¡°The Song Dynasty rose up in 960 A.D.; China seemingly entered a modern age when a kind of material culture began. The circulation of hard currency was more universalized compared to previous dynasties. Inventions such as gunpowder,

 ancient flame throwers, the mariner's compass used in maritime navigation, astronomical clock, blast furnace, hydraulic spinning machine, the use of watertight chest in shipbuilding and so on, all

 inferiority when compared to any other city in the world." These were the words of renowned contemporary historian Ray Huang in his book The Grand History of China, which presented Song Dynasty features in all its glory.

     Without a doubt, the Song Dynasty was an important segment in ancient Chinese history. There were two stages, the Northern Song and Southern Song periods, spanning a total of 320 years. Regardless of material or spiritual culture, all flourished and expanded upon the foundations of the Tang Dynasty, and exceeding those of the Tang on a general scope.

     Speaking of the prosperous commercial scenes of the Song Dynasty, people often connect it in their minds with a great painting -- Upriver Scenes During the Bright and Pure Festival by Northern Song artist Zhang Zeduan. This painting on a scroll 18 feet-long depicts the heyday of the then capital city of Bianliang, from the countryside to busy urban areas. Each section of the scroll reflects a different time of day. The far right section shows farmers driving donkeys hauling baskets full of vegetables to the market; the time is early morning as the trees are enshrouded in morning mist. The left side is showing a performance troupe answering a curtain call; the time is of dusk and the peddlers after a hard day's work are gathering up leftover supplies, ready to return home.

    A total of over 500 people are depicted in the painting, each with different personalities, dress and going by their own routines. There are city gates, street crossings, large streets and small alleyways; there are people peddling on the street sides, as well as three-story tall shops, inns, all types of restaurants, teahouses and food shops all over the city. There is an arch bridge in the middle of the city connecting both banks of the Bian River, in which are about two dozen tour and merchant boats. In terms of material living, 12th century China was undoubtedly leading the rest of the world.

     Record has it that at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, in the city of Kaifeng, "city dwellers often shop for food or dine

Dragon-handled and cock-headed white pottery, H 27.4 cm, Dia. at mouth 5.9 cm, Dia. at waist 11.5 cm, Dia. at foot 7.1 cm, weight 0.8 kg.

Toddler-shaped porcelain pillow. Song Dynasty, L 40 cm, W 14 cm, H 18.3 cm. The Palace Museum, Beijing.

Ding kiln gui with animal-shaped handles and tile patterns.Northern Song Dynasty.

Tri-pod writing-brush washbasin, H 3.6 cm, Dia. 18.3 cm at mouth.Ru kiln. Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing.

Maroon pot with gold painting, H 18.1 cm, Dia. 9.1 cm at mouth. Ding Kiln. Northern Song Dynasty.

Statue of the Guanyin Bodhisattva, H 19.1 cm, Dehua kiln. Ming Dynasty. Collection of the Chongqing Museum.

Ge kiln sunflower-shaped bowl, Dia. 20 cm at mouth. Southern Song Dynasty.

Fenqing gui-type stove. Imperial kiln. Southern Song Dynasty.

Jizhou kiln porcelain vase with spiral cloud patterns. Song Dynasty.

Rhombic-lined paper-cuts on rabbit fluff ground, Song Dynasty.

Jun kiln zun in indigo blue glaze. Northern Song Dynasty.

Jun Kiln flowerpot in rosy purple glaze, Northern Song Dynasty.

Ge kiln tri-pod cauldron with double handles. Song Dynasty.

    Even at small towns or main traffic pivots, taverns and teahouses were readily available. Country and city inns also provided dining services. People of the Song Dynasty mostly had three meals per day. The old tradition of sitting on mats on the floor has totally changed. The culinary techniques of the Song Dynasty was very

much like the cooking of the Chinese in the present day, using water, oil and all sorts of sauces to boil, steam, stir-fry, deep fry, fry, dice and braise, and roast their foods. People of the upper social classes in the Song Dynasty held banquets with lavish settings, as extravagant and wasteful conduct was actually the prevailing social trend. In the capital city of the Southern Song Dynasty, the commissions for chefs of the highest class were not affordable to even the prefecture government. It was obvious just how costly classy banquets could be. Tea and spirits were the most important drinks of the Song people; even for people of the lowest sodal ranks, tea was a crucial tool for socializing. Drinking alcohol was prevalent in all social classes, as many nobilities and wealthy merchants have self-made liquor stored in their homes. The high development of the food and beverage industry required large quantifies of vessels for day to day use. Song liquors were sold in

flasks; when brewing or drinking tea, different tea ware was called for; and banquets hired servants specifically to attend to the dining utensils. All the above factors undoubtedly helped to advance Song Dynasty porcelain industry very rapidly.

