Published : 2025-06-08

On June 8, 2008, Chinese ceramic art master Jin Peizhang (晉佩章), who is the lifetime achievement award winner in arts and crafts, and lifetime honourary member of the National Academy of Art in the United States, passed away at the age of 82.

Jin had always been dedicated to studying ceramic art, particularly specialising in "Jun ware" (鈞瓷), one of China's Five Great Kilns.

In 1988, Jin Peizhang founded the "Liushan Kiln Art Laboratory," which focused on researching famous northern kilns and reproducing famous porcelains.

Jin Peizhang's craftsmanship in making Jun ware was exquisite.

His works featured dignified shapes, smooth lines, full and elegant glaze colours, and were collected by the China Collectors Association and the Central Literature and History Research Museum.

Jin Peizhang conducted in-depth and unique research on the development history of Jun ware, authored several books on Jun ware, and published more than 30 papers on Jun ware both domestically and internationally, totalling over 600,000 words.

In recognition of his outstanding contributions to Jun ware art, Jin Peizhang was named the first "Chinese Jun ware Art Master" in 2003, awarded the title of "Henan Jun ware Master Art Grand Master" by Henan Province, and was honoured with the title of "Jun ware Maestro."

In November 2006, a rare Jun ware Offering Ear Vase designed and crafted by Jin Peizhang was auctioned in Beijing for a record-breaking price of 180,000 RMB, setting the highest price record for a modern single piece of Jun ware.

On January 8, 2008, the National Museum permanently collected six pieces of rare Jun ware, including an elephant-head vase, a square vase, a Guanyin bottle, a Taiping vase, a sunflower vase, and a Xiebiao vase, created by Jin Peizhang and his son Jin Xiaotong (晉曉童), setting the record for the most pieces of a single type of porcelain collected by the National Museum in one go.