What is the history of ceramic culture in China?

The emergence and development of ceramics are actually closely related to people's life and production practice. About 700 thousand years ago, in primitive times, people found that soil became hard after drying and burning, and could be made into various shapes to hold water, put food and so on This is the beginning of pottery. The invention of pottery is an important process of human civilization. It opens a new page for human beings to use, transform and fight against nature, which is of great historical significance and a milestone in the history of human production and development.

1 Ceramic Culture in Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties

Pottery pieces and pots unearthed from Yin Ruins in Shang Dynasty include many styles, including gray pottery, black pottery, red pottery, painted pottery, white pottery and glazed hard pottery. The decorative patterns, symbols and characters on these pottery are closely related to Oracle Bone Inscriptions and Shang celadon. The cost of celadon is so high that only the nobles can enjoy it, and the general public can only use pottery for their daily necessities. Therefore, it can be understood that the pottery-making technology of the Shang Dynasty has also been generally developed. During this period, hard pottery with glaze appeared, with green glaze, brownish yellow, hard fetal quality and gray white.

At this time, pottery is no longer limited to containers, and its application scope has become wider, which can be roughly divided into daily necessities, buildings, martyrdom, sacrificial vessels and so on. The imperial court also attached great importance to pottery making.

2. Ceramic culture in Qin and Han Dynasties

Most of the buildings in Qin and Han dynasties were wooden structures, which were difficult to preserve for a long time. Therefore, some great buildings, such as Afang Palace in Qin Dynasty and Weiyang Palace in Han Dynasty, can not be completely preserved, but they can still be found in the remaining relics, such as tiles and Han bricks, so as to get a glimpse of the scale of ancient buildings.

3. Ceramic culture in Sui and Tang Dynasties.

In 589 AD, Emperor Wendi of the Sui Dynasty usurped the Northern Zhou Dynasty, annexed Nanchen, unified the Central Plains and renamed it Sui. Although the Sui Dynasty was short-lived, there was a new breakthrough in porcelain firing, not only celadon firing, but also white porcelain developed well, and there were innovations in decorative techniques.