Tang Dynasty Changsha Ceramics

144 Tang Dynasty Changsha Ceramics Liu Yang In the field of Chinese ceramics, the Belitung shipwreck is remarkable for greatly expanding our knowledge of a specific type of work: the Changsha ware produced during the late Tang period (left). The works astound both in their stunning quality and sheer quantity, comprising approximately 57,500 pieces, nearly 95 percent of which were made at kilns in the Changsha vicinity. While Changsha bowls dominated the cargo (some 55,000 pieces), there were many other Changsha ceramics in various forms (some 2,500 pieces). These works not only shed light on the manufacture and workmanship of Changsha ceramics, they also provide invaluable new data relevant to the art and literary history, religious beliefs, and customs of the times. The Flourishing and Decline of the Changsha Ceramic Industry Until field surveys were carried out in the twentieth century, Yuezhou, at the northeast corner of Dongting Lake, was considered the main center of ceramic production in Hunan during the Tang dynasty. This may have been true in the eighth century, but by the early ninth century Yuezhou kilns had begun to decline. Kilns in the Changsha vicinity, at the southern side of Dongting Lake, were developing fast, and ultimately superseded Yuezhou as the most advanced and prolific group of kilns in the area. Field surveys and typological analysis suggest that, in certain respects, Changsha ware evolved from Yuezhou ware. The Changsha kilns began production by imitating Yuezhou green-tinged glazed wares, for which the city had been known since long before the Tang dynasty. Yuezhou’s products, however, could not vie with the Yue ware made in Zhejiang province during the Tang era, such as the highly esteemed Yue bowls for tea-drinking. In his book Chajing (The Classic of Tea), Lu Yu (730s–circa 804) commented, “The wares of Yue are green and so increase the greenness of the tea,” and therefore they set the standard for other wares.1 In Hunan, newly manufactured wares, designed to meet competition from the eastern and northern kilns, were therefore most timely. Changsha ware was also strongly influenced by techniques of sancai (“tri-color ware”), contemporary tricolor lead-glazed pottery developed in the northern metropolitan areas of Chang’an and Luoyang. An uprising led by the rebel General An Lushan from 755 to 763 forced many northerners to flee to the south, possibly bringing with them northern ceramic techniques that then were assimilated by Changsha potters. Changsha kilns flourished at a time when the Chinese were actively trading with other countries via the maritime route. Evidence from archaeological excavations throughout China and abroad proves that Changsha wares for the most part were made for export2; kilns mushroomed in the Changsha vicinity largely in response to the demands of foreign markets. 145 The sites of ceramic production within Changsha have been well investigated since the 1950s. page 144 Major centers of manufacture were in an area spread over 10 kilometers around Machang and Fig. 100 The thousands Shizhu Lakes (now all turned into rice fields), some 25 to 30 kilometers north of Changsha, on the of painted Changsha east bank of the Xiang River, which links Dongting Lake and Yangzi River to the north. Chinese bowls from the ship archaeologists divided the area into three major sites: Tongguan, Gucheng (or Wazhaping), and carry only a few set Shizhu.3 Archaeological excavations have revealed that there must have been a long period of patterns, but these activity and a large amount of production in the area. Among the kilns, Lan’anzui, at Shizhu, were copied by many was likely one of the most prolific of the time. In a 1986 excavation, more than 80 percent of the different hands, giving finds featuring color underglaze decoration were from this site. The thickest ceramic heap in the the sense of a huge dilapidated ruins was 3.5 meters deep. 4 Significantly, the name Shizhu was inscribed on one of variety. Cats. 56–193. the bowls from the Belitung wreck (cat. 180 and p. 57, second row, center)—tangible evidence that some of the bowls on board were manufactured at this site. Evidence from the field surveys has also allowed archaeologists to outline the history of ceramic manufacture in Changsha. They created a four-part periodization from the kilns’ early development to their heyday—dating from the High Tang (mid-eighth century) to the Five Dynasties periods (907–60)5—based primarily on typological examination, stratigraphic analysis, and inscriptions found on the excavated ceramic works. This periodization shows a continuity of development at the Changsha kilns over approximately 200 years. Period 1 dates from the late High Tang to mid-Tang (760s–780s). Monochrome, green- tinged glazed wares dominated this period. Underglaze colored decoration and molded appliqué on objects such as ewers were found only occasionally; no