Yingge Ceramic Museum is located in New Taipei City in A.D. 2000, this ceramic museum is the first in Taiwan that helps to research, collect, and restore early Taiwanese ceramics. They also use what they collect to educate the public, helping them understand the importance of Taiwanese ceramics. Furthermore, Yingge Ceramic Museum also engages in international works, and they aim to let the world know Taiwan's special ceramic techniques and artifacts.
The Museum’s permanent exhibitions focus on the development of Ceramics in Taiwan. The themes are “Traditional Pottery Techniques Hall,” “Once We Were,” “Pottery Town,” “A Time Travel to the Past,” and “Future Predictions.” The exhibitions feature objects, pictures, text, videos, and interactive elements that create a variety of scenarios that immerse visitors in Taiwan’s diverse and vibrant ceramics culture.
Six thousand years ago, while other early peoples were still using stone tools to hunt animals, Taiwanese ancestors started making pottery tools. In the last 400 years of Taiwan, the pottery making skills and the qualities have improved the most. This exhibition focuses on showing the relationships between Taiwanese people and the pottery products in 17th century. It leads the visitors to walk through the time tunnel to understand Taiwan's society, economy, and traditional beliefs then.
In Taiwan, lots of pottery are used to make idols or praying vessels. However, because of the characteristics of pottery, the idols or the praying vessels were relatively smaller than what we see in the temples. As a result, these kinds of items can be placed in the house and they don't take up too much space.
Our lives are closely tied to pottery. It's almost impossible to find a Taiwanese traditional family without any pottery product at home. Besides household uses, potteries are used for herding live stocks and farming purposes, and they are used on special events such as weddings or funerals as well.
Taiwanese commonly uses bricks to build houses. In temples, you can see figures and animals that are made up of the cochin pottery. Until 20th century, Taiwan brings in ceramic tiles techniques, and its special water-proof characteristic made them widely used on buildings.
Yingge starts its special ceramics business two hundred years ago, and it is probably the origin of Taiwan's ceramics. This exhibition shows the important events in Yingge from two hundred years ago till recent days." Pottery Town" is what Yingge is called by people.
Early Taiwan's ceramic industry uses traditional kilns to make potteries. However, ceramic kilns have become more convenient and effective through years of evolution. This station shows you the history of the pottery kilns in Yingge.
Before the Japanese colonial rule, Yingge only made tiles and pots. However, as time passed and technology improved, Yingge started to manufacture ceramic electrical pots, building materials, bathroom equipment, etc. Yingge begins to create some more diversified and customized products.
This station simulates the middle part of the traditional tunnel kiln. The kiln was originally 60 meters long which uses heavy oil as fuel, and the maximum temperature can reach about 1200˚C. Through this simulation, visitors can understand how ceramic products are heated up and formed the appearances we see now.
Pottery has always played an important role in human history. it is widely used from cooking to praying. Even now, pottery products can be seen in daily basis. The exhibition "A Time Travel to the Past" helps you understand the ancient Taiwanese culture, indigenous culture, and modern culture through different kinds of pottery products.
Taiwanese pottery development started 6,000 thousand years ago in Dapenkeng Culture. Different shapes, styles, and textures had appeared since then in Taiwan. Even thought the techniques for making those potteries were worse than the ones in nowadays, but their appearances and qualities are very similar to what we see in modern societies.
Due to Sinicization, many aborigines have lost their unique culture, and pottery is no exception. At present, only the Amis and Tao peoples keep their traditional pottery-making techniques, while the Paiwan and Rukai peoples have preserved many precious ancient pottery pots and related legends because of the important social significance of pottery. Different potteries represent unique culture, customs, and even taboos of an aboriginal nation.
The beauty of pottery art can be appreciated not only through visual appreciation, but also through tactile perception. This station continues the topic of the exhibition, showing ceramics with Austronesian characteristics and experiencing the beauty of ceramics.
Ceramics can be used in a modern way. This exhibition shows the differences between using ceramics in modern technological products such as computers and phones and traditional ceramics. Furthermore, it also shows how ceramics can be used in this era. The exhibition also introduces the latest precision ceramics, using the current highest-tech ceramic technology to create so-called "perfect" ceramic works.
Ceramics are made by people using various forming techniques and decorative techniques, and then fired in different fuels or kilns. It is an important manifestation of human civilization. This section uses pictures and videos to lead the audience "to the past."
Different needs have appeared in different time periods. Skills and imaginations also improve to meet people's needs. This is not an exception in the world of ceramics. From the initial manual forming methods such as hand-pulling and hand-extrusion, the technology of spinning, grouting, and extrusion was introduced in the later period of the Japanese colonial period, and began to use machines and molds for mass production.
For hundreds of years, the kilns used in the ceramics industry in Taiwan have undergone many changes, and different types of kilns appeared. “Snake kilns” were used in early periods and after the war, electric and gas kilns were introduced.