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A Brief Recipe Book for CHINESE CERAMICS

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CHINESE
CERAMICS
Introduction:

Chinese ceramics is a form of fine art developed in China during the dynastic periods. China has always
been richly gifted with the raw materials needed for making ceramics. Chinese Ceramics range from
construction materials such as bricks and tiles to hand-built pottery vessels fired in bonfires or kilns to the
sophisticated porcelain wares made for the imperial court. The first types of pottery were made about
11,000 years ago, during the Paleolithic era.[1] Porcelain is usually green-fired or once-fired, which means
that the body and the glaze are fired together. After the body of a piece is formed and finished, it is dried,
coated with a glaze, dried again and fired at very high temperatures which cause the material to vitrify.

Chinese ceramics, even of the finest quality, were made on an industrial scale, thus few names of specific
potters were documented. Many of the most important kiln workshops were owned by or held in reserve
for the Emperor, and large numbers of ceramics were exported as diplomatic gifts or for trade from an
early date, initially to East Asia and the Islamic world, and then from around the 16th century to Europe.
Chinese ceramics have had a huge influence on other ceramic traditions in these areas. Increasingly over
their long history, Chinese ceramics can be classified between those made for the imperial court, either
to use or distribute, those made for a selective Chinese market, and those for popular Chinese markets or
for export. Some types of wares were also made only or mainly for special uses such as burial in tombs,
or for use on altars.

In this text, we are not interested in the history of ceramics rather in the technical development of
ceramics and China played an important role in developing technological advancement which interests us
most. So, we will try to dive in the area of Chinese role in the development of ceramics technologies. In
doing so, we will give some brief technical information of ceramics, it’s raw materials, processes so that
we can understand how all these ingredients play their role in creating such art pieces. Then, we will
discuss historical development of Chinese ceramics test and technology, not to discuss history rather to
develop a road map of the technological developments. After that we will classify the Chinese ceramics
and briefly discuss their characteristics to develop an attraction towards them. Finally, we will discuss four
historic Chinese wares in detail from raw materials to their production process to truly understand the
science laying beneath them.
Ceramics: Raw materials and Processes

General Raw Materials

The raw material base of the ceramics industry is widespread and ranges from mineral products and ores
to highly refined chemicals, including those used as processing additives. These materials are used in
traditional industries such as building products, whitewares, and refractories as well as in high-technology
industries such as electronics.

The raw materials used as constituents in ceramics all have their primary origin in nature. Some raw
materials are merged into ceramic products in their natural form, while others require treatment and
processing prior to use. In general, raw materials for large-tonnage products (e.g., brick, concrete,
earthenware, refractories, etc.) receive little or no initial processing, while those for low-tonnage ceramic
products (e.g., ceramics used for electronic components, ceramic cutting tools, and optical glass) receive
extensive beneficiation. This is a consequence of both economic considerations and property
requirements. The trend today is toward supplementary processing of all raw materials, even for large-
tonnage applications, because more restrictive and narrow specification requirements are being applied
to the properties of ceramic products and because the best natural deposits are being gradually
exhausted.

It is convenient, though admittedly arbitrary, to divide ceramics body materials into three groups,
distinguished by the distinctive physical characteristics that fulfil the functional requirements.

1. Plastic materials. In the first class are those materials that assist in the forming process. This may
take the form of plastic working, slip casting, extrusion, or powder pressing. In all cases certain basic
needs have to be satisfied. The material must deform easily and without rupture. When deformed it
must retain the imposed shape, and have sufficient strength in the unfired state to withstand handling
and other subsequent processes. These characteristics are present to an optimum degree in clay, a
hydrated aluminum silicate, so that all ceramics produced in bulk on a commercial scale contains a
substantial proportion of clay of one kind or another. Some products, indeed, are made wholly from
clay, but the great majority of products have other materials in combination with clay. Besides clays,
other plastic material commonly used is talk, a hydrated magnesium silicate.

2. Fluxes. The second component is usually a material known as flux. The function of the flux is partially
to melt, and react with other materials during the firing to aid viscous liquid formation, and to produce
 a glassy matrix, which increases the strength of the fired product. Any material that promotes fusion
is generally considered a flux. For clay-based bodies, however, the most common flux is feldspar. The
term feldspar covers a number of alkali or alkaline earth aluminum silicates (i.e. anhydrous aluminum
silicate with Na, K, Ca or Li). Some other fluxes are nepheline syenite (a mixture of soda and potash
feldspar), Cornish stone (or, china stone) and volcanic ash.

3. Fillers. The remainder of the composition is made up by the inclusion of a relatively non-plastic and
non-reactive material. This provides a rigid component to aid in forming and firing, but may also
confer some very important physical properties, such as thermal expansion of the fired body. Silica is
the dominant fillers in ceramics. The common sources of silica are quartz rock, sandstone, quartzite,
silica sand and flint. Some other important fillers include calcined clay, alumina, limestone (also known
as whiting), wollastonite (CaO.SiO2), and bone ash (4Ca3(PO4)2. CaCO3).

Besides the body system materials (i.e. clay, feldspar and quartz), two other systems materials are used
in ceramics. These are glazing systems and decoration and color systems.

Glaze systems: The Glaze systems are based on glass-forming systems, opacifiers (to impart opaqueness),
and glaze colors. In addition to clays and minerals, glaze systems include zinc oxide, barium carbonate,
calcium carbonate, zircon and zircon-based compounds, ceramic pigments, lead compounds, and a variety
of frits, glasses that render soluble and toxic materials harmless and, in addition, help the appearance of
the glaze by the "prefusion" of these materials. Glaze oxides such as soda, potash, calcia, lithia, strontia,
boric oxide, and so on either are glass formers themselves or act as modifiers for the silica lattice in the
glaze. They are expressed to develop the desired maturing temperature and properties of the glaze, such
as thermal expansion and hardness.

Decoration and color systems: These are used, in addition to fulfilling certain other functional
requirements, to provide customer appeal by improving the artistic value of ceramics resulting from
attractive design and color. The materials to be used must be chemically and physically compatible with
the substrate and the glaze during high-temperature firing, and they must also be resistant to normal
treatment by end users.

Typical raw materials for the whiteware industry is shown in Table 1.1.
Table 1.1. Composition and physical properties of raw materials used for whiteware applications.

Raw
Composition Typical properties of fired ware
material
Bone ash, china clay, Pure white, translucent, high strength,
Bone china
quartz, feldspars zero water absorption
Pure white, bluish, or off white;
China clay, feldspars,
Porcelain translucent; high strength; zero water
quartz
absorption
Quartz, ball clay, china Off white, good physical and chemical
Hotel ware
clay, feldspars durability, zero water absorption
Body
materials Quartz/flint, china clay, Ivory to pure white, lower strength,
Earthenware
ball clay, feldspars water absorption 4 to 8%
China clay, ball clay, fire Transparent to opaque, colored or
Sanitaryware clay, quartz, feldspars, colorless, glossy, matte, vellum, or
nepheline syenite textured
Ball clay, fire clay, Transparent to opaque, colored or
Wall/floor tiles quartz, feldspars, colorless, glossy, matte, vellum or
limestone textured
<1150 °C: Quartz, sodium borate, boric acid, limestone, feldspars, china clay, lead
oxides, zircon, zinc oxide, alkali metal, carbonates, and nitrates
Glazes
>1150 °C: Feldspars, quartz, clays, nepheline syenite, limestone, dolomite, zinc oxide,
zircon
Zircon-based Zirconia, quartz
Spinel-based
Pigments or oxide Iron, chromium, zinc, nickel, copper oxides or compounds
colorants
Sphine-based Quartz, limestone, tin oxide
General Overview of the Process
History of Chinese Ceramics

Development of Chinese ceramic was a historical event as every big event of her history shaped the type,
taste, technology of the ceramics found around those timelines. Historians have described Chinese history
as dynasties which is merely a way of saying the ruling time of one particular emperor or ruling parties of
emperors. The brief flow of history is shown in the demo graphs below.[2]

Neolithic

1 2

3 4
5 6

7 8

9 10

11 12
But we are not interested in history, rather we are interested in the historical periods during which
Chinese ceramics developed and got to its current reputation.

Important specific types of pottery, many coming from more than one period, are dealt with individually
in sections lower down.[3]

Neolithic

This is during the early human history. This is the history of cave man learning to shape clay for their daily
uses and to say last good bay to their dead. Their pottery developed from being simple to artistic and
sophisticated. This period is divided into many cultures mainly based on growing cults in different
geographical lands. They are described briefly along with their practices of pottery.

Pottery dating from 20,000 years ago was originated at the Xianrendong Cave site, in Jiangxi province,
making it among the earliest pottery yet found.

The painted pottery of the Majiayao culture, in the upper Yellow River region in Gansu and Qinghai, has
strong reginal character. Effortlessly painted linear designs give a lively effect. Archaeologists differentiate
four chorological subphases in the pottery of the Majiayao culture: Shiligxia, Majiayao, Banshan and
Machang.

