The Art History of Celadon

The Art History of Celadon

Wu Yuebin

Jiangsu Phoenix Fine Arts Publishing House

March 2022

120.00 （CNY）

The book composes the historical development of celadon in a chronological manner， outlines the development trajectory， artistic overview and aesthetic characteristics of celadon’s art， which allows readers to grasp the profound humanistic and historical heritage carried by celadon.

Primitive celadon is the most elementary stage of Chinese celadon， the earliest handmade porcelain created， produced， used and spread by humans. Celadon evolved over a long period of production from primitive pottery to primitive celadon， and its production， creation and evolution had a formative process from inferior to superior.

According to the historical materials unearthed by archaeologists in the Shang Dynasty， our ancestors in the creative practice of firing white pottery and hard pottery with imprinted designs， constantly improved the crafts of raw material selection and treatment， production process procedures， the technique of applying glaze and controlling firing temperature， etc. Primary porcelain that present bluish-green and brownish-yellow glazes after firing and are not highly vitrified， are called proto-porcelain or primitive celadon. The most elementary stage of primitive celadon is the transition stage of the pre-mature celadon of the Eastern Han Dynasty， and the semi-porcelain products during that period were called glazed pottery， hard wares， primitive porcelain， original porcelain， primitive celadon， etc. In this book， for the sake of uniformity in the expression of concepts and standardized understanding， these are referred to as primitive celadon. In the Eastern Han Dynasty， the primitive celadon was perfected before it evolved into a true full-fledged “celadon porcelain，” or “celadon” for short.

The process from pottery to porcelain is the process from unglazed to glazed， from mud color to cyan. This fundamental change and development greatly stimulated the pursuit of its production and creation， artistic taste， and economic value， further promoting the progress and development of ceramic craftsmanship. It also made it possible for ceramics to continue to accentuate artistic decoration and aesthetic quality， i.e.， the achievement of craft techniques， artistic taste and artistic style. Celadon art refers to the artistic styles held by celadon crafts， including the firing process used in the manufacturing of celadon and the glaze color， shape， decorative patterns， inscriptions and cultural connotations of the wares presented after firing. The creation of the original celadon art form and style can be traced back to the Xia Dynasty. Before the Xia Dynasty， Chinese society was in an age of ignorance.

Xia was the first nation with a slavery system established in Chinese history. The establishment of the slave state meant that Chinese society entered a relatively orderly period of history， and a social civilization with regulations， institutions and governance emerged. About 4，000 years ago， the Xia tribes living in the Central Plains region in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River had entered a class society from the primitive clan society， and established a primary slave nation headed by the Xia tribe， centering on the present-day western Henan and southern Jin， from which history entered the Xia-Shang-Zhou era. The Xia Dynasty lasted nearly 500 years， from the 21st century BCE to the 17th century BCE， creating a developed bronze civilization. The emergence of bronze culture and art marked the beginning of Chinese history from the barbaric period to the civilization stage. The Xia， Shang and Zhou dynasties together lasted for about 2，000 years. During that time， the artistic style and colored decoration of bronze wares had a direct impact on the primitive celadon art style born in the Shang Dynasty.

Developed on the basis of the Xia Dynasty， the Shang Dynasty not only refined the institutions and systems of slavery but also led to a major leap forward in society， economy and culture. Agricultural production in the Shang Dynasty had reached a high level and became an important production sector for social and economic development. Silkworm production also developed in the Shang Dynasty， as evidenced in the performance of arts and crafts： not only the words silkworm， mulberry and silk were commonly used in oracle inscriptions， but in the bronze art decoration， there were silkworm patterns with round heads， protruding eyes and wriggling bodies. Besides， some jade ornaments were carved in the shape of realistic jade silkworms. All of these reflect the prosperity of the silkworm industry at that time， and it served as a source for the later artistic decoration patterns of celadon. The wine-making industry was well-developed in the Shang Dynasty， and casting exquisite bronze ware and firing white pottery for wine ware became a promising business. There were more than 20 types of wine vessels in the Shang Dynasty， indicating that the Shang people had a passion for drinking wine.

The rise of the bronze casting industry is a symbol of the civilization of the Xia， Shang and Zhou dynasties. As a substitute for gold， silver and jade， which were scarce and difficult to smelt， bronze was called “gold” and had a very noble standing， available only to kings and nobles. Bronze wares were symbols of power and were mainly used in the clan temples and imperial courts， such as during rituals， and as eating utensils and weapons for the nobility. Bronze wares were often decorated with mysterious and intimidating artistic animal faces （such as Taotie）， signifying the majesty and mystery of divine power. Sometimes there are also human face patterns and artistic images of various animals， representing the worship of animals， and the spiritual embodiment of divine and royal power. From the development of bronze cooking utensils， there had been a classification of cooking utensils and eating utensils， gradually leaving traces of the pottery form. The artistic forms， styles and decorations were varied and played a direct role in the positioning of the artistic style and color orientation of the primitive celadon that appeared later.

If we say that pottery production before the Han Dynasty had made brilliant achievements and completed its historical mission， then for almost a thousand years since the Han Dynasty， porcelain production had become a huge stage for people to show their talents. And the center of this stage was in the Yue region south of the Yangtze River. The achievements of the Han Dynasty pottery manufacturing are mainly reflected in the restoration of primitive porcelain， which had been terminated during the Warring States Period， and low-temperature lead-glazed pottery， which was fired in the Western Han Dynasty. Through the process of gradual development from inferior to superior， with the hard work and practice of the ancestors of the Yue region， people finally succeeded in firing a truly mature porcelain， the celadon， in the Eastern Han Dynasty. From primitive pottery to primitive celadon to mature celadon， from raw to sophisticated， this is a great invention in Chinese history and even world history， a highlight of traditional Chinese culture and art.

Wu Yuebin

Professor and master’s supervisor at the College of Fine Arts and Design of Yangzhou University， part-time master’s supervisor at Jingdezhen Ceramic University in Jiangxi， and director of the Institute of Ceramic Art of Yangzhou University， Wu Yuebin is an expert in the evaluation of art of the National Social Science Fund， a member of the Professional Committee of Aesthetic Education at the China Association of Higher Education.