Lizishan Celadon Kiln Site

Lizishan Celadon Kiln Site

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

The Lizishan Celadon Kiln Site is located on the southern slope of Lizishan Mountain in Xibutou Village, on the western shore of Liduhu Lake in Guanhaiwei Town, Cixi City, to the east of a small dam. The kiln site was damaged due to the construction of the small dam, with parts submerged by the lake. It was discovered during the 1982 cultural relics survey and was designated as one of the first batch of cultural heritage protection units by the Cixi County People’s Government in May of the same year.

Based on surface remains, this site is identified as a Northern Song Dynasty kiln, with a deposit area of 8,000 square meters and a stratum thickness of about 2.5 meters. Exposed sections of the kiln bed measure 4 meters in length and 2.6 meters in width. The kiln walls were built with bricks measuring 30 cm in length, 16 cm in width, and 5 cm in thickness. The main vessel types include twin-handled ewers and flared-rim, round-bottomed bowls with ring feet, along with four-loop jars, bottles, boxes, lamp stands, and vessel lids. The glaze is relatively dull, in grayish-blue and bluish-yellow hues, with thin layers lacking luster. Some bowl bases and ewer bodies feature carved floral designs with coarse and rigid lines—common motifs include peonies, chrysanthemums, and interlocking flowers—as well as stamped patterns, mainly decorating the handles of ewers, varying in shape and design. No saggars were found, indicating all items were fired in direct flame. Observations of the body, glaze, decoration, and firing techniques suggest that ceramic craftsmanship had clearly become more crude and careless by this period, reflecting the decline of the Yue Kiln toward the end of the Northern Song Dynasty.