    On the aesthetic side, the "rejuvenation of Confucianism" had profound impact on Song porcelain. The Song emperor encouraged the practice of nurturing top talents. Thus there were a group of influential philosophers and thinkers born from the scholar-officials in the Imperial government. New concepts sprung up everywhere as Confucian ethics were juxtaposed upon Buddhist and Daoist views of the universe. The Song people believed the motions of the universe contained infinite cause-and-effect relationships. People's doings should be in accordance with the laws of nature, which they referred to as "heavenly justice."

    A kind of self-awareness was thus gradually promulgated throughout the society of the scholar-officials - "the scholars shall carry the worries of the world before the people, and shall feel the joy in the world after the people." They shouldered the responsibilities of the country as their own duty; this has become the spirit of their era, as to strengthen righteousness and firm attitudes in later Chinese Confucianists. In regards to aesthetics, they were focused upon the intangible life experiences, launching a purely spiritual search in nature. Therefore, the

aesthetic ideal of the Song Dynasty returned to the expression of natural order, finding rhythm from within stillness and silence; this was transcending the mere satisfaction of people's senses. Synthetic decorations were no longer the preferred style; instead, taste for the natural and simplistic was of the highest standard. This kind of aesthetic preference was especially apparent in Song Dynasty porcelain ware.

    Great inventions such as gunpowder, the mariner's compass and movable type

printing signified a time of rapid breakthroughs in science and technology. The

porcelain craft industry, as it was closely related to technology, entered the "age of porcelain." Newly established kilns sprouted up from all parts of the country.

Regardless of celadon, white porcelain, black porcelain or overglazed or underglazed colored porcelain, the craftsmanship improved by a great deal. There were many innovative new methods in modeling, decorative images, body and glaze. Song Dynasty porcelain, with its simplistic and elegant designs, captivating colors and an infinitely varied crystallization and crackling patterns, was famed throughout the world. The so-called "Five Great Kilns" including Ding, Ru, Imperial, Ge and Jun kilns were the cream of the crop.

Ding Kilns

    Production sites of Ding kilns were found in present day Quyang County, Hebei

Province. Quyang County back in the Song Dynasty was within the Dingzhou region, hence the name Ding kilns. The history of the Ding kilns can be traced back based on unearthed specimens. There were white porcelains being made here as early as the Tang Dynasty; by the Five Dynasties Period, the porcelain business here was already booming. After the Northern Song Dynasty, Ding kilns were famous for its off-white glazes and exquisite engravings, etchings, and imprinted patterns on porcelain. Porcelain kilns from other areas all strove to imitate Ding porcelain, which became the standard of white porcelain in China. Aside from white porcelain, the Ding kilns also produced black, crimson, and green glazed porcelain. Its technology and varieties in glaze colors were astonishing.

     Early Ding porcelain was single colored with little or no decoration; by late-Northern Song Dynasty however, there would be exquisite patterns on porcelain wares, which were engraved, etched or imprinted. The patterns were precisely laid

 out, with a clear sense of sections and layers; lines were clear and organized into loose and dense areas. Popular motifs included water waves, swimming fish, land animals, birds, flowers, and playful children. Peonies, lotuses, and pomegranates

 and so on were the most common floral motifs.

    Engraved floral door was the principal way of ornamentation in early Song porcelain. Once the technique caught on, it was combined with comb etched images as another form of ornamentation. For example, at the center part of a flare-lip dish, the image of a flower was first carved, then with a fine-toothed comb, the area within the outlines of the leaves were comb-etched, leaving parallel lines that represent veins of the leaves. The most popular motifs done in this technique were the lotus, peony and so on.

    Engravings usually relied on bamboo chips and knives, while comb-etchings relied on a tool similar in shape to a comb to leave orderly patterns on the body. The combined result was commonly referred to as "bamboo outlines with brushed patterns," with lines that were tidy and natural. Imprinted patterns on Ding porcelain first appeared in mid-Northern Song Dynasty, and matured late in the dynasty. The patterned d6cor was often place on the insides of plates and bowls. To make imprinted patterns, it would require a mold with engraved patterns, which is pressed onto the not yet dried surface of the clay body. Most often, the imprinted image would be a positive image and would have added thickness and can create a very special effect of depth when light strikes the object. The motifs and designs were normally borrowed from silk tapestry or gold and silverware produced in the Dingzhou area. Therefore, imprinted motifs on Ding porcelain have appeared to be mature in style right from the start, with very high artistic merits. It had quite an effect on imprinted designs of latter generations.

