Almost all peoples in this world had some sort of history making pottery, but the creation of porcelain was not a feat achievable by all. Foremost, porcelain-making required relatively high firing temperatures, which called for kilns with sophisticated designs and excellent temperature-keeping capabilities, as well as proper fuel to

(Left) Porcelain chicken-headea ewer with brown glaze from Deqing kiln, H 27 cm, Dia. 8.5 cm at mouth, Dia. 12 cm at base. East Jin Dynasty. (Middle) Colored-spotted ewer on black ground. Tang Dynasty. (Right) Celadon pot with brown appliqued figurines of Changsha kiln. Tang Dynasty.

    Here we cannot do without mentioning of a special type of kiln - the Dragon kiln.

Backed by evidence from archeological findings, this type of kiln first appeared during the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.) in the city of Zengcheng in Guangdong Province. Then there was the Eastern Han Dynasty Dragon kiln in the Shangyu area of Zhejiang Province, which is better known today. This kind of kiln was likely to have been an ew~lution of the rising-heat kilns which consisted of a fire chamber linked to the kiln compartment. The top of the Dragon kiln was sealed and the kiln was tilted; with the lower end being the fire chamber and a smoke vent was located at the highest position. The kiln was constructed against mountain slopes; its shape hinted at the mystical animal of the dragon, hence the name. The advantages of the Dragon kiln was its capability to rapidly increase and decrease temperature, and being able to quickly reach and maintain a reduction atmosphere. The Dragon kiln of the Eastern Hart Dynasty can already reach a maturing temperature of over 1,200 degrees Celsius; the porcelain produced had glazing that was even and absent from cracks.

    The glaze was of a light green color and the body was white and refined. The thinner parts of the body were translucent and the glaze was tightly bonded to body. This kind of porcelain had water absorbency from 0.5 to 0.16 percent. In some abandoned kiln sites, fine pieces of green porcelain, or celadon, were discovered. The history of porcelain in China and even for the world has begun a brand new chapter.

Celadon pot with tray-shaped mouth. West Jin Dynasty.

Yue kiln flower-shaped dish, H 6.2 cm. Tang Dynasty.

Cup in green glaze with etched patterns, H 13.2 cm, Yue kiln.

Yue kiln lobed ewer. Tang Dynasty.

Bowl with lid in Plum-green glaze with lotus petal patterns.Longquan kiln. Song Dynasty.

Longpuan kiln celadon Yuhuchun vase.

Longquan kiln celadon ewer. Ming Dynasty.

Underside-loading ewer with green glaze and etched patterns, H 19 cm.Yaozhou kiln.

Pierced incense burner with leaf scroll patterns. Northern Song Dynasty.

    Why is it, that celadon gained such unanimous praise from the Chinese, and even as to usher in accolade from the Korean peninsula, Japan and southeastern Asian countries? It seems that we should be looking for the answer on a philosophical and aesthetic level - the jade-like color and body of the celadon was perhaps more suited for Chinese taste. Jade in Chinese eyes is the epitome of beauty, infused with the essence of the sun and moon, and is a medium to the spiritual world. Therefore, since days of old, the Chinese have adored jade. Especially in remote antiquity, jade was once an important object of ceremonies. The Chinese character "1i", meaning etiquette and ceremony, found on early bronze inscriptions appeared as the pictograph of a vessel containing two strands of jade objects. This signified that the vessels of sacrificial rites in ancient times were mostly made of jade. In addition, jade was also a charm worn by emperors and people of high status. However, for the common people, jade was a rare item and was extremely difficult to craft. Thus naturally, people sought for the jade-like beauty in celadon, which had very similar color and body as jade.

    The province of Zhejiang, with large production volumes of celadon, has been viewed as the originating place of this type of porcelain. Looking back at the history of celadon, the prestigious celadon kilns in the Tang Dynasty included Yue,Wuzhou, Ou and Deqing kilns. By the Song Dynasty, there were new developments in celadon-making, with characteristic kilns being the Longquan kilns, Yaozhou kilns and the city of Jingdezhen.

