Traditional Firing Techniques of Longquan Celadon龙泉青瓷传统烧制技艺

More than 700 years ago， a ship loaded with porcelain sank off the coast of southeast China’s Fujian province during a voyage overseas.

700多年前，一艘满载瓷器的船舶在一次出海时沉没于中国东南部福建省的海岸附近。

The wreckage of this Yuan dynasty （1271—1368） vessel was found 30 meters underwater in 2010， near the islet of Shengbeiyu in Fujian. The salvage work began in 2022， with archaeologists having so far retrieved about 20，000 items， among which over 17，000 are Longquan celadon.

2010年，这艘元代（1271—1368）船舶的残骸在福建圣杯屿附近海面以下30米被发现。打捞工作于2022年开始，考古人员至今已打捞出近2万件文物，其中超过1.7万件为龙泉青瓷。

But， where was the ship going？ Why was it loaded with so much porcelain？ Were the items made as commodities？ Who made them？ And what exactly is Longquan celadon？

但是，这艘船当时是驶向何处的？它为什么会装载如此之多的瓷器？这些物品是作为商品制造的吗？它们是谁制造的？龙泉青瓷究竟是什么？

Based on archaeological findings at an ancient port about 700 kilometers away in the eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou， Zhejiang province， as well as some highly similar porcelain items discovered in Southeast Asia， experts concluded that the vessel is likely to have been a merchant ship traveling from Wenzhou to Southeast Asia.

根据约700公里外中国东部浙江省温州市一个古代港口的考古发现，以及在东南亚发现的一些高度相似的瓷器，专家推断，这艘船可能是从温州开往东南亚的商船。

In the 13th and 14th centuries， the Yuan dynasty authorities encouraged overseas trade， and the Longquan celadon industry was prosperous at the time， accounting for a large part of ceramic exports. Historical documents show that Wenzhou was a major port for exporting celadon， which was also sold to Africa and Europe.

在13、14世纪，元代官府鼓励海外贸易，龙泉青瓷业在当时颇为兴旺，在瓷器出口中占到很大份额。历史文献显示，温州是青瓷出口的主要港口，青瓷也销往非洲和欧洲。

Longquan， a small town in ancient times， refers to today’s mountainous Longquan city in east China’s Zhe-jiang province. Produced in this area and achieving fame across the world， Longquan celadon is a type of green-glazed Chinese porcelain with a history of 1，700 years， beginning in the 3rd century.

龙泉在古时是一个小镇，今为中国东部浙江省的山城龙泉市。龙泉青瓷是中国的一种青釉瓷器，产自龙泉地区，享誉世界。其历史可追溯至公元3世纪，至今已有1700年。

Although it originated during the Jin dynasty （265—420）， Longquan celadon was not produced on a large-scale until the late 10th century during the Northern Song dynasty （960—1127）. Since the 10th century in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms （907—960） period， Longquan celadon was often selected as tribute gifts for emperors and royal families.

虽说龙泉青瓷起源于晋朝（265—420），但直到10世纪晚期的北宋（960—1127）才开始大规模烧制。自10世纪的五代十国时期（907—960）开始，龙泉青瓷就常被选为进献给皇帝和皇家的贡品。

Later in 1138 in the Southern Song dynasty （1127—1279）， the emperor moved the capital from north China to the southern city of Hangzhou， close to Longquan. The relocation was due to wars and political instability， resulting in a great number of people also travelling south. Among them， there were many skillful porcelain craftsmen and large-kiln owners， who integrated their techniques and businesses with locals， significantly boosting the local celadon industry. As such， Longquan celadon manufacturing quickly reached its peak of development and the area became the center of the porcelain industry.

后来，在南宋时期（1127—1279），1138年，皇帝将国都从中国北方迁至靠近龙泉的南方城市杭州（当时称临安——注）。迁都是由于战乱频仍、朝局动荡，这导致大量人口也随之南迁。其中就有许多技艺精湛的制瓷工匠和大型瓷窑窑主，他们的技艺和生意与当地融合，极大地促进了当地青瓷业。就这样，龙泉青瓷的烧制技艺很快发展到巅峰状态，该地区成为制瓷业的中心。

In the following Yuan dynasty and early Ming dynasty （1368—1644）， Longquan celadon continued to develop， with some masterpieces from that time surviving to the present day. From the mid to late Ming dynasty， its production experienced a decline due to major social changes and the emergence of new types of porcelain， such as Jingdezhen ceramics. When China began its reform and opening-up in 1978， Longquan celadon once again regained its momentum.

在接下来的元朝以及明朝（1368—1644）早期，龙泉青瓷持续发展，当时的一些经典之作得以留存至今。从明朝中晚期开始，由于重大社会变故以及景德镇瓷器等新型瓷器的涌现，龙泉青瓷的产量逐渐减少。中国于1978年开始改革开放，龙泉青瓷再次焕发活力。

In 2006， traditional firing techniques of Longquan celadon were selected among the first batch of China’s national-level intangible cultural heritage. Three years later， the techniques were also inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009.

2006年，龙泉青瓷传统烧制技艺入选中国首批国家级非物质文化遗产。三年后，这套技艺于2009年也被列入联合国教科文组织的人类非物质文化遗产代表作名录。

The Chinese characters 龙 （“long”）， referring to the loong （Chinese dragon） and a symbol of the emperor， 泉 （“quan”）， meaning spring or spring water， 青 （“qing”）， denoting blue or green， and 瓷 （“ci”）， signifying porcelain， combine to form the keywords for understanding Longquan celadon.

汉字“龙”指中国龙，也是皇帝的象征；“泉”义为泉水；“青”指代蓝色或绿色；“瓷”即为瓷器，四个字合起来就形成了理解龙泉青瓷的关键词。

Longquan has deep forests， high mountains， clear rivers and smooth waterways， providing the necessary fuel， raw materials， water and transportation access for the porcelain business. Traditionally， craftsmen used local materials such as violet-golden clay and a mixture of burnt feldspar， limestone， quartz and plant ash to make celadon.

龙泉地区林深山高、河清水畅，为制瓷业提供了必要的燃料、原料、水源以及运输通道。传统上，工匠会使用紫金土以及煅烧过的长石、石灰石、石英和植物灰混合物等本地原料来制作青瓷。