The essence of Chinese culture - porcelain

Fine, crisp and translucent. Many years ago, a dance between clay and fire gave rise to a tangible piece of art: porcelain.

Flames in kilns around China have been burning since the Xia and Shang dynasties (c. 21st century-11th century BC). Along the way, porcelain was born.

Porcelain is ceramic made by heating raw materials.often a mix between China stone and kaolin clay, in a kiln at a temperature as high as 1,200 degree Celsius. Temperature is key to making porcelain. Going through the fire of reinvention at a high temperature bestows porcelain with greater strength, more translucence and a feast of colors.

Ceramics were recorded in Chaozhou as early as 6000 years ago during the Neolithic Period.In the Tang Dynasty, Chaozhou already had a large scale ceramic production, and there appeared underglaze spot brown color porcelain. Four kiln sites in Chaozhou were built in the Tang Dynasty, and most of the relics unearthed were daily blue celadon. The porcelain body is gray, the embryo is thicker, the heat is not high, and the texture is coarse and loose.

The glaze color is mostly green glaze, green yellow glaze, sauce brown glaze three kinds, the shape of the ware is: bowl, dish, pot, cup, pot, basin, pillow and so on.

Porcelain has also been a carrier for cultural exchanges Along with China's silk and tea, porcelain was one of the first commodities to receive worldwide trade.

As it travelled around the globe through the ancient Maritime Silk Road, porcelain enjoyed great popularity among royal families and upper classes in Europe, who were enamored by these beautiful vessels they named after China, a product that could be produced only in the far East.

Porcelain began as a practical utensil and evolved into pieces of art. Even when shattered into pieces and buried deep in mud, cultural values attached to porcelain would never dissipate as a memory that can be felt with both hands, porcelain is touchable history.