    The Song Dynasty Ding kilns produced vessels such as bowls, dishes, jars, cups, cases, vases, and pots, all for daily use. Vessels such as bowls with their large mouths and thinly cast bodies, needed to be overturned when fired in order to avoid deformation. Therefore at the mouth, there was the absence of glaze which felt quite astringent. High class items often have copper, gold or silver rims at the mouths. Rare items were the round-bottomed jars and baby-shaped pillows with forms that were realistic and cuddly. From today's surviving examples of Ding kilns' quality works, people have found especially valuable pieces which contained

inscriptions, imprinted writing or handwritings.

    Among the five great kilns of the Song Dynasty, only the Ding kilns produced white porcelain, and it was quite famous during its time. It was for a time offered as tribute to the imperial families, but was then discontinued for an unclear cause. The official given reason was that ding porcelain had unglazed parts. This was

because Ding porcelain was produced through upside-down firing, and had no glaze at its mouth. However, Ding porcelain often had extensive gold, silver and copper edged around the unglazed rim. Therefore, some people believe that the real reason for discontinuing imperial use of Ding porcelain was not because of the unglazed areas. Instead, it was attributed to the aesthetic preferences of its times. The white of the Ding porcelain was turbid, opaque and bland. In order to counter such a drawback, most Ding wares were decorated with imprinted or engraved patterns.

    When compared to porcelain of the Ge, Imperial Ru and Jun kilns,Ding porcelain contained more synthetic features, which fell short of achieving the ideals of natural and subtle beauty in the Song Dynasty. For this reason, Ding porcelain did not quite capture the interest of the literati class, and may have been considered

objects of somewhat vulgar taste and style.

Ru Kilns

    The Ru kilns have been oft mentioned by the writings of the literati. However, it was not until 1987 that a kiln site was actually discovered in a monastery that fired porcelain for the imperial government. The Ru kilns produced porcelain for the court for only a short twenty some years; the rest of the time was devoted

 to porcelain ware for average citizen use. Therefore, porcelains made by the Ru kilns for the imperial court known today are few and rare piece of treasure (less than 100 specimens in existence today). Due to its rarity, imperial Ru wares were sometimes hailed during the Ming and Qing Dynasties as the best of the Song kilns.

     According to the book About Ceramics from the Qing Dynasty, "Ru kilns were

 originally producers of ce|adon." Archeological digs further proved that sky-blue

celadon, black porcelain, celadon, and Song tri-colored ware existed during the same time. The Ru celadon wares in the permanent collections of the Beijing Palace Museum, Shanghai Museum and Tianjin Museum all had glazes of a light sky blue color. Some were relatively darker and some were a bit subtler; all were smooth with restrained luster. There were fine and dense crackles that resembled crackling of ice. The Chinese slang for this effect was "crab claw veins."

    When the Ru kilns fired celadon, the ware was first fired in oxidation flame, then in reduction flame. The temperature was kept at relatively low levels (1,125 to 1,225 degrees Celsius), followed by a period of natural cool down so as to cause

crystallization in the glaze. The rich amounts of crystals covered more than half of the glazed area. Sparse air bubbles also formed. Since Ru celadon experienced good crystallization during the firing process, its glazed surfaces not only showed a sky-blue color, a jade-like turbidity was also present.

    The sizes of most Ru porcelain vessels were usually rather small, none exceeded

30 cm in height; most were around 20 cm or so. The sizes of dishes, writing-brush basin, plates and other round wares Were from 10 to 16 cm in diameter at the mouths. Those over 20 cm were very rare. The bodies of Ru porcelain were all quite thin and grayish in color. Round vessels such as plates and bowls were glazed in entirety, not exposing any areas of the body. Since these porcelains were fired while on extremely thin supporting stands, the back sides of most Ru Wares had three to five very small burn marks. The ancients described these marks as "sesame-sized."

