Liling porcelain
2022-08-24
During Eastern Han Dynasty
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Liling Kilns were concentrated in the Lushui water basin. In the archaeological investigation of Yongxing Village in Zuoquan Town in July 2022, 17 kiln accumulation sites were found, 10 of which date back to the Eastern Han Dynasty. Then the archaeological excavation in Yijiashan, where a late Eastern Han Dynasty kiln site lies, rewrote Liling’s history of firing porcelain and filled the gap of early celadon kiln site in Eastern Hunan. In this long dragon kiln (Dragon kilns are usually seen in ancient Southern China. They were usually built on hills, winding down in the shape of a Chinese dragon.), most of the unearthed objects were hard pottery, and some of them were coated with celadon glaze.
During Five Dynasties
The development of porcelain industry in Liling during the Five Dynasties laid the foundation for the prosperity during the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Along the Tieshui River in Sunjiawan Town, Liling City, Maojialing Kiln Site and Fengxingling Kiln Site from the Five Dynasties were found in 2018. Maojialing Kiln Site was a dragon kiln built on the mountain, where most of the firing porcelain was celadon glaze and greenish yellow glaze. The bowl was the main ware type.
During Song and Yuan Dynasties
The Song and Yuan Dynasties were the boom times for the porcelain industry in Liling. At present, the unearthed Song-Yuan porcelain kilns were concentrated in Fenglin Town and Weishan Town in Liling. These kiln sites mainly fired greenish white porcelain as well as some shadowy blue porcelain.
During Ming and Qing Dynasties
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Liling people mainly fired blue and white porcelain for daily use. The kiln sites were widely distributed in Beixiang of Liling City, especially in Weishan Town. The Fengshupo Kiln Site excavated in 2018 retained a more complete ladder dragon kiln. The unearthed objects were mainly celadon bowls.
Yuexingwan Ancient Kiln Factory was built in the first year of Emperor Guangxu’s reign of the Qing Dynasty, with an area of 1,550 square meters. Around the ladder kiln, there were workshops and office areas of the kiln factory and all aspects of porcelain making could be completed in it. During the Emperor Yongzheng’s reign of the Qing Dynasty, Liao Zhongwei moved to the Weishan Mountain and set up a kiln factory in the area of ancient Dongtian Temple, which contributed to the great development of the porcelain industry centered on Weishan Village. By the eighteen years of Emperor Guangxu’s reign of the Qing Dynasty, there had been more than 480 porcelain factories and over 100 dragon kilns in Weishan area. The annual output was more than 8 million pieces of porcelain ware.
In the late Qing Dynasty, Hunan Liling underglaze multicolored porcelain was successfully fired.
In 1905, Mr. Xiong Xiling (then prime minister of the Republic of China) founded a porcelain school and a porcelain manufacturing company in Liling, introducing the most advanced ceramic production process and equipment at that time and realizing the integration of production, learning and research. In 1908, the porcelain manufacturing company opened a new era of Chinese ceramics by firing underglaze multicolored porcelain. During the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition, China won the gold medal with a piece of porcelain ware produced in Liling, which was known as the “peak of Oriental ceramics”. Since then, ceramics produced in Liling have been renowned both at home and abroad.
After founding of the PRC
After the founding of the PRC, Liling Kilns caught the opportunity for development to established the well-known brand of “Liling Kilns”. In 1956, The State Council approved the establishment of Liling Porcelain Corporation to resume the production of underglaze multicolored porcelain.
In 1958, Art Porcelain Factory of Liling Porcelain General Company was established and renamed as Hunan Liling Qunli Porcelain Factory in 1964. For decades, Hunan Liling Qunli Porcelain Factory undertook the task of firing porcelains for Party and state leaders, central authorities, national major festivals and national gifts. Therefore, Qunli Porcelain Factory was also called “red official kiln”.
The history of Liling porcelain is also the history of the art development driven by the technological innovation, which made Liling become the only porcelain city in Hunan Province.
