Porcelain repairers are few in number these days. Now, Baotou boasts one whose name is Zhang Yong, and who has stuck to his job for five years with patience and persistence.

Baotou, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, is home to many Shanxi province residents, who began to migrate there on a large-scale during the Ming Dynasty (1388-1644). The migration lasted more than four hundred years, only coming to an end in the early years of the Republic of China (1912-1949).

Zhang Yong comes from such a migrant family, and his great grandfather was originally a Shanxi resident. The family has had many gifted craftsmen, with Zhang’s great grandfather running a carpentry and dry goods shop, and his grandfather owning a carpentry and antiques shop. His grandfather frequently helped neighbors and relatives repair pots and basins with a diamond tool.

Zhang turned to porcelain repairing and restoration five years ago. He was once a successful wood and jade sculptor, and had his work – a nine-meter embossment and mural painting – displayed in Baotou Museum.

Porcelain repairing and restoration is a demanding and highly-skilled job, and Baotou had not had a porcelain repairer until Zhang picked up his diamond tool and studied a book on this field once owned by his grandfather.

Zhang repairs porcelain based on the method recorded in the book, coming up with new ideas to make the porcelain stronger and improving the aesthetics.

With his reputation for porcelain repairing firmly established, Zhang received more and more visitors who brought with them wine vessels, pen containers or ivory ornaments for repair.

One of these visitors was a man who asked for repairs to be carried out on a 1.35-meter-tall Chairman Mao sculpture. It took Zhang four months to complete the repair work. The sculpture was restored to its original condition and several experts came to examine the sculpture with a magnifying glass, but could not find any trace of damage.

More than 300 porcelain works and antiques have been successfully repaired by Zhang over the past five years, and he has pursued perfection in every piece he has worked on.

Zhang Yong, the only porcelain repairer in Baotou, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, works on a damaged item, Nov 2, 2016. [Photo/Baotou Daily]