r/oddlysatisfying 2d ago

Making traditional Chinese Jun Porcelain like in ancient China. By Shanbai

3.8k Upvotes

174 comments sorted by

383

u/seansy5000 2d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/LpkBAUDg53FI8xLmg1
MRW I see one of these posts and know I’m going to watch the whole thing.

25

u/Drakendor 1d ago

I should be sleeping by now but I have to

682

u/Loring 2d ago

Where do all these 12 minute videos of Chinese people doing traditional things all by themselves on a mountainside come from?

271

u/LionessOfAzzalle 2d ago

This one is missing the cat though. It might be a fake.

43

u/VaguelyFamiliarVoice 2d ago

Also missing the laconic explanation

23

u/Beggatron14 1d ago

It also has an electric blower, I’m not sure how traditional that is

14

u/OrganizationLower611 1d ago

well, normally you would have a couple kids using a bellows, but they were busy making Nike sneakers :|

19

u/PoodlesMcNoodles 2d ago

There was a dog?

10

u/Fit_Feature_794 1d ago

My favorite part 🐶

44

u/WalterPPK- 2d ago

I would say China but not sure

34

u/AIienlnvasion 2d ago

And why is there not a subreddit specifically for these videos?

33

u/-OccultOfPersonality 1d ago

I would subscribe to that subreddit.

4

u/AIienlnvasion 1d ago

Me too! And every time I save one of these videos it’s gone within a few days

2

u/Kathrynlena 1d ago

Same. I’m obsessed with these propaganda videos. They’re so relaxing. They make me want to live in imaginary China of the past!

229

u/talkgadget 1d ago

It's CCP propaganda. They're taking advantage of the popularity of this kind of content to highlight the methods of traditional art and instill pride. Or something like that.

I can't be too mad at it. Especially since the Communist revolution back in the day attempted to extinguish old Chinese culture. Specifically things like art.

154

u/Grabbioli 1d ago

As I understand it, CCP pays a lot of money to keep these kinds of things alive and circulate media about them. CCP is not great about a lot of issues, but I agree with you, I don't think preserving cultural heritage is some kind of plot to destroy the West

15

u/atomicsnarl 1d ago

They're trying to bolster their reputation as preserving all this culture stuff, when once they tried to destroy it in the name of cultural Marxism and so on. The death toll from The Great Leap Forward alone is in the 10s of millions. The rulers view the people as a resource to be used, period.

64

u/alexa1661 1d ago

Why is it “propaganda”? Its just content that became popular in China after Lizhiqi and a lot of people and influencer agencies tried to replicate. Just viral trends.

72

u/LuckyReception6701 1d ago

A bit of column A, a bit of column B. Still China is one of the oldest civilizations on Earth, so they are a treasure trove of tradition of culture regardless of who is on the big chair, this videos are fascinating.

-10

u/shalekodemono 1d ago

Cause anything that is not from a capitalist country is labeled 'propaganda'

3

u/stuffeh 1d ago

From lizhiqi's wiki. She literally has gotten awards from the CCP.

> She was awarded the People's Choice Award by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party's official People's Daily newspaper in September 2019.[24]#citenote-24)[[25]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Ziqi(vlogger)#citenote-:02-25): 207  That same year, she was selected as 2019 Person of the Year in Cultural Communication by China Newsweek.[[8]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Ziqi(vlogger)#citenote-:722-8): 148  In August 2020, Li was nominated as a member of the All-China Youth Federation.[[26]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Ziqi(vlogger)#citenote-26)[[27]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Ziqi(vlogger)#citenote-27)[[25]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Ziqi(vlogger)#citenote-:02-25): 207  Li, along with Ms Yeah and Dianxi Xiaoge, are the only Chinese Internet celebrities who have reached international prominence.[[28]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Ziqi(vlogger)#cite_note-%E8%AF%B8%E6%9C%AA%E9%9D%992019-12-23-28)

12

u/shalekodemono 1d ago

So? People get awards from capitalistic countries all the time. What's the problem?

7

u/stuffeh 1d ago edited 1d ago

Because the political party is not the same as the gov itself. She's literally getting the award from Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.

China's stranglehold over ALL their media (including social) is absolute. When the airplane crashed into the tallest building in Beijing a few weeks ago, all the social media posts and news about it was completely supressed for a whole day. Any posts about it on social media is stil scrubbed even though it's been broadcasted over the news.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/03/china-man-small-plane-beijing-skyscraper-tower-mental-health-problems-statement

Although pictures and videos initially circulated on social media, many were quickly deleted. A search for China Citic tower or terms related to the plane crash on the social media platform Weibo on 3 July only produced posts unrelated to the incident.