   The Yue kilns there were the fastest developing of all celadon kilns, with the most number of sites and coverage area, and the best quality products. The Yue kilns influenced the areas around it and became the leading force in development of celadon. The name "Yue" kiln should have come from the Tang Dynasty, which usually referred to kiln sites and products by the locations of the kilns. The name "Yue" kilns was really just short for "Yuezhou (a city name)" kilns. The Yue kilns were situated at the northeastern part of Zhejiang Province. It was the general name for all kilns that produce celadon around the Yuyao Shanglin Lake area. The most characteristic kiln was the Shanglin Lake kiln (30 km northeast of present day Yuyao County). The Yue kilns produced many categories of products, including jars, spittoons, wine pots, incense burners, cups, bowls, flasks, cases, writing-brush basins, dishes, handle-less cups, pots, wine cups, flat bowls, basins and so on, as well as children's toys such as porcelain dogs, ponies and chicks.

    Production of celadon from Yue kilns relied on Dragon kiln technology. The key material was porcelain stone, which is the mixture of mica, quartz and other elements. It was equivalent to the compound of KaOlin, feldspar and quartz, which is low in organic substances and has comparatively low viscosity and absorbency. Its impurities of mica minerals also made its iron content rather high (0.5%-3%). The type of limestone glaze applied to celadon was highly lustrous and had good

transparence and hardness. Only the reduction fires of the Dragon kiln can create such glass-like transparence with a glaze material that had such a low melting point and viscosity, so that all the engraved motifs, patterns or relief on the body can clearly appear before peoples' eyes.

    Celadon of the Yue kilns were all fired at temperatures above 1,200 degrees Celsius; in some cases as high as 1,300 degrees. Judging from the body and glaze, early Yue celadon had a finely-textured body usually in gray or white; it was fired to a fully congealed hardness and no longer water absorbent. The body was completely covered in a highly uniform layer of glaze. The glazed areas were different depending on the vessel and its use: bowls, drinking cups, flat bowls, and basins all have full inner glaze and its outer glaze was to the base where the body was left untouched; kettles, jars and other vessels were glazed including areas around the mouth and all of the exterior, while the interior was left to bare. Since the body's color was complementary to the color of the glaze, therefore early celadon had a light-colored body and greenish glaze.

 However, later celadon had thicker bodies that were deeper in tone; the glaze

was thicker to match and still applied very uniformly; the celadon appeared grayish-green. The common ways of decorating a Yue celadon would be etched, carved, sculpture, pierced patterns and so on. Decorative motifs included the parrot, dragon, phoenix, butterflies, birds, flowers as well as famous personages.

Yue porcelains, with advantages of a long tradition, strong technological support and superior materials, gained the honor of "King of All Kilns" among all celadon categories throughout China. A certain class of the finest Yue porcelains was custom made as tribute for the imperial court. At the time, many poets have created romancing poetry praising the porcelain from the Yue kilns; their vivid language glorified the colors and luster of the Yue porcelain. The celadon of Shanglin Lake Yue kiln was widely acclaimed, as we can find records of these products from Japanese literary annals of the Meiji Period. A Japanese poet by the last name of Ishikawa wrote in his Kanji poems about the history and glaze colors of celadon from Shanglin Lake. Through Minzhou (Ningbo) harbor, a constant supply of Shanglin Lake celadon was shipped to Korea and Japan in East Asia, as well as to Arab nations in West Asia. Until this day, there exists in India, Iran, Egypt, Japan and other countries, unearthed celadon that were made originally in Shanglin Lake.

    Wuzhou kiln was situated at the central Jinhua region of present day Zhejiang Province. Porcelain kilns spread throughout the area and had broad coverage. With archeological research, a total of more than 600 ancient kiln sites were discovered, which were built from the Han to Ming dynasties. This discovery unveiled unusually numerous kilns which have been in service for the longest times, and held a relatively significant spot in the history of ceramics. Early specimens of Wuzhou kiln porcelain had glazes in light gray and were rather rough. It had poorly tempered and under-vitrified clay with irregularities on the surface. Speckles often formed on the glaze of Wuzhou porcelain; they were green or sometimes with yellow mixed in. The many crackles on the surface, which often contained protruding yellow crystallized matters, were a unique feature of Wuzhou porcelain. By the middle phase of the development of Wuzhou kiln porcelain, porcelain clay resources in the area have become scattered and thinned out, making it difficult to mine. Therefore, the craftspeople used local red clay, which were easily mined, to model the bodies of vessels. But since red clay had high iron oxide and titanium oxide content levels, it became dark purple after being fired, undermining the quality of the greenish glaze.

