Historical origin of ceramic tile back

The firing history of Shiwan Tile Ridge is very long. According to the data, Tile Ridge came into being at the end of the Tang Dynasty and became more prosperous in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The decorative patterns on the ridges of early-produced pottery tiles are mainly some relief patterns with auspicious or evil spirits, such as flowers and birds, Swiss beasts, mountains and rivers, etc. However, since the late Qing Dynasty, especially after Xianfeng, with the rise and development of Guangdong Cantonese Opera, Waji, a character with historical stories, myths and legends in traditional Cantonese Opera, has been welcomed by the general public (Waji is called Waji doll), and even Waji artists have moved the whole opera to Waji, and the representative scenes in the play have formed a comic-book story with hundreds of characters. Putting Cantonese opera on the tile ridge decoration reflects the love of Shiwan people for Cantonese opera and is also a great artistic creation of Shiwan ceramists.

In the Qing Dynasty, most ancestral temples and rich houses in Lingnan area liked to decorate their roofs with ceramic figures and animals in Shiwan, Foshan, which was called Shiwan Tile Ridge, also known as "Shiwan Hualing", which made the local characteristics of traditional Han architecture particularly obvious. The ceramic tile ridge of Foshan ancestral temple is an important feature of the whole building complex and a typical representative of the traditional architectural decoration of Han nationality in Lingnan area. It contains the exquisite ceramic sculpture craft of Shiwan and the rich traditional cultural value of Lingnan Han nationality.

Shiwan pottery figurine "Wa Ji Doll", commonly known as the character Wa Ji. This is a kind of high relief art, which installs relief ceramics on the wide surface of the roof, which is a major category of glass-ceramics development in Shiwan building in the middle of Qing Dynasty. As the appearance of ceramic architectural decoration art, Tuwaji is closely related to the popularity and influence of Cantonese opera. It is undoubtedly an epoch-making initiative that Shiwan artists can move Cantonese opera series to Waji as architectural decoration. Its achievements have cultivated a famous flower for modern pottery and plastic arts, fully demonstrated the exquisite craftsmanship and perfect artistic modeling of ancient Han craftsmen, and are the crystallization of wisdom and art of Han working people.