A search for “A plane crashed into the Citic tower” produced one relevant post that was from 2 July: “The most ridiculous news I heard today … [a person] crashed a plane into the Citic building … where did you get that from? There’s no such thing”.

China's number one priority is to save face. The term you might be familiar with is keeping up the facade. This means whatever they do, do not make the party and the country look bad. Which perfectly explains the rationale behind China supressing any bad news like the plane, death tolls from COVID, and releasing any actual reports about the source either, and proping up content by people like Li Ziqi by the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League which is very similar to Stalin's Komsomol and Hitler Youth. And your attitude should change if you know anything about history.

31

u/talkgadget 1d ago

Propaganda is a message, true or not, meant to further an agenda, good or bad. These videos are crafted messages.

29

u/halfmanhalfskeleton 1d ago

So those historical villages in the US showing how the settlers lived are propaganda too, right? Seeing the whole process of flax becoming textiles was always my favorite

24

u/Grabbioli 1d ago

Yes, they very much are. They are intended to show America as a place with a long past full of hard workers who didn't have much so we can celebrate what we have now. Opinions on whether that outcome is accurate or good are varied.

Personally, I think it's true that colonists didn't lead easy lives. I also think that they were instruments of what was eventually a genocide in order to extract profit for Important People in Europe and later America. So yeah, there's a lot of things to be said about colonists and historical colonial settlement don't tell all of it.

12

u/halfmanhalfskeleton 1d ago

Very well said! Sorry for coming in hot, I do hugely agree - propaganda is unfortunately a loaded term and there's a lot of "our blessed homeland/their barbarous wastes" minefields in comment threads.

4

u/Grabbioli 1d ago

Yeah, apologies for the same if I was being aggressive. It's a very hard issue to discuss without sounding defensive or judgemental.

6

u/Kathrynlena 1d ago

Oh one thousand percent yes!! They’re not even subtle about it. Some of the plantation tours in the south are literally like “and here’s where the slaves lives their happy simple lives!” Those historical sites are ABSURD levels of propaganda.

1

u/renome 1d ago

Yeah, that and financing.

-6

u/Crandleton 1d ago

Crafted for what? It's a guy making pottery on social media. How exactly is this supposed to influence anyone in any direction other than, "oh, cool pottery"? I don't see how it makes a difference which country we're looking at when it's something so benign.

0

u/stuffeh 1d ago

It's to fill their social media with all the pro China content so they'd actually have content.

China's number one priority is to save face. The term used more often in English is keeping up the facade. This means whatever they do, do not make the party and the country look bad. Which perfectly explains the rationale behind China supressing any bad news like the plane, death tolls from COVID, and releasing any actual reports about the source either.

So instead, they proping up content by people like Li Ziqi by the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League which is very similar to Stalin's Komsomol and Hitler Youth. And your attitude should change if you know anything about history.

China's stranglehold over ALL their media (including social) is absolute. When the airplane crashed into the tallest building in Beijing a few weeks ago, all the social media posts and news about it was completely supressed for a whole day. Any posts about it on social media is stil scrubbed even though it's been broadcasted over the news.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/03/china-man-small-plane-beijing-skyscraper-tower-mental-health-problems-statement

Although pictures and videos initially circulated on social media, many were quickly deleted. A search for China Citic tower or terms related to the plane crash on the social media platform Weibo on 3 July only produced posts unrelated to the incident.

A search for “A plane crashed into the Citic tower” produced one relevant post that was from 2 July: “The most ridiculous news I heard today … [a person] crashed a plane into the Citic building … where did you get that from? There’s no such thing”.

1

u/DestroOmega 1d ago

It makes for good 'second monitor in the background' kinda stuff, but yeah, it's kinda obvious.

43

u/DragonDan108 2d ago

The Chinese government.

13

u/JeddHawk 2d ago

I'm starting to think they're like, propaganda. "Made in China" definitely doesn't mean terrible work conditions.

8

u/FriendlyDeers 1d ago

State sponsored videos.

4

u/ProjectCLUE 1d ago

They are from their respective douyin channel. This particular one -

https://v.douyin.com/y7BTSXDefXw/

2

u/interestingpanzer 1d ago

Where do all these tech reviews in the US come from?

China has a vast social media network on itself and these videos are really popular. They have only recently leaked into the wider net and people are shocked.

It's like those videos in the internet of rural house building

2

u/unknown-again-p 2d ago

Maybe it's their asmr

2

u/phil035 1d ago

It's definitely a set or location thats hired out.

