True porcelain and dragon kiln
Porcelana verdadera y horno de dragón de alta temperatura
- Date
- c. 700 · confidence low
- Place
- Xing and Ding (northern China); Jingdezhen (Song, from 1004)
- Credited to
- Tang potters of Xing; the imperial workshops of Jingdezhen
- Field
- Matter & energy
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
Ceramics made of kaolin and petuntse fired at 1,300°C in dragon kilns or mantou-type kilns, vitrified, white and translucent. A luxury product and a high-temperature technology.
The dating of the 'first true porcelain' varies between the Eastern Han and Tang periods, depending on the technical criteria used.
What it led to
- the global porcelain trade (the maritime Silk Road, Yuan blue-and-white ware)
- European attempts at imitation: maiolica, Medici porcelain, Meissen (1708)
- Jingdezhen as the first single-product industrial city
Built on
- Shang dynasty stoneware
- ash glazes