For craftsman, making porcelain for Mao a lifetime glory

When Zheng Guoliang and his team members were assigned the special mission of making porcelain for the late Chairman Mao Zedong, he knew they had to succeed, come hell or high water.

It was the "happiest time" in the 80-year-old craftsman's life.

Zheng was born in 1933 in east China's Zhejiang Province. At the age of 11, he and his mother sought refuge from war and reunited with his father in the city of Jingdezhen, known as China's porcelain capital in the central province of Jiangxi.

He got a job in the Ceramic Research Institution of Light Industry China, located in Jingdezhen.

Zheng remembers every detail of his life's turning point in February, 1975, when the institution received instructions to make a batch of high-quality tableware and tea sets for Mao.

The mission was coded "7501" because of the year 1975 and because it was the number one political task at that time, according to Zheng.

"It was such a thrill. People then were simple and they treated the assignment like a sacred task," Zheng said. "We rarely considered either expenses or returns."

Zheng, a materials expert, was summoned to work with dozens of other porcelain-making masters beginning that February.

They engaged in intense research day and night and created the so-called Red Guan Yao (red government official kiln).

They also used a rare and expensive material called "huashizi" to make the porcelain.

The price of huashizi is calculated by the kilogram, while that of ordinary porcelain clay is measured by the ton, Zheng said. But the institute brought in tons of the clay for the experiment.

Their success came in late 1975.

The white porcelain set produced was painted in light red patterns, such as the plum blossom, which was Chairman Mao's favorite flower.

The products made in 1975 were sent to Beijing. Zheng has kept a few pieces, as some items of inferior quality were given as souvenirs to those who had worked to make them.

The price of these souvenir pieces has skyrocketed, with a single cup fetching up to 600,000 yuan (80,000 US dollars) in an auction in early 2012. However, Zheng has no intention of selling his collection.

He has a white cup with underglaze plum blossom designs, one of the four designs for Chairman Mao.

The plum blossom, a hardy winter flower that is the first to blossom each year, symbolizes constancy in love.

Growing up amid war and raised during turmoil, Zheng said his peer generation has special feelings toward Mao and the Party.

"Mao is held in high esteem among us," Zheng said. "It is an emotion that the younger generation like you can't understand."