The Songze culture, named after a village in Qingpu county, Shanghai, is a Neolithic culture of the region
south of the lower Yangtze River. It has a red sandy earthenware and a grayish-black earthenware with
less sand and more clay. Shapes are varied and decorative techniques include modelling, impressing,
painting and openwork. The most typical design is a carved and incised weave pattern.

The Liangzu culture is named after the village in Yuhang county, Zhejiang province, where it was first
discovered in 1936. Its spreading covers Shanghai and nearby parts of Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces. Its

Figure 1: Painted jar of the Majiayao culture

Late Neolithic period (3300-2200 BC)

pottery has a number of exceptional shapes. The body typically is gray clay with a black coating and a
smooth surface. A few pots have finely carved designs.

Yangshao is the most important

Neolithic culture in the middle reaches
of the Yellow River valley. Banpo,
Miaodigou and Xiwangcun are
chronological subdivisions of the
Yangshao culture with different pottery
types and different pottery-making
techniques.

The Dawenkou culture and the

Longshan culture have a different
geographic distribution from the Figure 2: PAINTED Bo-SHAPED POTTERY

Yangshao culture. Their pottery is richly Ding (TRIPOT)

diverse and technically sophisticated. early Dawenkou Culture, 4300 ~ 3500 B.C.
The so-called black pottery is particularly
outstanding in workmanship.

SHANG Dynasty

Pottery during this period is in the development phase. Potteries found in this period is not polished and
decorated.

Figure 3: CELADON Zun (WINE VESSEL)

With String Pattern

Shang, 16th ~ 11th century B.C.

QIN Dynasty

Mass production of ceramics stared during this period. Tara quota Warrior is the historical identity of
this period.

Figure 4: Tara Quota Warriors, Qin Dynasty

HAN Dynasty

Sophistication in shapes and forms marks this

period. Most of the ceramics pieces during this
period is ritual pieces which are found buried in
tombs.

Figure 5: Men on horses, HAN Period

Three Kingdoms, Jin & Sui

Decorative pieces are common in this period specially poly-chrome pieces painted with enamels. But
some simple but well-crafted and well-glazed pieces of art are also produced during this period which
began to take place in the collection of Emperor.

Figure 6: Seated Buddha with multicolor glazes

Cizhou Ware

Central Plains, Ming dynasty, stoneware

Figure 7: A straw-glazed pottery figure

of a Female equestrienne

Sui dynasty (AD 581 -618)

SONG Dynasty

The pottery of the Song dynasty has retained huge status in Chinese tradition, especially that of what later
became known as the “Five Great Kilns”. The artistic importance of Song pottery was on subtle glaze
effects and graceful shapes; decoration was mostly in shallow relief.

The least understood of the five famous Song porcelains is Ge Ware. Examples passed down to the present
might date from late Southern Song or Yuan (13th or 14th century). The so-called millet glaze is distinctive,
but grayish-green glazes with crackles also occur. A glaze with large black crackles and yellow crackles is
called Jinsitiexian (“gold thread and iron wire”).[1]

Figure 8: FOOTED BOWL, PORCELAIN

GE WARE

SONG, 1127-1279 CE

Green ware or celadons were popular, both in China and in

export markets, which became increasingly important during the
period.

Figure 9: CELADON Zhong-Shaped Vase

LONGQUAN WARE

Southern Song, A.D. 1127 ~ 1279

White and black wares were also important, especially in Cizhou ware, and there were polychrome types,
but the finer types of ceramics for the court and the intellects, remained monochrome, relying on glaze
effects and shape. A wide variety of styles evolved in various areas, and those that were successful were
copied in other areas. Important kiln sites and stoneware styles included Ru, Jun, Southern Song Guan or
official ware, Jian and Jizhou.

Figure 10: MOON-WHITE GLAZED Figure 11: BOWL WITH PAPER-CUT

Zun (Vase) With Protruded Ridges PHOENIX DESIGN
JUN WARE JIZHOU WARE
Northern Song, A.D. 960 ~ 1127 Song, A.D. 960 ~ 1279

Whitish porcelain continued to be improved, and included the continuation of Ding ware and the arrival
of the Qingbai which would replace it.

Figure 12: DING WARE

Song Dynasty
TANG Dynasty

The polychrome-glazed pottery of the Tang dynasty signifies a histrionic advance in ceramic production.
The porcelain industry also experienced a rapid development in this period and in the following Five
Dynasties period, a development encouraged by competition between the south and the north. The Yue-
ware celadon of the south and the Xing ware white porcelain of the north were the highest
accomplishments of the two regions.

The polychrome-glazed pottery of the Tang dynasty, called Tang sancai (Three Color), is made of white
clay coated with a layer of glaze and fired at a temperature of 800 degrees Celsius.[4] Lead oxide served
to flux the glaze, and the coloring agents were copper, iron, manganese and cobalt. The most familiar
examples of Tang sancai pottery are animated figurines of people and animals. [1]

Figure 12: POLYCHROME GLAZED

POTTERY FIGURINE OF MAN LEADING
A CAMEL

Indication of newly created trade way

the “Silk Road”

Tang, A.D. 618 ~ 907

Figure 13: YELLOW GLAZED POTTERY

TRI-FOOTED CENSER WITH UNDERGLAZE BLUE DOTS

Early use of Blue underglaze by using cobalt

imported from Persia, indication of new trade routes

Tang, A.D. 618 ~ 907

YUAN Dynasty

The Mongol Yuan dynasty imposed the movement of artists of all kinds all over the Mongol Empire, which
in ceramics brought a major artistic and technical influence from the Islamic world in the form of blue and
white porcelain, with underglaze painting in cobalt. This has been described as the "last great innovation
in ceramic technology".[1]

Figure 14: Early blue and white porcelain

c. 1335

The shape from Islamic Metalwork

Figure 13: JAR WITH UNDERGLAZE BLUE DESIGN

OF INTERLACED PEONIES

JINGDEZHEN WARE

Yuan, A.D. 1271 ~ 1368

MING Dynasty

Kilns at Jingdezhen, in Jiangxi Province, and in the neighboring area, had formed a most vital center of
manufacture during the Yuan dynasty. This ceramic capital became paramount in the Ming era,
overwhelming all other kiln complexes, as it has continued to do until the present day.

Jingdezhen porcelains of the Xuande reign (1426-1435) include underglaze blue, underglaze red and
monochrome red, blue and white. As in the Yongle reign, underglaze blue was made with the imported
cobalt pigment called smalt, which yields a sapphire blue speckled with black dots because of its high iron
content. Prior to this the cobalt had been excellent in color, but with a tendency to bleed in firing; by
adding manganese the color was duller, but the line sharper. A very rare, precisely made Xuande ware
called wucai (five colors) is decorated in a brightly colored underglaze blue and polychrome overglaze.

Figure 16: BLUE GLAZED BOWL WITH

CARVED DRAGON DESIGN

JINGDEZHEN WARE

Jiajing Reign (A.D. 1522 ~ 1566), Ming

Figure 17: Goldfish Vase from the Jiajing period

Ming Dynasty, A.D. 1521 ~ 1567

QING Dynasty

Porcelains of the Qing dynasty provide a stunning grand finale to the procession of Chinese ceramics that
began well over eight thousand years before. Final improvement of ceramics pottery happened during
this period. They got the full control over their glazes, so to say the artists could put the glaze where he
wanted.

From a technical point of view Jingdezhen reached its highest level of achievement in the Qianlong reign.
It produced porcelains replicating objects in other materials such as gold, silver, stone, lacquer, mother-
of -pearl, bamboo, gourd, wood, jade and bronze. Other technical tours de force include openwork and
nested objects with freely revolving inner parts. Life like ceramics is executed in great accurate details.

Figure 18: Various Ceramic Pieces

imitating other Materials such as
Metals, Lacquer, Stone etc.

Qing Period

Figure 19: CELADON COVERED BOWL WITH

VEILED AND GOLD TRACED DESIGN AND A TEA-
DUST GLAZED STAND

JINGDEZHEN WARE

Qianlong Reign (A.D. 1736 ~ 1795), Qing

Classification of Chinese Ware

Chinese ceramics are classified based on the techniques used for forming, shaping, glazing, firing and
painting. A particular group of ceramics produced in a certain kiln site can also become a class of ceramics.
The types also contain some subtypes. Sometimes the differences are not clear. Such alterations are
understandable if one remembers that the production of early Chinese ceramics was not standardized.
These wares are the products of a countless number of people, who worked at an enormous number of
kilns dispersed over a vast territory, over a very long period of time. Overall, the classification is
summarized below and some brief features are discussed later.

