諺語 · a single proverb
入窯一色出窯萬彩
Simplified: 入窑一色出窑万彩
What does 入窯一色出窯萬彩 (rù yáo yī sè chū yáo wàn cǎi) mean?
入窯一色出窯萬彩 (rù yáo yī sè chū yáo wàn cǎi) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "Entering the kiln one color, leaving the kiln ten thousand hues." In use it means: Jun ware ceramics, despite starting with uniform glazes, produce unpredictable and unrepeatable color variations through the firing process. The kiln turns the predictable into the miraculous. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Fire note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Dog.
Literally: "Entering the kiln one color, leaving the kiln ten thousand hues."
The reading
The Jun ware potter does everything possible to control the process, then surrenders the final outcome to fire. What looks like carelessness is actually a profound understanding of where human control ends and natural forces begin. The kiln's interior becomes a world of its own, with temperature gradients, ash particles, and chemical reactions conspiring in ways no hand can dictate. What emerges is a collaboration between intention and accident, and the greatest pieces are those where the potter's skill created the conditions for the kiln's own artistry.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Jun ware (鈞窯) artisan saying, Song dynasty ceramics tradition, Yuzhou (禹州), Henan
Sits beside
井底之蛙
jǐng dǐ zhī wā
Someone with an extremely narrow view of the world, who mistakes the small circle of sky above the well for the whole sky.
冰凍三尺，非一日之寒
bīng dòng sān chǐ, fēi yī rì zhī hán
Nothing deep-a skill, a habit, a ruin-forms overnight.
心急吃不了熱豆腐
xīn jí chī bù liǎo rè dòu fu
Impatience will not speed things up.
Keep reading
Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Humility & Self-Mastery, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Dog, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 入窯一色出窯萬彩 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 入窯一色出窯萬彩 (rù yáo yī sè chū yáo wàn cǎi) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語), and it comes from Jun ware (鈞窯) artisan saying, Song dynasty ceramics tradition, Yuzhou (禹州), Henan. It is living Chinese heritage, given here with per-character pinyin and its source so you can trust the line, not a phrase invented in English.
How do you pronounce 入窯一色出窯萬彩?
In Mandarin it is rù yáo yī sè chū yáo wàn cǎi. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 入窯一色出窯萬彩 aloud in Mandarin.