Chicken-Fat Yellow Liuli —— As Lustrous as Jade, as Smooth as Fat, as Precious as Gold

1:What is Chicken-Fat Yellow Liuli?

Chicken-Fat Yellow Liuli is the most precious and representative color material in Chinese liuli art. It displays a pure yellow hue with crystal-clear luster, a warm and dignified texture, and after polishing, appears as if moistened by melted butter — glistening and radiant. Because its color and oily sheen closely resemble the chicken fat inside a hen’s abdomen, it is fittingly named “Chicken-Fat Yellow.”

The color of Chicken-Fat Yellow Liuli is a warm yet gentle pure yellow — like a ripe autumn citrus, like solidified butter. When illuminated, it becomes translucent throughout, with a luster that is warm, restrained, and never garish.

Chicken-Fat Yellow Liuli is revered as the “Emperor of Liuli” and is celebrated with the praise: “As lustrous as jade, as smooth as fat, as resonant as a chime, as precious as gold.” Liuli wares made from it are warm as jade, dignified and elegant, honored as “Imperial Yellow” and “Yellow Jade.” Each piece of handcrafted Chinese liuli art embodies centuries of refinement and is prized by collectors of fine chinese decorations home.

2:Imperial Privilege — Five Centuries of Supreme Prestige

Chicken-Fat Yellow Liuli flourished during the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns of the Qing Dynasty, with its color formulation and firing techniques traceable to the Ming Dynasty — representing over five centuries of continuous heritage.

In ancient China, yellow was the supreme color, as “yellow” (黄) shares its pronunciation with “emperor” (皇), making it exclusively reserved for the emperor. During the Qianlong period, the imperial glass workshop specifically recruited master craftsmen from Boshan to produce Chicken-Fat Yellow Liuli in seclusion, exclusively for the royal court and strictly forbidden for civilian production.

As a symbol of dignified nobility, Chicken-Fat Yellow Liuli became a precious collectible, imperial award, and diplomatic gift during the Qing Dynasty. Its noble yellow glass vase remains one of the most sought-after treasures among connoisseurs of fine glass art and glass vases for flowers today.

3:Boshan — The Hometown of Chinese Liuli

The roots of Chicken-Fat Yellow Liuli lie in Boshan, Shandong.

Boshan is China’s renowned hometown of liuli ware, with liuli-making techniques traceable back to the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Boshan’s liuli production has a long and illustrious history — by the Yuan Dynasty, it had reached considerable scale, and during the Qing Dynasty, it formed a liuli production hub centered around Xiyi Street, earning its reputation as the true “Hometown of Liuli.” In the liuli world, there is a well-known saying: “The world’s liuli is in China; China’s liuli is in Boshan.”

Chicken-Fat Yellow is one of the most precious color materials in Boshan liuli — a product of Boshan’s rich liuli cultural heritage. The firing techniques of Chicken-Fat Yellow and Chicken-Liver Stone Liuli were inscribed on the Shandong Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage representative list in 2016. Today, they continue to inspire feng shui home decor and zen home decor with their timeless beauty.

4:Nine Failures Out of Ten — A Liuli Treasure Born of Fire

The preciousness of Chicken-Fat Yellow Liuli stems from its costly raw materials, complex craftsmanship, and rarity of success.

First: The Raw Materials. The formulation of Chicken-Fat Yellow is extremely complex, requiring precious metals such as gold and platinum along with various other raw ingredients. As recorded in ancient texts: “Stone provides the substance, saltpeter harmonizes it, mineral salts temper it, and copper, iron, lead, and cinnabar transform it. Without stone, it cannot form; without saltpeter, it cannot proceed; without copper, iron, lead, and cinnabar, it cannot achieve refinement — combined with gold and arsenic, it is thoroughly blended.” The cost of raw materials for a single furnace batch can range from hundreds of thousands to millions of yuan.

Second: The Craftsmanship. Chicken-Fat Yellow Liuli must be melted at temperatures exceeding 1300°C. The liuli artisan dips the material from the furnace and, before it cools and hardens, must rapidly complete the steps of dipping, patting, blowing, and rounding. Each step must be executed decisively — no hesitation, no delay. After forming, the piece undergoes multiple finishing processes including annealing, grinding, polishing, and carving. Whether shaped as a glass flower vase or a glass art sculpture, each piece demands hours of skilled labor.

