As the familiar melodies of Chinese New Year’s Eve fill the air and the world turns its attention to the China Media Group Spring Festival Gala, a new ceramic artwork from Jingdezhen Ceramic University (JCU) has once again taken center stage. At the 2026 Spring Festival Gala, the ceramic sculpture “Fu Ma Welcomes Spring” (Auspicious Horse Welcoming Spring), designed by Professor Cao Chunsheng from JCU’s School of Fine Arts, was unveiled, showcasing the richness of Chinese culture and the creative vitality fostered by the university to audiences around the globe. This marks another appearance of a JCU-designed work on the Gala stage, following the debut of the ceramic “Spring Bowl” created by the university’s faculty team in the previous year.
According to Professor Cao, the work is inspired by the concept “Galloping toward a new journey and striving to compose a glorious chapter.” The sculpture draws on the vigorous spirit of fine horses depicted in the Han and Tang dynasties, capturing a dynamic moment in which a spirited steed steps onto auspicious clouds, raising its head as if ready to charge forward. With powerful limbs shaped like drawn bows and a mane flowing alongside swirling clouds, the form echoes the 2026 Spring Festival Gala theme “Galloping Forward with Unstoppable Momentum,” while vividly embodying the enterprising spirit of the new era. The sculpture is decorated with Jingdezhen’s iconic blue-and-white painting technique. Five elegant peony blossoms, often regarded as symbols of prosperity in Chinese culture, are combined with traditional scrolling floral patterns to create a balanced and richly layered composition. The intertwined peony motifs not only showcase refined traditional craftsmanship but also convey wishes for prosperity and flourishing good fortune. Measuring 77 cm in length, 80 cm in height, and 28 cm in width, the work is a substantial ceramic sculpture.
The piece was led by Professor Cao Chunsheng and jointly produced with more than ten ceramic art masters and inheritors of intangible cultural heritage techniques. Within just over twenty days, the team efficiently completed the entire process, from conceptual design to final porcelain firing. Interpreting the cultural symbolism of the Chinese zodiac horse through the language of millennia-old ceramic art, the work vividly reflects the collaborative creativity and craftsmanship that define Jingdezhen’s ceramic tradition.
Fu Ma Welcomes Spring” is not only a masterful work that integrates the essence of a thousand years of ceramic artistry, but also a vivid reflection of the harmony between China’s outstanding traditional culture and the forward-looking spirit of the new era. From the earlier “Spring Bowl” to “Fu Ma Welcomes Spring,” Jingdezhen Ceramic University has repeatedly presented outstanding ceramic creations on the national stage of the Spring Festival Gala, allowing the timeless charm of porcelain to shine anew. Looking ahead, the university will continue to take ceramics as a cultural medium, uphold tradition while fostering innovation, and explore the rich connotations of Chinese traditional culture. Through the creation of more works that embody the spirit of the times, JCU aims to bring Jingdezhen’s ceramic culture to broader global platforms and ensure that the legacy of Chinese civilization continues to flourish through both inheritance and innovation.