wares with white glaze and green color decoration were found whatsoever. Period 2 is equivalent to the end of the mid- Tang and beginning of the late Tang, corresponding to the first half of the ninth century. The characteristic Changsha products with colored underglaze gradually became prolific during this period. Large numbers of ewers with a spout and handle and decorated with appliquéd dark- brown patches appeared. Period 3 is equated with the late Tang, in the second half of the ninth century. This period marked the height of Changsha’s productive prosperity and prestige, when wares with color underglaze decoration predominated. In addition, many works marked with inscriptions have been found from this period. In Period 4, contemporary with the very end of the Tang and beginning of the Five Dynasties period, Changsha ware remained one of the three major ceramic exports, along with Yue ware and Ding white-glazed ware. But though colored underglaze decoration was still mainstream and its manufacture continued to thrive, there were signs that the quality of Changsha wares’ body, glaze, and decoration had slipped.6 After nearly two centuries of prosperity, Changsha kilns began to wane in the early Song era (mid-tenth century). Rather than purely owing to a shift in taste, the cause of the decline also lay in changing economic and marketing conditions. Overseas trade was still active, yet the main center of production for export wares was moved from inland to the coastal areas, in order to reduce labor costs and the risk of damage during shipping. Kilns mushroomed in Guangdong and Fujian but rapidly decreased in Changsha. Yue ware, together with newly developed Longquan celadon-glaze ware and the Jingdezhen qingbai (bluish reduction-glaze) ware, now were the major products supplied to foreign markets. Changsha ware and Ding white ware disappeared from the arena of export trading. While Ding ware continued to develop after readjusting its market focus to the domestic scene, Changsha kilns died out. 146 Forms and Workmanship FORMS Ceramic ware manufactured in Changsha kilns during the Tang dynasty varied greatly in form. Based on the nearly 7,000 ceramic pieces excavated at kiln sites in Changsha in 1983, Chinese archaeologists have distinguished about seventy different product forms (fig. 101). They can be divided into ten core groups, including ewers and vases (2,514 pieces); bowls and saucer dishes (1,596 pieces); jars (939 pieces); basins and washers (580 pieces); boxes (474 pieces); lamps (188 pieces); tools such as milling stones and milling blocks (81 pieces); objects for the scholar’s desk (63 pieces); pillows (48 pieces); and others.7 Many of these forms were found in the Belitung wreck. The majority of works recovered from the cargo are utensil wares, such as bowls, ewers, jars, cups and cup stands, vases, basins, circular boxes, candlesticks, spittoons, lamps, incense burners (fig. 102), milling stones, etc. Although potters at Changsha kilns produced a delightful array of cultural implements and entertainment pieces, such works were evidently not favored by the exporters. Only limited ceramics in these categories were found in the Belitung wreck. Bowls with underglaze decoration are one of the most elaborately represented categories of all Changsha wares and form the largest group of Changsha ceramics recovered from the ship. Based on the 1,383 intact or fragmentary bowls found in the 1983 kiln-site excavation, Changsha bowls of the Tang period can be categorized into three forms: bowls of a normal round shape; bowls with four-, five-, or six-lobed rims; and bowls with a four-lobed rim in a semisquare shape. The majority of bowls found in the Belitung wreck belong to the first category. In a few examples the sides are everted to a multilobed or foliated rim, and only a single specimen has a four-lobed rim in a semisquare shape. The footrings of bowls from the Belitung wreck generally fall into three types: a low, wider, and flat foot; a thin, slightly spread foot; and a high-spreading foot. Of the group of bowls featuring simple rounded sides, the most common type is of a standard size with curving walls, an everted mouth with a rolled rim, and a slightly spread, narrow footring. A large number of deep bowls have a flaring rim and almost vertical walls, which give the impression that they are cups. A small number of bowls are potted in almost conical shapes. The second largest group of Changsha ceramics found in the Belitung wreck (1,536 pieces) comprises a variety of ewers with spouts, handles, and, at times, lugs. This discovery reaffirms what Chinese archaeologists found during the excavations carried out in 1978 and 1983, which proved the ewer to be one of the predominant products of the Changsha kilns during the late Tang.8 Changsha kilns produced not only large quantities of ewers but also a variety of forms.

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