China - Ancient Porcelain Kiln Site in China

Central Point Coordinates of Yue Kiln Sites at Shanglin Lake: N 30°07′50″, E 121°19'35''

Central Point Coordinates of Longquan Kiln Sites at Dayao: Dayao (N 27°56′16″, E 119°0′08″)

Xikou (N 27°54′35″, E 118°59′07″)

Jincun Village (N 27°48′50″, E 119°0′03″)

Yangqiaotou (N27°51′10″, E 119°1′55″)

The Ancient Porcelain Kiln Site in China includes the serial representative sites of ancient Chinese celadon-producing kilns from the 1st to the 17th century. They are located in Zhejiang Province, a concentrated area of celadon production in China, with Yue Kiln Sites at Shanglin Lake and Longquan Kiln Sites at Dayao as two quintessence. The colossal scale and profuse historical remains of the sites substantiate the invention and lineage of the time-honored celadon making tradition of China. The Yue Kiln Sites at Shanglin Lake are situated in the northeast of Zhejiang Province in China’s southeast coastal region. The sites include the Shanglin lake area and Silongkou kiln ruins extending to an area around 231.69 ha, surrounding the water system of the Shanglin Lake and Guyinding Lake, where 116 sites have been discovered so far. There are abundant remains of porcelain shards accumulated on the ground, buried workshops, kilns and other remains of production facilities, as well as historic settings related to porcelain production including porcelain clay zone, firewood resource zone, slopes where kilns were located, water sources and transport waterways. Yue Kiln Sites at Shanglin Lake established in the Eastern Han Dynasty (1st century) was one of the earliest cradles of porcelain making of China, representing the best art form of China’s celadon production during the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period (8th-10thcenturies), and was celadon production center of the Tang and the Song dynasties. As the extraordinary artisanship of the ancient Chinese porcelain, the Yue Kiln Sites at Shanglin Lake is one of significant kiln complex in Chinese celadon production history, and had a profound impact on the development of celadon making across China, Japan and the Korean Peninsula. Following Yue Kiln, the Longquan Kiln Sites at Dayao is a celadon production center emerged during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. Occupying an area around 511.9 ha, it is situated in the regions of today’s Xiaomei Town and Chatian Town of Longquan City in Zhejiang Province, where 126 sites have been found by far. There are abundant porcelain making remains including accumulation of porcelain shards, remains of workshops, kilns, porcelain-making tools, and celadon related historic settings including porcelain clay zone, firewood resources zone, slopes where kilns were located, water sources, and transport waterways. They evidence the kiln’s prime time, scattering a broad area, abundant workshops and kilns and other production facilities, as well as large numbers of products of high quality. Flourishing in the Northern Song Dynasty and reaching its prime from the Southern Song Dynasty to mid-Ming Dynasty, it once became the largest porcelain production center of the country, was the mainstream craftsmanship of celadon making summit in Chinese history. Its unique artistic achievement sets an exemplar of intangible cultural heritage of mankind. With the paper-thin body, thick glazes like jade and purple rim and cinnabar base of works, Yue Kiln, known as Ge Kiln and Di Kiln in Song Dynasty, was one of the Five Prestigious Kilns of Song Dynasty. From the 9th to the 16th century, works of Yue Kiln and Longquan Kiln were not only supplied to the imperial court and domestic folk life, but also exported to other countries and regions of Asia, Africa and Europe. Making great contributions to the development of the world civilization, its craftsmanship and products had exerted a prominent influence on ceramic production in many places of China and other regions in East Asia, Southeast Asia and North Africa.