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 Chinese
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Chinese
Ceramics
Pottery, porcelain and ceramics are three easily confused terms
to describe the earthenware production in China. Generally, pottery
can be any
object made from porous clay and baked at a temperature
ranging from hot, direct sunlight to baking, or firing, in a kiln
at a temperature of about
1,000 degrees Celsius. It is usually neither
hard nor stable. In order to produce ideal results, before firing,
pigments or colours were supposed to
be applied to pottery. After
firing, it can also be painted with almost any colours.
Porcelain is made from a mixture of special clays, often kaolin,
which is made from decomposed crystals of granite, and fired at
a very high
temperature of 1,350 degree Celsius, at which kaolin
becomes white. It is hard and much more durable than pottery. After
firing, porcelain can be
painted in a rainbow of colours and glazes,
and then fired at a low temperature to seal the colour and harden
the glaze. Even the word "china" is
often used to describe
fine Chinese porcelain.
Ceramics is actually the general art of heating common clay to create
an ornamental object. All pottery and porcelain are considered ceramics.
The
history of Chinese ceramics began some 8,000 years ago with the
crafting of hand-molded earthenware vessels. Soon after, in the
late
Neolithic period, the potter's wheel was invented facilitating
the production of more uniform vessels. The sophistication of these
early Chinese
potters is best exemplified by the legion of terracotta
warriors found in the tomb of Emperor Qin (221-206 BC).
Over the following centuries innumerable new ceramic technologies
and styles were developed. One of the most famous is the three-colored
ware of the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD), named after the bright yellow,
green and white glazes which were applied to the earthenware body.
They
were made not only in such traditional forms as bowls and vases,
but also in the more exotic guises of camels and Central Asian travelers,
testifying to the cultural influence of the Silk Road. Another type
of ware to gain the favor of the Tang court was the qingci, known
in the West as
celadon. These have a subtle bluish-green glaze and
are characterized by their simple and elegant shapes.
Blue and white porcelain was first produced under the Yuan dynasty
(1279-1368 AD). This porcelain had blue decorations on a white background.
Potters of the subsequent Ming dynasty (1368-1644) perfected these
blue and white wares so that they soon came to represent the virtuosity
of the
Chinese potter. While styles of decorative motif and vessel
shape changed with the ascension to the throne of each new Ming
emperor, the quality
of Ming blue and whites are indisputably superior
to that of any other time period.
The capitals of pottery and porcelain have been Yixing in Jiangsu
Province and Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province respectively. Nowadays,
the Yuan-
Ming cobalt blue and white style is popular everywhere
in the world and has become the most favorite porcelain in more
homes than any other
styles ever created by potters of Chinese history.
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