Shiwan Ceramics

Shiwan Ceramics

　　Shiwan ceramics hold a unique and irreplaceable position in the history of Chinese ceramics. The geometric patterned pottery shards unearthed at the Hedang Shell Mound site in Shiwan bear witness to the over 5,000-year history of Shiwan ceramics. During the Tang and Song dynasties, Shiwan had already become a production base for ceramics in southern China; by the Ming dynasty, it earned the reputation of “Shiwan tiles topping those under heaven.” Today, the ceramic industry continues to gain worldwide fame through innovation and heritage.

　　Located in the central area of Chancheng District, Foshan City, Guangdong Province, the Shiwan ceramic sculpture craft is mainly distributed in Shiwan Town Subdistrict and surrounding areas within Chancheng District. With abundant natural resources, a location nestled between mountains and water, and well-connected land and water transportation, Shiwan has become an important ceramic production base in southern China.

　　“Shiwan pottery, Jingdezhen porcelain” can be said to encapsulate the essence of Chinese ceramics. Unlike the official kilns of Jingdezhen, Shiwan kilns were folk kilns, fundamentally different from official ones. They primarily produced for market demand and export needs. In addition to everyday ceramics, they also mass-produced fine art ceramics and other works.

　　Origins

　　The craft of Shiwan ceramic sculpture developed on the foundation of utilitarian pottery. The artistic prototype of Shiwan ceramic sculpture can be seen in the pottery figurines unearthed from Eastern Han Dynasty tombs in Shiwan. The development of Shiwan ceramic sculpture can be roughly divided into four periods: the formative and developmental period from the Tang to pre-Ming dynasties, the heyday during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the downturn during the Republic of China period, and the flourishing and innovative period after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, especially after the reform and opening-up.

　　The history of pottery firing in Shiwan began as early as the shell mound sites of the late Neolithic Age. The appearance of large-scale kiln sites in Shiwan can be traced back to no later than the Tang Dynasty. Pottery kiln sites from the Tang and Song dynasties were discovered in Foshan Shiwan and Nanhai Qishi during the 1950s–70s. The excavated items were all semi-ceramic ware, with relatively low firing temperatures, poor hardness, thick and loose bodies, representing typical Southern Tang Dynasty pottery.

　　The Song Dynasty was a golden age for ceramics, with the consumption trends of the entire society driving unprecedented development in the ceramic industry. Kilns engaged in ceramic production were spread across the country, and the varieties of daily-use ceramics, architectural and garden ceramics, and art ceramics increased dramatically. Designs and styles were constantly renewed, hence the later praise of “Eight hundred in the Tang, three thousand in the Song.” Ceramic production was one of the most important commercial productions in the Song economy, and the vast majority of exported goods were ceramics. To accommodate expanding exports and foreign trade, the ceramic industry gradually shifted from inland areas to coastal regions such as Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, and Guangxi.

　　Two key factors in the development of the Shiwan ceramic industry at the time were convenient transportation and relatively abundant clay resources. The official kiln waterways gradually silted up, forcing the center of water transport to shift to Foshan and Shiwan. Foshan, connected to Shiwan, with the Fen River and Dongping River leading directly to Guangzhou, made product export highly convenient. There were also clay and sand hills in the Taiwan area, making raw material sourcing easy. Thus, Shiwan, which already had a foundation in the ceramic industry, quickly developed into an important ceramic production base in southern China.

　　During the Song Dynasty, the daily pottery produced in Shiwan infused artistic expression into both form and decoration. The shapes were full and balanced, with smooth and varied lines. The variety was much richer than in the Tang Dynasty, including soul towers, stacked tile-eave style short-body pottery jars, painted vases, and pottery lutes, covering various categories such as vessels, scholar’s objects, animals, and figures. The five-string pottery lute from Shiwan, now housed in the National Palace Museum in Taiwan, is a fine example of desk scholar’s object pottery.

　　The decorative art of Song Dynasty Shiwan ceramics placed great emphasis on patterns. The motifs were diverse, the imagery rich, and the craftsmanship extremely fine and intricate, reaching a notably high artistic level. Judging from artifacts unearthed from Song Dynasty tombs in Shiwan and Qishi Song kilns, the “painted floral designs of the Song Dynasty showed a freehand brushwork touch, such as depictions of orchids and bamboo leaves, with sparse yet expressive strokes, full of charm.” In addition, there were rope patterns, string patterns, wave patterns, melon ridge patterns, interlocking floral patterns, and continuous two-sided patterns. Among them, the interlocking floral patterns were particularly exquisite, with flowers and vines stretching freely, curling appropriately, and every twist, stretch, curl, and entwinement brimming with the vibrant vitality of nature.

　　Shiwan, located in a remote corner of the southern region, had long focused on producing daily-use pottery. Although its ceramic-making techniques had reached a certain level, they were far inferior compared to the renowned kilns of the north, holding no significant status among the Song Dynasty’s ceramic landscape. From the Southern Song to the Yuan Dynasty, Foshan was a settlement for migrants from the Central Plains. They brought northern ceramic techniques to Shiwan, merging them with the existing local pottery skills, greatly enhancing the manufacturing and artistic standards of Shiwan ceramics. As a result, “Shiwan encompassed the best of the Song Dynasty’s famous kilns,” with products from the famed Ding, Ru, Guan, Ge, and Jun kilns being imitated so exquisitely by Shiwan that the beauty of the eight major ceramic systems’ shapes, glazes, and decorative methods were fully absorbed and integrated. This established Shiwan as a renowned southern kiln characterized by its skill in imitation, especially famous for “Guangjun” (Guangdong Jun) and “Nijun” (Clay Jun) ceramics.