A Brief History of Ceramics
Ceramics began in China 6,000 years ago during the New Stone
Age, whose advent was marked, among other things, by the invention
of pottery. The earliest earthenware was moulded by hand; the
potter's wheel came much later. At the beginning the clay was
fired at a temperature of some 500-600 c. Painted pottery began
to be known during the period of Yangshao and Longshan cultures.
The large legion of terra-cotta soldiers and horses of the Qin
Dynasty (221- 207 B.C.), discovered in Shaanxi Province in 1974,
are eloquent proof of the high skills in kiln-firing and sculpture
attained at that early age. The art of pottery reached another
peak of development in the Tang Dynasty (618 907 A. D.), as evidenced
by the renowned "tri-coloured glaze."
On the basis of pottery developed porcelain, which emerged in
China, homeland of the art, 3,000 years ago during the Shang Dynasty.
From the remains of that period at Sanligang of Zhengzhou and
Xiaotun of Anyang (both in Henan Province) and at Wucheng Village
of Qingjiang County, Jiangxi Province vessels of blue-glazed ware
have been unearthed. Upon examination, they proved to have been
made of kaolin and fired and. vitrified at the high temperature
of 1,200 C. Their surface is coated with a glaze, whose chemical
composition is already very close to that of their bodies. Certain
porcelains of the Song (960-1279) and Ming (1368 1644) dynasties
were already celadon, though at its early stages.
Chinese ceramics became known to the world at large from the
Tang Dynasty so much that the word "china" became the
name of porcelain. Chinese porcelain, together with Chinese tea
and silk flowed through the Silk Road and other land and sea routes
to foreign countries.
Jingdezhen in southern China became a principal centre of the
porcelain industry during the Song Dynasty. Dubbed the "Porcelain
Metropolis," it still boasts important remains of ancient
workshops and kilns.
A significant archaeological find was made when a porcelain
kiln dating back to the Eastern Han Dynasty (25- 220 A.D.) was
brought to light a few years ago at Xiaoxiantan in Shangyu County,
Zhejiang Province. This is the earliest porcelain-producing site
ever discovered in China, and in the world as a whole.
Rapid progress has been made in the industry since the founding
of New China by inheriting from, and improving upon, the past.
Ceramics are now produced with renovated techniques and in ever-growing
varieties in many localities, to the welcome of customers at home
and abroad.
Celadon
Celadon, a famous type of ancient Chinese stoneware, came into
being during the period of the Five Dynasties (907-960). It
is characterized by simple but refined shapes , jade-like glaze,
solid substance and a distinctive style. As the celadon ware
produced in Longquan County, Zhejiang Province, is most valued,
so it is also generally called longquan qingci.
Its Chinese name, qingci, means "greenish porcelain."
Why then is it known in the West as "celadon?" Celadon
was the hero of the French writer Honore d'Urfe's romance L'Astr└e
(1610), the lover of the heroine Astr└e. He was presented as
a young man in green and his dress became all the rage in Europe.
And it was just about this time that the Chinese qingci made
its debut in Paris and won acclaim. People compared its colour
to Celadon's suit and started to call the porcelain "celadon,"
a name which has stuck and spread to other Countries.
Now, new products of Longquan qingci have been developed to
radiate with fresh lustre; they include eggshell china and underglaze
painting.
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