Cloisonne remains one of the most mysterious and least understood forms of Chinese decorative art. For centuries, the intricate and colorful patterns were the exclusive preserve of imperial families and dignitaries. But Zhang Tonglu says there are no secrets to the art, except practice makes perfect. He has been making these intricate enamel patterns for 47 years. And the government has proclaimed him a "Grand Master" of the art, a distinction he shares with only two of his peers.

Cloisonne is known in China as "Jingtailan".

Historical records reveal that the art of cloisonne was brought to China from central Asia around the time of the 14th century.

During the Ming Dynasty, it was quickly adopted and developed, reaching a peak during the reign of Emperor Jingtai, during the middle of the 15th century.

Ever since, cloisonne has been one of the cultural landmarks of Beijing.

Zhang Tonglu is a typical son of the city.

He loved painting as a child.

He was mesmerized when he first saw a picture of cloisonne in a magazine.

After he graduated from high school, he became an apprentice at the Beijing Cloisonne Works.

There, he quickly learned that the making of cloisonne was an arduous process, as complex as the intricate patterns of the final product.

The whole of his first year, he spent learning only how to cast the copper bodies which are the foundation of cloisonne.

We didn't have any machines. We had to do everything by hand. But it was good exercise, and a great help when it came to learning design years later.

He had a checkered career both as a student and as an artist.

But always the optimist, he rotated through every section of the works, mastering all five processes associated with the making of cloisonne, a rarity at the time, and even more so today.

This is "qiasi." It's the art of attaching the copper filaments to the body of the piece, based on the blueprint of the design.

Zhang Tonglu said: "It takes a single worker at least twenty days to finish one piece. If you run out all the copper wire on this piece it would be 1,000 meters long."

Next, the spaces outlined by the filaments are filled with colored-paste enamels in the "Dianlan" procedure.

Blue used to dominate the traditional palette.

But today's cloisonne is a more colorful world.

When the piece is fired, the enamels and metal fuse to create the finished work of art.

Zhang Tonglu said: "You have to pay close attention to the temperature during the firing process. If it's too hot, the enamel flows out. If it's not hot enough, cracks appear."

Finally the piece is ready for polishing and the cloisonne is gilded.

Zhang says the making process has changed little in the past 500 years.

But, he said this long and honorable tradition was in danger of extinction.

Famous as China's greatest living craftsman of cloisonne, Zhang used to take pride in making exquisite and high value pieces, many of them considered "State treasures."

But a shrinking market and changing tastes were fast rendering his skills obsolete.

Zhang decided that innovation was the only way out.

Zhang Tonglu said: "I call this technique 'cloisonne painting.' It uses the techniques of making cloisonne but applies them to different surfaces -- wood, stone, plastic -- anything but copper. It keeps the style and charm of cloisonne. But it has an amazing effect on other genres such as oil painting, woodblock painting and water-and-ink painting."

His innovation was recognized with a national patent in 1987 and led to an international award in the United States 10 years later.

In contrast to the expense of traditional cloisonne, this new kind is far cheaper and more accessible for the average art lover.

Zhang's given name Tonglu means "sharing bliss", and he applies this to his work.

Zhang Tonglu said: "Cloisonne is an art that has three elements -- copper, enamel and fire. My role is to fan the flames. The more I fan, the brighter and hotter the fire will be. I will push myself to the utmost, to make the fire as bright as possible, the copper more glossy and the enamel more flamboyant. Hopefully, cloisonne can continue to flourish in the future."

To this end, the 60-three-year old is busy training a generation of successors. He has built his own studio to help them and give them a place to develop their own careers.

(CCTV January 16, 2006)