Dehua porcelain (), more traditionally known in the West as Blanc de Chine (French for "White from China"), is a type of white
Chinese porcelain
Chinese ceramics show a continuous development since pre-dynastic times and are one of the most significant forms of Chinese art and ceramics globally. The first pottery was made during the Palaeolithic era. Chinese ceramics range from construc ...
, made at
Dehua
() is a county located in central Fujian province, People's Republic of China. It is under the administration of Quanzhou City and covers an area of with a total population of 300,000.
History
Dehua is rich in kaolin and famous for ceramic pr ...
in the
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
province. It has been produced from the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
(1368–1644) to the present day. Large quantities arrived in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
as
Chinese export porcelain
Chinese export porcelain includes a wide range of Chinese porcelain that was made (almost) exclusively for export to Europe and later to North America between the 16th and the 20th century. Whether wares made for non-Western markets are covered ...
in the early 18th century and it was copied at
Meissen
Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrecht ...
and elsewhere. It was also exported to
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
in large quantities. In 2021, the kilns of Dehua were inscribed on the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage List
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNES ...
along with many other sites near
Quanzhou
Quanzhou, postal map romanization, alternatively known as Chinchew, is a prefecture-level city, prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China. It is Fujian's largest metrop ...
for their importance for medieval maritime trade and the exchange of cultures and ideas around the world.
History
The area along the Fujian coast was traditionally one of the main ceramic exporting centers. Over one-hundred and eighty kiln sites have been identified extending in historical range from the Song period to present. The two principal kiln sites were those of Qudougong () and Wanpinglun (). The Wanpinglun site is the older of the two and manufactured pressed wares and others.
The kilns of Dehua also produced other ceramic wares, including some with under glaze blue decoration.
From the Ming period porcelain objects were manufactured that achieved a fusion of glaze and body traditionally referred to as "ivory white" and "milk white." The special characteristic of Dehua porcelain is the very small amount of
iron oxide
Iron oxides are chemical compounds composed of iron and oxygen. Several iron oxides are recognized. All are black magnetic solids. Often they are non-stoichiometric. Oxyhydroxides are a related class of compounds, perhaps the best known of whic ...
in it, allowing it to be fired in an oxidising atmosphere to a warm white or pale ivory color. This color makes it instantly recognizable and quite different from the porcelain from the Imperial kilns of
Jingdezhen
Jingdezhen is a prefecture-level city, in northeastern Jiangxi province, with a total population of 1,669,057 (2018), bordering Anhui to the north. It is known as the "Porcelain Capital" because it has been producing Chinese ceramics for at leas ...
, which contains more iron and has to be fired in reduction (i.e., an atmosphere with
carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a colorless, poisonous, odorless, tasteless, flammable gas that is slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the simple ...
) if it is not to appear an unpleasant straw color.
[Wood, N., ''Chinese Glazes: Their Chemistry, Origins and Re-creation'', A & C Black, London, and University of Pennsylvania Press, USA, 2007]
The unfired porcelain body is not very plastic but vessel forms have been made from it. Donnelly lists the following types of product: figures, boxes, vases and jars, cups and bowls, fishes, lamps, cup-stands, censers and flowerpots, animals, brush holders, wine and teapots,
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
and
Taoist
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...
figures, secular figures and puppets. There was a large output of figures, especially religious figures, e.g.,
Guanyin
Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...
,
Maitreya
Maitreya (Sanskrit: ) or Metteyya (Pali: ), also Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha, is regarded as the future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. As the 5th and final Buddha of the current kalpa, Maitreya's teachings will be aimed at ...
,
Luohan and
Ta-mo figures. Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, was particularly revered in Fujian and there exist innumerable figures of her. Donnelly says, “There is no doubt that figures constitute the great glory of ''blanc de Chine''.” Some have been produced with little modification from the late 16th or early 17th century. Crisply modeled figures with a smooth white glaze were popular as were joss-stick holders, brush pots, ''Dogs of Fo'', libation cups and boxes.
