding iron-rich clay and glaze,
firing atmosphere, temperature, crystal formation, historical examples, and
thousands of experimental firings. Sun’s work helped transform those experiments
into reproducible ceramic techniques.

His role in the 1979 restoration project, decades of glaze development,
nationally recognized heritage status, museum-collected works, and transmission
of the craft to later generations make him one of the central figures in the
modern history of Jian ware.

Collector Notes

Sun Jianxing’s work is significant both as contemporary ceramic art and as part
of the documented history of the modern Jian ware revival.

His long career also means that collectors may encounter works from different
periods, institutes, glaze experiments, and presentation styles.

When evaluating higher-value examples, original boxes, certificates,
inscriptions, exhibition documentation, publication records, and reliable
ownership history can provide valuable additional provenance.

Sources & References

This profile primarily uses Chinese national heritage records and arts
organizations documenting Sun Jianxing’s career, works, and role in the
restoration of Jian ware.