China’s porcelain has its own charm and uniqueness which fascinates people from thousand years ago till now. The porcelain’s beauty lies not only with the techniques but also with the significant substances in the cultural vault which has been accumulating wisdom and inspirations from hundred generations, across many dynasties.
Original porcelain evolved from pottery, with its earliest appearance found at the Zhengzhou Erlitou Shang Dynasty site. During the Eastern Han period, celadon glaze porcelain emerged. Early porcelain was mainly celadon, and by the Sui and Tang dynasties, it had developed into two main porcelain types with monochrome glazes: celadon and white porcelain. Various decorative techniques, such as carving, scratching, stamping, pasting, incising, and openwork pierced carving, were also developed.
The Five Dynasties period saw advanced porcelain craftsmanship, with the Northern porcelain system’s Henan Chai kiln earning the reputation of “roof tiles worth a thousand gold.”
The Chai kiln, associated with the Later Zhou’s Chai Emperor, was said to produce porcelain that was “as thin as paper, as bright as a mirror, and as clear as a chime; after rain, the sky blue is the kind of color that will last.” However, no surviving pieces or excavation findings from the Chai kiln have been discovered to date.
The Southern porcelain system is renowned for its Yue kiln “Secret Color Porcelain.” Song Dynasty porcelain excelled in various single-color glazes, with the ability to create ice-crack patterns, kiln change colors, and various colors including underglaze blue, underglaze red, etc. The famous “Porcelain Capital” Jingdezhen was named for its production of porcelain for the court during Jingde Years (1004-1007) of the Song Dynasty. The chosen porcelain clay was fine and white, and the porcelain produced was thin, white like jade, and skilled in making exquisite designs.
Yuan Dynasty porcelain was known for its printed and multi-colored gilded porcelain. Ming Dynasty porcelain popularized “white base blue-and-white porcelain,” with celadon known as “shadow blue,” characterized by extremely thin porcelain, with dark-carved dragon patterns that can be seen reflected both inside and out, and patterns faintly appearing in blue. Additionally, “Jinghong Red Porcelain” was named for its color resembling the sky after rain. Kiln change colors evolved from one type to three: kiln change red, kiln change green, and kiln change purple.
Qing Dynasty porcelain produced “colorful porcelain,” with novel patterns and luxurious colors, excelling in “famille rose” and “fencai” porcelain. There were also “Sky Blue Glaze” porcelains imitating the Five Dynasties’ Chai kiln porcelain colors, along with Jinghong red and Jingqing porcelain. Today, famous porcelain production areas include Jingdezhen, Jiangxi, known for its blue-and-white porcelain, blue-and-white exquisite porcelain, colored glaze porcelain, and famille rose porcelain.
We should admire the accumulated wisdom and craftsmanship inherited from thousand years ago. Beyond luxurious handcrafted porcelain ware, with modern technology, we can create plenty artistic styles of porcelain ware at much lower cost with similar finishes. The spirits of the designers become crucial to produce creative and aspiring products perfect for daily use. The beauty of modern porcelain should be affordable, usable and bringing you the joyful experience.
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