Nixitang earthenware products in Shangri-La County (formerly Zhongdian County), Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province are well-known and have a long history, which is a typical representative of earthenware firing techniques in Tibetan areas. Brown pottery with sand was found in the sarcophagus tomb excavated more than 2,000 years ago in Xingfu Village, Nishi Town. The shapes of some utensils are very similar to those made in Nishi today. Nixi pottery is characterized by its lower abdomen, fine selection of materials and fine workmanship, mostly black pottery. The surface is outlined with simple patterns or inlaid with various porcelain pieces for decoration. It is a favorite daily appliance of local people, so most of the appliances in residents' homes are earthenware products.
Soil is the main raw material for making pottery. Nishi Tang Dui's pottery material is a mixture of three materials excavated locally (Saigon). One is stone powder ground from the weathered sand of the nearby Tangman River. One is to collect white sand from the mountains near the village; One of the most important raw materials is red clay on the hill near the village. In the firing process, one-third of the white mud and two-thirds of the red mud are stirred and put on the flat dam to dry for 2 to 3 days. Then, oak with a thickness of 10cm, a length of 1.2m and a weight of 7 kg is used for about 4 hours, screened by a sieve, then kneaded with water, and the mud dough is put into a big iron drum for stewing. The longer the stewing time, the easier it is to make.
Pottery is usually made at home. People sit cross-legged on the floor when making pottery. The pottery box is a long board spread on the floor. Because it is located on the plateau and the room is cool, even in summer, you need to wear a sweater and cover your legs with cotton blankets. Tools for making pottery are: Tao Pai (there are more than 20 kinds in Tao Pai, the smallest is 2 cm wide and 25 cm long, and the longest is 12 cm wide and 25 cm long), a carving pen, a wooden scraper, a round bottom plate, and a square in the circle is equivalent to a handwheel. The round bottom plate is placed on a long box and rotated with the left hand.
The technological process of pottery making: earth borrowing, soil drying, soil ramming, soil sieving, mud drying, material dipping, embryo making, porcelain embedding, drying in the shade, grinding, firing, steaming, brushing yogurt residue water and so on. Soil exploitation: soil is a kind of clay unique to Nishi; Drying soil: drying soil for about 3 days after returning from taking soil; Mud: after mixing clay raw materials, tap the raw materials with a wooden stick to make them more finely divided; Screen soil: screen fine mud with a sieve and put it into a bag; Mud: Weathered sand, white sand and red clay are mixed together in the ratio of 0.5: 0.5: 2; Mud mixing: open a circle in the center of the sand by hand, pour water into the sand circle and wait for mixing. Clay and water mix together quickly. Mud mixing is an essential and important process in pottery making, and it is appropriate to dry and wet it properly. Then knead the clay into balls of the same size, pile them aside, and cover them with plastic sheets to keep them moist for later use; Embryo-making: First, take a proper amount of clay, beat it into strips on the chopping board with Tao Pai, and put it into utensils on the base. According to the shape of the vessel, knock with pottery to make the general outline of the vessel. Porcelain mosaic: rotate the base, scrape it flat with a wooden scraper, and then embed porcelain tiles outside the wall to decorate various patterns; Dry in the shade: after molding, dry in the shade in a ventilated place (about a week); Polishing: polishing the pottery with burlap; Firing: then put it on a fire pit to dry (usually about 2 days); Then bake around the fire pit 1 to 2 hours; Smoothing: finally, put the basically formed pottery on the flat dam and pile it into two or three layers, pile loose firewood between and around the pottery, then burn it with oak leaves for about an hour, and cover the pottery with sawdust for about 10 minute after the firewood is burned; Brush the yogurt residue water, and the pottery is finished. On the black pottery they made, broken porcelain pieces of various shapes (usually discarded porcelain bowls are knocked into various patterns, such as circles, rectangles and triangles) are inlaid into various patterns. Some hand-carved faucets, cow heads and other patterns on the wall are simple and unique.
At present, there are more than 80 kinds of pottery in Tangdui area of Nishi, which are divided into three categories: household utensils, religious utensils and handicrafts. Among them, there are more than 30 kinds of household pots, pots, stoves, pots and pots. There are more than 20 kinds of religious articles such as incense burners and butter lamps, and more than 20 kinds of handicrafts such as vases and ashtrays.
Pottery made of soup piles is famous at home and abroad, because the soil of soup piles has a special viscosity. Pottery-making with soup pile is a masterpiece of Tibetan pottery, which is made of traditional crafts and materials handed down from ancestors. It has fine workmanship, simple and heavy appearance, rough and generous, rich in characteristics and has the reputation of "modern antique". His works are exported to many big cities in China and markets such as Hongkong, Taiwan Province, Singapore, Japan, Europe and America, and are well received by domestic collectors, foreign tourists and Europe.