Song Dynasty

Song dynasty (960 - 1279)

The perfection of glazes

After the collapse of Tang Dynasty in 907, the northern regions were captured by the nomadic Kithan-tribes that soon established the Liao Dynasty, the first Mongol empire described in a later chapter.

The southern region however went through an area of politician up heaven and division called Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907-979). Many states had been de facto independent kingdoms long before 907 as Tang dynasty's ability to control its officials gradually decreased. After the Tang had collapsed, warlords who controlled the Central Plain crowned themselves as emperors. During the 70-year-long period, there was near constant warfare between the emerging kingdoms and alliances they formed. 

Emperor Taizu founder of the Song Dynasty painted by an anonymous Song artist.

Finally Emperor Taizu (r. 960–976) established the Song dynasty and gradually subdued all the remaining states, reuniting much of the territory that had once belonged to the Han and Tang empires and ending the upheaval of many years of instability with small kingdoms and dynasties.

​

Chang’an had been the stronghold capital during the Han, Sui and Tang Dynasty, but Taizu established his new central government east in the new Capital Kaifeng. The establishment of this capital marked the start of the Northern Song period. He ensured administrative stability by promoting the civil examination system of drafting state bureaucrats by skill and merit (instead of aristocrat or military position) and promoted projects that ensured efficiency in communication throughout the empire. In one such project, cartographers created detailed maps of each province and city that were then collected in a large atlas.

The Song Dynasty is considered one of the golden ages of Chinese ceramics. During the Song era, pottery was produced en masse for the foreign markets. However, the finest creations were reserved for a native class of highly cultivated aristocrats including the ruling elite, high-ranking government officials, and wealthy merchants. Technical innovations led to breakthroughs in the fields of glazing and firing, culminating in the first true porcelain to be produced in any significant quantity.

Some of the kilns during the Song dynasty are among the most valued at todays auction; Ru, Guan, Jun and Ding wares as well as the Longquan celadons and Qingbai ware. They developed glazes, forms and tecniques that has been hard to copy even today.

Many of the aesthetic elements that now characterize Chinese landscape painting with calligraphic elements were first developed during the Song area as well as the traditional and famous poetry and novels still read today. By the 9th century, Chinese craftsmen had developed a way to mass produce books by carving words and pictures into wooden blocks, inking them, and then pressing paper onto the blocks. Each block consisted of an entire page of text and illustrations. This was nearly four centries years before Gutenberg.

For several centuries the Chinese economy had grown rapidly and the Silk Route was an important reason. 

During the Song Dynasty (960-1276), technology was highly advanced in fields as diverse as warfare, agriculture, iron-working, and printing. Many important inventions such as gunpowder, offset-printing and paper money were made. Maritime compass was developed during the Song-dynasty and mapmakers made incredible precise charts to help a rapid and expanding maritime fleet. Chinese shipbuilding was the most advanced in the world. Boats even had watertight compartments to preserve perishable goods at long distance and domestic trading.

Helping to grease the wheels of trade during the Song was the world’s first paper money. For centuries, the basic unit of currency in China was the bronze or copper coin with a hole in the center for stringing. Large transactions were calculated in terms of strings of coins but given their weight these were cumbersome to carry long distances. 

As trade increased, demand for money grew enormously, so the government minted more and more coins. By 1085 the output of coins had increased tenfold since Tang times to more than 6 billion coins a year.

The industrial and financial growth led to an increasing population in the cities. The Song system of government was also advanced for its time. The upper-levels of the government were staffed by highly educated scholar-officials selected through competitive written examinations.

Rulers in the Song aera were great patrons of the art.