Type of
Definition Example
Ware
Low fired pottery made from common clay to
which a proportion of other materials may be
added to achieve good working and firing
properties. Earthenware is porous and permeable;
Earthenware
in color, it may range from light buff to tan, red,
brown, or black, depending on the clay and firing
conditions. Earthenware are usually fired between Earthenware vase, Eastern Zhou, 4th
– 3rd century
about 6oo° C. and 1100° C.
Vitrified, high fired pottery made of clay to which
a proportion of other materials may be added to
achieve good working and firing properties.
Stoneware Stoneware is fired in excess of about I200° C. It is
dense, hard, resonant when struck, and
impervious to liquid; it may be light or dark in Inscribed Yixing teapot, Qing

color, but it is not translucent. dynasty, c. 1800–1835, stoneware

 Pottery that is superior to the average stoneware;
Porcelaneous while it approaches the quality of "true" porcelain,
ware it does not have all of the characteristics of "true"
porcelain in the Western sense.

High fired pottery that, by Western standards, is

hard, dense, resonant when struck, impervious to
Porcelain
liquid, white, and translucent. Porcelain is fired at
a temperature in excess of about 1250° C.
Ding ware porcelain dish with
transparent glaze and carved
decoration, 11th early to 12th
century

Pottery classified as stoneware in the West is usually regarded as porcelain

in Chinese terms, where a stoneware group is not recognized, and so the
definition of porcelain is rather different, covering all vitrified high fired
wares. Terms such as "porcelaneous" and "near porcelain" are often used to
reflect this, and cover wares that in Western terms lie on the border of

Clarify stoneware and porcelain. High fired stone wares were numerous from very
early on, and included many high prestige wares, including those for imperial
use, as well as great quantities of everyday utilitarian pots. Usually they
achieved their reputation by their glazes. Most of the celadon group,
including Longquan celadons, especially earlier ones, can be classified as
stoneware, and all classic Jian wares and Jizhou wares.
 Classification of Wares

Class Sub-class Starting Period

Celadon Wares Yue Ware Han, Tang
Yaozhou Ware Han
Northern Celadons ,,
Ru Ware Han, Song
Guan Ware ,,
Longquan Celadon Han
“Ge” Ware - Song
Cizhou Ware - Jin, Song
Jun Ware - Song
Jian Ware - ,,
Jizhou Ware - ,,
Ding Ware - ,,
Qingbai Ware - ,,
Xing Ware - Tang
Sancai - ,,
Blue & White Ware - Yuan
Xuande (wucai) Ware - Ming
Blanc de China - ,,
Famille Group Famille Verte Kangxi period
Famille Jaune ,,
Famille Noire ,,
Famille Rose ,,
Jingdezhen Ware - Song, Yuan
Celadon:

Celadon glazes are High, fired green glazes, which take their color from small amounts of iron-and
generally titanium-oxides and are fired in a reducing atmosphere are usually called celadon glazes in the
West. The term “celadon” is thought to stem from a seventeenth, century French play, “L’ Astree” in which
a character named Celadon was decorated in grayish green. Compared with those of later date, the
Eastern Han celadons are somewhat undeveloped in quality; however, they were the all, important
parents of a tradition of celadon glazed ceramics that would become one of China's proudest
achievements.

Figure 20: A Han Celadon Pot with

Mountain-shaped lid and animal designs

Yue Ware:

A case in point is the large body of celadon glazed stone wares known as Yue ware. The name Yue has
been linked with the modern Zhejiang Province since at least as early as the Warring States period, when
the state of Yue was the major power in the area. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the modern Shaoxing,
which is in northern Zhejiang Province, was an administrative capital known as Yuezhou. "Yue ware" give
the impression several times in Tang dynasty literature, and it is quite possible that Yuezhou, the center
of one of the areas where this pottery was made, gave its name to the Tang dynasty wares. Today,
although there is some disagreement as to how precisely it should be applied, many people use the all,
encompassing name of Yue to describe a large body of stone wares produced from the Eastern Han period
into the Song era in numerous kilns in northern Zhejiang and southern Jiangsu provinces.
 Figure 21: BOWL. Stoneware with carved and
incised design under celadon glaze.

Five Dynasties, 10th century. Yue ware.

Yaozhou Ware:

Figure 22: Yaozhou ware

Celadon Bowl, 10th-11th century

Northern Celadons:

While a great many Northern celadons can be credited to the Northern Song period, there are quite a few
that differ in shape and design and most likely are products of kilns that continued to operate after the
Jurchen established their Jin dynasty in the area. Certain features seen in some other Northern celadon
pieces suggest that they may have been manufactured even later, probably during the earlier years of the
Mongol occupation of northern China.

Archaeological finds at the Yaozhou kilns of Shaanxi Province have shown that the manufacture of
Northern celadon wares probably continued in this area for a little while under the Mongol occupation.

Ru Ware:

According to old literary sources, the very special Ru wares were specifically manufactured for court use.
They were made over a period of about twenty years, during the end of the eleventh and the beginning
of the twelfth century, at kilns in Ruzhou, the modern Linruxian, Henan Province. The traditional
description of Ru ware is known, but they are exceptionally rare: there are less than forty examples in the
West. While they are closely related to the Jun family, these wares have several characteristics that set
them apart from other Song products. The potting is quite fine, and there often are three or more
characteristic, small oval spur marks, which have been likened to sesame seeds, on the base. A beautiful
smooth glaze is greenish blue in tone, and while it may be uncrazed, it usually shows faint crazing or a
peculiarly "flaky" quality that look a lot like cracked ice.

Figure 23: Ru Ware Bowl Stand

Chinese, Early 12th Century

Buff stoneware, with crackled light bluish green

glaze and a copper edge

Guan Ware:

Guan ware, literally means "official" ware; socertain Ru, Jun, and even Ding are Guan in the broad sense
of being produced for the court. Usually the term in English only applies to that produced by an official,
imperially run kiln.

Products of at least two different kilns make up the family of stone wares known as Hangzhou Guan
("official") wares. According to old Chinese texts, after remains of the Northern Song court moved south
and established the new Southern Song capital at Linan, the modern Hangzhou, in Zhejiang Province,
wares for the selective use of the court were manufactured on orders of the Xiuneisi, the Palace Works
Department, in the "back park" of the palace grounds, close to the Phoenix Hill. Ceramic remains have
been found near the place where the kilns are said to have been situated; however, identification of these
fragments as the Xiuneisi Guan has been disputed.

Figure 24: DISH. Stoneware with crackled blue glaze.

Southern Song dynasty, 12th-13th century.

Hangzhou Guan ware.

Longquan Celadon:

By the time the Song dynasty was well-known in the south in the twelfth century and its capital, Linan,
the modern Hangzhou, had become the center of China's cultural events, there was a standing tradition
of celadon wares at the Longquan kilns. This legacy was carried to a superb realization under the Southern
Song. It is quite probable that the court extended its support beyond the local kilns at Hangzhou to those
in the Longquan area, and that with this new backing, Longquan potters rapidly developed and refined
their wares. Few ceramics are likely to arouse as much appreciation as the finest Longquan celadons: they
have stylish, simple, and well-proportioned forms covered in a wide range of thick, smooth, glossy green
glazes that look and feel like polished jade.

Figure 25: PLATE. Porcelaneous ware with incised decoration

Early Ming dynasty, late 14th-early 15th century.

Longquan ware.
“Ge” Ware:

There is a legend concerning two brothers from the Zhang family who had potteries at Liutian, the present
Dayao, in Zhejiang Province. The older brother is said to have made celadon wares with a crackled glaze.
Some writers today use “Ge'' ("elder brother") to refer to almost all Southern Song crackled celadon
wares; however, in as much as these "Ge'' ware kilns have not yet been located, this generic usage is
disputed.

Figure 26: Ge type vase

with "gold thread and iron wire"

double crackle

Cizhou Ware:

Cizhou wares of Yuan date can be recommended for their particularly robust qualities. One group,
represented by a bottle, is decorated with dynamically carved patterns that have been cut through the
thick brownish or blackish glaze to a buff colored body underneath. For the most part, this type of cut,
glaze decoration is associated with kilns in Shanxi Province. While most Westerners date these stone
wares to the Yuan period, many Chinese authorities attribute them to the Jin era.

Figure 27: A glazed stoneware pillow

Song dynasty

Cizhou ware
Jun Ware:

Several types of stone wares with thick, opalescent, light blue glazes, which were primarily made in Henan
Province from the Northern Song period onward, are called Jun ware for kilns that were in an area once
known as Junzhou. Jun wares vary extensively in quality: there are many differences in the character of
the potting, bodies, and glazes. These stone wares were produced at quite a few kiln complexes, the most
important of which seem to have been in Linruxian and Yuxian, Henan Province.

Figure 28: Jun ware bowl

Liquid - liquid phase separation.

