Beijing is the heart of China. Or rather, Jingdezhen is the heart of china; china if you are referring to porcelain. This ceramics capital has been the center of activity for the production of porcelain since the Ming Dynasty from the 14th to the 17th century. Come with me on this journey through the ceramics capital, Jingdezhen. China in China. Welcome to Travelogue. I'm Yin.
Situated in northeast Jiangxi Province, Jingdezhen is the homeland of porcelain. It crouches on the south of the Yangtze River and its porcelain history dates to the Han Dynasty almost 2000 years ago.
The original name was Xinping town, then Changnan town because of its location in the South of Chang River. In the Jingde Period of the Song Dynasty from 1004-1007, Emperor Zhenzong decreed that the town would produce all the porcelain of the imperial court and bear the inscription ¡°Made in the Reign of Jingde.¡± From then on, people called such porcelain ¡°porcelain of Jingdezhen.
In the Yuan Dynasty, from 1279 to 1368, the famous kiln locations of the Northern Song were mostly destroyed during warfare. It was only remote Jingdezhen that escaped chaos. There, investment and advancements in porcelain ensued.
Porcelain development also spread as the Mongolian rulers of China at the time were strong and engaged in trade with foreign countries. They amazed others with the beautiful elegant fine white porcelain, as they took them across the arduous Silk Road to the Middle East, and slowly to other countries as gifts. At the same time, Middle Eastern fashion and style entered China, and influenced Jingdezhen¡¯s porcelain. The result was the beautiful blue and white porcelain.
Jingdezhen porcelain reached its peak in the Ming Dynasty when the emperor sent court officials to supervise porcelain production and travel the world. Zhenghe, a famous Chinese navigator in the 15th century, traveled seven times to as far as Africa, bringing large amounts of silk and Jingdezhen's porcelain. At the time, Europeans still used coarse tableware. The porcelain they laid eyes on became luxury items of the wealthy. The price of China's porcelain virtually passed that of gold, and Europeans referred to it as white gold. The British thus decided to call it china, associating it with the mysterious country that produced such wonder.
The raw material for porcelain is kaolin clay, found abundantly in Mountain Gaolin of Dongbu Village. Kaolin clay in the Mountain Gaolin as first discovered and used in the Yuan Dynasty. The entire village is a book that records the history of porcelain, rich in natural beauty and in abundant resources.
From the tops of mountains, the kaolin was wheeled to the docks by a stone path, which is marked with the erosion created by one-wheeled carts. Such is the path from kaolin to porcelain.
All aboard the ship! Well, maybe they didn't have big ships back then, but still this is a mini-port and this is how kaolin from the tops of the mountains would be transported to other cities and places of porcelain production. Thus, it's our main means of transportation and of huge historical significance.
Today's old dock looks nothing like the dock of the past. Today, you see villagers washing clothes by the water, instead of people loading the large number of trade ships. Now, this busy scene no longer exists. Instead, Dongbu village has quieted down, but take a close look and you will see the footsteps history has left.
The famous Dongbu Street lies on the bottom of the Gaolin Mountain, an important business center in the ancient times. Stone tablets date from the Qing Dynasty and the old commercial center still contains some old shops.
It's pretty quiet here today, but back a long time ago, it was hustle and bustle. There were plenty of people buying things here because on the sides are the storefronts. And you see, even today, we still have the names of the stores on the back. Maybe they¡¯ll be a few people here today? Excuse me, I'd like to buy some bread. No, it's pretty quiet. Well, on the sides of the storefronts, you can pick up your goods. It seems it's rather tall for someone short like myself. It was no problem back then because people would come on their horses, and they'd be boosted up to here and they could just pick up their foods.
Kaolin is a fine, usually white clay formed by the weathering of aluminous materials.
In 1712, a French missionary introduced the term Kaolin to the world, and then a German named translated it into Kaolin according to the Chinese world Gaolin or High Hill.
Unbelievable, I can imagine the workers carrying this kaolin from this mountain out there.
 You might feel like Indiana Jones if you're in this kaolin I mountain. And although the entrance is really small, it seems like it gets wider and wider. You can almost stand up straight. Although the kaolin, although seemingly solid, if you touch it, it sort of just crumbles like that. Really easily. Can you imagine, this is the beginning of porcelain.
You can spot the importance of the porcelain past in Jingdezhen's old village. Here, local villagers still live in history. Just from these old alleys' names, references to kilns and porcelain are made. And, neither are ceramics far from sight. In the Ming Dynasty, almost all families had private kilns to make their own ceramics, and the leftovers are used in walls and architecture.
Strolling the old street, it seems like pushing open any wooden door, like you¡¯ll find hidden kilns buried in history.
Here you can find plenty of these twisting alleyways because they were all built around the kiln. And it was like the center of activity because porcelain makers would get around the kiln and make the porcelain. Nowadays, not too many people make porcelain, but every once in a while, you¡¯ll still find a few people working on their porcelain.
Following the path, I was brought to a small kiln-making shop. On the roofs, it seems like hundreds of bowls, which are exactly the same are lined up. These ceramics are all made by hand and you can witness their production, one by one. It's a model of the way ancient ceramics were made with traditional tools.
Porcelain works its way into people's lives in sometimes unique ways. You see these bricks here? Well, they were taken from the kiln site. Maybe after a year of usage, they'd be good no more, and people would lug them back and build their houses with these bricks. And the construction seems simple, but because of architectural techniques, they're really sturdy. These have been around for maybe hundreds of years.
