Jie - The Emperor Who Was Dubbed the 'Infallible' Sun

Compiled from Infamous Chinese Emperors

Thoughts of the day:

1.    Which woman played a part in Emperor Jie’s downfall?

2.    Emperor Jie was only defeated in one battle. Which one was it?

Is this jade?

Quarrying & Processing of Porcelain Clay

Porcelain stone and kaolin are important raw materials in the production of porcelain. Pocelain stone is a stony material while kaolin is a clay material. Porcelain stone is usually grayish white. Kaolin is known as porcelain clay amongst the locals. The word kaolin came from a mountain called Kaolin Mountain, which translates to high hill. It is pure white, light yellow, light grey or rose when it contains impurities. Porcelain stones and kaolin have different ingredients and origin. As such, the methods of quarrying and processing different from each other.   

After quarrying, workers usually crack the mineral into pellets the size of eggs before grinding them to fine powder in mortars using water-powered trip-stamper. The powder then goes through the process of washing, precipitating, drawing off and bodying before it is made into blocks of clay like bricks called ‘The White Dunzi’. They are then used by workshops to compound porcelain clay.  This method of processing porcelain stone has a history as long as Jingdezhen itself and is still being used today. The owners usually clear away the raw materials in mortars and wash the clay at intervals and the water-powered trip-stampers are left to run the entire day. 

 Sketch map of washing Kaolin (clay)

Pic 1 

                                                

Pic 2

           

  Pic 1&2

The main tools for quarrying the porcelain stone and porcelain clay

Flow chart of washing powdered porcelain stone to make Dunzi

Pic 3       The trip-stampers are pounding hard on different mills

Pic 4        Above – The clay bed and settling basin

                Below – The clay bed

Jingdezhen, The Capital of Porcelain

                                      

Situated in the North- Eastern part of Jiangxi Province, Jingdezhen is surrounded by famous tourist attractions such as Lushan Mountain and Huangshan Mountain. Jingdezhen enjoys favourable weather throughout the year. The annual average temperature is approximately 17 degrees Celcius. It also enjoys abundant rainfall and sunlight. This city is also quite famous for its tea. It is blessed with a great reserve of raw materials such as Kaolin and porcelain stone, 2 key ingredients for porcelain production, in its mountainous area.

The main river flowing through Jingdezhen is Changjiang River, which flows from the North to the South of the entire region and empties into the Yangtse River through Lake Poyang. The three tributaries in Jingdezhen- Rover East, River West and River South, empty into Changjiang River at different reaches. Most of the places through which the three tributes flow through are the important sources of porcelain production and fuels. Jingdezhen was called ‘Changnan Town’ as it’s situated mainly on the south of Changjiang River. It was changed to Jingdezhen during the Song dynasty. Her reputation for exquisite porcelain grew over the centuries. Today, it is known as the ‘Capital of Porcelain.’ 

Comparisons

I believe you'd all agree with me that the main difference between these 2 vases are their size and shape. However, which is the more common of the 2 vases?

Please take a moment to think about it before you scroll down for the answer:)












While both are well-painted famille rose vases from the Ming Guo period, the smaller one on the left, V1, is harder to replicate due to its unique shape. This makes it stand out when compared to the bigger vase on the right, V2. However, human figures are the hardest to draw, and the artist who painted V2 did a decent job.

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Coins

                                                         

                                               
                                                                           C 1

                                   
                                                                            C 2

                                                                              C 3

Watches

                                                             
                                                                           W 1

                                                       
                                                                            W 2 (Sold)

   
                                                                           W 3