cloisonne is a famous traditional enamel ware, known as the "blue of  jingtai" in china, with a history of over 500 years. it was so  called "blue" was the typical colour used for enamelling and  "jingtai" was the reign title of the 7th ming emperor. enamel ware  became very popular during the emperor’s reign. there is a great  variety of products, such as vase, jar, bowl, plate, box and  ash-tray. they are brilliant in colours and splendid in design.  cloisonne is one of the famous arts and crafts of beijing. the making of cloisonne requires rather elaborate and complicated  processes; base-hammering, copper-strip inlay, soldering,  enamel-filling, enamel-firing, polishing and gilding. the products  are featured by excellent quality. the skill and workmanship have  been handed down from the ming dynasty. quite a number of new  varieties have been created. it enjoys a high reputation both at  home and abroad. they are mostly for export.  cloisonne-making the first step is body making. the material used for making the body  is copper, because copper is easily hammered and stretched. this  step requires a sound judgement in shaping and uniformity of  thickness and weight. it is in fact the work of the copper smith.  the only difference is that when an article is well shaped, the  copper smith’s work is finished, whereas the cloisonne craftsman’s  work is just on the the start. the second step is filigree soldering. this step requires great care  and high creativeness. the artisan adheres copper strips onto the  body. these strips are of 1/16 inch in diameter and of lengths as  the artisan desires. the strips or filigree thus adhered make up a  complicated but complete pattern. the artisan has a blueprint in  mind and he can make full use of his experience, imagination and  aesthetic view in setting the copper strips on the body.  the third step is to apply the colour which is known as enamel  filling. the colour or enamel is like the glaze on ceramics. it is  called falang. its basic elements are boric acid, saltpetre and  alkaline. due to the difference in the minerals added, the colour  differs accordingly. usually one with much iron will turn grey, with  uranium, yellow, with chromium, green, with zinc, white, with  bronze, blue, with gold or iodine, red. in time of filling, all the  colours, ground beforehand into minute powder and contained in  plates, are placed in front of the workers and are then applied to  the little compartments separated by filigree. the fourth step is enamel firing. this is done by putting the  article, with its enamel fillings, to the crucible. after a short  moment, the copper body will turn red. but after firing, the enamel  in the little compartment will sink down a bit. that will require a  refilling. this process will go on repeatedly until the little  compartments are finally filled.  the fifth step is polishing. the first polish is with energy. its  aim is to make the filigree and the filled compartments even. the  whole piece is again put to fire. polish once more with a whet  stone. finally, use a piece of hard carbon to polish again so as to  obtain some lustre on the surface of the article. the sixth step is gilding. this is done by placing the article in  fluid of gold or silver. add electric current. the exposed parts of  the filigree and the metal fringes of the article will be smoothly  and evenly gilded. after that, the metal part of the article will  not get rusty. then the article will again undergo another  electroplating and a slight polish.