Yuan was a very important period in China's porcelain development. The
emphasis on foreign trade led to the increasing exports of porcelains.
Kilns in North China waned because of wars to give way to the kilns
of Longquan and Jingdezhen in South China which saw rapid development
featured by large production scale, the production of big works as well
as the maturity of production scale, the production of big works as
well as the maturity of production techniques. Breakthroughs were made
in the formula with two-element, namely kaolin clay added porcelain
stone, in the making of porcelains. This resulted in the increased resistance
of raw materials to high temperatures, and thus a decrease in product
deformities. By the newly-technique, many works of large sizes were
produced, which became a feature of Yuan's porcelains. The success in
the possible to combine Chinese painting and porcelain techniques more
skillfully, and pushed the development of the porcelains in colors under
glaze to a new high. Another success was the production of the colored
glazes, such as egg-white glaze, red glaze and blue glaze, marking an
end to the situation before Yuan in which only jade-like glaze colors
could be achieved. The achievements made by the Jingdezhen kiln in Yuan
Dynasty laid a firm foundation for the rapid development of porcelain
techniques in Ming and Qing.
The Yuan Dynasty witnessed great development of China's foreign trade.
Unearthed Yuan porcelains in many countries and regions of the world
far outnumbered those of Song Dunasty. Exported porcelain were mostly
produced by the kilns in the coastal areas of Southeast China. Apart
from the qingbai porcelain of Jingdezhen and celadon of Longquan, the
qingbai porcelain and the imitation of Longquan ware made by the kilns
in Zhejiang and Fujian also constitute a large part of the total exports.
In the late Yuan Dynasty, the qinghua porcelains of Jingdezhen were
also exported to other countries. According to General Survey of Foreign
Island (Daoyizhilue) written by Wang Dayuan in the Yuan, China's porcelains
were exported then to more than 50 countries and reigns which were today's
Japan, the Philippines, India, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand,
Bangladesh, Iran and so on.
Established in the 15th year of the Zhiyuan Reign, Yuan Dynasty (278
AD), Fuliang Porcelain Bureau (Administration) was in charge of porcelain
trade overseas as well as large-scale tribute selection and purchase
of porcelain for the court. It selected tribute porcelains from private
owned kilns with the principle of "one out of a hundred" or even "one
out of products after the selection. This was the very first administrative
institution set up by government over porcelain trade overseas in China's
history.
One of the white glazes, appearing the form of devitrification, with
slight green hue in white, just like the color of goose's egg, so it
was named the egg white glaze. It was created in the Hutian kiln in
Jingdezhen during Yuan Dynasty. The articles in egg white glaze usually
marked with characters of "ºÐ(shu)" and/or "¸Ð(fu)" were
made according to the order from the Central Privy Council of Yuan Dynasty,
thus it was also called the "ºÐ¸Ð£¸(the porcelain
of the Central Privy Council)." There were also marked with the characters
of "»«ýÈ(taixi: great jubilation)" or "¸£Â»(fulu:
happiness and wealth)", or without any character. The glaze for the
egg white glaze was in the state of milk, not very transparent, and
most of the works in this glaze were bowl, dish and stem cup, generally
with small ring foot.
One of the porcelain colors, it was the proper name for the color of
blue patterns on white ground. It was made when the porcelain work was
firstly drawn with cobalt material, then coated with transparent glaze
and at last put for burning in high temperature at one stroke. It belonged
to underglaze color since the blue pattern was under the glaze. The
qinghua was created in the Jingdezhen kiln in Yuan Dynasty, and the
product made during Xuande Reign of Ming Dynasty was good. The success
in kilning qinghua colors had a special place in the porcelain-making
history in China. Ever since then, such decorative craftsmanship of
pattern-incising, pattern-scripting and pattern-printing had stepped
down to play the second fiddle. The prevalence of the qinghua porcelains
changed the state of porcelains dominated by celadon porcelain in China.
During Ming and Qing Dynasties, the qinghua porcelain made in the Jingdezhen
kiln became the main models of porcelain-making in China.