    Therefore, a layer of fine white dressing clay was used to cover the body. With the cosmetic clay underneath, the glaze appeared smooth and soft, showing a bit of brown in green or yellow green. However, the crackling and crystallization in the glaze was even more apparent when compared to porcelain wares that had porcelain clay for the bodies. During the late period of Wuzhou kilns, new models and types of porcelain vessels were created, which better exemplified the shiny glaze quality on top of thinner bodies. There were also new breakthroughs in decorative methods.

    The Ou kilns lied in the southern part of Zhejiang Province in the Wenzhou area.

To its east were the great seas and its southern neighbor was Fujian Province; on the northwest were the Kuocang Mountains from which the Oujiang and Feiyunjiang Rivers flowed straight out to sea. This area was one of ancient China's business ports; porcelain, shipbuilding, embroidery and other handicrafts were all booming businesses here. Most of the Ou kilns were concentrated along the banks of Oujiang, Feiyunjiang and Nanxijiang Rivers. As early as the Han Dynasty, the Yongjia area on the north shore of the Oujiang River produced primitive porcelain, which evolved into celadon by the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The products were transported by boats and rafts to Wenzhou and other cities for sale; transportation by waterway was convenient and efficient.

    The body of Ou porcelain was whitish with a hint of grey. The glaze was slightly green and with high transparence. With such color and luster, products of the Ou kilns were also called Piao porcelains, for their unpredictable beauty.

    While the Yue kilns were at the height of its glory and popularity, the Deqing kilns, famed for its black and shiny porcelain ware, became a capable complement to the Yue kilns. Deqing kilns produce glazed black porcelain, as well as celadon.

Its ancient sites lied within Deqing County in Zhejiang Province, with as many as a dozen kilns sites. It was also one of the earliest discovered production areas of black porcelain in Zhejiang. Its products of black porcelain and celadon were simplistic and subtle, yet sophisticated and presentable. The style of Deqing

Celadon sculpture of storage house. The Three Kingdoms period. Ezhou Museum of Hubei Province.

porcelain products was similar to those of Wuzhou and Yue kilns. The main vessel types included bowls, dishes, plates, ear-shaped cups, broad-mouthed urns, chicken-head post, spittoons, incense burners, jars, boxes, lamps and cup holders and so on, all were objects of daily necessity.

    Some special products included cylindrical jars with lids, round and flat cases, as well as tea cups and complete tea ware sets. These special vessels were rare among porcelain kilns of the same time period. Deqing kilns' black porcelains had relatively thick glaze that were either dark brown or brown sienna. The better quality pieces had smooth and glistening glazed surfaces that were as black as night. Celadon was mostly covered in dressing clay on top of its body, and with a bean-green, blue green or yellow-blue glaze. The glaze was deep and quite glossy with only simple decorations; usually the rim of the mouth, the belly and shoulder would be impressed with parallel lines patterns.

    Judging from archeological findings, Deqing porcelain's history can be traced back for at least 6,000 years. Subsequent generations continued its porcelain crafts; however, the Deqing kilns were only active for over a century and then faded out of the spotlight. As a consequence, porcelain wares of the Deqing kilns preserved to the present day are extremely rare. Collections of Deqing porcelain can be found in the Shanghai Museum and other large-scale museums throughout China. However, having a Deqing porcelain can make any private collector smile with joy; especially the black chicken-headed jar which earns top spot on the list of every collector.

    The Longquan kilns were considered one of the most characteristic kilns of the

Song Dynasty, its location was also in Zhejiang Province, with kilns at Longquan

Dayao, Jincun and so forth. It was established during the Five Dynasties Period and inherited the traditions of the Yue kilns, mainly in the discipline of celadon production. By the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279 A.D.), Longquan kilns have reached its prime. Longquan celadon excelled in the texture and color of the glaze. Thick and smooth, the glaze was as beautiful as jade, and came in many colors such as moon white, pea green, light blue, blu6 gray, crab-shell red, grayish yellow, cream and so on.

    The most attractive were Fenqing and plum green glazes. Glazed Fenqing Longquan porcelain appeared slightly turbid, light milky green in color and was easy on the eyes. Plum green glaze was deeper and lustrous in comparison; it was jade green with spots of transparency, much like a fresh sour plum. The creation of these two glaze colors depended on improvements in firing technology and porcelain crafts. Longquan porcelain used not lime glaze but alkaline-calcareous glaze instead; an obviously innovative improvement. By doing this, the glaze can be thick yet fully congealed, so that air bubbles would expand. The surface of the glaze was soft and elegant, giving the porcelain qualities of jade.

