In English,the word “chinese” is not only refer to our country but also the hard translucent glazed pottery. porcelain—— China’s national invention, is of great contribution to the world civilization and has a well-established and long standing history.
The history of the porcelains develeopment
Chinese primitive tribes began making artifacts with clay as early as 8,000 years ago. The Yangshao Culture was noted for its distinctive pottery painted with flowers, fish, animals, human faces and geometric designs. Although the origin of porcelain techniques is unknown, it is believed that primitive porcelain ware emerged in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River during the Shang and Zhou dynasties (16thcentury 221BC). Real porcelain ware appeared during the Han Dynasty (206BC – AD220).
Celadon porcelain, together with black porcelain, was mainly produced during the HanDynasty and continued to develop in the later dynasties. In the late Tang Dynasty (618-907), celadon porcelain production techniques matured and were manufactured on a large scale. The Tri-color pottery also reached its peak during this period. At the same time, white porcelain, which appeared in the late Northern and Southern Dynasties (386-589) and sounds like musical instruments when tapped, reached its peak.
The ceramic industry of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the third most prosperous period of the Chinese feudal society, reached an unprecedented height. Porcelain kilns with vivid regional features had spread all over the country, forming the “six kiln factions” and “five famous kilns”. The “six kiln factions” were thedingkiln faction,junkiln faction,yaozhoukiln faction,cizhoukiln faction,longquankiln faction andjingdezhenkiln faction. The “five famous kilns” were theguankiln,rukiln,gekiln,dingkiln andjunkiln.
The Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) saw a continued rapid development of the ceramic industry. Blue and white porcelain, which emerged in the Tang and Song dynasties, reached its maturity. The porcelain capital Jingdezhen emerged, which was famous for its blue-and-white porcelain, red under-glazed porcelain and egg-white porcelain. Great achievements were made in the production of the colorant glaze. Prior to the Yuan Dynasty people had fewer color choices.
Chinese ceramic-making reached its artistic peak during the latter part of the 15th century (Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644), largely due to the discovery of a new glazing technique called “five-color porcelain”. This new method stirred the imaginations of artists by allowing them to use many different colors on porcelain after it had been baked. Hence, more complicated pictures — human figures, religious scenes and landscapes — began to replace earlier themes of flowers and fish on porcelain.
The early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) witnessed the peak of Chinese ceramic production, with all ceramic types radiating their influence worldwide.In the process ofceramic development, different styles of different periods blossomed over the centuries.
