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Abstract
Chaiyao, a “mysterious” ceramic ware produced in China’s tumultuous period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, was rated higher than the famed “Five Great Wares” of the Song dynasty and was much sought after by porcelain connoisseurs and men of letters during late imperial times. It appears that Chai kiln largely ceased manufacturing and Chai ware was rarely seen after the tenth century. As a result, modern researchers know little about the ware. This paper, by examining the relevant historical sources and available Chai ware samples, argues that Chai ware derived its name from its imperial sponsor the Later Zhou emperor Chai Rong, the Chai kiln was located in Yaozhou, Shaanxi, and the principal features of the ware described by Ming-Qing porcelain aficionados are accurate.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank James Flath and Grace Xu for their assistance in the writing of this essay and the anonymous reviewers for their comments on the earlier version.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Huang Yizheng, Shiwu ganzhu, 41.3a.
2 Gao Lian, Zunsheng bajian, 33.
3 Chengcun Jushi, Chaiyao kaozheng, 2.
4 Zhang Yingwen, Qingmi cang, 1.9; Xu Yingqiu, Yuzhitang tanhui, 28.29a.
5 Xie Zhaozhe, Wu zazu, 351.
6 Wang Shizhen, Xiangzu biji, 128.
7 Ji Yun, Yuewei caotang biji, 171.
8 The first chapter of Anthony du Boulay’s Chinese Porcelain introduces porcelain wares from pre-Tang times to the Song dynasty with a focus on Ru, Guan, Jun and Ding wares. The section on the Five Dynasties in He Li’s Chinese Ceramics mentions only Yue ware and porcelain wares produced by Jingdezhen kilns.
9 The 494-page Zhongguo taocishi was published by Wenwu chubanshe in 2011.
10 Shelagh Vainker, Chinese Pottery and Porcelain, 101.
11 The 167-page Chaiyao yu Hutianyao was written by Zhao Ziqiang and published by Guangxi meishu chubanshe in 2004. Hutian ware was made in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi during the Song-Yuan period.
12 Qiannian zhilü: Faxian jueji qiannian de Chaiyao was written by Jōn Tainaka in Japanese, translated into Chinese by Yu Lan, and published by Taihai chubanshe in 2007.
13 Co-authored by Miao Wenxing and Wang Xuewu, Chaiyao was published by Zhongzhou guji chubanshe in 2000.
14 Wencilu: Zhengzhou Chaiyao was co-authored by Zhang Songlin and Tian Peijie and published by Zhongguo shudian in 2012.
15 Written by Li Yanjun and published by Zhongguo shudian in 2012, Chaiyao yu Yaozhouyao: Jiekai Chaiyao shenmi de miansha devotes the first chapter to issues related to Chai ware.
16 This museum, located in the Qujiang district of Xi’an, houses some 350 pieces of ceramic wares. For more on the museum, see Yu Ming, “Zoujin Xi’an Chaiyao wenhua bowuguan tanxun Chaiyao de qiannian zhimi,” San Qin dushibao, June 29, 2021.
17 Yue ware was characteristically decorated with celadon glazing. For more on Yue ware, see Ren Shilong and Xie Jilong, Yueyao; Margaret Medley, Tang Pottery and Porcelain, 101–19; S.J. Vainker, Chinese Pottery and Porcelain, 71–2; Sabrina Rastelli, “The Yaozhou Kiln: A Re-evaluation.”
18 Chai Rong, widely known by his temple name Shizong, was the second emperor (r. 954–959) of the Later Zhou dynasty that controlled most of northern China. For more on the political developments during the Five Dynasties period and on emperor Chai Rong, see Wang Gungwu, Divided China: Preparing for Reunification; Richard Davis, Historical Records of the Five Dynasties, 107–16; Li Xiaoshu and Huang Chongyue, Zhou Shizong Chai Rong.
19 The coastal kingdom was founded by Qian Liu (852–932) and lasted from 907 to 978.
20 Gu Qiyuan, Shuolüe, 23.32a.
21 Liu Tao, “Chaiyao chuyi,” 46. For details of Southern Tang’s war of resistance against the Later Zhou which ended with its submission to the northern regime in early 958, see Johannes Kurz, China’s Southern Tang Dynasty, 70–84. For Wuyue’s external relations with neighboring regimes, see Edmund Worthy, “Diplomacy for Survival: Domestic and Foreign Relations of Wü Yueh, 907–978,” 17–44.
22 Page 32 of Edmund Worthy’s “Diplomacy for Survival: Domestic and Foreign Relations of Wü Yueh” provides a detailed list of the tribute articles sent by the southern kingdom to the Later Zhou in 958. It does not include any porcelain products.
23 Feng Xianming, “Famensi chutu de miseci,” 36–7; Han Wei and Han Jinke, “Famensi chutu Tangdai miseci chutan,” 27–32, 35.
24 Pan Yongyin, Songbai leichao, 707–8. Liu Liang-yu holds that Chai Rong’s suggestion on the color of the royal ware was made to a Yueyao artisan. See Liu Liang-yu, Early Wares: Prehistoric to Tenth Century, 279; Emily Bryne Curtis, “Foucquet’s List: Translation and Comments on the Color of ‘Blue Sky after Rain’,” 148.