Jian Ware:

Jian Zhan black wares, mainly comprising tea wares, were made at kilns located in Jianyang, Fujian
province. They reached the peak of their admiration during the Song dynasty. The wares were made using
locally won, iron rich clay sand fired in an oxidizing atmosphere at temperatures in the region of 1,300 °C
(2,370 °F). The glaze was made using clay similar to that used for forming the body, except fluxed with
wood ash. At high temperatures the molten glaze separates
to produce a pattern called "hare's fur". When Jian wares
were set tilted for firing, drips run down the side, creating
evidence of liquid glaze pooling. Jian tea wares of the Song
dynasty were also greatly valued and copied in Japan, where
they were known as tenmoku wares.

Jizhou Ware:

According to current archaeological reports, production at Figure 29: Tea bowls in stoneware
the Jizhou kiln complexes at Yonghezhen, in Jiangxi Province,
12th to 13th century.
peaked during the Southern Song period; however, some
Left Jizhou ware, right Jian ware
ceramics were manufactured at these kilns when they were
under Mongol rule.
Ding Ware:

The many high fired white porcelains known as Ding ware are among the finest of all Song ceramics. These
stunningly potted vessels may be quite simple, but they often carry well executed, freely flowing, carved,
combed, or carved designs that reflect, or even characterize, the Song fondness for unremarkable
decoration. Toward the end of the Northern Song period, mold impressed designs were introduced; these
were to become progressively popular during the Jin era.

Figure 30: White Glazed Ding Ware Bowl

with Incised Design

Northern Song dynasty (11th–12th Century)

Qingbai Ware:

Qingbai wares (also called 'Yingqing') were made at Jingdezhen and at many other southern kilns from the
time of the Northern Song dynasty until they were eclipsed in the 14th century by underglaze decorated
blue and white wares. Qingbai in Chinese literally means "clear blue white". The qingbai glaze is a
porcelain glaze, so called because it was made using pottery stone. The qingbai glaze is clear, but contains
iron in small amounts. When applied over a white porcelain body the glaze produces a greenish blue color
that gives the glaze its name. Some have carved or formed decorations.

Figure 31: Qingbai bowl

Song dynasty
Xing Ware:

Tang white wares have been found at kiln sites in several northern Chinese provinces; the two most
notable sites are in Hebei Province. Chinese authorities consider those found in 1980-81 at Qicun in
Linchengxian to be the earlier of the two. They classify products of these kilns as the famous Xing ware
described in the Chajing, an essay on tea written in the eighth century. White wares were found in a late
Tang stratum at the Ding kiln complexes in Jiancicun, Quyangxian, in the early 1960s. These were the signs
of the classic Ding wares of the Song dynasty.

Sancai:

There are rich polychrome glazes, generally called sancai ("three-color”) glazes, although the types are
not strictly limited to that number in an extensive list of elaborate patterns. Frequently the designs were
impressed into the clay while it was still damp, and these intaglio lines served to hide the colored glazes.
These sancai glazes seem to have found their fullest expression when applied in either random mottles or
specific arrangements, without the restraint of guidelines, and allowed to flow at will in the heat of the
kiln. Despite their huge variety, the uninhibited designs created with combinations of two or more-colored
glazes in Tang sancai were almost consistently governed by a native good taste that kept the design
appropriate to the object it adorned.

Figure 32: A rounded ceramic plate

with Sancai "three colors" glaze

8th century
Blue & White Ware:

Following in the tradition of earlier qingbai porcelains, blue and white wares are glazed using a transparent
porcelain glaze. The blue decoration is painted onto the body of the porcelain before glazing, using very
finely ground cobalt oxide mixed with water. After the decoration has been applied the pieces are glazed
and fired.

Figure 33: Blue and white porcelain tea caddy

Kangxi period (1662 to 1722)

Xuande (wucai) Ware:[5]

An important innovation of the Jiajing period, the so called wucai (" five color “) decoration, was one of
the last major additions to the lexicon of decorative techniques that were developed during the Ming
dynasty. Despite its name, the number of colors in wucai decoration is not strictly limited to five. Wucai,
like doucai is a combination of underglaze blue and overglaze
polychrome enamels. However, where the soft underglaze blue of
doucai was primarily used for delicate outlines that lay the groundwork
for stylish little washes of pale enamel colors, the dark blue of wucai
was applied in bold washes to balance vigorous splashes of strong
overglaze colors, and outlining was Figure 34: Wucai Porcelain vase
from the reign of the Jiajing
mostly done in overglaze red, brown,
Emperor (1521–1567)
or black.
Blanc de China:[1]

Blanc de Chine is a type of white porcelain made at Dehua in Fujian province. It has been produced from
the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) to the present day. Large quantities arrived in Europe as Chinese Export
Porcelain in the early 18th century and it was copied at Meissen and elsewhere.

Figure 35: Blanc de China

Statue of Guan Yin, Ming dynasty

Famille Groups:[1]

Commonly used French terms for 'families', or palettes of enamel colors used on Chinese porcelain.
Famille jaune, noire, rose, verte are terms used to classify Chinese porcelain by the dominant element in
its color palette.

Famille verte: Adopted in the Kangxi period (1662–1722), uses

green and iron red with other overglaze colors. It developed from
the Wucai ("Five colors") style.

Figure 36: Famille verte dish, Kangxi period.

Famille jaune: It is a variation using famille verte enamels on a yellow ground.

Famille noire (Modi susancai): It uses a black ground (although some clobbered wares had the black
added in the 19th century).

Famille rose: Famille rose (known in Chinese as Fencai) or Ruancai (simplified), meaning 'soft colors', and
later as Yangcai, meaning 'foreign colors' was introduced during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor (1654–
1722), possibly around 1720. It used mainly pink or purple and remained popular throughout the 18th
and the 19th centuries, also being widely adopted by European factories.

Famille rose enamel ware allows a greater range of color and tone than was previously possible, enabling
the illustration of more complex images, including flowers, figures and insects.

Figure 37: Jingdezhen soft paste porcelain flower holder

"Famille rose", 1736–1796, Qianlong period

Jingdezhen Wares:

The late Southern Song/early Yuan period was a productive era for experiment and innovation at kilns in
the locality of Jingdezhen, in the administrative area of Raozhou, in Jiangxi Province. During this time,
potters not only added a spate of new kinds of decoration to their collection but also changed the raw
materials they used to manufacture their porcelains. While the wares produced during this period will be
considered under the separate categories of Qinghai, shufu, blue and white, red-and-white, and brown-
and-white, it should be noted that these five types of porcelain are closely related to one another. Many
objects combine two or more distinguishing characteristics of several wares, and the repeated appearance
of the same design components usually treated in a uniform way-among the five groups of wares further
illustrates the interrelationship. Although the Jingdezhen kilns may be considered the principal source of
these porcelains, excavations have shown that some of these types were also produced at kiln complexes
in other areas.
How It’s Made

General Overview[6]

Materials Collection & Preparation:

The city of Jingdezhen China in southeastern China supplied porcelain to the Emperors of China for more
than 500 years. Porcelain clay is mixed from two local materials China stone and kaolin. China stone is a
granitic rock whose Chinese name means white bricks. At mills on the riverbanks water-powered wooden
pistols crushed the rock into a fine powder. The powder is mixed with water in large tanks cleaned of
impurities and formed into bricks. The white clay known as Kaolin comes from Gaoling mountain. Teams
of miners dig the kaolin and process it in a manner similar to that used for china stone. In Jingdezhen
workshops the China stone and Kaolin are pulverized again and mixed together with water. Cleaned then
left to dry until the porcelain clay is the correct consistency. Workers need the porcelain clay by foot and
by hand until it is smooth and pliable and ready to be shaped.
Forming & Shaping:

Large pieces require a team of potters to shape them. Years of practice lie behind the potters seemingly
effortless transformation of the clay into vessel shapes. Other artists shave millimeters of clay from the
sides and rims of the partly dried vessels using specialized tools. They also carve bases or foot rings from
the flat bottoms after drying completely. The pieces are ready for decoration.
Decoration or Glazing:

At Jingdezhen most porcelains are decorated with designs painted directly on the hard clay with cobalt
which turns blue after glazing and firing. The colorless glaze is mixed from China stone, burnt limestone
and water. Specialists apply glaze to small pieces by dipping them directly into the VAT of glaze. Larger
pieces are glazed by blowing the solution onto the piece through a tube that has a fine mesh on one end.
This technique produces a thin even layer of glaze. After firing the glaze will form a glassy coating that
protects the surface and adds a beautiful luster. After the pieces have been glazed, they are prepared for
firing.
Firing:

Thick walled containers made of coarse clay called saggers protect the porcelains during firing. Firing takes
place in a huge kiln built of bricks. Workers pile up towers of saggers inside the kiln in a carefully pre-
arranged order. Once the saggers are in place, the entrance to the kiln is sealed with bricks. Workers
continuously feed firewood into the kiln as the temperature slowly climbs to 1250 degrees centigrade.
Workers at the Imperial kiln did not have any mechanical devices to measure temperature. The kiln
specialist gauged the temperature by watching the flames gradually turn from red to bluish white. There
was little room for error and the success of the entire process depended on a proper firing. Prayers were
offered to the kiln God before the firing began. The kiln is allowed to cool somewhat before it is empty.
Some porcelains are complete at this point but others receive additional decoration.
Technical Developments of Kilns:

Kiln technology is vital for the development of pottery. Before 2000 BC Chinese developed kilns that were
capable of firing at around 1000 oC. These kilns were built under ground and updraft type of kiln. Two
main kilns were built around 200 AD & continued to use until modern days. One is dragon kilns of hilly
southern china. It was fired by wood, long and thin and running up a slope, and the horse shoe shaped
mantou kiln of the north Chinese grasslands, smaller and more compact. Both could consistently produce
the temperatures of up to 1300 °C or more needed for porcelain. In the late Ming, the egg-shaped kiln or
“zhenyao” was developed at Jingdezhen, but mainly used there.

