Chinaware

Unfortunately for the German porcelain industry, we have to admit that porcelain is a purely Chinese invention! Contrary to the definitions on Wikipedia (as of 2001), according to which porcelain was not invented until the year 620, our research and records go back to finds as far as the 10th century B.C. What is undisputed, however, is the fact that the English name of porcelain lends its historical claim to its birthplace: the international and common name for porcelain is Chinaware.

Traditions about the earliest production of porcelain date back to the Sui and Tang dynasties and go back to the 6th to 10th centuries BC. The well-known white porcelain with cobalt blue underglaze painting was already produced in the Song period. The Ming period (1368-1644) also knew multi-coloured decorations in addition to the cobalt blue painting.

In 1522, exactly 160 years before Böttger was born, the first "mass production" of clay shards, the precursors of today's porcelain, began in the province of Canton - in a small town called Shiwan. At the instigation of the Ming, almost 4,000 workers built a kiln about 170 metres long, which was built along a mountain down the valley and was similar in shape to the tail of a dragon. This is how the oldest completely preserved porcelain kiln in the world today got its name "Dragon Kiln". The kiln was fired with wood, which was completely stuffed into the kiln up to the upper, first slide. Once the wood and the kiln car were in place, the kiln had to be bricked up, because at that time there were no suitable closing mechanisms. Similar to a charcoal kiln, the wood burned from top to bottom, lost density and the sledge slowly slid down the valley. After about 3 weeks, the wood was completely burnt and the kiln could be opened (cracked open). The clay body hardened completely at over 1,000 degrees and corresponded to today's pottery in consistency and porosity. The decorations were richly ornamented and were never equalled in lustre and impression by any other type of porcelain production, even in modern times. This was the birth of gold decoration. A cream of gold and herbs achieved the inimitable character of this type of decoration. Today, the Dragon Kiln forms the centrepiece of the Foshan National Museum and is only fired for the production of historical replicas or for government commissions. The unique pieces from the Dragon Kiln were determined by the rank and status of the patrons. The richer the client, the more powerful and imposing the pieces. If one owned a figurine, a vase or something similar from the "dragon kiln", entire halls and houses were built for them to provide them with a suitable setting. The treasures were passed down from father to son and gave the families recognition and immeasurable wealth. 

The Dragon Kiln

The "Sanding Block" kiln for imperial porcelain of the Ming Dynasty, built in 1522, stands in Foshan, Guangzhou Province, also known to many as "Canton Province".  Thanks to the Chinese government and the commitment of the provincial government, this monument to porcelain production did not fall victim to Mao Tse Tung's Cultural Revolution. Tethered to a mountain, the incline used the priority slide of the firing carriage downhill, without electric power or physical mechanics. The kiln was stuffed to the top with brushwood and light firewood, and as the wood burned, the heavy sledge with the imperial porcelain glided downhill. The firing process took around 3 to 5 weeks, the filling of the kiln - depending on the article and the order of the Ming - up to 15 years.  

Vietnam makes older claim

Since we do not want to prejudge the historians and researchers in this field or allow ourselves to pass judgement on the veracity of all reports and archaeological finds, we would nevertheless like to report to you here on what we found in Vietnam. In the National Museum of Hanoi, ceramic finds are on display that are said to date back to the year 3,000 BC.

The finds from the province of Cac Loai Chong are a plate-like flat piece and a bowl for liquid food. They also show pictures of an excavation of a kiln that is said to be even older than the Dragon Kiln of Foshan. We will try to provide concrete facts later... :-)