This post was last edited by Traci at 2025-9-10 17:38
1. Porcelains from Ru Kiln in Ruzhou, Henan Province
Ru Kiln has always been ranked first among the five famous kilns of the Song Dynasty, as documented in some literary notes of that era. Renowned as "the best among celadons, with Ru Kiln taking the lead", Ru Kiln porcelain stood out with its exceptional craftsmanship and became a special tribute for the imperial family. Since the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, Ru porcelain has been regarded as a precious treasure, comparable in value to ancient bronzes from the Shang and Zhou dynasties. There is a saying that "even with great wealth, a single piece of Ru porcelain is more precious."
Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Ji, believed in Taoism. The aesthetic concept of Taoism advocates natural simplicity, tranquility, and modesty. The Ru Kiln porcelains of this period reflected such aesthetic taste, embodying the Taoist ideology of being aloof and inactive, and became a fashion among the upper - class society in the Song Dynasty.
The celadon glaze of Ru Kiln is light blue and elegant, with exquisite shapes. It does not emphasize decorative patterns. It is said that Emperor Huizong had a dream in which he saw the color of the sky after a rain. He liked it so much that he ordered the craftsmen of Ru Kiln to fire porcelain of a similar color. Thus, the sky - blue color, which is between blue and green, became the symbol of Ru Kiln. As an artist, Emperor Huizong had extremely strict aesthetic requirements for the materials, colors, decorative patterns, and textures of Ru porcelain.
The people of the Song Dynasty did not advocate luxury or novelty. They loved nature and savored life. Their persistent pursuit of an exquisite life gave birth to the timeless beauty of Song porcelain. The beauty of Song porcelain lies in its restraint, warmth, and subtlety, emphasizing inner feelings. The simple yet uniquely charming charm of Song porcelain has deeply attracted generations of people.
2. Porcelains from Jun Kiln in Yuxian County, Henan Province - The Art of Fire in Kiln Transformation
"Entering the kiln is like a Yuan - dynasty painting: fallen leaves in the cold forest, crows returning at dusk, the evening mist hazy, the pond shadow still, and a touch of setting sun like flowing rosy clouds." This poem by the famous writer Yao Xueyin describes that the "Yuan - dynasty painting" here is not created with a brush, ink, and color on rice paper, but is completed in a kiln furnace above 1200 degrees Celsius, with fire as the paintbrush. This unique "painting method" is exclusive to "Jun porcelain".
Jun Kiln was one of the famous kilns in the Song Dynasty and can be divided into official Jun Kiln and civilian Jun Kiln. Jun Kiln was located around present - day Yuxian County, Henan Province. In the Song Dynasty, this area was called Junzhou, and the kiln was established here in the early Song Dynasty, hence the name. Jun porcelain is the king of porcelain, known worldwide for its unique kiln - transformation art. A fine piece of Jun porcelain can bring people aesthetic enjoyment. There are nine aspects to appreciate Jun porcelain: moistness, vividness, purity, transformation, thickness, correctness, patterns, artistic conception, and harmony.
- Moistness: The glaze has a jade - like moist texture, with a soft luster. Different from the bright and flashy luster of ordinary porcelain glazes, it has a faint opalescence, similar to the luster of agate. It looks like jade but is even better than jade, showing a gentle and elegant texture.
- Vividness: The glaze surface is dynamic, not rigid. At the mouth, convex edges, decorative lines, and raised dots of Jun porcelain, the glaze shows a sense of "exposing the tendon" due to the thinner glaze, creating a beautiful contrast between the virtual and the real, which is closely related to the vividness of the glaze.
- Purity: The kiln - transformed single - color glazes of Jun porcelain, such as sky - blue, sky - cyan, moon - white, and pea - green, are pure and free from impurities. The glaze surface often has crackle patterns, giving people a pure aesthetic feeling.
- Transformation: Jun Kiln represents the art of fire. Blue, red, yellow, white - countless dancing flames are like a magical paintbrush. Where the blue touches, perhaps a deep purple crabapple flower will bloom; where the red caresses, perhaps the clear blue of the sky will appear... Purple contains blue, blue reveals red, red implies white, white has a tinge of blue, and blue has a touch of green. All kinds of colors blend together, changing infinitely.
- Thickness: "Thickness" has two meanings. One is that the glaze is thick and opaque, covering the bottom completely. The other is that the glaze layer is thick, not thin. The thickness of the glaze is an important factor contributing to the grandeur, solemnity, and attractiveness of Jun porcelain.
- Correctness: The glaze color is pure. For example, the red color is bright and beautiful, like cinnabar or crabapple flowers, without a dull hue. Jun porcelain with monotonous glaze and incorrect colors is rather ordinary. Vivid and bright glaze colors are lively, while deep and rich ones are profound, both representing the pure and proper colors of Jun porcelain.
