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Longquan celadon

Lóngquán qīngcí

Traditional 龍泉青瓷

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. Shen & Zhou 2022, pp. 103–104

On this page

Body#

UNESCO describes a 'violet-golden' clay body.2

Glazes#

Glaze中文DescriptionSources
plum green梅子青One of the two best-known Southern Song glaze colours named in the heritage record.1
powder blue-green粉青The other named Southern Song colour.1
'elder brother' and 'younger brother' styles哥窑 / 弟窑UNESCO describes the elder-brother style as dark with crackle and the younger-brother style as a thick lavender-grey or plum-green glaze.2

Methods#

  1. Glaze UNESCO lists burnt feldspar, limestone, quartz and plant ash; thick glazes may take more than ten layers (heritage record).21
  2. Firing Bisque firing near 800 °C, glaze firing near 1200 °C (heritage record); UNESCO gives about 1310 °C.12

Typical objects#

Not yet verified: tea objects; none named in the sources read

Periods#

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 2022, pp. 103–104

Kiln sites#

SitePeriodSources
Dayao Longquan kiln sites (大窑龙泉窑遗址), LongquanNot yet verified: era as printed in the 1988 State Council list3

Heritage listings#

2006

China national intangible cultural heritage list (国家级非物质文化遗产代表性项目名录), traditional crafts1

Item
Ⅷ-9 (序号 359)
Batch
first

Declared by Longquan city.

2009

UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity2

Item
00205 (decision 4.COM 13.24)

Traditional firing technology of Longquan celadon.

1988

Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level (全国重点文物保护单位)3

Item
3-228
Site
大窑龙泉窑遗址 Dayao Longquan kiln sites
Batch
third
Era as listed
Not yet verified

Not yet verified: Number from English Wikipedia's list only; Not yet verified confirm against the State Council's 1988 notice.

Sources#

  1. 龙泉青瓷烧制技艺 — 359 / Ⅷ-9 (2006)China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (中国非物质文化遗产网) · Government and heritage records · Accessed 2026-11-02 ↗
  2. Traditional firing technology of Longquan celadon (Representative List, 2009, decision 4.COM 13.24)UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage · Government and heritage records · Accessed 2026-11-02 ↗
  3. List of Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in ZhejiangEnglish Wikipedia · Reference works · Accessed 2026-11-02 ↗
Status and editorial notes draft

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.

  • era as printed in the 1988 State Council list
  • Number from English Wikipedia's list only; Not yet verified confirm against the State Council's 1988 notice.
  • tea objects; none named in the sources read
  • Draft: written 2026-11-02 from the sources listed, all read on that date. Region id is proposed; no region entries exist in teaware data yet, and cha.fyi's region ids were not checked from this thread. The two temperature figures differ between the sources and are both kept with attribution.