Overglaze Decoration:

A second firing at a low temperature in a small kiln melts the enamels and fixes them on the porcelain. In
the past workshops’ supervisors selected only perfect pieces to be sent to the imperial court even today
pieces that do not stand up to the harsh inspection are immediately destroyed.
Majiayao Painted Jar[7]

China has one of the world's oldest continuous civilizations in spite of many invasions and periods of
foreign rule. All three types of ceramic ware have been produced in China: Earthenware, Stoneware and
Porcelain, with the Chinese attributed with the earliest stoneware and porcelain. Their earliest pottery,
dating to 8000 BCE was earthenware as in other parts of the world. One of the most noteworthy of the
early Chinese pottery traditions can be found in the Yellow River valley area known as Gansu, and this
pottery dates from 3000-1500 BCE. It is formed from a reddish-brown clay, and shows several
characteristics in common with Neolithic pottery from the Middle East: it is all coil built and polychrome
slip painted with geometric designs in a palette of red, black and brown.

Preparing the Clay:

Almost all MJYP painted pottery vessels are made of very fine paste without any tempering material
observable to the naked eye. Figure 38 presents microscopic images of broken profile edges of three MJYP
painted specimens from three sites. The first two examples with a very fine paste texture characterize
typical MJYP painted pottery; they are respectively from the Linjia site and the Zongri site. The third
example with a slightly coarser paste texture is an exceptional one among the MJYP painted pottery
vessels. To remove the coarse particles from the clays, the MJYP artisans may have applied a refining
process, including levigating, inherited from the Yangshao and earlier artisans. In the Gansu‐Qinghai area,
the widespread Tertiary red clays used by modern potters would have also been the ideal clay source for
ancient artists. Although loess deposits are quite accessible in this area, loess silt is poor in plasticity and
unsuitable for making pottery. However, all the modern local artisans intentionally added a certain
percentage of fine loess silt to the red clays to obtain desirable clay properties. These modern potters’
first stage of clay preparation provides with an idea of the complex processes that may have been applied
by the MJYP artists.

In addition to the typical fine paste, some MJYP painted pottery vessels have a unique mixture—the
painted rim and shoulder made of fine paste is joined with the unpainted belly and bottom made of
coarse‐tempered paste. Some of the largest weng urns or hu vases, measuring as tall as 50 to 70 cm, and
bo bowls are made this way.
 Figure 38: Pictures of the vessels and microscopic images of the profiles among four samples for
physicochemical study obtained from Liuwan.

Forming and Finishing:

The MJYP pottery vessels are hand‐made with coiling and occasionally pinching techniques. Potters didn’t
apply the wheel throwing technique yet. Similar to the subsequent BSP vessels, the MJYP potters may
have used the paddle and anvil technique to smooth a vessel’s coiled walls after its initial construction.
Two examples of ceramic anvils were unearthed from the MJYP deposit at the Xishanping site in Tianshui
District, eastern Gansu. Traces of striations also indicate the use of turntables in their finishing process.
Even though they are hand‐made, the shapes of most MJYP painted pottery vessels display a high degree
of symmetry. The subsequent surface treatment of MJYP painted pottery vessels includes at least
smoothing and commonly burnishing or probably polishing, which gives a uniform luster without the
distinct parallel surfaces produced by burnishing leather‐hard clay. The painted area is always better
finished than the unpainted area. This process provides a smooth surface for the subsequent painting.

Decoration:

Rarely is a slip applied to the vessel surface before painting MJYP pottery. A slip occurs in some very rare
cases; it is always very thin, is mostly whitish and occurs on the exterior.” The designs painted on MJYP
pottery vessels are predominantly black or dark brown in color. Many MJYP vessels are decorated with
parallel horizontal black lines, which likely were painted while using a turntable. These designs were
painted with brushes before firing. It is only in MJYP III that some painted pottery vessels have an added
decoration in white. Whether the white decoration was added before or after firing isn’t clear. Following
the Yangshao potters’ tradition, MJYP potters used mineral pigments to decorate their pottery. Four MJYP
specimens selected from Dongxiang and Yongdeng determines that the black/dark brown designs could
be achieved by using one or a mix of the following mineral pigments: 1) Franklinite (ZnFe2O4), 2)
Hausmannite (Mn²⁺Mn³⁺₂O₄), and/or 3) Magnetite (Fe3O4). In two cases, there is also hematite (Fe2O3)
present. Most pigments used on pottery are mixtures of colorants, fine clay, water, and a binder. Different
MJYP artisans shared the same knowledge of using suitable pigments for their vessels, but the
formulations adopted by each artisan could have been slightly different. As for the white pigments, two
specimens selected from Dongxiang and Yongdeng in central Gansu both use pure gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O).
This type of white pigment is different from the calcite (CaCO3) and quartz (SiO2) that was used at the
Dadiwan site in eastern Gansu. Apart from a few exceptions, the paint of MJYP pottery vessels has a fine
texture (Figure 39: 1–2 versus 3). Also, one can rarely feel the relief of the paint when touching. The
franklinite identified is “primary mineral” rather than “mineral produced from the firing process of
manufacture”. Franklinite, as a new type of mineral pigment used for black color, is absent among the
Yangshao specimens analyzed to date the vessel surface. Similar to the Yangshao potters, the MJYP
potters may have applied a suspension technique to reduce the coarse grain in the process of preparing
pigments. Further, the black paints on many MJYP vessels have a beautiful luster. The luster is generally
uncommon among paint made from mineral pigments. The luster can be achieved by polishing the paint
on the vessel surface with a smooth ball or wooden stick before firing. Modern potters use jade or horn
to polish vessel surfaces. The mineral pigments are better embedded in the vessel surface through this
process. This additional labor‐intensive step may explain why the painted area of a vessel is always better
polished than the unpainted area. The polishing process may have occurred both before and after
painting.
Figure 39: Two (1–2) representative samples of MJYP painted potsherds with a fine pigment and paste
texture and an exceptional one (3) with a coarser pigment and paste texture.

Firing:

The firing temperature of MJYP painted pottery is around 1000 °C. These painted pottery vessels were
fired within a kiln under the potters’ experienced control of an oxidizing atmosphere. Following the
Yangshao tradition, the MJYP kilns are horizontal or vertical updraft kilns, “in which the heat moves
upward from underneath the firing chamber containing the vessels”. Among the three kilns found at Linjia,
the largest kiln has a diameter of 1.30 m and the smallest one only 0.44 m. Two kilns with rectangular
firing chambers found at Xipogu in Lanzhou City measure 1.02 m in length and 0.7 m in width. Similar to
the earlier Yangshao kilns, the capacity of these MJYP kilns is generally small.

In summary, the manufacture of a MJYP painted pottery vessel was a complex process, which required
the artists to have accumulated knowledge and experience of the clays, the pigments, and control of the
firing process. Furthermore, to be able to draw the dynamic and intricate designs precisely on the three-
dimensional vessels required a lot of practice and a significant investment of time
Longquan Celadon

There is a saying about the history of Chinese porcelain. It goes that half of the history of Chinese porcelain
is about the porcelain wares produced in Zhejiang Province, and half of the history of the Zhejiang
porcelain is about the celadon wares produced in Longquan City. Longquan celadon, a type of greenish or
grayish blue ceramic, is remarkably amazing with its charming glazing color and delicate craftsmanship,
having captivated collectors for thousands of years.

The Longquan kiln is one of the six famous kiln clusters of the Song Dynasty (960-1279). It was named so
because the famous celadon wares are produced in the Longquan City of Zhejiang Province. The Longquan
celadon first appeared during the Three Kingdoms (220-280) and Jin Dynasty (265-420), and achieved its
zenith in the middle and later period of Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). Its craftsmanship has
aggregated the achievements of traditional Chinese porcelain making. Its elegant styles and glazing color
make it a model of the Song ceramic wares.