- Patterns: Various patterns or spots appear on the glaze surface, such as earthworm - like mud - crack patterns, ice - crack patterns, fish - roe patterns, tortoise - shell patterns, crab - claw patterns, waterfall patterns, rabbit - hair patterns, spider - web patterns, meteor spots, tiger - skin spots, raindrop spots, snow - flake spots, oil - drop spots, and pearl spots. These patterns and spots add a kind of texture beauty to Jun porcelain.
- Artistic Conception: Artistic conception paintings are formed on the glaze surface. The prerequisite is that they are formed naturally through kiln transformation, not artificially created. These paintings include figures, animals, landscapes, scenery, and legendary stories. The beauty of these changes lies in the ambiguity between resemblance and non - resemblance. When people appreciate them, they can be inspired to have associations, integrating emotions with the scenery, thus obtaining aesthetic enjoyment and a pleasant mood.
- Harmony: The kiln - transformed colors, patterns, spots, and artistic conceptions on the glaze surface blend seamlessly, forming a natural whole, giving people an overall aesthetic feeling. The glaze layer is uniform, without local thick accumulations or exposed bottoms. Harmony is one of the main characteristics of Jun Kiln glaze transformation.
3. Porcelains from Ding Kiln in Quyang, Hebei Province
Ding Kiln is located in Quyang, Hebei Province. It was first fired in the Sui Dynasty and reached its peak in the Tang and Song dynasties. Especially during the Northern Song Dynasty, Ding Kiln porcelains were selected as imperial porcelain. However, in the Yuan Dynasty, due to continuous wars, Ding Kiln declined. It was not until the 1970s that Ding Kiln resumed firing white porcelain after disappearing for more than 600 years. Currently, there are only about a dozen Ding porcelain workshops left, highlighting the rarity of Ding porcelain.
Ding Kiln mainly fired white porcelain. The body of Ding white porcelain is made of fine - grained clay, thin and lustrous. The glaze is pure white and moist, with "tear marks". The glaze is a white vitreous glaze with a slightly powdery texture, so it is called "powder - Ding" or "white - Ding". Ding white porcelain is of excellent quality, with elegant colors and beautiful decorative patterns. The body is thin and the texture is white. The glaze surface is mostly milky white, with a light beige tint, presenting an ivory - like texture, giving people a soft, pleasing, and gentle aesthetic feeling. Therefore, it is also praised as "the beauty of neutralization".
Ding white porcelain is as white as jade, with a sound like a chime. The texture patterns on the glaze and the pearl - like inclusions in the glaze layer make the glaze layer vivid. There is a saying that "Ding Kiln's decorated porcelain cups are as white as the best in the world."
Among other porcelains, those with a coarse body and a yellow - tinted glaze are commonly known as "earth - Ding"; purple ones are "purple - Ding"; those as black as lacquer are "black - Ding"; and red ones are "red - Ding", which are extremely rare in 传世 (handed - down) collections. Ding Kiln, with its excellent porcelain quality and beautiful decorative patterns, was once selected for the imperial court. It is a relatively large porcelain kiln system.
The carved patterns on Ding porcelain are free and unrestrained, with the knife strokes flowing like clouds and the patterns as round as the full moon. The printed patterns are made with fine molds and careful printing, creating a noble and elegant charm. Complemented by techniques such as engraved, piled, and pasted patterns, each with its own charm, they are either vigorous and upright or beautiful and delicate, surpassing the works of master painters and showing the wonder of nature.
4. Porcelains from Ge Kiln in Zhejiang Province - Appreciating the Beauty and Sounds of Ge Kiln in Leisure
Ge Kiln is also listed as one of the famous kilns in the Song Dynasty. It was the only imperial kiln in history, but there is no record of it in Song Dynasty documents. It was not until the Ming Dynasty that there were relevant records.
Although the exact kiln site has not been found yet, there is a legend about the origin of Ge Kiln. Zhang Shengyi and his younger brother Zhang Shenger from Chuzhou, Zhejiang, were both excellent porcelain - making craftsmen. They each set up a kiln in Longquan. Since Zhang Shengyi was the elder brother, his kiln was called "Ge Kiln", and Zhang Shenger's kiln was called "Di Kiln" (Younger - Brother Kiln). Both kilns were famous civilian kilns.
