The first specimens of Chinese porcelain date back approximately to 4000 B.C. whereas, the white ware, high fired type of pottery associated with the Tang Dynasty goes back to somewhere around 500 B.C.  Chinese porcelain of the high-fired kind is called Tzu, where as the low-fired kind is called Tao. Chinese porcelain has been categorised in two major groups,  "Chinese taste" and "Export"

Broadly speaking, Chinese taste type of porcelain is all that was made mainly for the Asian markets; this can further be divided into two categories. The first is Imperial kiln/ware or Guan yau, which as the name suggests, was made for the Chinese Emperors and their families. The first exclusive kiln set up to manufacture porcelain only for the Chinese royalty was set up in Jingdezhen during the Yuan dynasty. From that time onwards and into the Ming and Qing dynasty periods, Porcelain for the emperors and their households were made in this separate kiln. Jingdezhen became a hub for Chinese Imperial porcelain during the Yuan and Ming dynasties and can still boast of  a flourishing porcelain industry. Click here to read more.

For over 2,000 years, Jingdezhen is known as the Porcelain Capital of the world. Originally known as Xinpin, its name was changed when Emperor Jingde (1004-1007) of the Southern Song dynasty, decreed all the pieces made for court to be marked 'made in the Jingde period’.

The porcelain industry experienced further development at Jingdezhen during the Ming and Qing dynasties, when skills became perfected and the quality refined; government kilns were set up to cater exclusively to the need of the imperial house.

For centuries, the city has been considered to be China’s most important center for porcelain production. Ceramics were produced here as far back as the Han dynasty (206-220BC). The imperial porcelain was so exquisite that it was described as being "as white as jade, as bright as a mirror, as thin as paper, with a sound as clear as a bell". Click here to read more.

When it comes to china - that is, porcelain wares - it’s only natural that China be famous for it…I mean, where do you think the name came from?  It is true, though, that Chinese porcelain wares have historically been, and still are among the most highly respected in the industry, and are exported with high appraisals around the entire world. It is fitting that the Chinese should be such experts in porcelain wares, as porcelain has been a part of their society through a great part of their history. 

Porcelain began in China during the Shang and Zhou dynasties.  Though it was still a very primitive form of the wares, archaeologists have found simple porcelain in the middle and lower parts of the Yangtze and Yellow river regions. Click here to read more.

Satsuma porcelain has been traced to 17^th century Japan, taking its name from the southern province of Kyushu Island.  Interestingly enough, this type of pottery was actually developed by Korean potters.  You will hear Satsuma referred to alternatively as "pottery" and "porcelain" but it is actually somewhere in between.  This type of porcelain is produced at lower temperatures than porcelain but higher temperatures than you would typically use to make pottery. 

Following Japan's invasion of Korea in the 17^th century, the Prince of Satsuma brought potters from Korea, where they established a now famous kiln for making pottery.  The ongoing patronage of the prince's family, the Shimazu family was the daimyos (feudal lords) at the time that resulted in the great popularity of Satsuma porcelain. Click here to read more.