Third: The Will of Heaven. The firing process is extremely sensitive — the same formulation and the same furnace temperature can produce completely different results depending on weather and seasonal conditions. This is precisely why liuli artisans speak of “nine failures out of ten” — among 100 pieces, if 10 masterpieces are produced, it is already considered a remarkable achievement. Every successful piece of Chicken-Fat Yellow Liuli is a perfect convergence of the right timing, the right place, and the right touch — a true gift from the kiln gods. This glass vases for flowers or yellow glass vase becomes not just a decorative item, but a singular work of art.

5:A Premium Canvas — The Art of Engraving on Chicken-Fat Yellow Liuli

Chicken-Fat Yellow Liuli, with its hard texture and smooth, glossy surface, is an exceptional medium for hand engraving. Using diamond-tipped carving knives, artisans traverse the surface of Chicken-Fat Yellow Liuli, creating engraved lines that form a subtle contrast with the warm yellow glaze — one deep, one shallow; one firm, one soft.

After being adorned with hand-engraving techniques, Chicken-Fat Yellow Liuli works achieve distinct layering and striking three-dimensionality. They possess both the warm restraint of liuli and the bold strength of engraved art — each complementing the other perfectly. Whether displayed as decorative glass art or treasured as an heirloom collectible, Chicken-Fat Yellow Liuli engraved works represent a perfect union of liuli and engraving. The finished piece is a one-of-a-kind glass vase for flowers that enriches any home decor collection.

6: A Century of Rise and Fall — From Lost Craft to Revival

The fate of Chicken-Fat Yellow Liuli has experienced several rises and falls.

During the mid-to-late Qing Dynasty, after more than a century of production, the craft entered a period of decline, with formulations and techniques gradually lost. In the Republic of China era, Boshan’s Hongshengdong workshop successfully revived Chicken-Fat Yellow production. In the 1970s, Boshan Arts & Crafts Liuli Factory resumed production, and its successfully developed Chicken-Fat Yellow bottle blanks caused a sensation at the Canton Fair, being purchased by foreign collectors at high prices. However, due to subsequent corporate restructuring, the documentation and physical samples of Chicken-Fat Yellow production were once again lost.

In 2007, Sun Jimin, a retired worker from the Boshan Arts & Crafts Liuli Factory, together with his younger brother — liuli master Sun Jijie — spent over a decade conducting repeated experiments based on excavated traditional technical documents, and ultimately successfully revived the Chicken-Fat Yellow firing technique once more.

Following this, Sun Yunyi (son of Sun Jimin) systematically improved the techniques and formulation standards, significantly increasing both the yield rate and the purity of the product’s color. In 2011, the “Production Method of Chicken-Fat Yellow Liuli and Relief Processing Techniques Based on This Liuli” was successfully awarded a National Invention Patent.

7: National Treasure — From the Forbidden City to the World Stage

With its unique cultural and artistic value, Chicken-Fat Yellow Liuli has shone brightly on both domestic and international stages:

Chicken-Fat Yellow Liuli works have won dozens of gold awards including the Baihua Award and Golden Phoenix Award at major domestic and international exhibitions, and have been collected and displayed by museums and galleries in the UK, Australia, and other countries.

From imperial treasures of the Qing court to the collections of the Beijing Palace Museum, and then to state gifts at the SCO Summit — Chicken-Fat Yellow Liuli has completed a five-century journey from “royal exclusivity” to “shared global heritage.” It is no longer merely the emperor’s color, but a calling card of Oriental aesthetics — a feng shui home decor treasure, a zen home decor masterpiece, and a chinese lucky charm to be cherished for generations.

8: Artisan-Grade · Own It Now

Handcrafted Chicken-Fat Yellow Liuli in standard classic styles — ready for you to own.

9: Master-Grade · Heirloom Customization

Tailor-made to your exact dimensions, design, and functional requirements — one-on-one in-depth consultation.

10: Contact Us

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