25 Huang Yizheng, Shiwu ganzhu, 22.21a.
26 Zhang Dai, Ye hangchuan, 496.
27 Xincai River is a tributary of Shaying River in eastern Henan.
28 Wang Qinruo, Cefu yuangui, 1366.
29 Jiang Shaoyu, Songchao shishi leiyuan, 640.
30 Chengcun Jushi, Chaiyao kaozheng, 2.
31 Yang Junyi, “Chaiyao yanjiu shikao,” 114.
32 Zhang Yushu, Peiwen yunfu, 794.
33 Xu Zhiheng, Yinliuzhai shuoci, 36.
34 Yang Fengzao, Huangchao jingshiwen xinbian xuji, 774.
35 Liu Tao, “Chaiyao cuyi,” 47.
36 Sun Huiyuan, “Tan Chaiyao,” 102.
37 For more on Wen Zhenheng’s Changwu zhi, see Craig Clunas, Superfluous Things, 40–74.
38 Wang Yinong, “Yunsan tianqing: Chaiyao de bian’e, fouren ji tuini,” 50; Lü Chenglong, “Lüetan yinyong gudai wenxian yanjiu Chaiyao ying zhuyi de jige wenti,” 47.
39 Yang Junyi, “Chaiyao yanjiu shikao,” 114.
40 Cao Zhao, Gegu yaolun, 3.1a.
41 Liu Zhongda, Liushi hongshu, 1611.
42 Gu Zuyu, Dushi fangyu jiyao, 54.2614. Zuopingyi was one of the three Guardians responsible for supervising administration of the Metropolitan area around the dynastic capital in the Han. See Charles Hucker, A Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, 524.
43 Wei Shou, Weishu, 2609.
44 Wei Zheng, Suishu, 810.
45 The founder of the Tang dynasty, Li Yuan (566–635, r. 618–626).
46 Ouyang Xiu and Song Qi, Xin Tangshu, 963.
47 Ouyang and Song, Xin Tangshu, 964; Gu Zuyu, Dushi fangyu jiyao, 54.2614.
48 Xue Juzheng, Jiu Wudai shi, 2015.
49 Tuotuo, Songshi, 2146.
50 Shen Kuo, Mengxi bitan, 15.
51 Historically, there were at least two other prefectures bearing the name of Beidi. The first, created during the Warring States period and ceased to exist at the end of the Later Han, administered part of the Gansu-Ningxia region. The second, established by the Sui in 607 with Ding’an (present-day Ningxian in Gansu) as its prefectural seat, was renamed Ningzhou soon after the founding of the Tang in 618. See Shi Weile, et al., Zhongguo lishi diming dacidian, 757. Those two local administrations could be ruled out as the site of Chai kiln due to their great distance to the capital of the Later Zhou and lack of porcelain-making tradition.
52 Tao Gu, Qingyi lu, 2.25b.
53 Lu You, Laoxuean biji, 23.
54 Ma Li and Lü Nan, Shaanxi tongzhi, 2062.
55 Wu Liu’ao, Fuping xianzhi, 1778. The Mingyue Mountain is in northeast Fuping.
56 See Shaanxi kaogu yanjiusuo, Tangdai Huangbao yaozhi; Wudai Huangbao yaozhi; Xing Fulai and Xu Yongchu, “Shaanxi Yaozhouyao yizhi xin chutu de Songdai ciqi.”
57 Wang Xuewu, “Jiekai qiannian zhimi: Chaiyao,” 123.
58 Chen Jianping avers that the long distance between Yaozhou and the Later Zhou capital Kaifeng can logically eliminate Yaozhou as the site of Chai Kiln. He further proposes that the site of the imperial kiln is present-day Yuxian, Henan. See “Chaiyao buzai Yaozhou,” 68. Pei Shi and his research collaborators believe that more archaeological data are needed to prove the linkage between the Five Dynasties Yaozhou celadon and Chai ware. See “Study on the Five Dynasty Sky-green Glaze from Yaozhou and Its Coloring Mechanism,” 2945.
59 Xie Zhaozhe, Wu zazu, 351.
60 Wang Shizhen, Juyi lu, 20 7a. Zhufeng was Yan Zengju’s literary name.
61 Wang Shizhen, Xiangzu biji, 128.
62 Zhang Min, “‘Zhongguo cihuang’ Chaiyao,” 171–2; Gao Gong, “Tansuo qiannian zhimi Chaiyao: Jujiao Zhongguo Chaiyao wenhua luntan,” 34–41; “Dierjie Zhongguo Chaiyao wenhua gaoceng luntan zai Jing longzhong juxing,” 108–9.
63 Wang Xuewu, “Jiekai qiannian zhimi: Chaiyao,” 124.
64 Gu Tai, Bowu yaolan, 2.3a; Chengcun jushi, Chaiyao kaozheng, 11; Liu Tao, “Chaiyao chuyi,” 45.
65 Cao Zhao, Gegu yaolun, 3.1a; Percival David, Chinese Connoisseurship, 139.
66 Wang Xuewu, “Jiekai qiannian zhimi: Chaiyao,” 124. Sun Huiyuan and Zhuo Zhenxi argue that the phrase of Chai ware being as transparent as a mirror refers to the translucency of the glaze, not that of the body of the ware, as the translucent ware body could not be produced in the Five Dynasties period. See Sun, “Tan Chaiyao,” 102; Zhuo, “Chaiyao tanwei,” 7.
67 Zhang Min, “‘Zhongguo cihuang’ Chaiyao.”
68 Zhuo Zhenxi, “Chaiyao tanwei.”
69 Wang Xuewu, “Jiekai qiannian zhimi: Chaiyao,” 124.
70 Ibid., 124; Zhang Min, “‘Zhongguo cihuang’ Chaiyao,” 173.
71 Shaanxi kaogu yanjiusuo, Tangdai Huangbao yaozhi, vol. 1, “Preface”, 1.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Wang Shuanghuai
Wang Shuanghuai 王雙懷 is a Professor of History at Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, China.
Jun Fang
Jun Fang 方駿 is a Professor of History at Huron University College at the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada N6G 1H3. Correspondence to: Jun Fang. Email: [email protected]