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White porcelain has been produced in China as early as the Southern and Northern Dynasty (420-589 A.D.), but the technology hadn't been fully developed until the Sui Dynasty (581-619 A.D.), in the North China area such as the Hebei and Henan Provinces. The Xing Kiln in Neiqiu, Hebei Province is now considered to be the place where the first white porcelain was produced.

White porcelain was a very common technique in the Sui Dynasty, it was developed on the basis of celadon porcelain. The craftsman decreased the Fe2O3 content in the glaze and then white porcelain was invented. After the Sui Dynasty, the Xing Kiln in the Tang Dynasty, Ding Kiln and Jingdezhen Kilns in the Song Dynasty, and the Dehua Kiln in the Ming Dynasty were all famous for their white porcelain production. The well-known white porcelain products such as the Xing Porcelain, Egg-white Porcelain, Sugar-white Porcelain and Ivory Porcelain were all great treasures in the Chinese porcelain production history. The white porcelain also is also a basic technology for the future Green-pattern porcelain and colored porcelain.

There were many white porcelain products excavated from the Sui Tombs in China. This Dragon-head Pot with double bodies was found in the tomb of Li Jingxun, who was the granddaughter of the Empire's mother and died in 608 A.D. at her age of nine. The double body is a very exquisite and uncommon design and valuable for the archeology study.

 

Background Knowledge: History of China

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