4 - From Cizhou to Jizhou: The Long History of the Emergence of Blue and White Porcelain

Summary

This chapter explores the emergence of blue-and-white porcelain in Jingdezhen. This has often been told as a global story that included cobalt from Central Asia, arriving in China by means of Islamic merchants who circulated throughout Eurasia, as did consumer demands from Central Asia. The emergence of cobalt blue decorations on the large dishes that were popular in the eating practices of the steppe and in Central Asian societies is often seen as a story of regional adaptation to global tastes, but this chapter adds a local dimension. It argues that the production of blue-and-white ceramics benefited the circulation of local technologies, especially the application of metal-based pigments onto the unglazed surfaces of ceramics to create line-drawings and brush-painted decorations. That process started in the northern kilns, especially in the wide region in which Cizhou and Cizhou-type ceramics were manufactured. Over time, the kilns in the south also started to apply painted decorations with brushes under the application of the glaze, as objects, ideas and people moved southwards. Jizhou played a key role in the transmission and circulation of materials and technologies.