Ancient Chinese Culture: Craftsmanship

Wang Zhenduo

Wang Zhenduo is an expert in museology and the history of science and technology.

This book introduces the jade wares， bronzes， ceramics， lacquerware， silk fabrics， ancient buildings， water conservancy， astronomical instruments， vehicles， boats， strange wares， etc.， made by skilled craftsmen in ancient China. It shows the achievements and craftsmanship of our ancestors in material culture， science and technology， and proves the ingenuity of the Chinese nation and exquisite traditional Chinese crafts. It eloquently demonstrates the contributions of ancient Chinese people to the world with ample evidence.

Ancient Chinese Culture： Craftsmanship

Wang Zhenduo

Huaxia Publishing House

October 2022

49.80 （CNY）

The porcelain-making industry in the Tang Dynasty underwent greater development than that in the Three Kingdoms， Jin， and Southern and Northern dynasties. The quality of celadon was improved， with Yue wares in the south being at the forefront and white porcelain emerged in the north， with Xing wares being the best. A situation of “celadon in the south and white porcelain in the north” was formed. In fact， celadon and white porcelain were both excellent in the Tang Dynasty， but people had their own love.

The Classic of Tea regarded Yuezhou wares from Zhejiang province （越州窯）， Xingzhou wares， Dingzhou wares， Wuzhou wares， Yuezhou wares from Hunan province （岳州窯）， Shouzhou wares and Hongzhou wares as the seven famous kilns of the Tang Dynasty. Their porcelains have unique characteristics， especially the white porcelain of Xingzhou kiln sites. Xingzhou kilns are distributed in the villages at the junction of Lincheng and Neiqiu counties in Hebei province. Among them， Qi village and Shuangjing village have the most kilns， and the kiln sites from the glorious age of the Tang Dynasty are preserved. One of the kilns is well preserved. It looks like steamed bread and is built on a slope. Porcelain remains on the ground， the color is as silver as snow. This is consistent with literature records. The porcelain was made into bowls， pots， plates， cups， altars， jars， pots， lamp holders， and other daily necessities， with smooth glazes， orderly shapes， and hard fetal quality. Funnel saggers， barrel saggers and box saggers were also found at the kiln sites. According to textual research， box saggers and funnel saggers were especially used for firing high-grade white porcelain. Through the physical examination of the remains， it was found that their whiteness is 70 Webster degrees， the hardness is 615 HW， the water absorption is 2.4%， and the firing temperature is about 1，350℃， comparable to modern international high-quality porcelain. This shows the advanced porcelain-making technology in the Tang Dynasty. The white porcelain of the Tang Dynasty not only sold well across the country but was also exported overseas. The white porcelains of Xing kilns were found in ancient Egypt， India and Japan sites. The porcelain produced in Iran， Iraq and Egypt are similar to the celadon and white porcelain in Tang and Song dynasties in shape and pattern. This shows that the porcelain of West Asian countries were also influenced by Chinese porcelain.

Tri-colored pottery is also a distinctive pottery from the Tang Dynasty. They are painted in one， two， or three colors and are made by applying colored glazes to white pottery. The most famous is the kiln site of the Sui and Tang dynasties in Gongyi， Henan province. The monochrome glaze is yellow， green or blue and is generally applied to household appliances such as bowls， basins， bottles， pots， plates， and water jets. Double-colored glazes are yellow-glazed green， white-glazed blue， or white-glazed green. Most of them are utensils. Tri-colored wares have two categories： utensils and sculptures. Utensils include jars， pots， wine containers， bottles， candlesticks， and porcelain pillows， while some porcelain pillows are decorated with a wood texture called the twisted placenta. They were made by mixing several kinds of porcelain clay in black， white， gray， and brown and rolling and cutting the clay into correct shapes. After firing， the textures are changeable and fun， like flowing clouds and water or the texture of leather and wood. The shapes of sculptures are mostly realistic： standing， knights， riding a camel， holding a lion， holding a baby， horses， and camels. One of the best tri-colored potteries is the tri-colored camel unearthed from the Tomb of the Anpu Couple in Luoyang， Henan province， in 1968. The camel is painted with yellow， green， and white glazes， and its waist is decorated with a color-glazed saddle and tied with a leather bag， silk， ham， and a wine bottle. It is walking， raising its head， and crying with its mouth open. The figurine is vividly made. Many figurines are Hu people， reflecting the prosperous trade between the east and the west in the glorious age of the Tang Dynasty. Porcelain， one of China’s important exports to West Asia， greatly influenced the porcelain-making of West Asian countries. The white-glazed phoenix-head pot made by Iran in the 12th century is very similar to the tri-colored phoenix-head pot in the Tang Dynasty. After the tri-colored pottery of the Tang Dynasty spread to Japan， it was popular with the Japanese. Afterward， Japanese craftsmen imitated the tri-colored pottery to produce the “Nara tri-colored pottery.”

