Cizao Kiln Site

Cizao Kiln Site

The Cizao Kiln Site is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Cizao Kiln Site is located in Cizao Town, Jinjiang City, an ancient town south of Quanzhou in Fujian Province.

The kiln site was an important center for exporting ceramics from Quanzhou during the Song and Yuan dynasties. The sites are mostly distributed along both banks of the Meixi River, including one from the Southern Dynasties, six from the Tang and Five Dynasties periods, and twelve from the Song and Yuan dynasties. Major kilns include the Tuwei’an Kiln, Zhizhushan Kiln, and Tongzishan First and Second Kilns, which were significant exporters of ceramics during the Song and Yuan periods. The Tuwei’an Kiln is situated at Tuwei’an, north of Lingpan Village in Cizao Town, measuring 60 meters in length, 50 meters in width, and about 3.5 meters in deposit depth. The Zhizhushan Kiln lies about 100 meters south of the Tuwei’an Kiln, measuring 50 meters in length, 40 meters in width, and 4.6 meters in deposit depth. The Tongzishan First and Second Kilns are located on the north bank of the Meixi River opposite the Tuwei’an Kiln, on Tongzishan Mountain, stretching 260 meters in length, 140 meters in width, and 1.3 meters in deposit depth. Major products include bowls, cups, spoons, saucers, plates, boxes, jun vessels, jars, bottles, flower holders, dishes, and building materials. Glaze colors include yellow, green, blue, blue-yellow, blue-green, blue-gray, black, and brownish-red. Decorative techniques include incised patterns, molded designs, applied reliefs, and painted motifs, featuring dragon patterns, scrolling vines, lotus petals, and peony designs. A large quantity of these products were exported, ranking first among all kilns. Among them, yellow-glazed iron-painted patterned large plates, jun vessels, and blue-glazed dishes were specifically made for export.

The most representative of these is the Jiaojiao’ershan Kiln Site. In 2002 and 2003, a comprehensive excavation covering approximately 1,550 square meters was carried out, uncovering and clearing four dragon kiln remains and one workshop site. Based on the stratigraphy, relationships between remains, and unearthed ceramics, the dating is determined to be from the Five Dynasties to the Southern Song Dynasty. Blue porcelain and black-glazed stoneware were unearthed, with vessel shapes including bowls, plates, saucers, bottles, ewers, jars, censers, lamps, water droppers, and handled pitchers.

Ceramics produced in Cizao have been found in Japan and across Southeast Asia: in Yokohama, Nagano, Fukuoka, and Kyoto in Japan, there have been discoveries of yellow-glazed basins with iron-painted underglaze floral designs from the Tongzishan Kiln in Cizao, as well as green-glazed carved wares and turtle-shaped inkstone droppers from the Zhizhushan Kiln. In the Philippines, artifacts such as double-dragon pearl-chasing designs, scrolling peony patterns, green-glazed jun vessels and black-glazed jun vessels, impressed-patterned dishes, black-glazed dishes, black-glazed carved censers, and lamp stands from the Tuwei’an Kiln in Cizao have been discovered, along with impressed-patterned dishes, jun vessels, and green-glazed turtle-shaped inkstone droppers from the Zhizhushan Kiln.

In 2006, the Cizao Kiln Site was included in the sixth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units by the State Council as an ancient site dating from the Song to the Yuan dynasties.

Cizao Town: Located in the northwest of Jinjiang City, Cizao Town covers an area of 56 square kilometers and has a population of 87,000, boasting abundant ceramic clay resources.

The ceramic industry in Cizao originated in the first year of the Taishi era of Emperor Wu of the Western Jin Dynasty. By the Song Dynasty, its influence had reached the world, spanning over 1,700 years, making it one of the birthplaces of China’s ceramic industry. Cizao earned its name from the continuous production of ceramics for over 1,500 years since the late Southern Dynasties. The town produces thousands of varieties of ceramic products. With an annual output of over 10 million square meters of stone materials, it has become one of the nation’s top four bases for ceramic and stone production and sales.

Currently, Cizao... More details about Cizao Town++

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units