The Red-Glazed Canal Company

A tidal surge nearly destroyed the lifeline of Jingdezhen’s century-old Yucheng kiln. The imperial kiln’s powerful elite seized its techniques, threatening to sever the roots of the private kilns for good.

Shen Zhiyou, the shopkeeper entrusted with the task in a moment of crisis, looked at a boatload of shattered porcelain and resolved to fight the times she lived in. She discovered a moisture-proofing technique in rice bran, packing the porcelain in bran and securing it in separate compartments. Against all odds, she carved a way for the kiln to survive.

Gu Yanzhi, an upright official in charge of grain transport, immediately saw the spirit in her porcelain craft and the resilience in her character. To protect her and the local artisans, he defied the powerful, investigating corruption and exposing a conspiracy to pass off counterfeit imperial porcelain as genuine. With the law as his blade, he cut her a path to survival.

When the glow of ruby-red porcelain met the waves beneath the grain boats, and the private kilns’ devotion to craft clashed with the schemes of officialdom, they made porcelain their bond and their hearts their proof. They not only spread Yucheng’s red glaze across the Southern Seas, but also preserved both their craft and their love through turbulent times.

The red glaze burns through every hardship; the grain boats cross rivers stretching ten thousand miles.

This is a contest of craftsmanship and perseverance, and a love story between a kiln shopkeeper and an upright official.