The most striking feature of the Longquan celadon is its greenish or grayish blue glaze, which resembles
the quality of jade. The body of Longquan celadon is rough and heavy, and the wall is relatively thick. The
glaze is relatively thin, in a range of colors, such as plum green, pink blue, pea green, and crab-shell blue.
Generations of Longquan celadon makers spared no effort to make the glaze as perfect as jade. Many
celadon wares produced in famous kilns have been praised by famous scholars and men of letters.
However, only the Longquan celadon wares with plum green and pink blue glaze can be compared with
the quality of jade. They both feature thick and opaque glaze, which give a glossy and gentle effect.

Raw Materials:[8]

In term of outside appearance of the celadon body, they can be divided into white body and shallow gray
body. Although iron can remarkably influence the outside color of the body and thus is usually used as
colorant in ceramic material, there is no obvious difference on the content of TFe2O3 between white body
and shallow gray body from the same kiln. Beyond that, there is also no apparent difference on the
concentration of other elements in different bodies from the same kiln. Adamellite, the parent rock of
porcelain clay in Longquan, had 64–71 wt % SiO2, while biotite granite outcropped in Dapu contains up to
76 wt % SiO2. This suggests that the difference on the content of Al2 O3and SiO2 of samples from the
Longquan and Dapu kilns is most likely attributed to different porcelain clay in two areas.
 Figure 40: The Al2O3 – SiO2 scatter-plot for various samples.

The clay was prepared by blending and milling four kinds of mineral raw materials: Huangtan, Pucheng,
Zhuxiang, and Baoxi clay.

Table. Mineral composition of the four Longquan clay minerals (wt.%)

Quartz Kaolinite Microcline Amorphous

Sample name SiO2 Al2Si2O5(OH)4 Illite KAlSi3O8 content Total

Huangtan clay 48.0 16.1 22.6 10.2 3.1 100

Pucheng clay 53.4 9.0 15.3 20 2.3 100

Zhuxiang clay 58.1 9.4 28.8 1.4 2.3 100

Baoxi clay 49.2 16.8 20.5 10.5 3.0 100

Forming & Shaping:

The body was normally thrown on the potter's wheel, with large vases often thrown in sections and looted
together. Templates were used, and sometimes molds, including two-part molds, and molds including
decoration. Unglazed biscuit relief sections were achieved either by sprigging the reliefs over a glazed area
before firing, where the surface would be flat in the kiln, or by adding a resist of wax or grease before
glazing, when the sides of a vase were decorated.

Glazing:[9]

The glaze colors vary across a wide spectrum of greyish to blueish greens, with some yellowish browns as
well. The color comes from iron oxide fired in a reducing atmosphere, and the color varies with the
temperature and the strength and timing of the reduction.

The glaze has a higher content of fluxing agent compared with the body. The sources of the fluxing agent
are generally vegetation ash (plant ash and wood ash), limestone, feldspar etc. Generally, all the fluxing
materials have a higher content of CaO, Ba and Sr. In addition, P- and Mn-bearing was a common feature
of vegetation ash, different from limestone, feldspar etc. the increase of the P2O5 and MnO in the glazes
indicates that the two kilns might employ vegetation ash as the main fluxing agent. Moreover, the glaze
has a higher ratio of Si/Al than that of the body, suggesting that the added vegetation ash has a high
content of silicon or a certain amount of material in high silicate added together with vegetation ash.

The pale green glazes had a relatively higher iron content than the other types of glaze, which may explain
the variation in the color of the different glazes. In addition, typical golden clay consists of a significant
amount of oxide, existing in the form of Fe2O3, Fe3O4, and FeO, resulting in violet and bluish glazes after
the reducing atmosphere process. The influence of iron on the color of the celadon glaze mainly depends
on the ratio of Fe2+ /Fe3+.

Figure 41: Glaze color principle of traditional Longquan celadon.

The Firing Process:[10]

According to the archaeological investigations and excavations, after being naturally air-dried, the glazed
ware would be placed in a saggar, with a separator at the bottom of the ware (Fig. 42(a)) to prevent the
liquid glaze sticking to the saggar during the firing. It was then fired in a climbing kiln furnace (Fig. 42 (b)),
which first appeared in Guangdong Province during the Northern Song dynasty and was developed to
maturity in southern China in the Ming dynasty. Just like the traditional dragon-shaped kiln, the climbing
kiln, with dozens of chambers, had the characteristic of a high volume of production in every firing and,
on the other hand, it also combined the advantage of the Mantou kiln, which had more stable and higher
firing temperatures in the chambers. In addition, the climbing kiln had several independent chambers,
each with its own fire pit, so that it could save fuel, compared with the traditional dragon-shaped kiln. It
is not difficult to understand that the potter could stop adding fuel into a chamber once its products were
fired successfully, without worrying that the firing of products in other chambers would be affected.

The saggars and separators were coarser in texture, with larger quartz particles and a higher TFe2O3
content. The larger quartz particles would increase the heat conductivity of the saggar and the higher
Al2O3 content would improve the refractoriness of both the saggar and the separator, which would
eventually guarantee that vast amounts of good-quality celadon products were continuously produced in
the kiln factories.

Figure 42: A diagram of the kiln tools and

the ascending kiln furnace.
The firing temperatures of white and compact body were 1140°C and 1187°C, while the temperatures for
(grey and porous body) were 1050°C, 1060°C and 1080°C, respectively; and the temperature for pale
yellow body was 1050°C. These different firing temperatures suggest that the different types of sample
were probably fired separately at different times, or at least fired in different chambers of the kiln.
Apparently, the firing temperature at Dapu was lower than those reported for Longquan celadon, which
were in the range of 1070–1230°C. From a comparison of the chemical compositions of both the body and
the glaze between Dapu and Longquan products, it is easy to see that both the body and the glaze at Dapu
had a higher flux content. The higher total content of Na2O and K2O would reduce the melting point of the
raw material. Therefore, that explains why the firing temperature of the samples from Dapu was relatively
lower.
Guan & “Ge” Ware

Grayish white stoneware glaze with an intentionally closely crackled glaze, probably stemming from the
Zhejiang province in the 13-15th century. Copied ever after and particularly popular in the early 20th
century, then often in combination with brown unglazed molded or carved borders.

Ge makes together with Guan, Ding, Jun and Ru up the 'Five Great Song Wares'. While each of these wares
has its own distinctive characteristics the southern crackled wares of Guan and Ge have retained their
mystery. While no unanimity of opinion has been reached it is generally thought that those wares with a
single network of wide dark grey crackles are Guan, and those with a double crackle jinsi tiexian (gold
thread and iron wire), should be designated Ge.

Ge literally means 'big-brother' ware, due to a legend telling of two brothers working in Longquan, one
made the typical celadon style ceramics, while the elder made “Ge” ware in his private kiln. Ming dynasty
writer I claims that the Ge kiln took its clay from the same site as Guan ware, which is what accounts for
the difficulty in distinguishing one from the other (though Gao thinks "Ge is distinctly inferior" to Guan).
Overall, Ge remains somewhat elusive, but basically comprises two types—one with a ‘warm rice-yellow
glaze and two sets of crackles, a more prominent set of darker color interspersed with a finer set of reddish
lines (called chin-ssu t’ieh-hsien or ‘golden floss and iron threads’, which can just faintly be detected on
this bowl. The other Ge ware is much like Guan ware, with grayish glaze and one set of crackles. Once
thought to have only been manufactured alongside Longquan celadon, per its legendary founding, Ge was
copied in Jingdezhen during the Ming, Chenghua period however on a porcelain body where the original
dark body was imitated by iron oxide intentionally applied to the foot rim.

While similar to Guan ware, Ge typically has a grayish-blue glaze that is fully opaque with an almost matte
finish. Its crackle pattern is exaggerated, often standing out in bold black. Though still shrouded in
mystery, many specialists believe that Ge ware did not develop until the very late Southern Song or even
the Yuan. In any case, enthusiasm for it persisted throughout the Ming. Differences between later Ming
imitations of Song/Yuan Ge include: Ming versions substitute a white porcelain body; they tend to be
produced in a range of new shapes, for example those for the scholar's studio; glazes tend to be thinner
and more lustrous; and slip is applied to the rim and base to simulate the "brown mouth and iron foot" of
Guan ware.[11]
Body Composition:[12]

Guan body compositions range from the moderately siliceous to the moderately aluminous, but alkali
levels are usually high [average 3.1% (1.8–6.3%) K2O + Na2O] due to large amounts of both primary and
secondary micas in the raw materials. Quartz grains in the Guan bodies are relatively coarse and can be
divided into two groups: coarse (>60 μm) and fine grains (<30 μm). This can be compared with those in
Ru wares, which average <30 μm (Li He et al. 2014). Guan ware bodies seem to have been refined from
altered rocks, rather from the naturally fine-grained sedimentary clays used for Ru wares (Guo Yanyi et
al. 2002; Li He et al. 2014). As mentioned, the average iron oxide levels in the Guan bodies are also slightly
higher: an average of 2.6% Fe2O3 in Guan ware compared to an average of 2.3% Fe2O3 in Ru ware (see
Table below), but rising to 4.5% in some cases.

