Research On Chaozhou Kilns In The Context Of The Maritime Silk Road During The Tang And Song Dynasties

Chaozhou kiln,which has been widely distributed in the Chaozhou area since the Tang and Song dynasties,and shares commonalities and continuities in the production technology,firing system,product characteristics,and export routes of porcelain.As the most important kiln in eastern Guangdong,the Chaozhou kilns are not well documented.The Tang and Song dynasties were the heyday of the development of the Chaozhou kiln.At that time,Chaozhou kiln extensively participated in the export activities of Guangdong ceramics in the Tang and Song dynasties by relying on products of superior quality to other kilns in the same period.It left a strong mark on the development history of the handicraft economy in eastern Guangdong and the development history of the maritime Silk Road in the Tang and Song dynasties.This paper takes the Chaozhou kiln in Tang and Song dynasties as the research object and selects five mature kiln sites: Shuiche kiln,Nanguan kiln,Beiguan kiln,Bijiashan kiln,and Yaoshang kiln for analysis.During the Tang and Song dynasties,the social environment was relatively stable.Due to the northern Chinses who moved south due to the war at the end of the Tang Dynasty,advanced porcelain-making technology was brought to Chaozhou.In addition,with the rise of the Maritime Silk Road in Guangdong,Chaozhou began to develop the porcelain-making industry with rich porcelain clay,trees,and water resources.According to the data of archaeological excavation and investigation,the kiln technology of the Chaozhou kiln was influenced by the horseshoe kiln in the north and the traditional dragon kiln in the south,and the improved semi-inverted flame horseshoe kiln and semi-inverted flame dragon kiln were in a leading position in the southeast coastal area.The products are rich in types,mainly living utensils,with a variety of glaze colors such as blue and white porcelain,celadon,and white porcelain.As a major exporter of Guangdong celadon,Chaozhou kilns exported porcelain to neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia,as well as to West Asia,South Asia and the African coast.The overseas sites from which Chaozhou kilns were excavated were used to outline the export routes of Chaozhou kilns,and it was found that they were in line with the overseas traffic routes of China at the time,with the southbound and northbound routes,the southbound route being the ’Guangzhou Tonghai Yi Road’ and the northbound route following the south-west monsoon to Japan and the Korean Peninsula.Based on the age and shape of the Chaozhou kiln porcelain excavated from around the world,the characteristics of Chaozhou kiln export porcelain from the Tang and Song dynasties can be summarised.Chaozhou kilns were inevitably influenced by Buddhist and gold and silver culture in their development,and would also imitate some of the popular kilns in order to cater for overseas sales markets.Chaozhou kilns continued to innovate in their imitations,resulting in products that contained elements of many different cultures but also carried their own local style,and their porcelain-making techniques had an impact on the kilns in the surrounding area.