Pottery and Porcelain

 Pottery is an important indication of the New Stone Age in the history of mankind, and the

    Early earthenware developed gradually. They first had the colors of gray, black and white, then some were impressed with lines and figures, and later some were decorated with colorful, opaque glazes. The shapes of earthenware also grew from simple to complex and from coarse to delicate. The most well-known works of pottery from early periods of ancient China are the terracotta warriors and horses excavated in Lintong of Shaanxi Province, from the site of the tomb of Emperor Shihuang of the Qin Dynasty. The terracotta army was discovered accidentally in 1974. Since then more than 6,000 life-size terracotta warriors and horses and over 100 chariots have been unearthed from three pits.

Now a modem structure covers the three pits, and they constitute the on-site Museum of Qin Terracotta Warriors. Pit No. 1 is the largest: 230 meters east to west, 62 meters north to south, and 5 meters deep. It totals 14,260 square meters in area and houses an army formation. The warriors included soldiers, reinsmen, armored soldiers, officers, and generals, some standing, and some kneeling, with some horses among them. The smaller Pit No. 2 houses a cavalry formation, with a large number of chariots buried inside. The smallest is Pit No. 3, which houses sixty to seventy officers and generals, seeming to be a headquarters. The warriors and horses were skillfully made. The warriors have vivid hair, beards, facial expressions, and clothes, including their folds and wrinkles. And the horses are strong and ready to go into battles. The figures were painted with bright mineral pigments, most of which have now flaked. These warriors as funeral objects were made to defend the emperor in the next world. The Qin people must have paid a great deal to build such a terracotta army, but their legacy has been praised as the eighth wonder of the world. Jacques Shirac, now president of France, said in 1978 when he visited the Museum: "One can't claim to have visited China unless one has seen these terracotta warriors."

    Tang Tricolor marked the second heyday of pottery in ancient China. The pottery artworks of the Tang Dynasty were decorated with mainly three glazes - yellow, green and white, hence the name Tang Tricolor. This kind of pottery works were developed from the green- and brown-glazed pottery of the Han Dynasty, and they were quite well known at home and abroad at the time they were made. Tang Tricolor works include horses, camels, beauties, dragon-decorated cups, musician figures, and pottery, pillows. Among them the tri-colored horses are the most common, and the tri-colored camels are the best. The camels, usually carrying silk or musicians on their backs, were led by red-bearded and blue-eyed Tartars from central Asia, who wore narrow-sleeved gowns and hats with brims turned up. These figures remind people of the scenes on the ancient Silk Road. The tri-colored pottery works have been in production for more than 1,300 years, and they have incorporated features of other art forms, such as traditional Chinese painting and sculpture. The colored glazes applied on the pottery flowed and seeped at high temperatures in the kiln, producing natural shades on the final artworks. They constitute a landmark in the history of Chinese pottery.

     The third heyday of Chinese pottery was marked by Zisha Tao, or purple-clay pottery. Made of a purple clay with a high iron content and fired at a temperature of 1,200 degrees Centigrade, such earthenware shows different shades of purple colors. High-quality Zisha pottery wares, mainly teapots, are elegantly shaped by hand by skillful potters. Zisha wares were first mentioned in Song Dynasty classics. Zisha pottery, came to its height in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The most celebrated Zisha wares are produced in Yixing of Jiangsu Province, and the best ones are sold at astonishingly high prices. Although unglazed, Zisha pottery is waterproof. Zisha teapots can keep the fragrance of tea even till the next day, and they are also heat-resistant.

    China is universally acknowledged as the homeland of porcelain, which is also known as china. Ceramics include both earthenware and porcelain, and their differences lie mainly in the clays used to make them. Earthenware or porous pottery is made of porous clay, while porcelain, porcelain clay or kaolin. Porcelain clay contains kaolin,quartzite, feldspar and mullite, with little iron content. Porcelains are fired at 1,200 to 1,300 degrees Centigrade - both the body and the glaze applied on it are fired at such high temperatures. The final product is white,

rigid, and with no or little water absorption. It sounds like metal when struck. Celadon became mature and representative of porcelain after the development of lead glaze and competition between blue and white porcelains. In the Song Dynasty Chinese porcelain saw its first peak of development with six major varieties respectively made in the kilns of Ding, Yaozhou, Jun, Cizhou, Longquan, and Jingdezhen. These were all ordinary kilns that met the needs of all sectors of society. There were also imperial kilns that provided wares for the imperial court: Ru, Ge, Ding, Jun, and Guan.

    Celadon wares from the Yuan Dynasty were marked by their large size and heavy body. The decorations were painted delicately in bright blue, and covered by Yingqing glaze. The extant wares are mainly high-end products from the Fuliang Porcelain Factory. There are also some smaller celadon wares from the Yuan Dynasty. The glaze used on such wares is of an egg-white color, and their decorations are simple and Straight forward. Such wares were mostly made in ordinary kilns for daily use. The decorations are mainly pines, plums, bamboo, lotus, dragon, phoenix, crane, deer, people, flowers, birds, and grass. Some of them also feature historical stories. Large, high-end celadon wares from the Yuan Dynasty are extremely rare today - they number only several hundred, and mostly kept in foreign collections. This is because they were made mainly for export. In the 1950s Chinese porcelain experts learned that there were a large number of Yuan celadon wares kept in a museum in Istanbul, Turkey, and they were eager to view them.

But the Turkish authorities were so cautious that the visit was delayed time and again. It was in the early 21^st century that the hopes of Chinese experts came true, only after repeated consultations, diplomatic maneuvers and approval by the Turkish prime minister. For three consecutive days, seven Chinese experts examined the treasured wares under the supervision of Turkish armed guards. The 40 Yuan celadon wares, all large and fully decorated, gave great excitement to the experts. An elderly man among them recalled, "When I first saw the wares, I sobbed softly. I touched them again and again in admiration." Another elderly man said, "I have realized a lifelong dream to see the treasured wares. Now I would have no regret when I die."

    In the Ming and Qing dynasties Chinese craftsmen in the porcelain industry carried on the fine traditions of previous empires, and the industry moved to new heights with Jingdezhen as its center. People praised a variety of porcelain from Jingdezhen, saying it is "as thin as paper, as bright as mirror, as white as snow, and as resonant as chime stone." This shows the perfection of Ming and Qing porcelains.