From kiln to craft, porcelain has represented the wisdom and aesthetics of Chinese culture and Eastern art. As an essential part of Chinese culture, it has long been a profound part of history and cultural heritage.

        However, passing along ancient Chinese porcelain craftsmanship techniques often relies on communication between master and apprentice, so there is a lack of written records. Likewise, many have been deterred by the complex production process, leading to a decrease in master porcelain craftsmen. With this in mind, NetEase Games has worked to protect this part of heritage, joining hands with porcelain masters to promote the artform with digital technology.

 

I. Recreating Historic Porcelain In Games

        With its boundless ingenuity and craft, porcelain represents 1,000 years of history and art and has become an invaluable part of Chinese civilization through its exquisite decorative patterns. NetEase Games is committed to recreating the charm of renowned porcelain in the gaming world, enabling players to experience the charm of porcelain firsthand with digital creations made to promote tradition and innovation.

        With white glaze and blue floral patterns, blue-and-white porcelain was praised as a wonderful creation of nature in a poem by Gong Shi from the Qing Dynasty.In ancient times, there were beautiful under-glazes, using a vibrant blue luster that not only produced different textures but also added interesting details. Based on this, NetEase Games' martial arts RPG mobile game A Dream of Jianghu introduced under-glaze porcelain decorations for players, adding a literary touch to their homes. Not only could players experience A Dream of Jianghu’s heroic tales, but also refined touches from the literati.

　　Another of NetEase Games' martial arts-themed online games, Justice Online, used iconic porcelain from ceramics capital Jingdezhen—the Blue-White Carved Dragon Tiger Pillow from the Northern Song Dynasty—as a prototype and released backwear in the same design. In order to replicate the porcelain’s details, Justice Online’s development team went to Jingdezhen for firsthand investigations and discussions with local experts, while also consulting numerous historical documents. Based on the actual porcelain, they drafted original drawings, models, and artistic processes to replicate this treasure in-game, bringing out the soft and glossy blue-and-white luster and showcasing its delicate and intriguing details. Along with the porcelain backwear, the Justice Online development team conducted fieldwork throughout Jingdezhen to launch the game’s Cizhou map, which showcases the bustling scenes of the porcelain capital 1,000 years ago, using culture and technology as a way to preserve and reproduce the charm of porcelain.

Justice Online: Blue-White Glazed Carved Dragon Tiger Pillow Backwear

 

II. Incorporating Porcelain Patterns Into Fashion

        Porcelain’s decorative patterns are key elements of traditional Chinese culture. With their unique artistic styles and profound cultural value, they have stood the test of time. When designing decorative patterns, creators often use wordplay and symbols to express blessings—such as the twine patterns symbolizing continuous happiness, the playful baby patterns symbolizing children and blessings, or beast patterns symbolizing harmony and luck. These patterns are all engraved to convey aspirations Chinese people have for a better life. Drawing on this aspect of traditional Chinese porcelain, NetEase Games has integrated these elegant patterns into game outfits, promoting the enduring essence of this intangible cultural heritage.

        The MOBA mobile game Onmyoji Arena collaborated with Mr. Huang Yunpeng, a national-level apprentice of blue-and-white porcelain, to use porcelain patterns as a prototype for a character’s customized "Piercing Dust" outfit. The flawless porcelain shows a gentle jade-like texture, with an exquisite blue-and-white decorative glaze. Through this collaboration, Onmyoji Arena was able to preserve the charm of porcelain patterns, while also integrating the elegance of traditional Chinese paintings to convey the histories of such precious heritage pieces.

　　In addition to showcasing porcelain patterns, NetEase Games' role-playing game New Ghost collaborated with the national-level porcelain master, Tu Xusheng, to create new lychee-themed porcelain and integrate porcelain elements into the game for matching outfits. Tu Xusheng’s lychee-themed porcelain incorporated wordplay with "lychee" to convey "profit" and "cleverness" (which all share the same pronunciation of ‘li’ in Chinese) infusing the creation with pleasant meaning. The neat porcelain body, along with the complementary glaze patterns, conveys Eastern aesthetics and artistic thought. With the support of digital technology, the team extracted elements from the porcelain patterns such as the green leaves, red clothing, and white lychee fruit to create the themed clothing, transforming the traditional patterns into the game’s outerwear and showcasing the enduring charm of porcelain and traditional culture.

New Ghost Themed Outfits

 

III. Preserving the Beauty of Porcelain Craftsmanship

        From raw materials to elegant wares, countless craftsmen are exploring and practicing the art of porcelain, infusing their passion into porcelain and endowing it with vitality and spirit. Porcelain’s delicate patterns, unique shapes, and warm textures demonstrate the exquisite craftsmanship and boundless creativity put into it. Porcelain is not only an art, but also a witness of history, cultural inheritance, and spiritual longevity. Through documentaries, offline activities, and more, NetEase Games has widely shared the art of porcelain, bringing its ingenuity to light and helping it shine along the river of time.

        Jingdezhen’s handmade porcelain was included in the first list of national-level intangible cultural heritage in 2006. For blue-and-white porcelain, the "fenshui" technique (a coloring technique using different blue pigments to create the effect of an ink painting) is especially elegant and challenging—and very technically demanding in terms of experience, aesthetics, and physical strength. To help the younger generation understand this piece of culture through games, NetEase Games' turn-based role-playing game Fantasy Westward Journey planned a visit to Huang Jingcang, a master of the fenshui technique in Jingdezhen, and recorded a documentary of the master depicting game characters using the fenshui technique. This way, fans could experience a fusion of game production and intangible cultural heritage. This also conveyed the harmony of traditional Chinese philosophy inherent in the craft and appearance of blue-and-white porcelain.

　　Outside the game, to help players experience the charm of porcelain up-close, the game New Ghost also collaborated with Jingdezhen’s Imperial Kiln Site in 2022, inviting players there to participate in traditional wood-fired kiln activities. Players could witness the process of porcelain being moved from the high-temperature kiln and participate in rituals such as reading prayers and worshiping the kiln god for a unique experience amid the wood-fired kiln.

New Ghost: Traditional Wood-fired Kiln Activity

　　Chinese porcelain is elegant and imbued with history. Many have admired its exquisite craftsmanship and profound cultural connotations, making it a cultural treasure since ancient times. NetEase Games has been realizing the potential of combining games and porcelain culture, with creative interpretations of the art. Players can explore the production of ancient porcelain in and out of the game, experiencing the meaningful moments of making porcelain and the charm of traditional handicrafts. The traditional thousand-year-old craft once again demonstrates its immortal charm and timeless value.