Sometimes when we study history, we end up seeing a very blurry line between the present and the past. Under the sun, you might only see bricks and buildings. But one step into the darkness and you just might see the flames of the kiln come alive.
The burning flames of the kilns flashed day and night, and a French missionary was so surprised to see such a sight and wrote, ¡°At day time the kiln smoke in the clouds was so high. In the evening, the kiln fire lights up the sky.
Longzhu pavilion was constructed on the top of the Zhu mountain. During 1639, the Imperial Porcelain Factories were established in this area, and the imperial porcelain factory later became the representative building of Jingdezhen. The pavilion models the official kilns during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
The ceramics made for the emperors followed strict standards. Only perfect pieces were allowed in the palace, no flaw was tolerated. As a result, perhaps only one piece out of 100 could be selected.
Many common themes on these pieces are dragons, court life, etc. The selected pieces would be marked with the characters that established the period in which it was made.
The others that didn't make it into the palace would not be passed on to commoners, so their ultimate fate was destroyed and burial, hidden from the world.
There is a legend that says that one emperor ordered the production of one dragon vessel. He ordered people killed if his wish was not satisfied. But finally, a man named Tong Bin, jumped into the kiln, and thus the vase was finished, without flaw. From that day, people have referred to him as a high spirit and often will ask for his help before burning in the kiln.
Whoa, this expert is putting back this porcelain from all the shards from the kiln site. Looks like pretty hard work, but almost like a jigsaw puzzle. And you know, I was the jigsaw queen back in the day. So let's give it a try, I'm sure I can do it too. Well¡­maybe it doesn't go like that. Give me some time, I'd say a year is enough. Come back then.
The establishment of official kilns in Jingdezhen greatly improved in the Ming Dynasty and thus sped the progress of private commercial kilns. These private kilns engaged in production for business and personal use.
This is what the earliest kilns looked like. It wasn't for large-scale production. Instead, before the Ming Dynasty, farmers would come here and just make mysterious porcelain in their spare time.
The scale of the ancient kiln is simple, but complete; each location reveals the steps it took to make porcelain.
Some things look pretty simple, but they're actually quite unique. See this? It's a well and on the sides of the well, it seems like there are kiln products. So the farmers reused these unused products. They were not just crafty, but also very frugal.
In the Ming Dynasty, the technology behind ceramics production reached new heights. There were now 72 steps in the process including clay washing throwing, trimming, drying, glazing, etc. The best craftsmen, the best technologies are centered in Jingdezhen, so obviously, the best pieces can be found here. In the Ming Dynasty, it was clear that the ceramics of Jingdezhen had a special status in China and around the world.
So this is the before product, and you see that on this bowl is black. But after it's put in the kiln, it will miraculously transform toa whole different color. Look over here. This is the traditional blue and white china. This is the before, and this is the after.
This man here is using the potter's wheel to mold out this bowl. You can see that with his hands he is shaping it. Looks easy, but it takes him less than a minute to make one bowl, but me? I don't think so.
Wow, so this is the inside of a kiln building. And you can see there are two flights. On the first floor, is where the people could put the molded clay and store them in the sag gars back here. And upstairs is where they would keep the firewood for burning the kiln. Of course, there's my favorite part, the most important, the kiln itself, where the burning was actually done. And that, is back there, let's take a look.
This kiln has a history of about 400 years. And there are unique architectural characteristics. You see the wall here? The base you see bricks lined horizontally. Above that, and around is a dome-like shape. And at the very top, it seems like the bricks are just hanging up there. All the way around. The bricks are stuck together with clay and mud. It's very sturdy and it's a mystery how they can stick together like that. It can withstand temperatures of around 1400 degrees Celcius.
The porcelain is placed in the containers and carried upstairs into the kiln. After they are placed inside, the entrance of the kiln is lined with bricks and the fire is set.
So now this is the second story of the kiln. You'll see a chimney; next to it is a dome. On the sides of the dome there are a lot of bricks. Well, in the wintertime, the bricks here would keep the heat on the inside and in the summertime, they'd keep the dome from expanding or changing shape.
Four hundred years ago, we'd be surrounded by piles and piles of wood. But not anymore, today, all we have are these poles and the streaks of the afternoon sun.
China is made today with large-scale production, that includes many advanced foreign machinery and the quick development of Jingdezhen's Electrical Porcelain Industry. Times have changed, and increasing demands means more porcelain
Although machines do a lot of the work, still, people make sure the products you find are the best of the best.
You can see the porcelain of today has a modern twist. However, the best pieces are still the same. It is as white as jade, as bright as a mirror, as thin as a piece of paper, and as resonant as a bell.
China comes in all shapes and sizes, different colors, and different functions. In some shops, there are even accessories made of porcelain.
Nice. Well, besides porcelain for tableware and vases, you can also make every girl's favorite, jewelry and jewelry boxes. Look over here, there's all different types and different colors. Red, and blue, and oh, a little toy, like the dog over here.
Outside in the central square of Jingdezhen, statues commemorate the history of porcelain production. Porcelain-making is not just a craft, but more of a lifestyle, with its own culture.
Amongst towering skyscrapers, busy traffic, and plenty of people, there's still a bit of the past in the present. Well, I want to show you my bit of history. Remember the bowl that I made? It's out from the kiln. Hey, you like it? In our history and culture series, you've learned about china in China. Thanks for traveling with us. I'm Yin and see you next time.