CHEMICAL INDUSTRY IN KWANGTUNG PROVINCE 139 



tunnel to get a higher temperature. For burning figures and 

 finer articles, they use a small kiln in the shop. 



• j Th T the articles have to be glazed. There are three 

 kinds of glazes. The green glaze consists of a mixture of 

 copper oxide, powdered glass, some ashes of rice and wood 

 and river mud which is used as a reducing agent. For the 

 blue glaze, they use English green, and for the yellow glaze, 

 lead oxide is used. 



The finely powdered glazed mixture is tirred up with 

 water to form a cream, into which the articles are dipped 

 and at once withdrawn. A layer of the glaze adheres to the 

 surface, and after drying the articles are ready for the second 

 or glaze burning. 



Common dishes are glazed from the inside. A little of 

 the liquid is put inside and turned. Then the unused liquid 

 is poured out. If any decoration is to be done, the design is 

 either painted or molded upon the surface of the article 

 before glazing. 



Various kinds of articles are made in Shekwaan. The 

 most common ones are the glazed earthenware, jars of many 

 shapes, tiles (fancy and plain), roof tiles, green and blue tiles, 

 verticle or bamboo tiles, railing tiles, dishes, plates, teapots, 

 water pots, figures of animals, etc. 



As these articles are easily broken if the burning is not 

 efficient, so 80% is considered a very good result. 



It is strange to see that the potters in Shekwaan do not 

 own the kilns, but the kilns are rented, and $10 are charged 

 for each burning per kiln. There are about 70 kilns in 

 Shekwaan and several thousand laborers are employed. 

 Each laborer is paid by the number of pieces of work he does. 

 But the maximum amount they can earn a day is 80 cents 

 (Cantonese money). There are women laborers as well as 

 men and they do the simpler kind of work, but there is no 

 child labour. 



The potters must go through an apprenticeship of six 

 years; during this time they receive no wages. They form 

 a number of guilds which are organized according to the kind 

 of pottery, as each kind of pottery has one guild. In order 

 to join the guild, one must pay the sum of $150. 



Porcelain or Chinaware is not made in Shekwaan but is 

 made in Ko Chow Btf $>|. The best kind of porcelain work 

 is done in Kong Sai. The clay used to make Chinaware is 

 different from that used in the pottery. 



While the processes used in the manufacture of the 

 articles in Shekwaan and Ko Chow differ in details, funda- 

 mentally they are the same and may be summed up under 

 three heads— namely (1) the preparation of the body of the 

 ware (2) the process of glazing and (3) the decoration. 



