Porcelain sheds light on nation's history and culture

By QU YINGPU and MA ZHENHUAN in Hangzhou | China Daily | Updated: 2022-09-08 07:37
Share
Share - WeChat
An artisan in Jinhua, Zhejiang, prepares to place pottery in a kiln. [Photo by YANG MEIQING/FOR CHINA DAILY]

Treasured item

The Zhejiang Provincial Museum is home to one of its most-treasured items-a piece of Longquan celadon made during the Southern Song period.

The piece, which is 16.7 centimeters long, 6.5 cm wide and 9.3 cm high, is a boat-shaped water dropper, a device commonly used in ancient China to put water on inkstones when grinding ink sticks.

Carved columns are on the left and right sides of the item, with a pavilion cabin in the center. A rolled-down shelter is at the back, with the anchor and oars also shown in vivid detail. Two passengers are positioned inside the cabin, as the boatman-standing outside and appearing to be preparing to moor the vessel-leans over to collect his bamboo hat from the roof. His robe flows in the wind.

Cai Naiwu, a ceramics expert at the museum, said, "This piece represents the height of Longquan porcelain-making, and shows just how exquisite and unique it is. The unearthed water droppers from the Southern Song Dynasty, or even later, are all different."

When the item was discovered in 1956, it was neither the result of archaeological excavations of major burial sites, nor found to be from any known imperial collections. Local farmers simply located the relic in a field and handed it to the authorities.

Cai said, "The Song Dynasty vigorously encouraged the development of culture, which reached unprecedented levels." Cai added that the boat-shaped water dropper is likely to have been custom-made for a member of the literati-a common practice at the time.

In September 2009, UNESCO inscribed the traditional firing technology for Longquan celadon on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

While it may not be among the four great inventions of ancient China-papermaking, printing, gunpowder and the compass-porcelain is an indisputably ingenious creation by the ancient Chinese that combines art and technology, and integrates aesthetics with practicality.

More important, it provides clues to China's past, Cai said, adding, "Thanks to its durability, porcelain can be likened to a chip that stores countless and invaluable information about China's history, society and culture."

For example, celadon was favored by the imperial Chinese court for a long time until the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), when blue-and-white porcelain came into vogue and its production base gradually shifted to Jingdezhen, Jiangxi, and elsewhere.

Cai said the Yuan rulers' tastes undoubtedly played an important role, but the changes they made were, to some extent, a conscious display of power, as they sought to exert themselves and eradicate the influences of the Southern Song Dynasty, their predecessor.

|<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next   >>|
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
主站蜘蛛池模板: 男女午夜爽爽大片免费| xxxx69中国| 日韩乱码人妻无码中文字幕视频| 伊人久久久久久久久香港 | 冲田杏梨在线中文字幕全集| 动漫成年美女黄漫网站国产| 好男人在线社区www在线视频免费| 久久精品免视看国产成人| 欧美黑人巨大xxxxx视频| 午夜福利一区二区三区高清视频| 麻豆国产一区二区在线观看| 国产精品自在线天天看片| 一个人看的免费高清视频www| 日本午夜理伦三级在线观看| 亚洲免费视频观看| 澡人人澡人澡人人澡天天| 午夜影院老司机| 蜜柚免费视频下载| 国产熟睡乱子伦视频在线播放| 99re6在线| 小小视频最新免费观看| 久久久久久久久蜜桃| 校园春色国产精品| 亚洲欧美另类一区| 瑟瑟网站在线观看| 午夜国产在线观看| 色综合久久久无码中文字幕波多 | 成人毛片100免费观看| 久久精品国产亚洲7777| 欧美性大战久久久久久久| 亚洲视频综合网| 精品国产_亚洲人成在线| 国产一国产一级毛片视频在线 | 久久久国产精品四虎| 国产精品视频不卡| free性满足hd极品| 成人免费黄网站| 久久一区二区三区免费播放| 日韩欧美综合视频| 亚洲乱人伦中文字幕无码| 欧美日韩综合在线视频免费看|