Chinese people have producedporcelainfor a very long time. To some extent, the world became acquainted with China through its chinaware and porcelain, which was often used as a yardstick in evaluating Chinese civilization.

For over 2,000 years, Jingdezhen was known as "the porcelain capital" of the world. The City of Jingdezhen in East China'sJiangxi Province, which was called Xinping in ancient times, began to make porcelain as early as 200BC in theHan Dynasty(206BC-AD220). During the reign of Emperor Jingde (1004-1007) of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), all of the products made here bore the royal Jingde mark, and the name of the city was therefore changed to Jingdezhen (Jingde Town).

For centuries, the city was considered as China's most important center for porcelain production. Here,ceramicswere produced as far back as the Han Dynasty (206-220BC). The imperial porcelain was so exquisite that it was described as being "as white asjade, as bright as a mirror, as thin aspaper, with a sound as clear as a bell".

Today, Jingdezhen remains a national center for porcelain production. The most famous types of porcelain from Jingdezhen arefamille-rose porcelain,linglongporcelain, blue-white porcelain and color-glazed porcelain.

 Famille-rose porcelain

Famille-rose porcelain, so called its pink enamel, first came into being during theYongzhengreign (1723-1735) in theQing Dynasty(1644-1911) and continued to be made throughout theQianlongreign (1736-1795) and beyond. Main materials and techniques used to make the porcelain were all introduced from abroad in the beginning.

When makingfamille-rose porcelain, craftsmen fired glass whiteness onto plain porcelain, creating patterns withChinese paintingtechniques and then baking it in a kiln.

During theKangxireign, there were only a few works offamille-rose porcelain, whose color paintings were also very simple -- mainly patterns of flowers, clouds anddragons. During the Yongzheng reign, the porcelain enjoyed great improvements. Both the porcelain and decorations produced in this period featured a most delicate quality and brilliant color; these pieces are among the most highly prized works of this type of porcelain.

Thefamille-rose porcelain produced in the Qianlong reign saw an obvious change -- other colors such as green, yellow, blue, carmine or purple, were added to the white porcelain. At that time, the porcelain was no longer as delicate, crystal-like and colorful as that produced in the Yongzheng reign. When it came to the Jiaqing and Daoguang reigns,famille-rose porcelain mainly inherited a form of traditional development and did not witness much improvement. The ceramic glaze used was not very refined and featured strong hues.

During the Xianfeng and Tongzhi reigns, the composition offamille-rose pictures became quite complicated, although the painting skills were simple and the materials used were rough. Thefamille-rose porcelain produced during these periods featuredcomparatively faint hues, and, in order to make the colors more brilliant, gold was applied to thefamille-rose base.

The characteristics listed above are the major criteria used to distinguishfamille-rose porcelain produced in different periods during the Qing Dynasty.

Famille-rose porcelain wares in the Qing Dynasty mainly included pots, bottles, wine vessels, jars, basins, plates, urns, boxes, and so on. The patterns mostly included dragons and phoenixes, flowers, landscapes, human figures and themes from legends. Subjects on the porcelains often came from paintings of famous painters at that time.

 Linglongporcelain

Linglongporcelain was created and developed on the basis of piecedwork during the Xuande reign of theMing Dynasty(1368-1644). Reputed as "porcelain inlaid with glass",linglongporcelain is famous both at home and abroad for its exquisitely carved patterns and glittering, translucent appeal.

Grain-sized holes were hollowed out in the thin roughcast and the glaze was applied several times to cover them. Then, the half-finished products were baked in kilns to producelinglongporcelain.

Characterized by pierced ornamentation, the porcelain saw some developments in terms of technique in the Qing Dynasty. During this period, craftsmen ingeniously integrated the techniques of making blue-and-white porcelain with that oflinglongporcelain to create the blue-and-whitelinglongporcelain much loved by the people. The dark-green transparentlinglongdesigns and emerald-green blue-and-white patterns served as a foil to each other, creating a unique sense of beauty.

Linglongwares were generally limited to small objects, such as cups, brush pots and covered jars. The decoration was sometimes unglazed, left either white or enhanced with gilding or colored glazes.