One of the porcelain colors, coming out when the unglazed porcelain
body was drawn patterns with copper red pigment and coated with transparent
glaze and then put into the kiln for burning in high temperature at
one stroke. It belonged to the underglaze color since its red patterns
were under the glaze. It was created in the Jingdezhen kiln in Xuande
Reign of Ming Dynasty was well-matured, the stem cup decorated with
red fish was in the highest repute. The underglaze red made in Yongzheng
Reign of Qing Dynasty was the most successful one, with the one decorated
with both qinghua and underglaze red (named as the qinghua and underglaze
red) especially outstanding.
Bamboo-cylinder-like shaped body, with narrow upper and wide lower,
ring foot, a short spout of round tube curve-extending upwards on one
side of the upper part of the body, and the other side attached with
a curved handle, the top of pot seemed like a cap of monk and there
were two relief strings patterns decorated around the body, which was
out of the bronze pot used by the minority nationalities of Man and
Mongolia to contain milk. It was created in Yuan Dynasty, and was still
made in Ming and Qing Dynasties, mostly made in the Jingdezhen kilns.
During Kangxi Reign of Qing Dynasty, there were two animal-nose-shaped
loops embossed on the upper and lower body of pot for the sake of passing
through rope, with varieties of the qingbai glazed, the tea-dust glazed
and gilt and the tricolors without red.
It was the glaze made of the combustion of natural earthy cobalt as
stainer, with blue in color. Since the natural earthy cobalt iron oxide
and manganese oxide, the color appeared of primitive simplicity and
depth. There were two kinds of blue glazes, the low-temperature blue
glaze emerging in Tang sancai (the tricolors of Tang Dynasty) while
the high-temperature one being create in Yuan Dynasty. More varieties
of the blue glazes appeared after Ming and Qing Dynasties, such as the
sprayed blue glaze, sky blue glaze and so on.
Short neck, drum-like belly, and ring foot, there was a flat handle
on one side from the rim to belly, and on the other side a duck-mouth-shaped
spout whose top seemed slightly like a cap of monk and so it was named.
It was the work made under the influence from foreign countries, with
some written in Arabian. It was created in the Jingdezhen kiln in Yuan
Dynasty, and continued to be made in Ming and Qing Dynasties. Two monk's
cap-shaped pots, in red glaze and in lovely white glaze, made in the
period of the Yongle and Xuande of Ming Dynasty was the most precious.
The name of a glaze color of porcelain, also called "(fahua)" or "(fahua)",
a kind of new variety developed on the basis of making of colored glaze.
It was first created in Yuan Dynasty, and prevailed in areas of south
Shanxi in Ming Dynasty. The making method was to make the relief or
embossed patterns, then to coat the blue, green and purple glaze pigments
and send the body into kiln for burning. Around Jiajing Reign of Ming
Dynasty, Jingdezhen started using porcelain eggshell to model on the
works in fahuacai. The popular fahuacai works included the big articles
of vase, jar and earthen bowl (mortar-shaped).
Porcelain Gu appeared in Yuan Dynasty, with flared mouth, slender waist,
high body, thin belly, trumpet-shaped mouth and base, modeled on the
pattern of bronze Gu. Porcelain Gu was once used as a vase for inserting
flowers and it was also called "Flower Gu", made in Jingdezhen. In addition
to Jingdezhen, it was also made in the kiln in Longquan, Dehua and so
on during Ming and Qing Dynasties, with the major varieties including
the works in qinghua, five-colors, fencai, bronze color, etc.
Timeline
Correlative History£º
Yuan's
Achievements In Porcelain (1271-1368 AD) 
Porcelain
exports in Yuan Dynasty
Egg-White
Glaze 
Qinghua
(or Qinghua, or Underglaze Blue)
Underglaze
Red 
Duomu
Pot
Blue
Glaze 
Monk's
Cap-Shaped Pot 
Fahuacai
(Fahua color) 
Gu