It was the flowers blooming season when the Fifth China Arts and Crafts "Hundred Flowers Award" was held in Shenzhen in May 2009. Some works of ceramic art from Fujian Fuguihong Culture Development Co. Ltd.,which is located in the famous Chinese porcelain city Dehua county Fujian province China,were highly appreciated by the judges. They are "Mother and Child Ballad", "Spring Song" and other works of ceramic art created by artistic director,Mr. Xu Shaodong. Especially, "spring song" won the gold medal for the reason that " it is unique in technology, especially the bold innovative technology of the glaze and it possesses special and novel shape, making it a superior for the perfect combination of content and form as well as technology and art."
In China's ceramic circles, as a distinguished kiln, Dehua has long been known for its traditional white porcelain sculpture through unique crafted and handmade technology. However,Dehua ceramics needs improving in terms of the glaze craft, decorative craft and the art of shaping. Tradition is too impenetrable while innovation can not be a momentary impulse, it cannot be gained without gradual accumulation through painstaking trials and numorous errors. To our joy, there are people who never hesitate to take on the mission of reform and innovation for the Dehua kiln ceramic art, with the hope to show not only its past glory and present honor but also its arrogance and self-esteem as a contemporary Chinese porcelain, paving the way for the further development of Dehua porcelain arts. Mr.Xu Shaodong was among them.
People who are familiar with Xu Shaodong tend to associate red porcelain with him. In 2004, after nearly a decade of glaze technique exploring and having gone through all kinds of difficulties that are hard to imagine , Xu Shaodong successfully developed the hige temperature red glaze porcelain known as the world ceramics' "Goldbach's Conjecture", which became a hit in the Chinese ceramics wolrd immediately, letting people in the field of ceramics witness the rise of Dehua porcelain's emerging powers. The success stories of the courage to explore new and innovative are still talked about today. Ever since then, people have seen Xu Shaodong and his red porcelain in ASEAN eleven-country meeting, in the sound of ping-pong ball playing moments, in the friendly cross-strait talks between mainland and Taiwan, in the "Treasure Appraisal" program of CCTV 2 and in the aura of the Olympic champions ... ... Xu Shaodong seems to be the red porcelains while the latter are treated as the business cards for contemporary Dehua ceramics.
However, in the spring sunshine in May, in the romantic capital of southern China and in the lights flickering at a press conference, what people could see was Xu Shaodong and his several "superior works for the perfect combination of content and form as well as technology and art" which were different from the red porcelain. But at this moment, Xu Shaodong quietly avoided the crowd and hurried back to Dehua,back to his Cultural Institute.