The glaze color of Ge Kiln is mainly cyan, with iron - colored feet and purple mouths. The glaze surface is famous for its crackles, known as "hundred - crackle". The crackle patterns are in colors such as blood - red, black - blue, and light - yellow, with black being the most common, known as "gold - wire and iron - wire". According to the shape, they can be divided into net - shaped patterns, plum - blossom patterns, and fine - broken patterns. The wonderful sounds produced when the glaze surface cracks are like the sounds of mountain streams, springs, musical instruments, and bells, like the sounds of nature hidden in the deep mountains, making people infatuated.
The most important, wonderful, praise - worthy, and also easily overlooked feature of Ge Kiln is the so - called "gathering of beads and balls". Sun Yingzhou, a senior figure in the field of ceramics, once wrote that "the glazes of Guan and Ge Kilns have dense bubbles like gathered beads." "Gathering of beads" means that the bubbles in the glaze of Ge Kiln are as fine as small water droplets, covering the inner and outer walls of the utensils.
5. Porcelains from the Official Kiln of the Song Dynasty - Simplicity to the Extreme Is Nature
The concept of "official kiln" in the history of Chinese ceramics has different meanings. Broadly speaking, it refers to porcelain kilns run by the government, which are different from civilian kilns, and their products are monopolized by the imperial court.
The glaze color of official kiln porcelains is powder - blue, with an elegant tone. They do not advocate decorative patterns but are known for their shapes and glaze colors. The bodies of official kiln porcelains contain more iron, with the body color tending to be purple, brown, or black. The soles of the feet are not glazed. Due to the flow of the porcelain glaze, the glaze at the mouth is thinner, revealing the purple - colored body, which is what experts usually call "purple mouth and iron feet", and this has become an important basis for identifying official kiln porcelains.
6. Porcelains from Yaozhou Kiln in Shaanxi Province - Vigorous and Beautiful, Like Skillfully Carved
Yaozhou Kiln is located in present - day Tongchuan, Shaanxi Province, which was under the jurisdiction of Yaozhou in the Song Dynasty. It began firing in the Tang Dynasty, reached its peak in the mid - Northern Song Dynasty, and declined during the Jin and Yuan dynasties.
Yaozhou Kiln was a famous celadon - producing site in the northern region of the Song Dynasty. Its products are rich in variety and diverse in shape. The body color is gray - white and thin, the glaze is uniform, greenish - blue, and has extremely fine bubbles. Due to the iron content in the body, under the corresponding firing atmosphere, the bottom of the utensil shows a ginger - yellow patch, which is a unique feature of Yaozhou Kiln.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, the porcelains of Yaozhou Kiln were most famous for their techniques of carving, incising, and printing, and achieved the highest artistic achievements, representing the important celadon works in the northern region at that time.
The carving technique of Yaozhou Kiln is sharp, with strong and powerful lines, which can be regarded as a fine sculpture. The printing technique in the late Song Dynasty is well - arranged, with a proper density, rich themes, and a symmetrical and even layout, comparable to the printing art of Ding Kiln.
Yaozhou Kiln in the Song Dynasty not only fired ornamental utensils but also a large number of daily - use utensils. The types of utensils are very rich, including plates, bowls, cups, saucers, bottles, pots, jars, stoves, boxes, incense burners, ewers, ewer bowls, cups, bowls, lamps, pillows, etc. The shapes are diverse, including petal - shaped, ribbed - melon - shaped, and multi - folded shapes, with beautiful appearances and excellent aesthetic effects.
7. Porcelains from Cizhou Kiln in Hebei Province - The Unique Black - and - White Aesthetics in Porcelain
Cizhou Kiln is a large - scale kiln system. Since the Song Dynasty, most of the kilns in the northern region fired porcelains in the style of Cizhou Kiln. Representative kilns include the Yangyu Kiln in Xiuwu, Henan, Dengfeng Kiln, Bacun Kiln, Lushan Kiln, Zibo Kiln in Shandong, Hunyuan Kiln in Datong, Changzhi Kiln in Shanxi, and the Chifeng Gangwaryao Kiln in the Liao Dynasty in the north. Some southern kilns, such as Jizhou Kiln, also fired porcelains in the style of Cizhou Kiln.
The Cizhou Kiln system mainly fired black porcelain, white porcelain, and white - ground black or brown painted porcelain. The body of the porcelain is coarse and loose, and the body color is relatively deep. Therefore, a cosmetic clay is applied, and then a transparent glaze is covered. The decorative techniques include white - glaze carving, white - glaze incising, white - glaze with green spots, white - glaze with brown spots, white - glaze under - glaze black painting, white - glaze red - green painting, green - glaze under - glaze black painting, and low - temperature lead - glaze tricolor, etc. They are all unique and charming.
