A Fragile Taste: In the Pursuit of Excellent Ceramic Wares in Late Imperial China

Ceramics are among the finest and most treasured artifacts in premodern China. They are also the most fragile, easily broken by accidental mishaps in manufacturing and daily use. Throughout history, the system and technology of ceramic manufacturing have thus evolved to maximize quantity while improving quality and durability. During the late imperial period, kiln technology improved tremendously, especially in Imperial Kiln Factory (Yuyaochang) in Jingdezhen, managed by the official superintendent appointed by the court. It is not overstated that Imperial Kiln Factory manufactured the finest and most delicately designed porcelain in history. Intriguingly, as the quality and efficiency of ceramic production were at the highest level, the number of shards accumulated over this period at the Imperial Kiln Factory excavated from modern archaeological digs is the greatest. In other words, more wares were shattered either during the making process or in the final inspection, even though Jingdezhen had the best resources, craftsmen, kilns, and financial support to an unprecedented degree. In this talk, looking into the unearthed fragments, the manufacturing system implemented in the Imperial Kiln Factory, and the pursuit of excellent ware at court, I will demonstrate how fragility and breakage was an essential constituent of Chinese ceramic art and its historical narrative in late imperial China.

Wei-Cheng Lin, Associate Professor of Art History at University of Chicago.Wei-Cheng Lin specializes in the history of Chinese art and architecture with a focus on medieval periods. His primary interests of research are visual and material cultural issues in Buddhist art and architecture and China’s funerary practice through history. He is the author of Building a Sacred Mountain: The Buddhist Architecture of China’s Mount Wutai, published by the University of Washington Press in 2014. He has additionally published on a variety of topics, including collecting history, photography and architecture, historiography of Chinese architectural history, and contemporary Chinese art.

Sponsor(s): Center for Chinese Studies