Chinese lacquerware bowl with black and cinnabar lacquer on a craft table

Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage | Daqi | Lacquerware

Chinese Lacquerware and Daqi Lacquer

A guide to the natural lacquer, slow layering, polishing, carving, painting, and inlay techniques behind one of China's most refined traditional crafts.

Explore the Craft See the Process

Chinese Lacquer Craft

What is Chinese lacquerware?

Chinese lacquerware refers to objects coated, built, decorated, or finished with natural lacquer. In Chinese, daqi or 大漆 often points to the raw natural lacquer material, while qiqi or 漆器 refers to finished lacquerware objects.

The craft is not just a glossy surface. Traditional lacquer can be applied in many thin layers over wood, bamboo, cloth, or other bases, then cured, polished, painted, carved, inlaid, or combined with pigments and materials such as gold, silver, mother-of-pearl, or eggshell.

Natural lacquer material, pigments, brushes, and lacquer samples on a worktable — Natural lacquer, pigments, brushes, and polishing tools turn a plain base into a layered craft object.

Material Intelligence

Daqi is a material that asks for patience.

Layer by layer Lacquerware is usually built through repeated thin applications rather than one quick coat.
Curing conditions Traditional lacquer depends on controlled humidity and time, so the workshop environment matters.
Surface depth A polished lacquer surface can hold both reflection and color beneath the top layer.
Regional methods China has many lacquerware lineages, from polished lacquer to carved and inlaid techniques.

Traditional Craft Process

How Chinese lacquerware is made

Brush applying black lacquer to a wooden lacquerware base with pigments and tools nearby

Prepare the baseWood, bamboo, cloth, or another support is shaped, sealed, and made ready for lacquer.
Refine the lacquerNatural lacquer may be filtered, mixed, colored, or adjusted for the technique being used.
Apply thin layersEach coat is brushed or spread carefully, then cured before the next layer is added.
Polish the surfaceAbrasives, cloth, oil, or other traditional materials help reveal depth and luster.
Decorate the objectPainting, carving, inlay, gilding, eggshell, or mother-of-pearl can complete the piece.

Craft and Heritage Facts

Chinese lacquerware in heritage context

Chinese lacquerwork has a long history and appears in vessels, boxes, furniture, screens, ritual objects, writing tools, and decorative art. Several lacquerware techniques are listed in China's national intangible cultural heritage system, including regional traditions such as Pingyao polished lacquerware and Jiangzhou tixi carved lacquer.

Chinese Terms大漆 daqi; 漆器 qiqi

Heritage ThemeChinese intangible cultural heritage

Craft CategoryTraditional craftsmanship and lacquer craft

MaterialsNatural lacquer, wood, bamboo, cloth, pigments, polishing materials

TechniquesLayering, curing, polishing, painting, carving, inlay, gilding

Common ColorsBlack and cinnabar red, with other colors depending on period and technique

Glossy polished Chinese lacquer surface with craft tools in a workshop

How to Read a Lacquer Object

Look for surface, layer, and time.

A lacquer object rewards close looking. Notice whether the surface is painted, carved, inlaid, or polished plain. Look for the base form, the depth of color, the edge where layers appear, and the way light moves across the surface. What seems simple may contain many rounds of application, curing, and polishing.

FAQ

Common questions about Chinese lacquerware

Is daqi the same as lacquerware?
Daqi usually refers to natural lacquer as a material. Lacquerware refers to the finished object or craft object made with lacquer.

Is Chinese lacquer the same as modern lacquer paint?
No. Traditional lacquer is a natural material and a slow craft process. Modern synthetic lacquer coatings are different materials and should not be treated as the same thing.

Why does lacquerware take so long to make?
Many techniques require repeated thin layers, controlled curing, polishing, and later decoration. Complex carved or inlaid pieces can take weeks, months, or longer.

Sources and Related Crafts

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Reference

Chinese Lacquerwork

Background on lacquer materials, early uses, layers, and historical development.

ICH Reference

Pingyao Polished Lacquerware

National intangible cultural heritage entry for a regional lacquerware technique.

ICH Reference

Jiangzhou Tixi Lacquer

National intangible cultural heritage entry for a carved lacquer technique.