Imperial Kilns

    The Song imperial kilns were centralized in two locations; at the former capital

city of Bianjing (present day Kaifeng city) during the Northern Song Dynasty, and

later at the city of Hangzhou in the Southern Song Dynasty after the regime moved

southward. The Northern Song Imperial kilns produced celadon, but with various

shades and luster in the glaze. The glaze colors included light greenish blue, moon

white, glossy gray and yellow-green. Though the colors were different, they all

contained the common element of green or blue-green, and its beauty was heightened by the use of different colored bodies. The bodies can be blackish gray, dark gray, light gray or earth yellow, and when coated in glaze, produced different greens and blues. Since the body colors were quite deep, it conveyed a sense of unfathomable sophistication; it was perhaps what the literati sought for during that time.

    The bodies most often used for Imperial wares contained rather high concentrations of iron, producing an effect called "purple mouth and iron feet." At the mouth of the vessel, the glaze was thin, revealing the ground underneath and thus the purplish color; the feet had no glaze at all, showing the iron-rich body, which turned black after being fired. Imperial porcelain also borrowed from Ru kiln's technique of decorating the porcelain with crackles, which gave the vessel extra pizzazz in glaze color as well as an antiqueness and sophistication. This kind of beauty occurred naturally through the glazing process and changes in technolog3~ and was in accord with Song Dynasty ideologies.

    Historical records describe that the Imperial kilns of the Southern Song Dynasty

were "located at the foot of Mount Phoenix." At the described location, tons of shards from porcelain wares and kiln equipment were discovered, but the actual ruins of the kilns were never discovered. It was not until September of 1996 that someone unintentionally discovered the Tiger Cave kiln, a site near the ruins of the Southern Song imperial city near Mount Phoenix. The kiln site's location was exactly where the Imperial Xiuneisi was located. Among the large amounts of porcelain fragments, inscriptions in brown coloring that read "Xiuneisi" or "Imperial Kiln" were found underneath glazed porcelain fragments that used to be the base parts of vessels. In an excavation by the Hangzhou Cultural Relic and Archeology Institute that followed, more Imperial ware fragments and kiln tools were uncovered. A second Imperial kiln was built during the Southern Song Dynasty, named Jiaotan Imperial kiln. Its ruins remain today at the southern suburbs of Hangzhou City.

Imperial porcelain of the Southern Song excelled in glaze color, the crackling effect of the glaze and form of the vessels. They were presented in modest simplicity, yet elegant. The glazing effect made it feel moist and smooth as if jade. Minimal decorations were used. Aside from the commonly seen plant and animal motifs, there were also all types of parallel lines, the eight trigrams, cloud and thunder, geometric, rings, dots and so on.

 Techniques of decoration included engravings, mold imprints, relief, sculpturing, pierced patterns, pierced sculptures and more. Engraving was mostly used on bowls, dishes and other containers for daily use. Mold imprints were more widely adopted by the full range of vessels. Embossed sculptures were mostly used for vases, kettles, stoves and wine vessels, which were retro-styled vessels. Pierced sculpture was for decorating lids, pedestals and stoves. With the growing number of ways of decoration and improvements in porcelain firing techniques, as well as for a multitude of crafting tools, the quality of Southern Song Imperial kilns were top notch. It is clear that strong emphasis was placed on the development of Imperial kilns in the Southern Song Dynasty.

Ge Kilns

    The Ge kilns had always been a mystery in the history of ceramics. Although

authentic Ge porcelain wares are on display in the Beijing Palace Museum, Shanghai Museum and the Palace Museum of Taipei and so on, there is no surviving documentation from the Song Dynasty, nor had any kiln sites ever been identified.

    From existing Ge ware, we see all kinds of stoves, vases and dishes, including tripod cauldrons, cauldrons with fish-shaped handles, cauldron with glazed feet and

double handles, cylindrical vases, thin-necked urns, bent bodied plates and so on,

mostly imitating the designs of ritualistic bronze ware and were intended for court

use. Thus it had common elements with Ru and Imperial kilns but was very different

from porcelain for the common people.

    The most distinguished feature of Ge porcelain ware would be its crackling

patterns. The surface of the glaze displays natural patterns such as ice-crackles, fine crackles, or fish egg crackles and so forth.. The areas enclosed within the cracks can vary from the size of large chunks of ice to speckles as small as fish eggs. The actual crackle lines also vary in width and can be filled in with different colors such as black, gold or red. This effect is sometimes referred to as "gold and iron threads." The crackling in the glaze is caused by differences in the degree of expansion of various parts of the glaze. This was originally an imperfection in technology, but was taken advantage of by porcelain artisans and made into added aesthetic element.