Yet, despite its political and economic strengths, Song China was not able to dominate its neighbors militarily. Central to its engagement with the outside world were efforts to maintain peace with its powerful northern neighbors and extend its trading networks. Eventually in 1271 Kublai Kahn and his Mongol army seized power, ending the last period of the southern Song Dynasty in 1279, and established China as a part of the vast Mongol empire. Song military engineers found gunpowder to be helpful in siege warfare, leading to the development of early types of rockets, cannons, bombs, and mines. Weapons involving gunpowder were extensively used by both the Chinese and the Mongol forces in the 13th century. Song efforts to continually improve their weapons were one reason they were able to hold off the Mongols for several decades.  But the Mongols, like the Khitans and Jurchens before them (who conquered the first, or northern, Song dynasty capital in Kaifeng), were equally ready to adopt new and better military technology, often by capturing the Chinese engineers and gunners.

Song dynasty gradually lost control of the northern region to the Jin dynasty. Allthough this was the “birthplace of Chinese civilization” along the Yellow River, the Southern Song Dynasty had the largest population and better agricultural conditions. But the treat form the northern Mongols, who first defeated the Jin Dynasty in 1234, was massive and ended with a loss against Kublai Khan, the grandson of Djengis Khan, who declared himself as Emperor of China in 1271 and finally defeated the Southern Song dynasty in 1279. The Mongolian Yuan dynasty was established.

​

Song was perhaps the pinacle for glaces and fine ceramics in the Chinese history

The art of ceramics flourished in the song dynasty, as various kilns across China strived to show their best in terms of forms, glazes, decorative techniques, and methods of production. The government in the Song as well as the later Yuan dynasty earnestly sponsored the production of porcelains resulting in a rapid spread of kilns that produced advanced porcelain. This made the Song

The development of different kind of glazes is an unbroken line in Chinese culture. Long before other cultures China had advanced methods of firing and glazing their ceramics. Romans had a lot of ceramics and pottery, but never developed glaze in the extend like the Chinese did.

There were mainly three reasons for glazing the ware. First it was a way to get the clay waterproof. Clay absorbs water that evaporates through the burnt clay. Until waterproof stoneware was developed, that sintered at much higher temperature, this was a most important issue for storing liquid.

The second and most obvious reason is that glaze makes the item decorative. Hundreds of glazes have been developed through the centuries all depending on the local minerals available. Many local kilns developed their own secret glazes and saw this a most competitive advantage. This usually makes it possible to trace glazed ware to a certain kiln and region.

A third but not so obvious reason for glazing ware, is the hygienic reason. A ware that is glazed is much easier to clean and does not smell from old fat or stored liquid.

The Song-period ceramics stand unrivaled for the quality of its ware. The most famous kilns during this period are the five-court patronized kilns; Ru, Guan, Jun and Ding wares as well as the Longquan celadons. Several of these regional ceramic wares were so valued during their day that they were used as tribute and yearly taxes to the imperial court. These porcelains are all collector items especially Ru-ware of which less than 100 pieces are registered today and prices are accordingly.

​

Qingbai-ware were made at Jingdezhen in Kiangsi province and at many other southern kilns from the time of the Northern Song Dynasty until they were eclipsed in the 14th century by underglaze-decorated blue and white wares. Qingbai in Chinese literally means "clear blue-white". It was fired at high temperatures and therefore the glaze contain small bubbles.

The qingbai glaze is a porcelain glaze, so-called because it was made using pottery stone. The qingbai glaze is clear, but contains iron in small amounts. When applied over a white porcelain body the glaze produces a greenish-blue color that gives the glaze its name. Some have incised or molded decorations.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

A qingbai-glaze (meaning clear blue-white in chinese) on white ceramic gives a nice transparent effect depending of the thicknes of the glaze.

Qingbai wares were immensely popular from Northern Song (960-1127) through the Yuan dynasty (1280-1368). Objects ranged from crudely fashioned grave goods to exquisite eating utensils.

The highly plastic clay body allowed the creation of light, thin walled vessels with complex shapes that often incorporated molded, carved, and appliqué décor. The cool, bluish tint is accounted for in part by the reducing atmosphere given by the fuel, a locally abundant pine tree. The new and exquisite shapes, with their subtle, pale-blue glazes were appreciated throughout China's middle and upper classes and in several foreign markets. Several examples are given in this collection.

​

​