Tang Sancai Identification and Appreciation

Author: Hu Xiaoli (Compiler)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-04-01
Features: The Dissemination of Tang Sancai to the World
Tang Sancai, with its dazzling glazes and diverse forms, not only won the favor of the Tang people but also spread to all corners of the world, beloved by people from various nations. It became one of the most popular export products of the time and, even today, Tang Sancai artifacts have been discovered in many places abroad. This is also a contribution of Chinese ceramic art to world culture. Chinese ceramics, like silk, held an extremely important position among ancient Chinese exports and served as a bridge and link in exchanges with countries around the world.
Tang Dynasty interactions with neighboring regions were very frequent, and as a result, the roads leading to these areas were highly developed during the Tang period. According to the New Book of Tang (Volume 431, Part 2), Geography, there were seven major trade routes during that time, forming commercial paths for foreign trade:
1. The route from Yingzhou to Dongan.
2. The maritime route from Dengzhou to Goguryeo and Bohai.
3. The route from Xazhou (in modern-day Xingyang County, Shaanxi) to the outside of the Great Wall, connecting Datong and Yunzhong.
4. The route from Zhongshouxiangcheng (near Baotou City, Inner Mongolia) to the Uyghurs.
5. The route from Anxi to the Western Regions.
6. The route from Annan (Hanoi, Vietnam) to India.
7. The route from Guangzhou to the sea.
Among these routes, the most famous two for foreign trade were the overland Silk Road leading to the Western Regions, reaching Central Asia, Europe, and Africa, and the maritime Ceramic Road to the east and southeast. The Tang Dynasty adopted a relatively open policy toward foreign merchants, known as "Fanke" (foreigners) or "Huke" (barbarians), providing them with great convenience. For example, in the eighth year of the Great Harmony era (834 AD), Emperor Wenzong issued an edict: "It is advisable for the military commanders and regional inspectors to frequently inquire after them. Except for port fees, market taxes, and tribute, they may freely travel and trade without additional levies." This policy greatly promoted the development and prosperity of foreign ceramic trade, further expanding Sino-foreign commercial activities.
Historical records do not provide detailed accounts of Tang Dynasty ceramic exports. Archaeological evidence shows that Tang Sancai has been discovered in nearly every country and region across Europe, Asia, and Africa. Among these, Asian countries have the most discoveries, including Korea, Japan, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, and Central Asia. Egypt in Africa and Italy in Europe also have traces of Tang Sancai. Notably, Japan and the Korean Peninsula have the highest number of discoveries.
China and Korea share a close relationship, and Korea has long maintained friendly ties with China. The Korean Peninsula was historically divided into three states: Silla, Baekje, and Goguryeo. After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, all three states maintained good relations with Tang, frequently sending envoys to the Tang court. Silla dispatched envoys 26 times, Goguryeo 17 times, and Baekje 8 times. The Tang Dynasty also sent envoys in return: to Silla 16 times, Goguryeo 5 times, and Baekje 3 times.
Since the 6th century, Silla experienced significant political, economic, and military development. In the mid-7th century, Silla, in alliance with the Tang army, Baekje and Goguryeo, unifying the Korean Peninsula. After unification, Silla's relationship with the Tang Dynasty grew even closer, with increased exchanges of envoys. Statistics show that between 618 and 650 AD, Silla sent 21 envoys to the Tang court.
Beyond official exchanges, frequent interactions occurred between merchants, scholars, and monks. Korean immigrants settled in Tang, particularly in coastal areas like Dengzhou, Laizhou, Chuzhou, Sizhou, and Yangzhou, forming areas known as "Silla Towns."
At the time, there were three main routes connecting the Korean Peninsula and the Tang Dynasty: one land route through Northeast Liaoning to the Chinese mainland, and two maritime routes from the Korean Peninsula to Shandong or Yangzhou in the Jiangzhe region. The expansion of friendly exchanges between the two countries furthered political, economic, and cultural development.
