How the Chinese Invented Porcelain Essay

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Invention and Evolution of Porcelain in China

Although the precise origins of porcelain have been lost in the mists of time, most modern researchers believe that it was invented in China. Not surprisingly, then, many Chinese today boast that their ancestors were drinking tea from porcelain cups when their European counterparts were still wearing animal skins and living in caves, and it turns out that this pride is accurate and justifiable. To determine the facts, this paper reviews the relevant literature to provide a discussion concerning the technical and artistic history of porcelain drawing on four examples that span four different time periods in Chinese history. Finally, a summary of the research and important findings about the invention and evolution of porcelain in China are provided in the conclusion.

Review and Discussion

Porcelain differs in fundamental ways from ordinary pottery known as earthenware that is formed from clay and then baked in a kiln at temperatures ranging between 500 degrees C and 1150 degrees C (Porcelain, 1988). By contrast, porcelain is manufactured by coating a piece of pottery with a glaze which is then fired at even higher temperatures than pottery (around 1,280 degrees C) (Porcelain, 1988). Ancient Chinese artisans were blessed with the precise ingredients and conditions they needed for manufacturing porcelain, including most especially the ready availability of white kaolin or Chinese clay. For instance, the editors of the UNESCO Courier report that, "The reason why China was able to 'invent' porcelain at a very carly age compared to the rest of the world was that the Chinese potters both found the clay and were able to produce the high temperature necessary to fuse it" (Porcelain, 1988, p. 23). Consequently, it is not necessarily surprising that the combination of artistic enterprise with the availability of natural resources would result in an improved type of pottery.

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What is surprising, however, is just how exquisite many of these works are given their largely utilitarian function.

As noted in the introduction, although it remains unclear when porcelain was first manufactured in China, the archaeological record indicates that Chinese artisans were making porcelain as early as the first century CE, and the manufacture of porcelain in China was well established by the third century CE (Porcelain, 1988). During the Tang Dynasty which lasted from 618 through 906 CE, Chinese artisans introduced further refinements in their porcelain manufacturing methods that created a significant demand in the domestic market for these products (Chinese art, 2016).

By the time of the Song Dynasty between 960 and 1279 CE, the manufacture of porcelain in China had achieved a notably high level of proficiency and organization (Porcelain, 1988). For instance, the editors of the UNESCO Courier add that, "Porcelain manufacture by this time was a highly organized trade employing hundreds of thousands of people. There were teams of men who specialized in washing the clay, others who concerned themselves only with glazes, others who maintained the kilns, and so on" (1988, p. 24). Indeed, archaeologists have unearthed the remains of one kiln from the Song Dynasty that was capable of firing 25,000 individuals piece of porcelain at a time (Porcelain, 1988). It is noteworthy that even during this early period in the history of porcelain, Chinese artisans had already gained a significant amount of experience and expertise in working in the medium, and continually sought to identify opportunities to further refine and improve their techniques (Porcelain, 1988). The porcelain that was manufactured during the Sung Dynasty from 960 to 1279 CE was prized by Chinese collectors and few pieces were exported to the European market until the late 19th century (Fitzgerald & Seligman, 1938).

During the Ming Dynasty.....

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