Black and celadon bowls beyond Jian: Jizhou, Longquan, Ru, Yue and Ding
建盏之外的黑釉与青白茶碗：吉州、龙泉、汝窑、越窑与定窑
Traditional 建盞之外的黑釉與青白茶碗：吉州、龍泉、汝窯、越窯與定窯
Black, white and celadon bowls offer different ways to see tea and ceramic decoration. Start with their visible differences, then explore the kilns, techniques and historical uses behind them.
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Before the Song black bowl: Tang Yue celadon and Xing white ware#
Yue celadons have green glazes; mise is a historically specific designation whose identification depends on excavated groups and documents. Research on late-Tang and Five-Dynasties sherds from Housi’ao discusses porcelain saggars as firing equipment. That evidence does not mean the bowls were deposited inside firing saggars at Famen Temple. Keep the kiln process and the dated temple deposit distinct.
Xing ware is white porcelain made in northern China, especially around Neiqiu and Lincheng in Hebei. In tea history it is often compared with southern Yue celadon. Lu Yu compared its whiteness to silver and snow; this literary preference is distinct from a modern technical classification.
2021A blue-glazed Tang pottery bowl excavated at Gaoloucun in Xi’an offers a third colour for comparison. The glaze stops short of the foot. Its inclusion in a tea-ware exhibition is a curatorial interpretation of its use.Cat. 10 · pp. 58–59
Key facts#
Compare body, glaze, decoration and archaeological context separately. Dark, white and green bowls overlap in time; they do not form a single sequence replacing one another. A ware name is a starting point for identifying a production tradition, not a fixed chemical recipe or proof of tea use.
Jizhou ware: wood-leaf, paper-cut, and tortoiseshell glazes on a pale body#
Jizhou includes black-glazed bowls with leaf, cut-paper and mottled effects. These names describe visible decoration; identifying the exact leaf species, stencil material or firing sequence requires evidence for the particular object or excavated workshop. A pale foot can assist comparison but cannot authenticate origin by itself.
On bowl 29.100.223, paper flowers were laid on the black glaze and covered with brown glaze. The paper burned away in the kiln, leaving the pattern.29.100.223
The 1994 exhibition catalogue gives a different account for its bowl no. 37. The paper protected the dark motifs while a lighter glaze was applied to the interior. The catalogue says the potter then lifted the paper before firing. The two sources describe different bowls.no. 37, pp. 112–113
Northern Song rivals: Ding white/black bowls and Yaozhou carved celadon#
Historical colour names and modern glaze categories do not always coincide. Black, persimmon and so-called purple Ding should be linked to dated objects and the wording of the particular source, rather than presented as one established recipe or as proof of court tea use.
Yaozhou ware includes northern Chinese celadons associated with Huangbao in Tongchuan, Shaanxi. Carved and moulded decoration becomes darker where the green glaze pools in recesses. Bowls, stands and ewers belong to its repertoire; a vessel shape alone does not establish that it was used for tea.
A pale bowl can also carry a pattern in relief. On C81.270 two rows of moulded petals catch the light, and the glaze stops well above the foot. The catalogue places the thirteenth-century bowl in a group made around Dehua and elsewhere in Fujian. That regional attribution is useful when comparing the piece with a white bowl assigned to a specific kiln. (中國陶瓷茶具 (1991) · C81.270 · no. 76 · p. 181 (PDF 428))
Ru sky-blue crackle and Longquan plum-green celadon—then and now#
Ru and Longquan should be compared as distinct production traditions, not grades of one green glaze. For Ru, distinguish historical attributed objects from modern wares sold under the name. Crackle appearance alone cannot date or authenticate a bowl; use excavation context, collection provenance and specialist catalogue evidence.
Longquan celadon is a green-glazed ceramic tradition from southwestern Zhejiang. Its bowls and other vessels are known for richly layered glazes. Archaeology distinguishes earlier regional pottery from a distinctive Longquan industry emerging during the Northern Song; its beginnings remain a research question.
Northern Song emergence; earlier regional production is a separate question. Shen and Zhou distinguish a characteristic Longquan kiln industry from earlier local ceramics and leave its precise beginnings open. Modern heritage descriptions do not establish an uninterrupted chronology.
Shen & Zhou 2022Further comparison#
Use the linked material entries to examine each tradition in depth. Compare dated objects and documented production processes rather than treating regional names as laboratory specifications.
Sources#
- 冯先铭 等 撰文《中国陶瓷茶具》(1994)
- 广东省博物馆、香港市政局 主编《中国古代茶具展》(1986)
- 陈文平《中国茶具对日本茶道陶瓷的影响》(1994)
- 吉州窑陶瓷烧制技艺 — 1329 / Ⅷ-215 (2014) ↗
- 龙泉青瓷烧制技艺 — 359 / Ⅷ-9 (2006) ↗
- Traditional firing technology of Longquan celadon (Representative List, 2009, decision 4.COM 13.24) ↗
- 汝瓷烧制技艺（宝丰） — 1169 / Ⅷ-189 (2011) ↗
- 汝瓷烧制技艺（汝州） — 1169 / Ⅷ-189 (2011) ↗
- 中国第五批全国重点文物保护单位完全名单 (2001-07-16) ↗
- 国务院关于核定并公布第六批全国重点文物保护单位的通知（国发〔2006〕19号） ↗
- [美] 梅维恒、艾尔曼 著《茶的历史》(The True History of Tea, 2020)
- Tea bowl with decoration of six-petaled flowers · 29.100.223
- 中國古代茶具展 · Ancient Chinese Tea Wares
Status and editorial notes sources cited
Sources are listed below. Their presence does not certify every claim; source-specific interpretations and unresolved questions are identified in the text. This page has not received independent expert approval.