The Northern Gate Ancient Kiln Site

The Northern Gate Ancient Kiln Site

The Northern Gate Ancient Kiln Site is a cultural relic protection unit of Chaozhou City.

The Northern Gate Ancient Kiln Site is located about 500 meters northwest of the urban area, near West Lake in Chaozhou. Also known as the Yaoshangbu Kiln Site, it is, along with the nearby Beiditou Ancient Kiln Site and the fourth layer of the Hongcuobu Kiln Site and the third layer of the Zhuyuandun Kiln Site in the southern suburbs of the ancient city of Chaozhou, an ancient kiln site dating back to the Tang Dynasty. Artifacts unearthed include bowls, plates, teapots, jars, and basins. The body of the pottery is relatively thick, with glaze usually applied only halfway down the outer wall. The bases are mostly flat, and fully glazed or ring-footed vessels are very rare. These features align with the main characteristics of artifacts from Guangdong’s Tang Dynasty. Judging from the shapes and styles of the teapots and bowls, they are also commonly found among relics unearthed from Tang Dynasty kiln sites and tombs across the north and south of China. Similar items have been excavated from a local Tang Dynasty tomb dated “the fourth year of Yifeng,” and the lotus petal-patterned roof tiles also exhibit Tang Dynasty style.

In fact, aside from the previously mentioned Bijia Mountain Ancient Kiln Site in the eastern suburbs, the southern and northern suburbs of Chaozhou City (now all within the jurisdiction of Xiangqiao District) are dotted with ancient kiln remains from the Tang and Northern Song Dynasties. For example, the second layer of the Hongcuobu Kiln Site and the second layer of the Zhuyuandun Kiln Site in the southern suburbs, as well as the Fengshan Kiln Site, Tiandongyuan Kiln Site, Wengpianshan Kiln Site, Zhuganshan Kiln Site, and Xiangbishan Kiln Site in the western and northern suburbs, all date back to the Northern Song Dynasty. Not only were a large number of artifacts and fragments unearthed, but three kiln tools with absolute dates from the Northern Song Dynasty were also discovered.

Kilns from the Tang Dynasty were generally built on low or gentle slopes, or by leveling a piece of ground on a soil mound before construction. Their layout was mostly semi-elliptical, measuring 5–7 meters in length. There were two types of kiln structures: one where the entire kiln wall and floor were built by layering and ramming yellow-brown refractory clay; the other where the kiln door and the rear wall of the firing chamber were constructed with gray refractory bricks, while the rest was the same as the first type, using yellow-brown refractory clay for ramming.

Kilns from the Northern Song Dynasty were all built as long, sloping dragon kilns, constructed along the contours of hillsides, with walls made of rectangular bricks on both sides and a single slope.

The discovery and excavation of the ancient Tang and Song Dynasty kiln site clusters around the ancient city of Chaozhou provide strong evidence of the long history of ceramic production in Chaozhou, a city honored as the “Porcelain Capital of China.”