Science and Civilisation in China Series

Science and Civilisation in China, Part 12, Ceramic Technology

by Rose Kerr and Nigel Wood

Published 14 October 2004

How were Chinese pots made, glazed and fired? Why did China discover porcelain more than one thousand years before the West? What are the effects of China's influence on world ceramics? These questions (and many more) are answered in this lavishly-illustrated history of Chinese ceramic technology. The scene is set through the use of historical texts, archaeological excavation, and the principles of ceramic science. Chapters follow on the formation of clays and their relation to the underlying geologies of China, on firing, on manufacturing methods and sequences, on glazes, pigments and gilding, and on the impact of Chinese ceramic technology around the world, from the seventh to the twenty-first centuries. This is a volume unique in its coverage, which brings together research materials in several languages for the first time. With additional contributions by Ts'ai Mei-fen (National Palace Museum, Taipei) and Zhang Fukang (Shanghai Institute of Ceramics).