 Blue-white porcelain

Among all porcelain produced in Jingdezhen, the most representative is blue-white porcelain. Baking blue-white porcelain originated in theNorthern Song Dynasty(960-1127). During the Yuan and Ming dynasties (1271-1644), blue-white porcelain became increasingly popular, and since the 14th century, manufacturers have shipped blue-white porcelain to world markets. The porcelain reached its peak in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Its thin, translucent quality and exotic motifs made it very valuable throughout Europe and the colonies, ranking first among blue-white porcelain nationwide.

Drawing the design with a cobalt pigment onto the stoneware body and painting over it with a transparent glaze creates the blue-white style, also known as "underglazed blue". The piece is then fired at a high temperature. Blue-white porcelain was introduced during theYuan Dynasty(1271-1368) and has been in production ever since thanks to its bright colors, simple yet elegant patterns, and smooth glaze that never fades.

The Yuan Dynasty is a key period for the development of the firing techniques for blue-white porcelain in China. Its unique characteristics were based on the techniques of former dynasties.Blue-white porcelain had become a major porcelain product in China by the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing dynasties (1644-1911).

Blue-white porcelain of the Yuan Dynasty is large, with a thick roughcast. Generally, the works include big bottles, pots, bowls and plates, with the traditional flavor of the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties. Due to the underdeveloped techniques, there are two interfaces on the body and several veins inside the body. The roughcast is not as smooth as that of the Ming and Qing dynasties and the glaze is thicker due to more iron in the raw glaze materials.

There are bamboo-like lines at the foot of the porcelain. The body is connected to the foot before the glaze is coated. The body is decorated with lotuses, clouds and flowers. Dense decorations were not only applied to blue-white porcelain but also to picture weaving and stone carving, reflecting the unique characteristics of the time.

The major producer of blue-white porcelain in the Yuan Dynasty was Jingdezhen. In addition, there were kilns for blue-white porcelain production in East China'sZhejiang Provinceand Southwest China'sYunnan Province.

Blue-white porcelain actually belongs to color-glazed porcelain and the coloring agent used is called cobalt oxide. First, using cobalt oxide, paint the unbaked mould, then apply a layer of translucent glaze over it and bake it at 1,300 degrees Celsius. The cobalt oxide will be reduced under the high temperature into a blue hue, which will be very bright and durable without poisonous lead. Each piece of monochrome-glazed porcelain has a single bright color with an exquisite design. A very good mastery of controlling temperature changes and content composition is required. Blue-white porcelain is most famous among the four traditional types of porcelain produced in Jiangdezhen, and is renowned as the "ever-lasting blue flower."

In 1979 Jingdezhen blue-white porcelain won a national golden prize and in 1985 it was honored with three gold medals at international fairs held in Leipzig, Brno, etc. Since then, the name "JingdezhenBlue-white Porcelain" has spread far and wide. By far, it is a top product in the porcelain business, boasting the most prizes andhighest standards.

 Color-glazed porcelain

Color-glazed porcelain was one of Jingdezhen's major products during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. It was colored using both high-temperature and low-temperature glazes, with copper, iron, or gold as the color agent. From the time of the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns, iron has successfully been utilized for its even, clear and stable glaze qualities. Red porcelain has always been the most popular since the Chinese consider red an auspicious and precious color.

Reputed as a "manmade gem", color-glazed porcelain looks brilliant and seems to carry many connotations. Thanks to new scientific measures for allotting ingredients and controlling kiln temperatures, craftsmen have not only managed to improve the quality of color glazes and find formulas for different products, but they have also successively created more than 100 glaze colors and several kinds of lusterless colored glazes.

Generally speaking, color-glazed porcelain falls into the following categories: blue, dark reddish, black, white, yellow, green, blue-and-white glazed, and so on, with each color further subcategorized into specific type.

Collectors of different types of color-glazed porcelain should keep one thing in mind: The classification of color glazes cannot be judged based on the color of a glaze surface with the naked eye. For instance, although some blue-and-white glazes produced in kilns inFujian Provinceduring the Song Dynasty appear to be white, the proportion of different microelements classifies them as white-and-blue glazed porcelain.