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Pottery and Porcelain in China |
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Pottery, Porcelain and their Difference
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China, a country with one of the most ancient civilizations in the world, has a time-honored history of producing pottery and porcelain. Earliest pottery wares could be dated back more than 10,000 years ago, while porcelain was developed on the basis of many centuries of pottery production.
Porcelain differs from pottery in that it uses china clay (containing pure white kaolin, feldspar and quartz) as the basic material. Porcelain requires a coating of vitreous glaze on its surface, and must be fired at a temperature of between 1,200 C and 1,300 C until it is non-porous or very slightly porous, and, when struck, produces a clear ringing sound like metal. Made of ordinary clay, pottery is fired at a temperature of 800-1,000 C, and does not require a coating of glaze. The embryo of a pottery vessel is rough and soft. When struck, it gives off a muffled sound.
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