The devotional objects produced at Dehua (incense burners, candlesticks, flower vases and statuettes of saints) “conformed to the official stipulations of the early Ming period, not only in their whiteness but also in imitating the shape of archaic ritual objects”.
[Ayers, J. and Bingling, Y., ''Blanc de Chine: Divine Images in Porcelain'', China Institute, New York, 2002] They were probably used in the domestic shrines that every Chinese home possessed. However, one
Confucian
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...
polemicist,
Wen Zhenheng
Wen Zhenheng (, 1585–1645) was a Ming dynasty scholar, painter, landscape garden designer, and great grandson of Wen Zhengming, a famous Ming dynasty painter.
Wen was born in Suzhou in 1585. In 1621, he graduated from the Imperial Academy, obt ...
(1585–1645), specifically forbade the use of Dehua wares for religious purposes, presumably for their lack of antiquity: “Among the censers the use of which should be specifically forbidden are those recently made in the kilns of Fujian (Dehua).”
[
The numerous Dehua porcelain factories today make figures and tableware in modern styles. During the ]Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
“Dehua artisans applied their very best skills to produce immaculate statuettes of the Great Leader and the heroes of the revolution. Portraits of the stars of the new proletarian opera in their most famous roles were produced on a truly massive scale.”[ ]Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
figures later fell out of favor but have been revived for foreign collectors.
Precise dating of ''blanc de Chine'' of the Ming and Qing
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...
(1644–1911) dynasties is often difficult because the conservatism of the Dehua potters led them to produce similar pieces for decades or even for centuries. There are ''blanc de Chine'' figures being made in Dehua today (e.g. the popular Guanyin and Maitreya figures) little different from those made in the Ming dynasty.
Notable artists in ''blanc de Chine'', such as the late Ming period He Chaozong
He Chaozong () was a celebrated early 17th-century Chinese potter. He Chaozong fashioned mainly Buddhist white porcelain statuary in the tradition of the Dehua kilns in Fujian Province, known in the west as Blanc-de-Chine. Little documentary e ...
, signed their creations with their seals. Wares include crisply modeled figures, cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...
s, bowls and joss stick-holders.
In Japan
Many of the best examples of ''blanc de Chine'' can also be found in Japan where they are used in family altars (butsudan
A , sometimes spelled Butudan, is a shrine commonly found in temples and homes in Japanese Buddhist cultures. A ''butsudan'' is either a defined, often ornate platform or simply a wooden cabinet sometimes crafted with doors that enclose and pr ...
) and other funerary and religious uses. In Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
the white variety was termed ''hakuji
is a form of Japanese pottery and porcelain, normally white porcelain, which originated as an imitation of Chinese Dehua porcelain. Today the term is used in Japan to refer to plain white porcelain.
It's always plain white without colored pat ...
'', ''hakugorai'' or "Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
n white", a term often found in tea ceremony
An East Asian tea ceremony, or ''Chádào'' (), or ''Dado'' ( ko, 다도 (茶道)), is a ceremonially ritualized form of making tea (茶 ''cha'') practiced in East Asia by the Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans. The tea ceremony (), literally transla ...
circles. The British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
in London has a large number of ''blanc de Chine'' pieces, having received the entire collection of P.J.Donnelly as a gift in 1980.[Harrison-Hall, J., ''Ming Ceramics in the British Museum'', British Museum, London, 2001]
Dehua white porcelain was traditionally known in Japan as ''hakugorai'' or “Korean White Ware.” Although Korai
Kore (Greek: κόρη "maiden"; plural korai) is the modern term given to a type of free-standing ancient Greek sculpture of the Archaic period depicting female figures, always of a young age. Kouroi are the yo ...
was a term for an ancient Korean kingdom, the term also functioned as a ubiquitous term for various products from the Korean peninsula.
The Japanese knew of the existence of the Fujian province kilns and their porcelain, now known as Dehua or Blanc de Chine ware. The Dehua kilns are located in Fujian province
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...
opposite the island of Taiwan. Coastal Fujian province was traditionally a trade center for the Chinese economy with its many ports and urban centers. Fujian white ware was meant for export to all of maritime Asia.
