China Pottery History

Archaeological data indicates that the original potters were women. In ancient time, primitive pottery-making techniques spread throughout the county, each region having its own characteristics, and the techniques of the different regions influenced each other. The joint efforts of different regions contributed to the formation of the splendid culture of the Chinese nation in remote antiquity.

- Coiling Method
The oldest way to produced pottery is the coiling method, which was developed on the basis of technique of weaving bamboo containers.
The process involved kneading the clay into a long strip which was coiled upon itself spirally around a stone ball or pottery mold, as the potter held the clay strip with one hand and the mold with the other. This was done from the bottom right to the mouth rim, making the embryo of the pottery vessel.

- Kneading Method
Another ancient pottery-making method was discovered in DaDiWan, GanSu Province. It involved kneading the clay into lumps and then sticking them together. It was until the New Stone Age that the simple potter's wheel appeared in China. In the earliest stage, it was a wooden pillar popping up a wooden disc.

The development of pottery reflects, from one angle, the process of the Chinese civilization.

Chronological History of Chinese Pottery:

About 7000 years ago -> YangShao culture

About 6300 years ago -> DaWenKou culture

About 4000 - 4800 years ago -> LongShan culture

About 4000 - 5800 years ago -> MaJiaYao culture

Around 17 Century -> Shang, Wester Zhuo

476 B.C -> Spring and Autumn Period

475 - 221 B.C -> Warring States Period

221 - 206 B.C -> Qin

206 B.C - A.D.25 -> Western Han

25 - 220 -> Eastern Han

220 - 280 -> Three Kingdoms

265 - 317 -> Western Jin

317 - 420 -> Eastern Jin

386 - 534 -> Northern Dynasty

550 - 577 -> Northern Qi

581 - 618 -> Sui

618 - 907 -> Tang

960 - 1127 -> Northern Song

907 - 1125 -> Liao

1127 - 1279 -> Southern Song

1206 - 1368 -> Yuan

1368 - 1644 -> Ming

1644 - 1911 -> Qing

At one time, pottery was China's main export commodities. Chinese pottery was carried on the renowned Silk Road overland westward as far as the Mediterranean, and via the maritime Silk Road from QuanZhuo and GuangZhuo, passing the Malay Peninsula and crossing the Indian Ocean to reach the Persian Gulf and Africa.

Even in remote antiquity, the ancestors of Chinese people were able to produce beautiful pottery items in red, gray, white, black and other colours. The terracotta warriors and horses, pottery figures and stone frescoes of the Qin and Han dynasties and the tricolor glazed pottery of the Tang Dynasty were milestones in the history of Chinese pottery manufacture. Pottery wares became articles for daily use, and their shapes and patterns reflect the life styles, ideology and esthetic interests of the Chinese people through the ages. Hence, pottery can be regarded as vivid and life-like historical painting scroll which can help us to understand the lives of the Chinese people in the past.

Qin Dynasty
The magnificent terracotta warriors and horses of the Qin Dynasty bring to life the military equipment, battle formations and heroic spirit of warriors in ancient China

Han Dynasty
Painted bricks like picture books, vividly describe farming, harvesting, boiling salt, entertainment, transportation, reflecting the rich and varied social life of the Han Dynasty from various aspects.

Pottery market is currently experiencing disarrays as inferior potteries are flooding the market, depriving pottery lovers of finer ones. Pottery lovers who lack adequate pottery knowledge to differentiate finer pieces from the inferior ones often spend extravagant amount of money on inferiors.

The creation of traditional and finest pottery is through the coiling method, which would require a high degree of technical expertise. In order to achieve the highest quality pottery, it all begins from using the high quality clay mixtures, free of impurities to obtain a final product that is highly resistant to any adverse environmental conditions. Fine potteries are high heat fired at temperature in excess of 1300°C (2372°F) in order to withstand extreme cold and heat.

No two handmade pottery pieces would be exactly alike. There would be slight variations in color, finish and size. Fine potteries are those with clear watermark and precise color shades, as compared to the low grades ones which have very blur watermark and dull color. Fine pottery is thin-wall but strong.

The Art of War is a Chinese Military treatise written during the 6th century BC by Sun Tzu. {Born in state of Qi dynasty, 544BC,a Chinese General who died in state of Wu dynasty, 496BC}

This is one of the oldest books on military strategy in the world. It is also one of the most famous studies of strategy and has had a huge influence on Eastern & Western military planning, business tactics. It is claimed the following leaders have drawn inspiration from the work of the Art of War:

- Napoleon (President of France)

- Mao Zedong (Chairman of Communist Party of China)

- Pervez Musharraf (President of Pakistan)

- Vo Nguyen Giap (Senior General of Vietnam People's Army)

- Douglas MacArthur (General of US Army)

In the modern and contemporary world of today, the Art of War has been applied to the corporate culture, providing inspirations on how to succeed in the competitive business markets like those of the emerging markets of India and China. Since 1980s, many Japanese companies have made the Art of War a mandatory book for all their key executives to acquire the skill sets of how to outsmart competitive endeavors of today's fierce market space. The Art of War has also gained its popularity for its application to the Western business management, office politics and corporate strategies.