Blue-and-White Porcelain Loved by People

Blue-and-white porcelain is a kind of porcelain with white porcelain as its base and blue underglaze designs. Its pattern is painted on the clay body and covered by the glaze， with cobalt metal as the coloring agent. This kind of porcelain is represented by the products made by Jingdezhen Kilns.

Cobalt metal was used for glaze color in the Tang Dynasty. In the glorious age of the Tang Dynasty， white-glazed blue porcelain emerged. In Song and Yuan dynasties， more cobalt materials were imported from West Asia， and blue-and-white porcelain developed rapidly. The emergence of the blue-and-white pattern is an epoch-making event. The blue pattern was painted on white porcelain， making it simple， elegant， and fresh， and giving full play to the porcelain. Thus， the porcelain is full of vitality. Free painting on the porcelain also provided a new design for master painters， making porcelain a beautiful artwork. Among the works handed down is the Bottle with Blue-and-White Pattern of Sea， Clouds， and Dragons collected by the British Museum. It was produced in the 11th year of Zhizheng in the Yuan Dynasty （1351 CE） and was early blue-and-white porcelain. In the early Ming Dynasty， the technique of making blue-and-white porcelain was further improved after the smalt glaze was imported from Southeast Asia. Blue-and-white porcelain embraced its peak time in the Yongle， Xuande， and Chenghua periods of the Ming Dynasty.

Imperial kilns were set up in Jingdezhen by emperors of the Ming Dynasty. The official kilns had their characteristics in Hongwu， Yongle， Xuande， Chenghua， Zhengde， Jiajing， Longqing and Wanli periods. Sweet white porcelain in the Yongle period， altar red porcelain in the Xuande period， clashing colored porcelain in the Chenghua period， and plain tricolor porcelain in the Zhengde period are all famous. The blue-and-white porcelain in the Xuande period reached its peak of blue-and-white porcelain. The official kiln of Xuande， also known as Xuan Kiln， was very dedicated to material selection， production， painting and inscription. Ruby is used as the raw material for altar red; utensils such as pots and bowls are made of cinnabar; the blue-and-white pattern is made of imported smalt. Thus， the color is rich and black crystal spots are found in the glaze. The National Museum of China has a Flat Bottle with the Blue-and-white Pattern of the Sea and Two Dragons from the Xuande Period of the Ming Dynasty. The bottle has a strange shape， a long neck， a flat and circular belly， and a flat bottom. The painter， extremely cultured， had a high artistic ability. The two white dragons gallop among stormy waves， majestic and magnificent. The blue and white colors match subtly， with strong expressive force. The Xuande Porcelain Bottle with the Blue-and-White Pattern of Bamboos， Stones， and Bananas in the collection is used as a wine bottle. The glaze is bright and smooth. In the picture， bamboo， stones and bananas are sketched with natural and smooth lines， which make a literati painting.

Porcelain unearthed from Xuande Official Kiln generally have inscriptions， such as “Made in Xuande of the Ming Dynasty.” Most characters are in imitation of Song-Dynasty-style typeface， which is meaningful and beautiful. Folk kilns across the country also made blue-and-white porcelain. Jingdezhen folk kilns produced blue-and-white porcelain with the inscription “Made in the Ming Dynasty.” The porcelain has various patterns and auspicious words such as “Tian Yong Jia Qi” （Good Ware of the Heaven）， “Wan Fu You Tong” （All Happiness and Good Luck）， etc. These porcelain wares were very popular with ordinary people. Blue-and-white porcelain became the mainstream of folk porcelain.