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Chinese Porcelain |
In the middle period of the Shang Dynasty, some 3,500 years ago, primitive celadon (Fig.1) was created on the basis of white pottery and hard pottery with decorations. Along with the improvement of raw materials and firing and molding techniques in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) that celadon emerged from the primitive state and entered the early porcelain stage. Sites of porcelain kilns of the Eastern Han Dynasty have been found in Shangyu, Cixi, Ningbo and Yongjia in Zhejiang province, evidence that Zhejiang was the main producer of porcelain wares during the Han Dynasty.
The Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern dynasties (220-589) witnessed the rapid development of porcelain production. Porcelain kilns were located in both south and north China; firing and molding techniques became mature, the quality of porcelain wares improved greatly, and the quantity and types of porcelain increased sharply. Under the influence of Buddhism, lotus patterns became very popular on porcelain ware. The uniquely shaped zun with a lotus pattern (Fig.2)is a representative celadon item made in north China.
In the Tang Dynasty, celadon produced by the Yue kiln (located in Yuyao County, Zhejiang province) enjoyed a high reputation. In the book The Canon of Tea, written by Tea Sage Lu Yu, tea sets (Fig.3)produced at the Yue kiln are listed as the best. Poets of the Tang Dynasty spoke highly of the porcelain wares produced by the Yue kiln, saying that they were like "jade" and "ice", and their glaze looked like "layer upon layer of green peaks". White porcelain (Fig.4)produced at the Xing kiln (located in Neiqiu County, Hebei province) was "as white as snow or silver". An ancient document records, "The white porcelain of the Xing kiln was used by high and low alike throughout the empire." Historians of pottery and porcelain often describe the Tang Dynasty's porcelain industry as being divided into the celadon of South China (produced at the Yue kiln) and the white porcelain of North China (produced at the Xing kiln). Some of the porcelain kilns of the Tang dynasty were under the control of the court, producing olive green porcelain wares for the imperial family. In the late Tang dynasty, kilns in Changsha broke with the tradition of single-color glaze and intaglio decoration by using underglaze brown and green to produce decoration in several colors, and decorated porcelain wares with painted flowers, birds and figures from stories and legends, or inscribed with poems (Fig.5). In addition, appliqué and impressed designs were used to enhance the appeal of their products.
China made remarkable progress in porcelain manufacturing during the Song dynasty (960-1279). Sites of ancient kilns were found in 170 counties or cities throughout the country, and Song dynasty kilns were identified in 130 of them, accounting for 75 percent. The kilns specialized in different techniques, glazes, shapes and decorations. In the Song dynasty, six major "schools" of porcelain were formed. In north China, there were the schools of Ding ware, Yaozhou ware, Jun ware and Cizhou ware; and in south China, there were the schools of Longquan celadon and Jingdezhen celadon-and-white porcelain ware. The great progress in porcelain manufacturing in the Song dynasty put in the shade the accomplishments of the Tang dynasty's Yue and Xing kilns.
In the Song dynasty there were five kinds of famous porcelain wares - Ding ware made in Quyang county, Hebei province, Ru ware made in Baofeng county, Henan province, Guan (or official) ware made in Kaifeng and Hangzhou, Ge ware made in Longquan county, Zhejiang province, and Jun ware made in Yuxian county in Henan province. Ding ware is of excellent quality. The body is soft and thin, and the vessels regular in shape and evenly glazed. Ding porcelain decoration was applied by incising, engraving and impressing patterns, with simple and powerful lines. The pattern includes flowers, animals and birds, fish swimming and children playing. Porcelain wares produced by other kilns seldom have patterns, instead stressing shape and glaze. The liquid glaze of Ru ware is fairly thick, green and bright. The main feature of Jun ware is a body of sky-blue interspersed with rose purple. Jun ware (Fig.6)is as bright as a sunset glow, with changes like floating clouds and running streams. Ge ware (Fig.7)is featured by crackles of varying sizes on the vessel's surface. As a matter of fact, these crackles were intentional, as it was thought they gave the vessels a touch of classical elegance. And so this original blemish became a special feature of Ge ware. The Guan ware (Fig.8) used china clay with a fairly high iron content. The rather thick glaze applied gave it the lustrous, bright finish of fine greenish-white jade. As the vitreous glaze separated the mouth-rims, the color had a purplish tinge. The foot-rim was unglazed, with the iron-colored paste fully exposed, showing its special feature of "purple mouth and iron foot"-important for identifying Guan porcelain.
