Yu Nan’en – Representative Inheritor of Dai Slow-wheel Pottery Making Skills in Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna

Yu Nan’en (玉南恩), provincial representative inheritor of Dai slow-wheel pottery (傣族慢轮制陶技艺), hails from Manfeilong Village (曼飞龙村), Menglong Town (勐龙镇), Jinghong City (景洪市), Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture (西双版纳傣族自治州). Beginning her pottery journey at 19, she has dedicated over 30 years to preserving this ancient craft. Married into a 10-generation pottery family where both her grandmother-in-law and mother-in-law were master potters, Yu continues their legacy by producing thousands of functional wares and decorative pieces annually using traditional methods.

The Artisan’s Craft

Time-Honored Techniques

This Neolithic-era pottery method features:

  • Hand-building on manually-rotated wheels
  • Distinctive textured surfaces created with carved wooden paddles
  • Reinforced clay bodies using local sand mixtures

The complete 10-step process:

  1. Clay preparation (pounding/sifting)
  2. Material mixing (clay/sand/water)
  3. Turntable setup
  4. Coil construction
  5. Pattern imprinting
  6. Sun drying
  7. Kiln preparation
  8. Wood-firing

Cultural Stewardship

Passing the Wheel

Yu Nan’en’s preservation efforts include:

  • Training 2,000+ apprentices
  • Pioneering “Intangible Heritage + School” programs
  • Hosting student workshops to raise awareness
  • Improving family income through cultural production

Her pottery bridges:

  • Generations (teaching youth)
  • Ethnic groups (adopted by Han, Blang, and Hani communities)
  • Nations (exported to Thailand/Myanmar)

Socioeconomic Impact

Clay That Builds Communities

In 2023 alone, Manfeilong Village (曼飞龙村) saw:

  • 10,000+ cultural tourists
  • 600,000+ RMB dining revenue
  • 2,000,000+ RMB collective income growth

Yu’s works combine:

  • Modern functionality
  • Ethnic artistry
  • Economic viability

As this provincial-level intangible cultural heritage inheritor continues her mission, each hand-shaped vessel carries forward a millennium of Dai wisdom into the future.

For Chinese version please go to:
http://www.ynich.cn/view-ml-13111-3154.html

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