Because I've seen that grindstone used to make evenything from noodles to ink

1

u/ArsenikShooter 1d ago

And suddenly an electric motor to boot!

1

u/Dr_Hoffenheimer 1d ago

I presume the mountains of China

1

u/saucygh0sty 12h ago

This same account posts these constantly but they hide all the posts on their profile. It’s CCP propaganda.

0

u/frozenbudz 1d ago edited 1d ago

I think the most common theory is they're state sponsored propaganda. The videos help feed into the mystique and appreciation of Chinese culture.

0

u/BIayneRobinson 1d ago

Museums mostly.

0

u/cpstewart_ 1d ago

yeah the glaze colors shift exactly like that

-1

u/__Osiris__ 1d ago

Government propaganda agency they are very well-made

251

u/Unaware_entropy 2d ago

Add water, remove water

110

u/ithappenb4 2d ago

Don't forget to add water afterwards.

50

u/allnaturalfigjam 1d ago

Then make sure to remove that water

72

u/martiHUN 1d ago

Wet the dry, dry the wet

3

u/Tokkemon 1d ago

But it must be in some sort of woven basket or wooden bowl.

2

u/saml23 1d ago

This reminds me of the pasta meme. Wet the dry, dry the wet, then wet the dry, dry the wet, etc

1

u/DutyMeowForTheFuture 9h ago

There is water at the bottom of the ocean.

-5

u/DirtyWormGerms 1d ago

Don’t forget destroying the “Four Olds” (old ideas, old culture, old customs, and old habits) that are “feudal,” backward, and incompatible with communist ideology. Send Buddhists and Taoists to labor camps and worse if they don’t renounce their religions then cosplay in their culture 50 years later cause CCP culture is ass.

Then create a bot army and spam every major sub and you’ll get the steaming pile that is u/TangelaFan

https://giphy.com/gifs/777Aby0ZetYE8

332

u/Neurotic_Pinacolada 2d ago

19

u/AgentG91 1d ago

Every time this video is shared, I come to the comments to find this

158

u/UncleKeyPax 2d ago

nothing breathes life into things like silicosis

47

u/Sybrandus 2d ago

“Don’t breathe this.”

2

u/Tokkemon 1d ago

Don't cite the deep magic to me, witch. I was there when it was written.

3

u/Sybrandus 1d ago

Haha. I literally said this to my wife last night when she asked me if I knew that the KFC Twitter account follows 11 accounts.

35

u/d_bb_d 1d ago

Me involuntarily turning away and holding my breath with each cloud of poison.

6

u/Eat-It-Harvey- 1d ago

*I move away from the mic to breathe in

20

u/NinjaBuddha13 1d ago

I used to work at a precast concrete plant. I wonder how many of those guys are gonna die early from breating in all that dust. A lot of them gave the company plausible deniability though cuz they smoked and vaped like crazy.

2

u/UncleKeyPax 1d ago

yeah no insurance pay out for them

13

u/McSquiggles887 2d ago

That adds to the authenticity.

12

u/earlgreybubbletea 1d ago

it's the only thing i think of when i see these types of videos; if this process is true to how this has been done historically, i can imagine a lot people would have died of what would appear to be "old age" being chronic lung injury

back then (and even now) you'd think "but this is all natural products" sure okay but your lungs should only really be interacting with the oxygen in the air; not airborne pollutants, whether they are solid particulates or toxic gases

you may not immediately die, but that low level exposure over time, is going to eventually fuck you right up.

5

u/newbrevity 2d ago

I came to the comments for this comment

2

u/JennaLS 1d ago

Porcelain lungs

40

u/imheretocomment69 2d ago

TangelaFan is working overtime

18

u/LaughingOutLoudAgain 2d ago

329 K Karma within 2 months of existing is indeed a lot

8

u/MidnightFireHuntress 2d ago

45 cents an hour

52

u/ZenMonkey21 2d ago

This same guy makes everything from soy to porcelain lol

19

u/Atharaphelun 2d ago

He recently made a silver Miao headdress too.

5

u/ftrqz 1d ago

Where does he post his videos?

11

u/Atharaphelun 1d ago

YouTube. CNShanbai is the name.

2

u/ftrqz 1d ago

Thank you!

6

u/coronakillme 2d ago

probably earns more from social media

7

u/BazGauvain 2d ago

Man uses the same stuff for all of it as well. Gonna have some green and crunchy soy for a while after using that stone for this video.

3

u/FunGuy8618 1d ago

Yeah, I used to wonder if he's just a rich dude who goes around trying new stuff for the first time with good instruction and supervision, but you're right. He's in the same place, using the same equipment most of the time. He probably crushes some kind of wet dough in there before using it again for food so it catches all the sediment, and feeds it to goats.

