Jingdezhen Porcelain [Jiangxi Jingdezhen Specialty]

What is Jingdezhen porcelain? Authentic Specialty of Jingdezhen, Jiangxi: Jingdezhen Porcelain

Summary:Do you want to know what Jingdezhen porcelain is? This article is a detailed introduction to Jingdezhen porcelain, a special product of Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province. It was compiled and edited by the editorial team of China Specialty Network, who reviewed and collected relevant information on Jingdezhen porcelain. The full text takes about 19 minutes to read, mainly including the basic introduction of Jingdezhen porcelain and the product characteristics of Jingdezhen porcelain? How did the history of Jingdezhen porcelain come about? Wait

Basic Introduction to Jingdezhen Porcelain

Jingdezhen porcelain "began in the Han Dynasty", around 25-220 AD during the Eastern Han Dynasty. At this time, pottery was "very coarse in quality, very thick in body, and light and rough in glaze color", "only for rough use by the common people", and was not exported. Therefore, the impact is extremely limited. Jingdezhen during the Five Dynasties period established its position as the earliest place in the south to produce white porcelain and its high achievements in white porcelain, thus breaking the monopoly of celadon in the south and forming a pattern of "southern blue and northern white". It played an extremely important role in the production of blue and white porcelain in the Song Dynasty and the development of the porcelain industry in the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties. Jingdezhen porcelain is widely used in art ceramics, daily life ceramics, and display ceramics. It is known for its white porcelain, which is known as "white as jade, clear as a mirror, thin as paper, and sound like a rock". The variety is complete, and there have been more than three varieties of names. Excellent porcelain quality, lightweight design, and diverse decorations. In terms of decoration, there are blue and white, underglaze red, ancient color, pink color, doucai, new color, underglaze colorful, blue and white exquisite, etc. Among them, blue and white, pink color products are the main products, and color glaze is a famous product. There are many varieties of glaze colors, including green, blue, red, yellow, black, and so on. Only the red glaze system, including Jun Hong, Lang Yao Hong, Ji Hong, and Rose Purple, is fired with a "reducing flame" and its products are well-known worldwide

From the perspective of folk kilns, the porcelain industry in Jingdezhen began to separate into firing and making industries at the latest since the end of the Song Dynasty and the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty. Pottery and food workers are not subject to artistic commissions, but are hired by kiln owners as assistants. It was not until the Qing Dynasty that the "kiln owners" who operated both the burning and cooking industries emerged. At the same time, the civilian kiln industry also has a complete production system. This system is divided into different industries, each with its own gang organization. They operate independently and are in constant contact with each other. Due to different divisions of labor, craftsmen must each master a specialized skill and make it a lifelong profession. This provides a strong guarantee for the improvement of the craftsmanship level and proficiency of the craftsmen, as well as more opportunities for the creation of new crafts. The achievements of porcelain making technology in Jingdezhen during the Ming and Qing dynasties are inseparable from the detailed division of labor in Jingdezhen's porcelain industry

A large number of household and display ceramics are used, with white porcelain being the most famous. It is known as "white as jade, clear as a mirror, thin as paper, and sound like a rock", with a complete variety of varieties, and has reached more than three varieties. Excellent porcelain quality, lightweight design, and diverse decorations. In terms of decoration, there are blue and white, underglaze red, ancient color, pink color, doucai, new color, underglaze colorful, blue and white exquisite, etc. Among them, blue and white, pink color products are the main products, and color glaze is a famous product. There are many varieties of glaze colors, including green, blue, red, yellow, black, and so on. Only the red glaze system, including Jun Hong, Lang Yao Hong, Ji Hong, and Rose Purple, is fired using a "reducing flame". The product is world-renowned

Development during the Yuan Dynasty

Jingdezhen porcelain industry underwent a revolutionary change in craftsmanship during the Yuan Dynasty. In just one century, following the creation of blue and white porcelain in the Song Dynasty, new varieties with high alumina content, such as white porcelain, blue and white porcelain, underglaze red, and blue and white underglaze red, were successfully created and fired, ending the dominance of single color glaze in Chinese porcelain and advancing porcelain decoration to a new era of underglaze color, forming distinct characteristics of Chinese porcelain. Thus pushing Jingdezhen porcelain industry to a far ahead position

