Pottery Art in China with A Long History IV --- Chinese Ceramic Pottery

As one of the four ancient civilization nations, China has contributed much to the society of development and progress of human, among them the invention and development of pottery is particular important and significant.

Pottery craftwork and ceramic art is the oldest arts and crafts of our country. As far away as in the New Stone Age there are gray pottery, terracotta, white pottery, painted pottery and black pottery with simple and rude styles. In Shang Dynasty glazed pottery and rigid glazed pottery which initially featured with porcelain characters appeared yet. The porcelain was created in the Eastern Han Dynasty, whose production techniques and artistic creation level reached to a high degree of maturity. In Song Dynasty the industry of porcelain flourished greatly, and dozens of famous porcelain kilns emerged in rush. As to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the technology of blank forging, decorating and glazing to firing of pottery are more advanced than those in previous generations.

The mainly species of Chinese pottery are terracotta, black pottery, white pottery, painted pottery, printed pottery and faience pottery and so on.

* Terracotta Pottery

Terracotta Pottery is one kind of pottery in Neolithic Age, and as the clay of which containing a few elements of Fe, which will be oxidized into ferric oxide when roasting, as a result the color of the pottery will take on earth red, brick red or henna, and it got its name consequently.

* Black Pottery

The invention of black pottery, according to archaeological discoveries was taken placed in late Neolithic Age, it was bred out between 2600 BC - 2000 BC. As the black pottery was produced through traditional techniques of pottery, so people often shocked by the magnificent and noble beauty of black pottery, it could bring people will feelings of dignity, comfort, quietness and extending. The discovery of Black pottery culture indicates the pottery production technology of Chinese ceramic has achieved to an unprecedented level, and it also displayed to backwards the historical process of the conversion of pottery production from possessing practicability to meeting aesthetic demands.

* White Pottery

"White pottery" is a leap forward from pottery to porcelain. "White pottery" is one kind of pottery, whose inside and exterior surface are both taken on white. Most of ceramic blanks are handmade and using porcelain clay or kaolin which contains less Fe elements than china clay, and the firing temperature of which is about 1000 degrees. The invention and application of incised white pottery in late Shang Dynasty is an achievement in the history of the development of Chinese ceramics production technology.

* Painted Pottery

Painted pottery is a remarkable achievement of Yangshao culture, it is one kind of pottery that painted with sienna, red and black colors. The art of painted pottery featured with strong flavors of life and unique artistic style, the image of which should be painted on the ceramic blank before firing thus the painted patterns will fixed on the ceramic utensil surface and will not break off easily after being fired. The pottery with stamping back patterns from late Neolithic ages to Han Dynasty in China were fired out in such a way: before firing, to press down patterns the pottery needed on its special places just before the ready-made ceramic blanks become dry.

The main sculpts of pottery there are burners, pots, jars and bowls. Among them the main types of ceramic burners there are Ge style burner, Boshan burner, smoke burner and so on; the main types of ceramic pots there are saliva pot, cock head pot, dish mouth pot and so on; the main types of ceramic jars there are four tied jar, small jars with bubbled abdomens, “Tian” word shape jars and small mouthed jars with break shoulders and so on; and the main types of ceramic bowls there are high foot bowls, palace bowls, bamboo hat bowls, lying foot bowls and so on.

Chinese ceramics has flourished for many years till today, the dark-red enameled pottery in Yixing city, the ceramic sculpture in Shiwang town, the three-color glazed pottery in Jieshou area, the purple-red pottery in Zibo city, the green glazed pottery in Tongguan area, the carved glazed pottery in Chongning county, the porcelain sculpture in Dehua county, the porcelain willow leaf bottle and porcelain phoenix tail bottle in Jingdezhen are all well known in the world.