It is a particular feature of Guan wares that their glazes are usually crazed and this can be attributed largely
to the lower silica levels in the Guan ware bodies (average 65.1% SiO2 compared to a more typical average
of 74% SiO2 in South Chinese clays: Guo Yanyi et al. 1980, plates 3–5). Silica is the main controller of crazing
in stoneware clays, largely through the creation of some cristobalite during the firing process. The
shrinkage of cristobalite in the body at a late stage in cooling can place the glaze under slight compression,
which can often prevent crazing. Although crazing seems to have been an inventible consequence of the
materials and recipes used at the Hangzhou Guan ware kilns, it later became an admired characteristic of
the ware—although how much the effect was appreciated at the time that Guan wares were made
remains a question. One factor affecting the scale of the crazing (i.e., fine versus broad networks) seems
to be glaze thickness.

Date SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 TiO2 CaO MgO K2O Na2O P2O5 MnO
Guan glazes, Laohudong (n = 122)
Southern SongMean 67.6 12.8 1.0 0.13 11.5 1.5 3.9 0.5 0.7 0.2
SD 1.9 1.0 0.2 0.05 2.2 0.3 0.7 0.1 0.15 0.06
Min. 63.7 11.0 0.55 0.08 4.6 0.5 3.0 0.3 0.3 0.05
Max. 72.9 16.4 1.7 0.3 14.9 2.1 5.9 1.2 1.3 0.4
Guan bodies, Laohudong (n = 122)
Southern SongMean 65.1 26.6 2.6 1.0 0.15 0.4 2.6 0.5 n.d. 0.02
SD 3.5 3.1 0.5 0.2 0.07 0.1 0.7 0.2 0.01

Min. 55.2 20.7 1.6 0.7 0.06 0.2 1.5 0.3 0.01

Max. 72.1 35.25 4.55 1.5 0.5 0.7 5.1 1.2 0.05
Glaze Composition & Glazing:[12]

With regard to the glaze compositions, these show the low iron oxide [average 1% (0.55–1.7%) Fe2O3 ]
and low titanium dioxide [average 0.13% (0.08–0.34%)TiO2 ] levels typical for fine bluish celadons (Ishii
Tsuneshi 1930a,b), but calcia levels (average 11.5% CaO) may vary from 4.6 to 14.9 wt.% and totaled
alkalis (average 4.4% K2O + Na2O) from 3.2 to 7.1 wt.%, with the alkalis rising as the calcia levels fall, and
vice versa ( see previous Table and the Table below).

The extremely low Titania levels found in Laohudong Guan ware glazes (average 0.13% TiO2) show that
the body material could not have been used as a major glaze ingredient (as was common in south China
at the time), but that the glazes would need to have been based on a material akin to porcelain stone. A
sample of white porcelain stone found near to the Laohudong kiln sites showed a very low Titania figure
(0.07%) and a P2O5 content of only 0.09%. This suggests that the relatively high P2O5 levels found in Guan
ware glazes may have come from wood ash—a rich source of calcareous flux, and a prime ingredient in
Chinese glazes since the Bronze Age (Zhang Fukang 1986). When the ‘signature oxides’ of wood ash (P2O5
and MnO) are compared with CaO, the correlations generally suggest the use of wood ash, although there
are also a fair number of outliers. As ashes vary considerably in their P2O5 and MnO levels, this may be
due to natural compositional variations in the wood ashes used, but there is also a possibly that some
mixing of wood ash with limestone was practiced for making Southern Song Laohudong glazes. However,
if powdered white siliceous and micaceous porcelain stones had been mixed with calcareous wood ashes
alone to make Laohudong glazes, then the ash quantities would have ranged from 10 to 40%, but with
∼20–30% wood ash being most typical. This view is reinforced by calculations using the Hangzhou
porcelain stone, mentioned above, fluxed with an average of four calcareous ashes in 3:1 proportion (75%
stone/25% ash). This gives a glaze composition close to the average Laohudong Guan glaze in Table 1 (see
Table 2).

SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 TiO2 CaO MgO K2O Na2O P2O5 MnO Loss Total

Hangzhou porcelain stone

77.0 13.3 0.5 0.07 0.04 0.14 4 0.4 0.09 0.02 3.2 99
(Guo et al. 2002)

Average of four calcareous ashes 15.65 3.3 1.5 0 37.8 4.2 2.6 0.3 1.85 0.8 32 100

75% stone/25% ash 69.65 12.2 0.85 0.06 10.7 1.3 4.1 0.4 0.45 0.2 100

Laohudong Guan glazes (n = 122) 67.6 12.8 1 0.13 11.5 1.5 3.9 0.5 0.7 0.2 100
Multi-Layer Glazing:[12]

The noticeable glaze-layers have long been regarded as evidence for successive applications of thin coats
of glaze, with the famous jade-like qualities of Guan wares achieved by two, three or more glaze-layers
on both the insides and the outsides of the vessels—a process that often resulted in totaled glaze
thicknesses greater than the bodies themselves. Other special features seen with Guan ware remains are
that both the thicknesses of the layers, and the actual numbers of layers used, may differ somewhat on
the inside and the outside of a single vessel.

Figure 43: A cross-section of

Southern Song Laohudong glaze,
showing layers.

These differences in thickness suggest that the wares were not glazed successively overall, layer by layer,
but rather that the insides and the outsides of the vessels were glazed in separate operations, perhaps
with the glazes beneath the feet applied at a further stage. Two or three inside and two or three outside
glaze-layers may have been usual. Thus, between five and seven separate glaze applications may have
been used for a typical Guan ware dish or bowl, making Hangzhou Guan wares among the more
sophisticated examples of multi-layer glazing in China’s ceramic history. However, the causes of the light
and dark bands, so evident in many cross-sections of Guan ware shards, have never been satisfactorily
explained and some potential answers to this problem are presented later. These relate to the finer details
of the multi-layer glazing technique and the behavior of the glaze suspension on the biscuit ware just
before it dried.
Techniques Used in “Ge” ware Glazing:[13]

During the cooling cycle of the kiln, as the piece and its glaze shrink, the network of fine fractures in the
glaze known as crazing develops. Most crazing happens during this early stage, but the process will
continue for days, weeks, or even years, and this is called delayed crazing, as the glaze continues to adjust
to the clay surface. After the initial phase of crazing the potter would paint the piece with a black ink. The
ink would enter the fractures in the glaze surface, and then the potter could wipe the piece clean,
removing the ink from the surface, but leaving the ink in the fracture lines. Next the piece would be left
alone for a period of time, during which delayed crazing would continue. A paler ink, in this case an amber
colored one, would then be painted onto the piece again, and the amber ink would penetrate the new
fractures as well as the initial ones. Again, the piece would then be wiped clean. Now the new fracture
lines would show the golden color, while the initial fracture lines would still show black, because the
lighter amber color would not be visible there.

Firing temperatures and heat-work:[12]

Southern Song Laohudong Guan wares were biscuit-fired in small cross-draught kilns of northern style and
then glaze-fired in a traditional southern-style wood-burning dragon kiln some 15 m long and 2 m wide.
When Guan ware shards are examined in cross-section, they often show a distinctive microstructure of
alternating light and dark bands, with larger bubbles in the darker bands (making them appear more
transparent by OM) and smaller bubbles in the lighter regions (which tend to scatter light)

When the Guan kilns were excavated, archaeologists found a surprising number of shards where the
glazes were porous and only sintered, rather than fully melted—far more than at comparable sites. This
seemed to suggest that multiple firings were used at the Guan ware kilns, with a series of lower-
temperature firings allowing successive layers of glaze to be applied, before the final glaze firing to full
heat. On this interpretation, it was suggested that a typical Guan ware vessel may have been fired a
number of times before its final glaze firing, with a similar process suggested for Longquan celadon wares.
This is certainly the technique used now (and for many generations past) at the Longquan celadon kilns in
south-west Zhejiang province, although just how far back in history the method has been used in this
region is presently unknown.

Practical experiments with reconstructed Guan glazes made from porcelain stone and wood ash show
that, for this layered-glaze technique to work effectively, a vessel must be dried thoroughly before each
new glaze-layer is applied, and the layers must be kept below a certain thickness if they are not to shrink
and crack as they dry. Also, the dry glaze surfaces must not be touched between applications, as this
creates surface dust that resists further glaze-layers.

When bowls made from the body and glaze combination, described above, were fired to maturity, firings
with a reducing atmosphere used from 950 to 1200°C gave good results.

