What Makes Yingge Famous?

What makes potteries in Yingge famous?

The soil in Yingge is perfect for making pottery, which attracts people who are good at making pottery to go there.

The northern part of Taiwan relies on farming for their livelihoods, so most farmers live close to rivers because the rivers provide transportation and water for farming. Similarly, Yingge is located near a large river, allowing the region to prosper.

In the early days, Yingge was close to the water source, but because of insufficient resources, it did not become a famous water transportation settlement like Xinzhuang, Jingmei, Mengjia, Banqiao, and Daxi in northern Taiwan. But in 1805, Wu An from Fujian came to Yingge and found that the soil there was suitable for pottery, so he began to develop and promote pottery in Yingge. For many years, locals have actively participated in the International Ceramic Fair, organized ceramic carnivals, and took root and established art schools, so that Yingge's ceramic achievements have won recognition at home and abroad, and established its position as a leader in the ceramic industry. This also attracted many people to learn crafts from the masters there, and made more people notice Yingge's ceramic works.

The map of Yingge, shows the location of Dahan River next to Yingge

Yingge Ceramic Industry Timeline

1805 A.D.

Wu An, a native of Fujian, came to Taiwan by crossing the sea and engaged in pottery production in Yingge Rabbit Pit. After the Quanzhang War, moved to the current Jianshanpu, more Wu An family members joined the pottery lineup, making the Wu family pottery industry extremely popular and opening the pottery industry of Yingge for more than 200 years. The Wu family introduced the pottery technology of the Quanzhou system, focusing on traditional hand-wrapped and snake kiln wood-fired pottery, producing tiles, crocks, bricks, and ceramic bowls. The production scale is small, the output is also very limited, and most of them are rough pottery with poor texture.

1913 A.D.

During the Japanese Colonial Rule, the Japanese government promulgated the "Industry Combination Law" in order to control and guide Taiwan's industries. Since then, the power of the combination has intervened in the management of the pottery industry, breaking the monopoly of the Wu family. After the rationalization of management, Yingge has become the main ceramic production center in Taipei since 1929.

1937 A.D.

The outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937 forced the Japanese to declare "Industrialization of Taiwan." In 1939, the Japanese "Sifang Kiln" was introduced, which greatly improved the efficiency and quality of Yingge ceramics and took the first step in the modernization of Yingge ceramics.

1945 A.D.

After Taiwan regained Taiwan in 1945, Yingge was closer to the Greater Taipei area because of its pottery production, convenient transportation system, and the application of traditional techniques. It quickly became the industrial center of Taiwan's ceramics.

1961 A.D.

Taiwan Ceramics participated in the "International Fair" in the United States and opened up a new stage of porcelain export. Since then, the number of Yingge factories has increased significantly, and bathroom porcelain and tile are the most popular. Because of this, Yingge began to stand out as the center of Taiwan's ceramic production and was hailed as "Taiwan's Jingdezhen".

1968 A.D.

The government banned the burning of raw coal, and the kilns in Beitou area that specialized in burning coal to make pottery were moved to Yingge. Yingge factories became more numerous.

1971 A.D.

The supply of natural gas facilitated the operation of kilns. Architectural ceramics, sanitary ceramics, and precision ceramics were all produced in the way of enterprise management and development, so they developed rapidly.

1979 A.D.

The second oil crisis occurred in 1979. Many industry players introduced new automated kiln equipment from Britain, Germany, France and other countries to reduce production costs. Industrial technology and production room equipment entered a new stage. The equipment of this kind of kiln is modernized, and the products are mainly tableware ceramics, architectural ceramics and sanitary ceramics. The factory scale is large, the technology is continuously improved, and the products are constantly updated.

1983 A.D.

Taiwan's economy took off, and the number of ceramic factories in Yingge increased sharply. The processing techniques of decorative art ceramics and daily-use ceramics were mainly painting and electric techniques. Separating these two techniques from the factory production process and setting up a factory independently is a feature of Yingge Ceramics production process.

1984 A.D.

Yingge Ceramics was influenced by private ceramic art studios in Taipei and officially transformed from daily necessities into works of art in the lives of modern Taiwanese, such as antique vases, statues of gods, and teapots.

1989 A.D.

The opening of the Chinese market, coupled with changes in Taiwan's economic environment, rising wages, and short in manpower, had an impact on Yingge, and the ceramic industry began to decline dramatically in 1995. This situation has prompted Yingge to transform again. Yingge's ceramic industry combines tourism, leisure, humanities and arts, and is getting closer to everyone's life. From the rice bowl on the dining table to the thermal insulation material in the outer space, ceramics are getting closer and closer in every detail in our lives.

Hand-drawn embryo
The content of this article is excerpted from Xu Wenqin, Zhou Yixiong, The History of Yingge Ceramics (Banqiao City, Taipei County: Taipei County Cultural Center, June 1982), pages 8-11.