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The
origins of Chinese pottery and porcelain go back to distant
antiquity. And from the masterful excellence of Chinese
ceramics, we can deduce the painstaking labor that went into
making them. In the National Palace Museum in Taipei, you
will find many outstanding examples of nearly translucent
egg-shell china. Painted on the surfaces of these Ming
(1368-1644 A.D.) and Ch'ing (1644-1911 A.D.) period pieces
are delicate flowers, grasses, birds, and beasts that make
one sigh and wonder how such fine work was ever produced.
Four objective factors
influenced the beginnings and development of Chinese pottery
and porcelain: clay, fuel, river systems, and markets. Heavy
clay and large quantities of fuel are required for pottery
and porcelain making. Prohibitively high shipping costs made
pottery production economically impractical in areas without
these basic prerequisites. So a locale with plentiful
supplies of both clay and lumber as fuel had the best
potential for setting up a ceramics kiln.
 Once
a large kiln has been set up, it often continues to produce
for hundreds of years. The arts of preparing clay, glazing,
and firing are often passed down from generation to
generation; so each area will tend to develop its own
individual glazes, clays, and decorating techniques,
resulting in unique styles and designs. These special
characteristics provide much of the basis of modern
appraisal of ancient pottery and porcelain pieces: from the
particular features of a piece, one can usually pinpoint
definitively when and where it was made. Beginning with the
Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.), and into the T'ang (618-907
A.D.), Sung (960-1279 A.D.), Yuan (1279-1368 A.D.), and Ming
(1368-1644 A.D.) dynasties, large quantities of pottery and
porcelain were exported from China to Korea, Japan, the
Ryukyu Islands, the Southeast Asian Peninsula, the
Philippines, Indonesia, India, the Middle East, the Eastern
Coast of Africa, Continental Europe, Great Britain, and the
United States. Pottery and porcelain pieces exported during
these periods are an excellent source of research materials
on the history of China's communications, trade, and
economic relations with other countries.
Clay suitable for
pottery and porcelain making is produced in the Peitou and
Nanshihchiao areas of Taipei. Beginning in the late 19th and
early 20th centuries, pottery and porcelain kilns gradually
became concentrated in the Yingke Chen area of Taipei
County. Today, Yingke Chen is the main ceramic-producing
area of northern Taiwan. Due to the accumulation of
ceramic-making experience over the years, and the ceramic
masters residing in Yingke Chen who have received their
craft from previous generations, modern kiln facilities
continue to come to Tingke Chen to set up shop. The pottery
and porcelain producing centers of central Taiwan are in
Miaoli and Nantou counties. Thanks mainly to the plentiful
supplies of stoneware clay and rich forest resources of the
Shihtoushan area. kilns have sprung up all over these two
counties. Some of the kilns in the Miaoli area have begun
using natural gas as a fuel for firing pottery. They also
import high-quality porcelain clay, and have brought in
modern facilities and technologies to further improve the
quality of their products.
The key to why ceramic
art has been able to develop to such a high level in China
lies in the spirit of Chinese craftsmen to strive for
excellence. Ceramic and porcelain pieces dating back to
various historical periods have demonstrated again and again
how Chinese artisans overcame the shortcomings of the
materials they used, and how craftsmanship can conquer the
difficulties encountered in working with clay. For example,
in the late Yuan (1279-1368 A.D.) and early Ming (1368-1644
A.D.) dynasties, the material used to produce porcelain in
world-famous Chingte Chen, Kiangsi Province, was porcelain
stone mixed with kaolin, a material with relatively poor
plasticity. Faced with this difficulty, the porcelain makers
of the time came up with the idea of grinding the raw
material to an extremely fine consistency, then soaking it
in water for several years. This process of hydrolysis
increased its stickiness and plasticity. In this way the
clay could be stretched and formed on a potter's wheel into
beautiful porcelain articles. When half-dry, a special knife
was used to shave it until extremely thin; this is how the
famous Chinese ``eggshell'' porcelain-a product of the
official kilns of the Ming and Ch'ing dynasties-was made.
Modern porcelain makers would today be hard put to reproduce
this unique process for treating porcelain clay, and the
highly developed craftsmanship that accompanied it - even
with their state-of-the-art equipment and technologies.
 Pottery
and porcelain artisans of today have full access to modern
technological knowledge, and can freely choose their
equipment. But they all still carry on in the traditional
belief that man can indeed conquer nature. Some imitate
ancient designs, others produce avant-grade pieces. With
their minds, their hands, and clay and fire, these potters
express the artist's perception of beauty, his professional
experience, his sensitivity, and his level of artistic
cultivation. A senior potter of Taiwan, Lin Pao-chia , has
over the past 40 years come to be known as the ``doctor'' of
the Yingke Chen ceramics industry. He can usually come up
with an answer to virtually any question or problem
regarding ceramics that is brought to him, and he has also
helped to cultivate uncounted creative talent in the area of
ceramic making. Chiu Huan-tang and Shih Nai-yueh made their
contributions by bringing in new ceramic making concepts
from the United States, and by creating modern works of
ceramic art. These masters have also helped train a new
generation of ceramists in their art. Young artists who have
distinguished themselves in their field include Lien
Pao-chai , Chen Chiu-chi , Yang Wen-ne , Sun Chao , and Feng
Sheng-kuang . All have their own richly expressive and
creative styles.
In the Republic of China
on Taiwan, some ceramists have learned their craft on their
own, others through study abroad; but most received their
training from the National Taiwan Academy of Arts, the
industrial arts department of National Taiwan Normal
University, and the ceramics section, chemical engineering
department of the Chinese Culture University. Accompanying
the rise in the standard of Living in Taiwan, the number of
people who enjoy ceramics and themselves like to throw pots
is increasing every year. Those who have actually dug into
clay with their own hands have the highest appreciation of
the masterful creations of the ancient makers of pottery and
porcelain. In meeting the challenge of modern art by merging
it with traditional culture, Chinese ceramic art looks
toward wholly new creative and innovative horizons.
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