Jingdezhen (1004): How China's Porcelain Capital Got Its Name

Jingdezhen, a town in the hills of northeastern Jiangxi province, became the most famous porcelain-making centre in the world. According to the traditional account, in 1004 the Song court renamed the kiln town of Changnan after the reigning emperor’s era name, Jingde, and over the following centuries Jingdezhen grew from one regional pottery centre among many into the producer of porcelain for China’s emperors and for markets from Japan to Europe.

Before the name: Changnan and its kilns

Potters were working in the area long before the 11th century. Kilns in the district of Fuliang were producing ceramics by the later Tang period, and the settlement was then known as Changnan, “south of the Chang River”. The river mattered: it carried goods down to Lake Poyang and the Yangtze, linking the hill country to the great trade routes of central China.

The landscape offered what potters needed. Nearby hills yielded porcelain stone, a soft rock that could be crushed into a fine white body, and forests of pine supplied fuel for long, hot firings. Labour and know-how accumulated over generations.

The renaming of 1004

Under the Song dynasty, founded in 960, demand for fine ceramics rose with a growing urban economy. Later Chinese records state that during the Jingde reign of Emperor Zhenzong (1004–1007) the court ordered wares from Changnan, which were marked “made in the Jingde era”, and that the town took the name Jingdezhen, “Jingde market town”.

Historians accept the renaming but treat some details with caution. The best-known accounts were written centuries later, and no Song piece securely carrying the supposed Jingde reign mark has been firmly identified. What is clear is that by the 11th century Jingdezhen was a prosperous kiln centre with official attention, and that its name has been tied to an imperial reign ever since.

Qingbai: the Song speciality

The characteristic ware of Song Jingdezhen was qingbai, “bluish white”. Its thin, translucent body was covered with a glaze that took a faint blue tint where it pooled in carved and combed decoration. Bowls, ewers, vases and small boxes were made in large numbers.

Excavations at kiln sites such as Hutian, now a protected national monument, have revealed dragon kilns, long sloping kilns climbing a hillside, and huge mounds of discarded pieces. Qingbai travelled far beyond China: it has been found in Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia and along the Indian Ocean coast, carried by merchants from ports such as Quanzhou.

From the Yuan to the imperial kilns

Two developments turned Jingdezhen from a leading centre into the leading centre. In 1278, as the Mongols completed their conquest of the Song, the Yuan government set up the Fuliang Porcelain Bureau to supervise production. Around the same time potters began mixing kaolin, a white clay named after nearby Gaoling, into the body. The extra clay let pieces survive higher firing temperatures and allowed larger, stronger vessels.

In the first half of the 14th century Jingdezhen potters perfected blue-and-white porcelain, painting cobalt pigment, much of it imported from Persia, beneath a clear glaze. Large Yuan dishes were sold to the Islamic world, where blue-and-white suited established tastes.

The Ming dynasty went further. Imperial kilns were established on Zhushan, in the town centre, in the early Ming, traditionally dated to 1369 under the Hongwu Emperor, although some scholars favour a slightly later date. From then on Jingdezhen produced porcelain for the palace under official supervision, while private kilns served domestic and foreign buyers. Under the Yongle and Xuande emperors, blue-and-white reached a peak of refinement; Ming porcelain was even used to face the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing.

How the town worked

Jingdezhen operated as an early industrial town. Work was divided into many specialised stages: digging and refining clay, throwing and moulding, trimming, painting, glazing, stacking the kilns and firing. A single piece could pass through dozens of hands.

The French Jesuit François Xavier d’Entrecolles described this system in letters written in 1712 and 1722. He reported thousands of kilns and a very large working population, figures historians treat as impressions rather than counts. His letters helped European experimenters understand the role of kaolin and porcelain stone, at a time when Meissen in Saxony had only just begun making true porcelain.

Myths and facts

Myth: the word “china” comes from Changnan, Jingdezhen’s old name. This popular claim has no solid support. Most scholars derive the name of the country from Qin, the state that unified China in 221 BC, via Sanskrit and Persian forms; the use of “china” for porcelain came from the country’s name, not the other way round.

Myth: all Song porcelain came from Jingdezhen. In the Song period many famous kiln centres flourished, including Ding, Ru, Jun, Longquan and Jian. Jingdezhen’s dominance came later, under the Yuan and Ming.

Timeline

• Late Tang period (9th century): Kilns operate in the Changnan area of Fuliang.
• 1004: By tradition, the town is renamed Jingdezhen after the Jingde reign of Emperor Zhenzong.
• 11th–13th centuries: Qingbai ware is produced in large quantities and exported across Asia.
• 1278: The Yuan government establishes the Fuliang Porcelain Bureau.
• Early 14th century: Blue-and-white porcelain with imported cobalt is developed.
• 1369 (traditional date): Ming imperial kilns are founded on Zhushan.
• 1712 and 1722: François Xavier d’Entrecolles writes his letters describing Jingdezhen’s methods.

Why it matters

Jingdezhen shows how a local craft town could become a world industry. Its name links it to an emperor of 1004, but its success rested on clay, fuel, rivers, skilled labour and state patronage. For centuries “porcelain” in much of the world meant porcelain from Jingdezhen.