Jun Kilns

    The Jun kilns were based in Henan Province and had locations throughout its Yu

County. As of today, over 100 kiln sites have been discovered. Some of which specially

produced porcelain ware for the imperial courts, with a history that dated back to the Tang Dynasty; its most flourishing period was during the Song Dynasty. The unique feature of Jun porcelain lied with its special turbid glaze, which contained low concentrates of copper oxide. If we consider iron oxide the coloring agents for celadon and black porcelain, then Jun porcelain gained its wonderful hues from copper oxide. Copper turns green in oxidation fire and red instead in reduction atmosphere. Due to the small traces of copper oxide in Jun porcelain glaze, its color was often green infused with violet, as if the rosy clouds during sunset. Even the blue contained in Jun porcelain was different from the usual celadon;

it was a Jun with a milky tone. The successful creation of Jun porcelain was a great achievement by the craftsmen of the Song Dynasty. Its mysterious and unpredictable colors have gained the love of the people during its time, making the Jun kilns one of the most famous around.

By using copper oxides as the pigment, the Jun kilns successfully produced copper-red glaze in a reduction fire. This was a breakthrough in the technology of ceramics. Adding copper oxide as coloring agent was a rather difficult task, as the chemical components in the basic glaze, the temperature and atmosphere were all very sensitive factors. Even the smallest bit of deviation from the requirements would have resulted in an undesirable shade of red. Another distinguishing feature of Jun porcelain glaze would be the pattern referred to as "earthworm crawling in the mud." It appeared as if the trails left in the soil by earthworms. This was a result of the glaze being particularly thick in Jun ware.

When in the process of baking, under low temperatures, the glaze began to chap. When the temperature was raised, glaze that had not congealed flowed back into the crackled creases. Just as the crackle glaze, this defect in firing technology turned into a kind of rich and unique decorative language. There is a saying that no two pieces of Jun porcelain are identical, which means that even porcelain born of the same kiln are somewhat different, as most of the coloring is done through a natural process; people have little control over the glaze color. However, this type of natural formation was the highest ideal in aesthetics at the time.

    Jun porcelain vessels such as flower pots, cauldrons, writing- brush washbasins and more; all modeled after ancient bronze vessels used for rituals. Thus Jun porcelain appeared retrospective and stately, with the most meticulous attention to detail. There were similarities between Jun porcelain and those of the Imperial, Ru and other kilns of the same time period, because they were all intended for serving the courts. Flowers and floral patterns were the fashionable form of decoration for

porcelain at this time. However, Jun porcelain used not patterned decorations but the vessels themselves came in the shapes of flowers. Commonly seen were toilet cases, flowerpots, flat bowls and writing-brush washbasins in the shape of Chinese crabapple flowers; Flowerpots and pot bases in the shape of lotuses; as well as pot bases made to resemble sunflowers. It was a truly unique feature of the Jun kilns.

    Of the five aforementioned great kilns of the Song Dynasty, aside from Ding porcelain which had engraved or imprinted patterns as decorations, the other kilns all produced purely non-decorated porcelain. Of course this absence of ornamentation did not equal to being bland, rather it was reliance on natural formation. The Ge, Imperial and Ru kilns all produced celadon, and all three utilized crackle glaze as a form of decoration. The crackle glaze was caused by different degrees of contraction at different parts of the glaze. Thus when fired, the surface of the glaze would begin to chap. This may originally have been an imperfection of the firing technology. However, porcelain artisans were able to take advantage of this defect and made it a naturally formed decorative element.

    In the annals of history, there were many kilns that were less often mentioned and came to be judged as less important. However, they also produced great porcelain wares, as the Song Dynasty was a time when masterpiece porcelain ware emerged in an endless stream. Aside from the kilns already discussed, there were also the Ying celadon of the town of Jingdezhen; celadon of the Longquan kilns; the Tuhao and Youdi porcelains from the Jian kilns and much more. All these famous porcelain embodied the aesthetic principles advocated by high society during their times.

    In addition, Cizhou kilns, Jizhou kilns, Yaozhou kilns and other commoner's kilns, with locations throughout China, produced porcelain that had vivid and unique styles and body, capturing the eyes of collectors and connoisseurs both domestic and abroad. For example, the porcelain-making technology of Cizhou kilns were spread to many parts of China, and even influenced Korea, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam and other countries, who produced similar porcelain wares.