Development in the Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty is the beginning of Jingdezhen's heyday. Ceramic art has gathered the essence of the porcelain art of previous dynasties and achieved higher development. All the varieties that existed in previous generations are now readily available; A large number of new crafts and decorative techniques have also emerged one after another. Like the fresh and elegant blue and white paintings of Yongle and Xuande, with vivid charm and on par with ink painting; Bright and bright red, with a color as bright as the morning glow, shining as bright as the morning sun, spreading virtue, and turning red; Underglaze and overglaze, mutually concealed, soft and exquisite Chenghua Doucai; The Yongle thin body, as thin as paper, as transparent as jade, and as sweet and white as the desire to fly with blowing; The magnificent and magnificent Jiajing and Wanli are colorful; There are also the three colors of plain, yellow, green, and purple, which are as interesting as jade peacock green, deep and clear blue, delicate and gentle light yellow, stable alum red, and so on. They all originated in the Ming Dynasty, like a hundred flowers blooming together, a thousand shades of purple and red, and are extremely beautiful

The Hongwu period was the most prosperous period of underglaze red firing in the Ming Dynasty, with not only a large quantity but also many large vessels. Yongle white porcelain is quite famous, known as "sweet white" in the world. According to literature records, Emperor Yongle was very fond of pure and lustrous white porcelain, which should be the main reason for the popularity of Yongle white porcelain. The white glazed hidden flower holding pot and hidden flower double ear flat pot showcase the superb porcelain making skills of Jingdezhen craftsmen to the world with their varied shapes, delicate and antique techniques, and crystal clear white glaze colors. The Xuande period was the golden age of blue and white porcelain firing in the Ming Dynasty. The blue and white dragon patterned flat teapot is the first of many utensils, with a tall and handsome appearance, a fine body and smooth glaze. The pattern is painted with imported Su Ma Li Qing, and the color is bright and strong. There are only a few surviving objects. The traditional product of Jingdezhen Imperial Ware Factory in the Ming Dynasty, with blue ground, white flowers, broken branches, flower and fruit patterns, is particularly exquisite among the products of various dynasties, especially the Xuande ware. Doucai was created and fired during the Chenghua period. This type of porcelain, which outlines patterns with blue and white under the glaze and fills the glaze with red, yellow, green, purple and other colors, is well-known throughout the world. Most of the surviving artifacts are collected by the National Palace Museum in Taiwan, and it is rare for individuals to collect Chenghua Doucai artifacts

The late Ming Dynasty was an unprecedented era of blue and white colorful firing, with the number of Jiajing Wanli being the largest. However, there were not many vessels with tall shapes, superb skills, and well preserved lids and bodies

Development in the Qing Dynasty

In the Qing Dynasty, the production of Chinese porcelain entered a new historical period, especially Yongzheng products, which were unique for their fine glaze, elegant and exquisite patterns. The pink quail painting bottle is one of the unparalleled masterpieces. This new technique, which uses golden red coloring in the color material and glass white as the base rendering, not only vividly portrays the yin and yang sides of the pattern, but also has a softer and more elegant color than traditional colorful colors. Especially when paired with a fine white tire wall, it is even more exquisite and makes people feel reluctant to put it down

Jingdezhen has a long tradition of porcelain making, and the vast number of porcelain workers possess unique skills. In extremely difficult circumstances, they strive to develop antique porcelain and art porcelain production characterized by manual skills, and insist on fighting against foreign machine-made daily-use porcelain, maintaining the international reputation of Chinese porcelain and demonstrating the potential of revitalizing ceramics in decline<67. So, a history of Chinese ceramics is a vivid history of China, a vivid history of Chinese national culture

Modern Development

After the reform and opening up, Jingdezhen porcelain made great breakthroughs in craftsmanship and techniques, and underwent a transformation from the top ten state-owned porcelain factories to private enterprises. The porcelain in Jingdezhen area can be said to have reached another new stage of development. There are more and more ceramic enterprises with increasing scale, and a trend of "specialization in each profession" has been formed. There has been great development in difficult firing processes such as high-temperature color glaze, powder color rolling process, and various types of porcelain. For example, many new styles have been added to tableware ceramics, including European style and Korean style tableware