Longquan porcelain wares had complex designs and forms. Aside from vessels for daily use, porcelain stationery and retrospective porcelain were also produced, which included vases, gu, cooking vessels, stoves and so on. As for decorative

patterns, there were newly added embossed sculptures and appliqug patterns. Yuan Dynasty Longquan porcelains were shipped and exported overseas in mass quantities; more kilns were set up to meet with increased demand. By mid-Qing Dynasty however, the Longquan kilns met with decline and ceased production. It was not until 1949 did the Longquan kilns regain its former glory and began making porcelain once again.

    Yaozhou kilns were established in the Tang Dynasty, its product line included black, celadon and white porcelains. From the Five Dynasties Period to early Song Dynasty, it was influenced by the Yu, Yao and Yue kilns and developed celadon

with engraved designs. It was one of the best known celadon kilns in the north of China. The remaining site of Yaozhou kilns was found at Huangbao Town, Tongchuan City in Shaanxi Province. In the old days, this area belonged to the Yaozhou government. Its products can be distinguished by three development stages. The earliest phase produced mostly celadon and the modeling was rather simple; designs and patterns were still quite amateur in execution and layout. In the present day, there are more surviving Yaozhou wares from the second stage than any other, as the second stage was at the height of development Yaozhou kilns. Most of the products from this time were daily necessities such as bowls and dishes.

    There were also every other imaginable vessel such as vases, jars, kettles, basins, stoves, incense burners, cup holders, flat bowls, wine pot, wine pot warmer and more. The richness in variety of form and model was something that few could contend with in the Song Dynasty. Its carved patterns on Yaozhou celadon showed strength, precision and fluidity in knife work and represented a unique style. The motif of fish in the sea and frolicking duck by lotus pond were some of the most vivid images.

In addition to carved designs, imprinted designs were also quite common for Yao

porcelain. Commonly used patterns and designs included floral scrolls or floral sprays of peonies; chrysanthemum, lotuses and so on. Sometimes, images such as lotuses, phoenixes and peonies, flying cranes, flying moths and all kinds of frolicking children motifs were used. Yaozhou products were geared towards the common people. With its unique local style, top rate quality and style among porcelain products of its category in northern China, Yaozhou celadon had was selected as yearly tribute ware for the Northern Song (960-1127 A.D.) courts.

    Among the five great kilns of the Song Dynasty, three of which were devoted to

making celadon, which were the Imperial, Ru and Ge kilns. However, each kiln style

had its distinctive celadon colors which set them apart. The Ru kiln mostly produced

celadon that were sky blue and glue-grey; the Imperial and Ge kilns have more similar colors, where the glazes can be light greenish blue, moon white, glossy gray, yellow green and so on.

    Of all the celadon of the Song Dynasty, Jingdezhen's Qingbai, or blue and white

porcelain, was the most unique. With thin and refined body, its decorative patterns

sometimes cast projections when light strikes through them. The glaze was clear and sparkling, making Qingbai porcelain win over other porcelain products for its purity and refinement. The decorative motifs on Qingbai were exquisite, as carved, painted, imprinted and embossed sculpture images were expertly applied. It has become a prestigious brand and representative of Song Dynasty porcelain wares. Under its influence, many kilns around Fujian, Guangdong, Sichuan, Zhejiang, Anhui, Hubei, Yunnan, Guangxi and other provinces all began to imitate and produce Qingbai, eventually establishing a family of Qingbai kilns in China. Since Qingbai porcelain was an attempt to recreate the splendor of green-white jade ware, thus its glaze color fell between green and white. Its name was the general term representing a whole family of porcelains where white was found within green and vice versa.

    Chinese celadon after the Song Dynasty kept on a course of development. However, by the Yuan Dynasty, a new trend in Chinese ceramics began as more folk elements were adopted into the craft. The simplistic and clean look began to give way to brightly colored and decorated wares. People no longer wanted celadon that were as pure and clear as jade and with only a single layer of glaze. Instead, they turn to colored porcelain with its many illustrated surfaces with stories and splendid imagery.