In the eyes of law, where negotiation tactics, trial process and trial strategy are crucial to the success of every lawyer, the Art of War has also been the subject of many various law books and legal articles.

Even in the competitive world of sports - crickets and footballs, where players were handed out excerpts of the Art of War before their matches.
FIFA World Cup: Luiz Felipe Scolari football coach plotted his football strategies in accordance to the Art of War to win the year 2002 and 2006 FIFI World Cups.

Cricket: Australian cricket coach John Bunchanan was said to have handed out excerpts from the Art of War to his players before the match with England in year 2001.

The Art of War had also been interpreted as providing methods for developing social strategies such as social relationships, maintaining romantic relationships and seduction.

The "Advantageous Strategies" are used in situations when time and resources are to one's advantage, when there is no need to rush, and detailed planning can be carried out. The six strategies in this category include the following:

1. "Deceiving the heavens to cross the sea"

2. "Besieging Wei to save Zhao"

3. "Killing with a borrowed knife"

4. "Conserving energy while the enemy tires himself out"

5. "Looting a house on fire"

6. "Making a feint to the east but hitting out in the west"

Opportunistic Strategies

The "Opportunistic Strategies" thrive on situations where vulnerabilities can be exploited. The idea is to capitalise on all opportunities so as to gain the advantage. The strategies include:

7. "Creating something out of nothing"

8. "Secret escape through Chen Cang"

9. "Observing the fire from the other side of the river"

10. "A dagger sheathed in a smile"

11. "The plum dies in place of the peach"

12. "Stealing a goat along the way"

Offensive Strategies

Like the Advantageous Strategies, the "Offensive Strategies" are used in situations when time and resources are not constraining factors. However, these strategies seek to gain victory through direct attack. The six strategies include:

13. "Hitting the grass to startle the snake"

14. "Borrowing a corpse to resurrect a soul"

15. "Luring a tiger from its lair in the mountain"

16. "Releasing the enemy to recapture him later"

17. "Tossing out a brick to get a jade"

18. "Disband the bandits by arresting their leader"

Confusion Strategies

The "Confusion Strategies" aim to confuse a pursuing enemy to throw him off his guard. In this way, valuable time can be gained in making one's escape. These strategies include:

19. "Pulling out the firewood from beneath the cauldron"

20. "Catching a fish in troubled waters"

21. "Making an unnoticed escape like a golden cicada shedding its skin"

22. "Shutting the doors to catch the thief"

23. "Befriend the far and attack the near"

24. "Borrow a passage to attack Guo"

Deception Strategies

Deception is commonly used in war to create advantages for oneself, and to handicap the enemy. Such strategies are designed to mislead the enemy. They include the following:

25. "Replace superior beams and pillars with inferior ones"

26. "Pointing at the mulberry but scolding the locust tree"

27. "Pretending to be insane but remaining smart"

28. "Remove the ladder after the enemy ascends to the roof"

29. "Deck the tree with flowers"

30. "The guest takes over as host"

Desperate Strategies

In a desperate situation, one may have to resort to unconventional and unorthodox methods and means. As such, some of these strategies can be quite dramatic and "tragic". However, when used appropriately, such strategies can be very effective. These include:

31. "Beauty Scheme"

32. "Empty City Scheme"

33. "Double Agent Ploy"

34. "Self-injury scheme"

35. "A series of interconnected ploys"

36. "Escape - the best scheme"

With the opening up of China to the influential modernization and westernization, Chinese culture continues to diminish every second as the clock clicks.....

Asian-Icons, as the name describes, is aimed to preserve our Chinese Identify for those who are as passionate as we are in the pursuit of Chinese history and culture. What better way to do this, other than through the daily commodities of Chinese, dating more than 10,000 years ago....... it is the Chinese Pottery......

Through fine quality pottery that will preserve the history and culture of Chinese, each piece of pottery becomes the Asian Icon, piecing up each and every part of the Chinese history and culture in its own magnificent manner.....

Through each piece of fine pottery, you will be able to discover, recover and relate so much to the Chinese history and culture. As you hold each piece of the history and culture, you will never be closer to the roots of Chinese......

With Asian-Icons, we share our dreams together, in the pursuit of Chinese history and culture, through the finest quality of pottery!!

CHECK OUT ASIANS ICONS POTTERY STORES!!! DON'T LET IT BE YOUR HISTORY AGAIN!!