However a large quantity of these ceramics was intended for a Japanese market, before drastic trade restrictions by the mid 17th century. Items were largely Buddhist images and ritual utensils utilized for family altar use. An association with funerals and the dead has perhaps led to a disinterest in this ware among present day Japanese, despite a strong interest in other aspects of Chinese ceramic culture and history.
The very plain white incense tripods and associated objects for Japanese religious and ritual observance are also likely designed specifically for a Japanese market, as are the Buddhist Goddesses of Mercy with child figurines that closely resemble the Christian Madonna and Child
In art, a Madonna () is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent in ...
. Such figurines were known as Maria Kannon or “Blessed Virgin Goddesses of Mercy” and were part of the “ hidden Christian” culture of Tokugawa Japan which had strictly banned the religion.
White porcelain Buddhist statuary was extensively produced in Japan at the Hirado kilns and elsewhere. The two wares can be easily distinguished. Japanese figures are usually closed on the base and a small hole for ventilation can be seen. Hirado Ware also displays a slightly orange tinge on unglazed areas.
Gallery
File:Bodhisattva Guanyin from Nantoyōsō Collection.jpg, Guanyin
Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...
Bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood.
In the Early Buddhist schools ...
made by He Chaozong
He Chaozong () was a celebrated early 17th-century Chinese potter. He Chaozong fashioned mainly Buddhist white porcelain statuary in the tradition of the Dehua kilns in Fujian Province, known in the west as Blanc-de-Chine. Little documentary e ...
, a famed 17th-century artist from the Ming dynasty who fashioned mainly Buddhist white porcelain statuary in the tradition of the Dehua kilns in Fujian province.
File:Ascetic-Buddha-2.jpg, Ascetic Buddha from late Ming dynasty
File:Kinesisk vinofferskål i porslin med dekor i relief bestående av huvudet och frambenen av en drake - Hallwylska museet - 95557.tif, A decorated cup from late Ming dynasty
File:BLW White Teapot.jpg, A white teapot from Dehua, ca. 1690-1720. The base is inscribed with the name of the Emperor Xuande, who reigned from 1426 to 1435, more than 250 years before the teapot was made. The use of earlier reign marks has a long history in China, much to the vexation of modern researchers, and was intended to indicate respect rather than to deceive. The teapot's bold geometric design anticipates the forms of European modernism
Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
by more than two centuries.
File:Meissen Porcelain Manufactory - Cup - Walters 481450.jpg, A cup made at Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, Germany, ca. 1725-1730. Although long-known in China, the technique of making true or hard-paste porcelain was not rediscovered in Europe until J. F. Böttger's experiments at Meissen
Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrecht ...
in the early 18th century. This little porcelain cup with its applied prunus or plum blossom decoration reflects the influence of a Chinese, "Blanc de Chine" porcelain prototype.
File:(11-365) Blanc de Chine (5175943649).jpg, A modern ''Blanc de Chine'' teapot design
See also
*He Chaozong
He Chaozong () was a celebrated early 17th-century Chinese potter. He Chaozong fashioned mainly Buddhist white porcelain statuary in the tradition of the Dehua kilns in Fujian Province, known in the west as Blanc-de-Chine. Little documentary e ...
Notes
References
*Ayers, J and Kerr, R., (2000), ''Blanc de Chine Porcelain from Dehua'', Art Media Resources Ltd.
google books
*Moujian, S., (1986) ''An Encyclopedia of Chinese Art'', p. 292.
*Shanghai Art Museum, ''Fujian Ceramics and Porcelain'', Chinese Ceramics, vol. 27, Kyoto, 1983.
*Kato Tokoku, ''Genshoku toki daijiten'' (A Dictionary of Ceramics in Color), Tokyo, 1972, p. 777.
External links
A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics
from The Metropolitan Museum of Art
* https://www.britannica.com/art/Dehua-porcelain
{{Porcelain
Chinese porcelain
Chinese pottery
Hokkien folk art
History of Fujian