History of Chinese Ceramic Painting Art

Author: Kong Liqing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: Mr. Kong Liqing has long been engaged in teaching and research in ceramic art design and Chinese painting. Due to his professional background, his research topics focus on ceramic painting. The ceramic painting he studies covers both painted decorations on ceramic objects and flat ceramic painting that is detached from the form of the objects. His work is rich in material, systematically and deeply discussing the historical development of Chinese ceramic painting, and providing targeted analysis of specific works from each historical period. It is highly valuable for those studying or researching the history of Chinese ceramic art or learning ceramic art design. The historical periodization approach in this book is based on an overview of the characteristics of Chinese ceramic painting throughout history, dividing it into two major stages: the period before Jingdezhen and the Jingdezhen period. The book is then divided into two parts accordingly. The period before Jingdezhen mainly includes three major sections: painted pottery from the Neolithic Age, celadon overglaze painting from the Tang Dynasty Changsha Kilns, and porcelain painting from the Cizhou Kiln system of the Song Dynasty. Its characteristics are: first, a geographical distribution that is scattered between the north and south; second, artistic styles that differ between the north and south, each forming its own system. The Jingdezhen period builds upon the achievements of the period before Jingdezhen, evolving through the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. During this time, artistic styles ceased to be divided between the north and south, and new varieties of porcelain continued to emerge, eventually maturing into various painted porcelain techniques such as blue-and-white, doucai, wucai, gucai, fenci, and qianjiecai, bringing ceramic painting to its historical peak. The chapters and sections are thus well-reflected in the evolution of different painted porcelain varieties of each era. Since the emergence of each variety of ceramic painting is closely related to contemporary painting, the research often points out issues from the perspective of Chinese ceramic history but naturally integrates the history of Chinese painting to explain these issues. This has become a distinctive feature of the book's research approach.