Ceramics
The earliest forms of ceramics in China were simple pottery
pieces produced by the people living along the Yellow and
Yangzi rivers in the Neolithic Age. Earthenware goods were
made by the coiling method. Clay was coiled into ropes
which were then formed into pots. Then the coils were
smoothed out, using a spatula style instrument, to give
both the inner and outer of the pots smooth edges.
The potters wheel was used from the Yangshao Culture (5000
– 3000 B.C.). The type of pottery produced was mainly red
earthenware decorated with black geometric and animal
designs.
During the Longshan Culture (2500 – 1700 B.C.)
white pottery was produced, along with eggshell-thin black
pottery.
In the following centuries pottery continued to develop.
During the Zhou dynasty decorated and glazed ceramics
appeared. When the Terracotta Army was discovered it showed
that the Qin had developed a system of making moulds to
mass produce goods. In the Terracotta Army the bodies of
the soldiers are of similar types. Yet the heads were
individually sculptured and then attached to the bodies.
Chinese porcelain became very popular in Europe from the
19th century. However, their history goes back much further.
Strictly porcelain only came into existence during the Han
dynasty. Two types were mainly produced celadon and black
porcelain. Celadon was a green/grey colour and looked
similar to the colour of jade. Celadon production continued
for many centuries and by the Tang dynasty celadon was mass
produced. Another popular porcelain in the Tang dynasty was
produced at the Xing kiln in Hubei province. It was pure
white in colour and when tapped gave out sound as if it
were a musical instrument.
During the Song dynasty a wider range of porcelain was
produced. Five of the most important kilns were the Ru
kiln, the Jun kiln, the Guan kiln, the Ge kiln and the Ding
kiln. Collectively they produced the ‘five great wares of
the Song’. Each kiln made its own specific type of
porcelain.
Ru ware was produced solely for the imperial court and the
kiln only operated for twenty years. The glaze is a milky
green colour and the pieces are extremely delicate. Ru ware
is so rare that only seventy pieces have been found
throughout the world. The firing temperature and glaze had
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to be absolutely exact to achieve the correct look. If the
goods did not measure up to scratch then they were
destroyed immediately.
Jun ware is light green in colour with any raised areas on
the goods in the colour of the clay underneath because the
glaze had a tendency to run.
Guan ware is similar in colour to Ru ware, although not as
valuable. Guan ware has several layers of glaze that are
actually thicker than the clay. The glaze on Guan ware is
crackled as a result. Guan means ‘official’ and these wares
were used by the emperors of the Southern Song dynasty.
Ge ware is known for its crackled glaze, which is similar
to Guan ware. In fact it can sometimes be extremely
difficult to tell the two apart.
Ding ware is white porcelain and was first sent as tribute
to the imperial court in A.D. 980. Ding ware have patterns
incised into the pieces. These can be extremely subtle and
only become apparent when light shines on them at a certain
angle. Earlier pieces were individually incised whilst late
in the 11th century moulds were made and pieces were mass
produced.
On mass produced pieces a common design was
children playing amongst lotus leaves. This type of design
differed greatly to the designs on earlier pieces.
Although blue and white porcelain had existed in the Tang
and Song dynasties it started to become a more popular type
of ceramic in the Yuan dynasty. The colours on the Yuan
blue and white porcelain have been well preserved because
for the first time a strong blue colour was applied
underneath a transparent glaze. Unusually for Chinese
porcelain a red underglaze was also used for decoration on
some of these pieces. This showed the achievement made in
the production of ceramics because there had been little
colour choice before the Yuan dynasty.
In the Ming dynasty blue and white porcelain became the
main type of ceramics produced. Ming ceramics are highly
valued and sought after today because of their design and
colour.
In the Qing dynasty the famous blue and white porcelains
wares were mainly exported to European countries, although
interest in them was worldwide. The designs on the
porcelain
became
more
Western,
although
based
on
traditional Chinese ideas.
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