15

u/f0cCuS 1d ago

Don't breathe this.

7

u/SourDzzl 1d ago

Yeah I'm not crazy thinking this is malachite right?

4

u/pwnzu_sauce2 1d ago

Porcelain dust.

1

u/masterofunfucking 1d ago

just went on a will it blend binge because of this comment. we had it so good back then

59

u/Skeleton_King9 2d ago

"Yeah I'm not gonna watch a 10 minute video..."

*10 minutes later

"... Twice"

130

u/k3nu 2d ago

I do love these videos, i really do. It's just.. How traditional is that electric blower, exactly? :)

85

u/rvanasty 2d ago

Qing Dynasty

31

u/McSquiggles887 2d ago

They really were ahead of their time. The camera he recorded himself with dates back to at least the Han Dynasty, but records are a bit murky since record-keeper computers were infected with a virus back then.

4

u/fuckyogiboys 1d ago

Opium really set them back

40

u/Nice_Anybody2983 2d ago

I let that one pass bc i get how it's possible but a major pain in the ass to do this by hand

15

u/Omnio89 1d ago

I thought the same thing and then kinda realized the only thing he modernized was a bellows.

5

u/vass0922 2d ago

He got that as a treasure when he kicked Khan's ass

5

u/Abm93 2d ago

I think they used solar powered blowers

0

u/idaddyMD 1d ago

I thought that about the blower too. Like, another 3 minutes watching him work a bellows by hand is what I wanted to see right there! :P

11

u/Carbiens 2d ago

Putting stuff in things.

12

u/xSnippy 1d ago

This dudes videos really make you feel a kind of way about the hustle and bustle of modern life

11

u/Vast_Mulberry_2638 1d ago

People mock these videos but it really is quite enjoyable to watch them.

27

u/ShrmpHvnNw 2d ago

Set of 4 $7.95

8

u/Ok-Raspberry-8099 1d ago

Mmm. Malachite cyanide(or arsenic I forget which) poisoning 

2

u/TangelaFan 1d ago

I thought that was copper oxide because of the color

4

u/Ok-Raspberry-8099 1d ago

Copper and malachite leech cyanide into them making them potentially dangerous. Idk if this particular process uses it but malachite looks a lot like this rock used at the beginning 

8

u/CodeNameFiji 1d ago

Traditional and then adds the electric blower motor just like they had since the Shang Dynasty. /s Beautiful cups none the less.

13

u/RiptideEberron 1d ago

Wear a mask. Jesus Christ. 

2

u/slowerlearner1212 1d ago

That’s not tradition tho

5

u/Tasty_Avocado1378 1d ago

If you would have told me 10 minutes ago what I would be doing for the next 10 minutes I’d call you a liar

4

u/EvieMoon 1d ago

I've seen this before and it always bothers me that he uses a stick to twirl the pottery wheel rather than having a foot treadle for consistency.

35

u/DivusSentinal 2d ago

My daily CCP propaganda

3

u/cant-sit-here 1d ago

How many days pass from start to finish? I love how each one is unique.

3

u/Glad_Sector6812 1d ago

You’re not gonna tell me you have state of the art 🎥 production equipment and no access to an electric throwing wheel.

Cool product and process, but what in the ethnicity fetish is all this?

3

u/Weizensepp3000 1d ago

Whenever I see a video like this, I realize, that without water, nothing in this world would happen.

3

u/less_concerned 1d ago

I love these traditional chinese crafting videos because it's almost 100% of the time "grind it into a powder, mix it with water, filter it, dry it out, mix it with more water, dry it out again, filter it again, lay it in the sun for 6 weeks, mix it with water, bake it, painstakingly sculpt it, and presto! You have one clay coffee mug!"

3

u/Dynamo_Ham 17h ago

Looks like doing this for living could buy you a nice case of “porcelain lung” over the long haul.

6

u/yung_heartburn 2d ago

I got silicosis watching this

2

u/ducatiduke 1d ago

Every step is beautiful and amazing. Keep in mind every step could be automated on an industrial scale to make this cheaper. Guessing at least a hundredth and maybe a thousandth of the cost by one person. Tradition rocks and lays the ground but knowledge, intelligence, automation, and scaling make it even more beautiful for the world to experience.

2

u/mnbvcxz9753 1d ago

lol, the dust from the video made me sneeze

3

u/Such-Combination8419 2d ago

What a beautiful process. It goes through so many layers of washing.

4

u/PixelCortex 2d ago

OP is a Wumao

9

u/Basic_Novel_9203 2d ago

More China astroturfing. Same account. Every day.

