Maple Bay Celadon Kiln Site

Maple Bay Celadon Kiln Site

The Maple Bay Celadon Kiln Site is a cultural heritage protection unit of Cixi City.

The Maple Bay Celadon Kiln Site is located at the eastern foot of Yaotou Mountain on the western shore of Lihu Lake in Guanhaiwei Town, Cixi City, near the Chestnut Mountain Celadon Kiln Site to the south. It was discovered during the 1982 cultural relics survey and was designated as part of the third batch of cultural heritage protection units by the Cixi County People's Government in August 1986.

This kiln site comprises five interconnected kilns from the Tang and Northern Song dynasties, covering an area of approximately 6,160 square meters, including three from the Tang Dynasty and two from the Northern Song Dynasty. All five kilns are distributed along the lakeshore, with some parts submerged by lake water and varying degrees of damage. The Tang Dynasty artifacts mainly consist of shallow-footed bowls with flat bases, along with melon-ringed ewers, gallbladder-shaped ewers, flared deep jars, bowls, and jade-ring-footed bowls. The glazes are mostly bluish-yellow, with some bluish-gray varieties. Most surfaces are plain, though a few feature carved patterns such as lotus flowers, and some jar handles are stamped with characters like “上,” “文,” and “太.” A small number of items were fired in saggars, resulting in well-formed pieces with lustrous, moist glazes. The Northern Song Dynasty artifacts primarily include various sizes of flared-mouth ring-footed ewers, along with a smaller number of bowls, bottles, plates, tall-footed cups, lamp stands, and saucers. The glazes are generally dull, predominantly bluish-gray with some bluish-yellow hues. Some items show inconsistent glaze colors across different areas, with instances of flaking. Decoration mainly features carved floral patterns, commonly peonies and chrysanthemums, and some items also use stamping techniques, primarily on the handles of ewers. Kiln furniture mainly includes cushion pads and spacers, with no saggar remains found. Products were fired in open flame.

The kiln site is situated by Lihu Lake, which was originally an ancient lagoon and was transformed into Cixi’s largest drinking water reservoir in 1973. The southern part of the lake features the ruins of Dingshui Temple, the former residence of Yu Shinan, a renowned calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty, and the tomb of Yuan Shao, Grand Tutor and Duke of Yue from the Southern Song Dynasty. It is a scenic destination that combines cultural heritage with natural beauty.