After the defeated Northern Song rulers retreated south of the Yangtze river, the newly founded Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279) set up Guan kilns in Hangzhou to manufacture porcelain. A thin body, fine quality and smooth glaze feature celadon produced by the Guan kilns during this period. It was during the Southern Song dynasty that Longquan celadon produced in Zhejiang reached its golden age. With thin bodies and thick glaze, Longquan celadon wares were as bright as jade (Fig.9). This was because the glaze was applied time and again.
A large number of porcelain kilns were established during the Song dynasty, of which the most representative were the kilns for making Cizhou ware in north China (The central kiln was located in Guantai town, Handan city, Hebei province), which were distributed throughout Hebei, Henan, Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces. Cizhou porcelain featured cared designs instead of patterns. The style of painting was bold, striving to capture the theme. A few strokes brought the motif to life.
In the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368) the Chinese people came to reverence white as an auspicious color. This led the rulers to show great interest in blue-and-white porcelain, especially the items produced at Jingdezhen. One year before the Yuan dynasty reunified China, the Fuliang porcelain bureau was set up in Jingdezhen, the first office of its kind. As time went by, Jingdezhen became China's major porcelain center. The outstanding achievements of the porcelain industry in the Yuan dynasty were its blue-and-white porcelain (Fig.10), and later underglazed red porcelain (Fig.11). When making blue-and-white porcelain blue designs were first painted on the body, with cobalt oxide as the main coloring agent, and covered with white glaze. Yuan blue-and-white porcelain featured pure, white paste and bright blue designs. A large number of blue-and-white porcelain wares produced in the Yuan dynasty appreciated for their superb workmanship today. Using the same technique, but red glaze, underglazed red porcelain was developed. The successful use of glaze put an end to the restriction to jade and silver colors, and resulted in the emergence of brightly colored pottery and porcelain wares.
China's porcelain industry reached the height of its prosperity in Min (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, when Jingdezhen became the nation's porcelain center, and blue-and-white porcelain produced in Jingdezhen enjoyed a high reputation worldwide. The blue-and-white of the Xuande reign period (1426-1435) of the Ming dynasty "blazed a new trail for succeeding generations," according to art historians. With a finely made body and navy blue color, the porcelain wares look like traditional Chinese ink paintings. During the Chenghua reign period (1465-1487), cobalt blue on blue-and-white porcelain vessels was quiet in color, but the patterns and strokes ware elaborate and the composition detailed. New porcelain varieties produced during the Ming dynasty were polychrome porcelain (Fig.12) and doucai porcelain (Fig.13). Polychrome ware was created in the Xuande reign period, and matured during the Chenghua reign period. Doucai porcelain combined underglaze and overglaze colors in an organic whole. Blue pigment was used to outline the designs on the raw clay, which was then coated with white glaze, placed in the kiln and fired at a high temperature. The next step was to paint designs within the blue-and-white outline. The piece was then fired again. Multiple layers of color on porcelain vessels "contended for beauty", hence the name doucai (contending colors).
The reigns of Qing dynasty emperors Kangxi (1662-1722), Yongzheng (1723-1735) and Qianlong (1736-1795) were the halcyon days of Chinese pottery and porcelain. Blue-and-white porcelain made during the Kangxi period was bright in color. Painted on porcelain vessels during this period were landscapes, human figures, flowers and birds. Polychrome porcelain of the Kangxi period features thick and bright colors. Scenes from old tales painted in diverse colors on porcelain vessels of the Kangzi period have high artistic value. Pink-colored porcelain of the Yongzheng period has soft, light and elegant colors. Paintings were first drawn on porcelain vessels, which were then fired in the kiln. Pottery supervisor Tang Ying of the Qianlong period cudgeled this brains to produce new varieties of porcelain to curry favor with the emperor. He had a large number of porcelain wares manufactured by imitating all kinds of porcelain styles of previous ages, and using various kinds of glaze. The famille rose design (Fig.14, Fig.15)had its inception in the Kangxi period, made its first appearance in the Yongzheng period, and became popular during the reign of Qianlong. With the introduction of oil painting techniques from the west, paintings were drawn on specially selected white porcelain. The pictures are beautiful, meticulous and show masterly perspective. The emperor himself showed great interest in the raw materials, patterns and shapes used on famille rose ware, and issued an imperial order the court's leading painters draw pictures to be used for those items. Famille rose ware was exclusively used by the imperial family, and was never even given to officials as gifts.
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