In terms of decorative techniques, Cizhou Kiln is good at using the contrast between the color of the cosmetic clay and the body, combined with various techniques such as painting, carving, and incising, to create a strong contrast and a lively style. The decorative patterns are mostly flower - and - butterfly, dragon - and - phoenix, ruyi - head, and figures. The lines are smooth, delicate, and vivid, full of interest. There are also many works decorated with calligraphy and poems, adding a lot of elegance.
The shapes of Cizhou Kiln porcelains are rich and unique. All kinds of daily - use utensils are diverse. The most representative shapes include bottles, pillows, jars, basins, stoves, bowls, plates, etc. Among them, a relatively large number of porcelain pillows have been preserved, with diverse forms of expression. The same type of product also has several variations to meet people's different daily - use needs and aesthetic preferences.
8. Porcelains from Hutian Kiln in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province - The Charming Yingqing Porcelain with the Elegance of Jade
The firing history of Jingdezhen can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty. Its original name was "Changnan". During the Jingde period of Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty, it became famous for porcelain production and was renamed Jingdezhen.
In terms of the Yingqing porcelain variety, Jingdezhen is unparalleled. Yingqing porcelain has a unique style. Its glaze color is white with a blue tinge, blue with a white tinge, transparent, and shows the shadow when illuminated, so it is also called "Yingqing" or "Yingqing", and is known as "fake jade".
9. Porcelains from Jian Kiln in Yongji Town, Fujian ProvinceThe Unity of Man and Nature in the Flowing Radiance
Jianzhan, also known as "Tianmu", is a representative of black porcelain and one of the eight famous types of porcelain in the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty advocated an aesthetic ideology of natural restraint. In terms of ceramic shapes, people pursued grand simplicity and unadorned authenticity, opposing excessive decoration and carving. For glaze colors, they focused on the quiet and elegant hues inherent to the glaze itself, emphasizing natural formation. Jianzhan perfectly embodies the simple and original leisure elegance of the Song Dynasty, as well as the aesthetic taste of the unity of man and nature.
Jian Kiln mainly produced black - glazed tea cups, which was closely related to the "tea - fighting" custom of the Song Dynasty. The body of Jianzhan is made of black mud. Some of its glaze surfaces have strip - shaped crystal patterns as thin as rabbit hair, so this special product is called "hare's fur cup". The hare's fur patterns come in two colors: yellow and white, known as "golden fur" and "silver fur" respectively.
Among Jianzhan products, there are also those with oil - drop - shaped crystal patterns. Resembling the perfect feathers of a certain bird, they are called "partridge spot cups". A very small number of them have kiln - transformed flower glazes, which form a kiln - transformed blue color around the irregular oil drops, making them particularly precious. This type of product is called "Tianmu glaze" in Japan and has exerted a great influence on Japanese ceramic art.
Jianzhan is a spiritual product that advocates nature. The craftsmen of Jianzhan first focused on meeting people's practical needs to the greatest extent. On this basis, they carried out artistic processing and created beauty. In the art of fire and earth, Jianzhan embodies an extraordinary natural beauty that seems to be crafted by divine hands.
10. Porcelains from Longquan Kiln in Zhejiang Province"Celadon glows like snowflakes floating on froth; how is it different from the celestial nectar of immortals?
Longquan Kiln was located around present - day Longquan County, Zhejiang Province, mainly concentrated in the areas surrounding Dayao and Jincun. By the late Southern Song Dynasty, in addition to Longquan itself, counties such as Qingyuan and Yunhe in Zhejiang, as well as Ji'an in Jiangxi and Quanzhou in Fujian, all produced celadon in the style of Longquan Kiln, forming the Longquan Kiln system.
Longquan Kiln was a porcelain kiln developed after Yue Kiln. It began firing in the early Northern Song Dynasty, developed before the Southern Song Dynasty, and then formed a unique style, bringing celadon varieties to a high level. It was also the porcelain kiln with the largest output in southern China.
The beauty of Longquan celadon is like "the blue sky at sunset, with distant mountains covered in late green; the clear blue water of a calm lake, with tender grass in early spring" and "as green as jade, as bright as a mirror, as thin as paper, and as resonant as a chime". It conforms to the aesthetic pursuit of Chinese literati: restraint, introversion, elegance, and profundity. It stands quietly like a scene, yet carries a profound artistic conception.
The beauty of Longquan celadon also lies in the shapes of its wares, including vases, gu vases (a type of ritual vessel), jars, pots, bowls, plates, cups, saucers, lamps, washing vessels, ink slabs, and more. The large ones are as big as a foot, while the small ones are only an inch. Whether for daily use or display, each piece is crafted with great ingenuity. They are exquisitely made, with well - proportioned height, length, and width, and the practical functions are seamlessly integrated with the aesthetic concepts.
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