jingdezhen porcelain

For over 2,000 years, Jingdezhen is known as the Porcelain Capital of the world. Originally known as Xinpin, its name was changed when Emperor Jingde (1004-1007) of the Southern Song dynasty, decreed all the pieces made for court to be marked 'made in the Jingde period’.

The porcelain industry experienced further development at Jingdezhen during the Ming and Qing dynasties, when skills became perfected and the quality refined; government kilns were set up to cater exclusively to the need of the imperial house.

For centuries, the city has been considered to be China’s most important center for porcelain production. Ceramics were produced here as far back as the Han dynasty (206-220BC). The imperial porcelain was so exquisite that it was described as being "as white as jade, as bright as a mirror, as thin as paper, 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 are the blue and white porcelain, which has been produced since the Yuan dynasty (1280-1368AD) and the rice-patterned porcelain that was introduced in the Song dynasty. Jingdezhen, the ancient ceramics metropolis, has been regenerated with new vigor since the founding of New China. It now boasts a ceramic research institute and a ceramic museum in addition to five kaolin quarries, 15 porcelain factories, two porcelain machinery plants, one porcelain chemical plant, two refractory materials factories and dozens of porcelain processing works.

The most famous decorative types of Jingdezhen porcelains are: blue details on white, celadon, rice patterned and color glaze in which the classic blue-and-white is said to be the result of Middle East influence. Porcelains produced in Jingdezhen have been praised to be “as white as jade, as bright as mirror, as thin as paper, as resonant as a bell”. That high quality is the result of labor and sometimes lives of the craftsmen. A folk story says that an emperor wanted vessels with the glaze of red, something no one had succeeded making before and the whole guild would be killed if they failed. On the deadline day, to save everyone, a craftsman threw himself into the blazing kiln and the desired products came into being. In the past, Jingdezhen porcelains served the emperors. In the present, they grace China's national banquets and are favorite national gifts.

The long history of porcelain has left its marks on Jingdezhen. The city is described as a huge museum of the craft of porcelain. The ancient kilns, both royal and private, are well preserved though unused revealing the evolution of the production process of the past. People who are interested can visit the old dock where kaolin was transported to the workshops and the once hustle and bustle main commercial street. Old constructions used the side products of porcelain making. Lastly, though porcelain production has been adapted to modern conditions, the aim for the best quality remains the same.

http://www.asianartmall.com/jingdezhen.htm
http://china-travel.suite101.com/article.cfm/jingdezhen
http://www.jingdezhen.gov.cn/en/