3

u/meat_sack 2d ago

How did the ancient Chinese generate electricity for their blower motors? /s

2

u/puthiyatheru 2d ago

Is he what the internet calls a performative male?

2

u/drunkanidaho 1d ago

this dude is going to have serious lung issues

2

u/jhwheuer 2d ago

This is becoming a White Washing distribution network for Chinese propaganda. Look at those quaint nice folks with their quaint nice ways

2

u/keijodputt 2d ago

That piano music is so soothing, though...

3

u/TyrionBean 1d ago

I actually really enjoy these at times, even though it's pretty clear it's coming directly from the Chinese Global Propaganda department of international messaging. 😀

1

u/dimonium_anonimo 1d ago

Brawndo powder... It's got what lungs crave.

1

u/Eternally_Asleep 1d ago

Is that stuff safe to breathe?? Probably not

1

u/BB_210 1d ago

He could've used the mill again for the black stone instead of that stepper one, takes forever

1

u/Imaginary-Wave8472 1d ago

What rocks do they crush?

1

u/TheCerealKilled 1d ago

The first two minutes of this video is a man crushing rocks and I was completely entertained. I’m absolutely cooked.

1

u/LASERDICKMCCOOL 1d ago

Ancient Chinese secret, huh?

1

u/artistro08 1d ago

wet the dry, dry the wet

1

u/Valirys-Reinhald 1d ago

I love these videos.

1

u/bigbadler 1d ago

Wait wait wait where did that metal stick come from

1

u/pergamon123 1d ago

Why did he accost that poor plant ?

1

u/niftersthagoat 1d ago

Idk what I just watched..but I want more please.

1

u/The-Witch-Wife 1d ago

Making stuff sucked.

1

u/mikesalami 1d ago

So all you need to bind together fragments of rock is water?

1

u/mrcoffee4me 1d ago

That grinder would have come in handy in the 80’s

1

u/sm_axe 1d ago

Dude’s got green lungs 1000%

1

u/Gunginrx 1d ago

Is he powering malachite? Better have a good fucking mask

1

u/Tokkemon 1d ago

The thing that always strikes me about these videos is how impractical some of the methods are, and how dumb they are. Like, even ancient people would have figured out better ways to do this stuff.

And then the discarded restaurant wok comes out. So weird.

1

u/Plaidomatic 1d ago

Wet the drys

Dry the wets.

Wet the drys again

So you can dry the wets.

1

u/MyTherapistSaysHi 1d ago

Love scene after scene of peaceful primitive tools and just at the end, homie breaks out the electric fan as billows for the kiln

1

u/Dagigai 1d ago

Those are some really nice ashtrays

1

u/Moist_Objective7000 16h ago

I didn’t realize the ancient Chinese invented the electric blower fan.

1

u/MrRickshaw 14h ago

Nice ancient electic air blower.

1

u/Meerlala 14h ago

The noises are just… too much.

1

u/superwok44 12h ago

I was going to attempt this but sadly I do not have any bamboo plants

1

u/UhMisterThePlague 11h ago

I've seen enough of these videos now I'm convinced you could make an Iphone buy just crushing shit, getting it wet, drying it out and repeating.

1

u/1wife2dogs0kids 1d ago

I thought the Amish were stubborn. SOMEONE GET THIS KID A SHOP VAC AND A MINI SLEDGE!

1

u/SiddharthJain131 1d ago

Can Someone help me recognise the difference in Chinese vs japanese letters please?

5

u/msb2ncsu 1d ago

About half of the characters you see in Japanese text are borrowed from Chinese characters. All “blocky” characters is generally Chinese text but blocky characters mixed with curvy is Japanese.

1

u/Unicorn028 1d ago

Wonder how much lead is in that bowl.

0

u/Vyviel 2d ago

Dudes lungs are going to be fucked

-4

u/Fizzy_Astronaut 2d ago

The fuck are these always 10 mjn of 50% bullshit?

0

u/Ok_Appeal_2928 1d ago

Nice and good Work👍🏼

-7

u/laidback4sho 2d ago

I wanna be reincarnated as an ancient Chinese.

-1

u/ILSmokeItAll 2d ago

What a fucking process to have even conceived.

-5

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

3

u/No_Hovercraft_439 1d ago

The West has used China for the last 50 years for cheap labor on consumer products for final assembly for the most part. China’s labor costs have increased, so we will start to see less Made in China stickers and more Made in Vietnam/Bangladesh/India on everyday items.

-7

u/thiswaythatway69 1d ago

AI slop and no one bats an eye