As the last 100°C of firing are the most important for deciding ceramic quality, a relatively long ‘soak’ was
used, with a rise of only 30°C h–1 over the last 3 h to mimic firing conditions in a South Chinese dragon
kiln. A finishing temperature equivalent to 1215°C, which might be proposed as an average firing
temperature for Guan ware production. As the finishing rates of historical kilns are rarely known, and time
can be traded against temperature to some extent to give equivalent ceramic results, a Cone number is
perhaps the best guide to the heat-work applied in replication experiments.
Blue & White Ware

As a classic symbol of Chinese traditional culture symbol, blue-and-white porcelain has indefinite
potentials in implication. From the perspective of language, blue-and-white porcelain’s color is described
as a “China blue” and its making technique and entire concept give it the name “the treasure of the nation
and the glory of porcelains”. Even, in the ancient western world, Chinese porcelains were called “China”.
Those names imply the relationship between blue-and-white porcelain and nation. Blue-and-white is
translucent white reflecting the blue, pure, plain, elegant and in good taste. Its outlook and quality are
similar to natural jade and hence is called “man-made jade”, which ensures the mutual reflection between
blue-and-white porcelain culture and bowler admired by Chinese people. To get to know the full
connotations of blue-and-white, it is a must to understand its origin. To understand its origin, the clear
definition of blue-and-white must be understood as the first step. Huibing Li from China’s Imperial Palace
Museum stated in The Starting Time of Blue-and-white Porcelain that blue-and-white porcelain includes
at least five elements, namely, pure white porcelain body made by firing at high temperature, translucent
white glaze, Cobalt Oxide as the original materials for blue and white, lines and decorations drawn by
brush on the porcelain, and glazing the porcelain body with lines and decorations and under glazing color
fired at high temperature. The main difference between blue-and-white porcelain with other chinaware
is the application of cobalt, which is also the key point of modern definition and researches on
porcelain.[14]

Porcelain body:[15]

In southern China, the main ingredient to make the body of ceramics is usually described as 'porcelain
stone', a rock-based material which, after crushing and grinding followed by several refinement steps to
remove impurities and coarse-grained material, was prepared in the form of bricks also known as
Petuntse. These easily transportable bricks of porcelain stone were then used by the potters, with
sometimes additional processing and refinement, to form bodies of various shapes and in the glaze recipes
as well (Fig. 3). In late Ming and early Qing Jingdezhen, potters used a Na-poor porcelain stone such as
the NangKan type which was obtained from transformed and weathered micaceous felsic effusive rocks
containing high amounts of quartz (~58 - 62%) and sericite (~25 - 28%), a fine-grained mica, and lesser
kaolinite while in Zhangzhou, potters used a raw material from nearby outcrops of weathered K-Feldspar
miarolitic granite .These two raw materials are likely to show compositional differences despite some
expected similarities since both belong to the acidic igneous rock group.
 Figure 44: Porcelain stone and Petuntse on display at the Jingdezhen Ceramic
Historical Museum.

Most 16th and 17th centuries Jingdezhen porcelain contained increasing amounts of kaolin while at other
southern production centers, this material was much less used and the bodies consisted primarily of
porcelain stone.

Whereas most differences in major and trace elements can be linked to the nature of the raw materials,
some compositional changes could as well be the result of variations in the processing and refinement
technologies implemented at the two production sites.

Glaze:[15]

In Jingdezhen, during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, glazes used for blue-and-white ceramics
were made with glaze ash, a material mostly composed of burned limestone with a few or less percent of
botanic ash, mixed in various proportions with porcelain stone – or glaze stone, a refined grade of
porcelain stone –, the glaze ash content ranging typically from 10 to 20% which indicate the constant
presence of variable amounts of calcium (4.3e9.1%, CaO). Since calcium levels are very low in the ceramic
body, it can be inferred that the calcium content directly reflects the amount of fluxing material added to
the porcelain or glaze stone. Based on the average calcium in glaze ash, the quantity added to formulate
the glaze of the sherds from Jingdezhen would approximately be comprised between 9 and 18% with an
average of about 12.6 ± 3.2%. These values are higher than the ones for glazes on blue-and-white
porcelain from Imperial kilns of the Jiajing period (1522-1566 AD) and could support the Jingdezhen
tradition of adding higher proportions of glaze ash for folk kiln productions as it permitted to reduce firing
costs through a maturation of the glaze at slightly lower temperatures. Such tradition would be further
supported by the data obtained for late Ming blue-and-white porcelain excavated in Portugal and for folk
kiln productions of the Wanli period (1573-1620 AD).

In comparison to Jingdezhen, sherds from Zhangzhou show a wider range for calcium in the glaze with
some unusually low values (1.3 - 11.8% CaO). The anomalous low calcium levels could be due to a
heterogeneous distribution in the glaze. The surface depletion might be the result of weathering or
anorthite crystallization closer to the body. More importantly, the relation of strontium to calcium is
different in the Zhangzhou sherds. Not only are strontium levels higher, but the correlation with calcium
also follows a different trend with a factor five between the slopes of the corresponding linear regressions
suggesting usage of another raw material as fluxing agent. Based on strontium and calcium contents
reported for ash from different wood species, with Sr (ppm)/CaO (%) ratios of about 30 to be compared
with the much lower ratio values of a known limestone source near Jingdezhen (Sr/ CaO ~ 5.9), or the
average limestone in central East China (Sr/CaO ~ 7.0). It appears that potters in Zhangzhou, instead of
burned limestone, most certainly used wood ash mixed with the local porcelain stone to make their glazes.
This explanation is additionally supported by the higher manganese levels found in the transparent glaze
as wood ash contains several percent of this element.

Finally, the differences noted previously for Zr and Th in the porcelain body confirm that at both
production sites, potters used porcelain stone as a main ingredient in their glaze recipes.

Blue pigment:

The comparison between on blue and white areas shows that the blue pigment is as expected, a cobalt
based material which also contains relatively high-manganese and low-iron as well as minor nickel.
compositional variations involve primarily changes in the Fe/Mn ratio while the cobalt proportion,
between 9 and 15%, remains relatively constant. These compositions point towards the use of domestic
asbolite (or asbolane) ores which are derived from the weathering of manganese-rich sedimentary rocks
and were exploited in the Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Yunnan provinces as raw material for the preparation of
the blue pigment. The Fe/Co and Mn/Co ratios, calculated after conversion of elements into oxides, range
from 0.04 to 4.2 and 2.1 to 8.7, respectively, and fall reasonably in the compositional range of Chinese
asbolites. For both ratios, average values are slightly lower in the sherds from Zhangzhou compared to
the ones from Jingdezhen. On the other hand, for the latter, the distribution is narrower which could
indicate more constancy regarding procurement from domestic sources.

There was a known practice of using refined Mn-rich asbolite ores in folk kilns during the Ming and Qing
dynasties. However, it can be noticed that three sherds from Zhangzhou have higher cobalt content, with
one containing almost no iron, while three others, one from Zhangzhou and two from Jingdezhen, have a
relatively higher iron content. Such variations are most likely explained by the compositional diversity of
domestic high-Mn cobalt ores (Table 7), but the use of mixtures, including imported pigment, cannot be
ruled out though such practice has only been documented for official kiln productions during the Jiajing
and Wanli periods.

Firing:[15]

Chinese blue and white porcelain was once-fired: after the porcelain body was dried, decorated with
refined cobalt-blue pigment mixed with water and applied using a brush, coated with a clear glaze and
fired at high temperature. From the 16th century, local sources of cobalt blue started to be developed,
although Persian cobalt remained the most expensive. Production of blue and white wares has continued
at Jingdezhen to this day. Blue and white porcelain made at Jingdezhen probably reached the height of its
technical excellence during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing dynasty (r. 1661–1722).
Summary:

Clay and Glazing Temperature

Color materials Color effect
quality method (Centigrade)
Low Engobe
manganese among
low iron cobalt Aluminum glaze, the
Sub-high Dense and
Tang containing clay, coarse, ground
temperature bright and
Blue-and- copper loose, rice coat is
has crystal
white (imported gray, poor white with (1200 -1250) spots
from firing degree yellow, the
midwestern quality is
Asia) loose
The ground
coat is Most are
Domestic
shallow dark blue or
cobalt
blue, white gray blue.
containing Coarse, gray Under glazed
with yellow Some are
Song high amount white, a few is 1270 and
or light blue even with
Blue-and- of are white overglazed is
glaze. black. Color
white manganese and fine in between 700-
There are is not bright
oxide (from quality 850
under because of
Zhejiang, and
glazed color domestic
Jiangxi)
and over- material
glazed color
Domestic Domestic
material:
produced The ground blue green
high Porcelain coat with gray
manganese stone plus includes black.
Yuan low iron Gaoling blue white
Between Imported
Blue-and- blue earth, a little and egg
1250-1300 material:
white materials, gray and white,
blue jade
imported low yellow, strong
green and
manganese loose sense of
bright with
high iron blue milkiness
rusted iron
materials spots1

1
Zhu, Feng, and Jie Shao. “The Origin of Blue-and-White and the Birth of Symbols.” Asian Social Science 5, no. 5
(April 16, 2009): p77. https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v5n5p77.
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