Archaeological evidence shows that Korea was one of the earliest countries to import Chinese ceramics. The large-scale import of Tang Sancai and other Chinese ceramics to Korea began around the mid-7th century, coinciding with the height of Silla's prosperity and its increasing interactions with the Tang Dynasty. The introduction of Tang Sancai technology to Silla spurred the development of Korean ceramics. In 1973, archaeologists unearthed a Tang Sancai three-legged jar in Gyeongju, South Korea, at the 20th site in Charyongdong Mountain. This jar is now housed in the National Gyeongju Museum. It stands 15.5 cm tall, with a short neck and round belly, supported by three animal legs. The body is coated in blue glaze, while the shoulder features a ring of white glaze patterns, making it highly distinctive. Similar artifacts have been found in Liaoning, Shaanxi, Hebei, Henan, and Jiangsu in China.
China and Japan are neighbors separated by the sea, with a long history of cultural exchange. In 1784, a gold seal inscribed with "Han and Wa King" was unearthed in Shiga County, Chikusei Town, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. This seal corresponds to a record in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty (Dongyi), which mentions that Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty bestowed a gold seal on a Japanese envoy in the second year of the Zhongyuan era (57 AD). This indicates that friendly exchanges between China and Japan began as early as the Han Dynasty. By the Tang Dynasty, Japan was in the process of consolidating its feudal system and eagerly sought advanced Chinese culture and technology. Thus, Japan dispatched Kentōshi (Tang envoys) to the Tang court to study its culture, which became Japan's basic foreign policy for the next 200 years.
Japan repeatedly sent delegations of students and Buddhist monks to Chang'an, the Tang capital, bringing Sino-Japanese friendly exchanges to a peak. Statistics show that from the fifth year of Emperor Taizong's Zhenguan era (631 AD) to the first year of Emperor Zhaozong's Qanning era (894 AD), Japan sent 13 Kentōshi missions, along with 19 additional missions such as "welcoming Tang envoys" and "saying farewell to Tang envoys," with 15 actually reaching the Tang court. Moreover, the scale of these missions grew, from an initial 120+ members to over 650 later. These missions included government officials and a large number of students, who became the backbone of learning and spreading Tang culture.
At the same time, the Japanese government also recruited Tang scholars, craftsmen, and monks to Japan to directly teach Tang culture and technology. The friendly exchanges between governments also boosted private trade. From the mid-9th century to the early 10th century, over 30 recorded voyages of Chinese merchant ships to Japan took place. Some merchants traveled between China and Japan multiple times, not only introducing Tang culture to Japan politically but also influencing its material culture. Recent archaeological discoveries in China and Japan in the past two years confirm this.
Japan is the country outside China with the most Tang Sancai artifacts, with incomplete statistics showing that since the early 20th century, fragments and complete pieces of Tang Sancai have been unearthed in over 80 locations across 10 Japanese prefectures (Figure 17). Japanese scholars believe that Chinese Tang Sancai and other ceramics were first introduced to Korea and then to Japan. Tang Sancai artifacts were widely transmitted to Japan during the height of the Tang Dynasty.
Japanese scholar Yabe Ryohei wrote the following about Tang Sancai discoveries in Kyoto: "During the height of the Tang Dynasty, Sancai was found in six locations in Japan: three in Fukuoka Prefecture and three in the Nara Basin of Nara Prefecture. The island of Okishima in the northern part of Kyushu, a ritual site from the 4th to the 9th century, was surveyed in 1954 and 1969 without discovering ancient Chinese ceramics, but 22 fragments of 'Tang Sancai' were collected—all from the same artifact. Fushimi Fudofu, an expert, inferred that these fragments resemble a Sancai-embossed long-necked vase in the Horikawa collection at the Tokyo National Museum. In 1967, another fragment of Sancai was found in the Taizai-ji Temple in Chikuzoku, Fukuoka Prefecture, likely part of a statue. That same year, at the ruins of the Taizai-ji Castle in the city of Taizai, a fragment of a pottery pillow was discovered, featuring yellow glaze on a twisted-wood body, which was notable. As Taizai-ji served as both a regional defense post and an embassy, it was natural for Tang artifacts to arrive there first. If further investigations are conducted, it is expected that the number of Sancai discoveries will continue to increase, making this a promising area for future research."
Additionally, in September 1966, over 30 pieces of Tang Sancai and twisted-wood pottery pillows were found in the ruins of Dainan-ji Temple in Nara City, in the burnt clay layers of the main hall and lecture hall.
In ancient times, Okishima was a crucial maritime route connecting the Korean Peninsula and the Chinese mainland. The area around Taizai-ji was also a major hub for international trade.