The term "porcelain" generally refers to an
object whose body is made from clay containing kaolin, is
covered with a glaze, and is fired at a high temperature
so that the body material fuses and the resultant object
is impervious to liquids and is resonant when struck.
The ruling house of the Song
dynasty (960-1279) doted on refinement and the elegant
accoutrements of culture, and it accordingly gave priority
to the fine arts. Under this stimulation, the manufacture
of porcelain progressed, and it was at this time that
several famous types of wares were produced. From the Tang
dynasty (618-907) into the Song, Ting ware succeeded Hsing
ware, Lung-ch'uan ware carried on the tradition of
Yueh ware, and both the white wares and the green wares
made great strides in terms of quality and quantity. In
addition, the production of dignified shapes and
harmonious glazes reached a full maturation in Kuan ware,
Ju ware, Ko ware, and Chun ware. The porcelain industry at
Ching-te-chen in Kiangsi province was also forging ahead
at this time with Ying ch'ing wares, white wares and
Tz'u-chou type wares being sold throughout the north.
Pieceswith black ground and white decoration or white
ground and black decoration are particularly lively and
exuberant, expressing the special spirit of the people.
Among the black-glazed wares, Chien wares from Fukien
province and Chi-chou wares from Kiangsi province are the
most famous.
In the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368)
Ching-te-chen became the center of porcelain production
for the entire empire. Most representative of Yuan dynasty
porcelain are the underglaze blue and underglaze red
wares, whose designs painted beneath the glaze in
cobalt blue or copper red, replaced the more sedate
monochromes of the Song dynasty. At the same time,
from the standpoint of the shape of the objects, Yuan
dynasty porcelains
became thick, heavy, and characterized by great size,
transforming the refinement of Song dynasty shapes.
From the we can get some idea of the differences between
the eating and drinking customs of the Song and Yuan
dynasties.
The imperial porcelain factory
was established at Ching-te-chen at the beginning of the
Ming dynasty (1368-1644), and from this time the position
of Ching-te-chen as the center of porcelain production
became consolidated. The imperial wares that were
specially manufactured for use at court were made
particularly exquisitely and were marked with the
reign mark of the emperor himself. In addition to the
monochromes and the underglaze blue porcelains that
continued to be produced among the official wares of the
Ming dynasty, innovation appeared throughout the period,
such as pan-t'o-t'ai wares in the Yung-lo reign
(1403-1425), chi-hung in the Hsuan-te (1426-1436),
tou-ts'ai in the Ch'eng-hua (1465-1488), chiao-huang in
the Hung-chih (1488-1506), and wu-ts'ai in the Wan-li
(1573-1620), all of which are representatively signficant
in the history of the developmant of Ming dynasty
poreclain.
In the early period of the Ch'ing
dynasty (1644-1911), during the reigns of K'ang-hsi
(1662-1722). Yung-cheng (1722-1736), and Ch'ien-lung
(1736-1795), the court considered the appointment of the
supervising official at the imperial poreclain factory at
Ching-te-chen a serious matter. This represented a reform
from the Ming practice of entrusting control to court
eunuchs, and as a result there appeared great progress in
craftsmanship at the factory, picking up the legacy of
Ming dynasty skill and taking it to the pinnacle of its
development. The use of brilliant, glittering fen-ts'ai
enamels is a characteristic of porcelain in the Ch'ing
dynasty.
In terms of both quantity and quality,
the collection of official poreclain in the National
Palace Museum may be termed the foremost in the world.
Every kind of ware from the Sung, Yuan, Ming and Ch'ing
dynasties have been selected here to exhibit the full
spectrum of porcelain development. In addition to the
visual enjoyment these objects present, it is hoped that
they will help you, the viewer, to understand the
accomplishments of the art of porcelain in China.
( extracted
from exhibition catalogue of National Palace Museum
)
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