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Plate 13.8 Blue-glazed porcelain jar, gold painted, Hongzhi period, Plate 13.9 Yellow-glazed porcelain jar, zhuzun 著尊, Hongzhi period,
1488–1505, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Height 32.2cm, diameter 1488–1505, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Height 32cm, diameter
mouth 16.5cm, foot 18.5cm. The Palace Museum, Beijing mouth 19cm, foot 17.5cm. The Palace Museum, Beijing

Qianlong period in the mid-18th century. In this reform, the
long-standing tradition of making ritual vessels in ancient
bronze shapes was almost abandoned, and porcelain was
elevated as the primary material for important ritual vessels
employed in ceremonies of worship from the state to the
local governments. However, little attention has been paid to
this issue.
Although we do not yet know the full picture of this third
system, this chapter has sought to show that there are some
traces of distinctiveness that enable us to explore the
significance of this change in ritual vessels. We may well
regard this ceramic-oriented system as a third system of
ritual vessels in addition to the Sanli tu or Xuanhe bogu tu
systems, as it is both different and distinct from these
previous systems. The early Ming decision led to the
establishment of a long-lived imperial kiln system and a
ceramic-oriented system of ritual vessels in later Chinese
material culture history.
But the frugality advocated by Hongwu in the early Ming
period might explain why ceramic substitutes enjoyed an
economic advantage. In addition, ceramic wares were
chosen because they adhered to the ancient doctrines. We
also saw why the vessel shapes should be made in the likeness
of the services that the ancestors used while living, in the
Hongwu emperor’s citation of Confucius and Song Taizu.
Lastly, a scholar’s proposal that the early Ming ritual Plate 13.10 Blue-glazed jar with unglazed ‘mountain’ image, Jiajing
reformist Tao An might have played a crucial role in making mark and period, 1521–67. Height 25.2cm, width 25.5cm widest
such a decision, as he had previously served as the local point. Private collection
prefect of Raozhou, deserves further exploration in the
future.
Lastly, what are the consequences of this unprecedented
decision, made during the early Ming, dictating that all
ritual vessels should be made of ceramics? Firstly, it is likely

The New Idea of Ritual Vessels in the Early Ming Dynasty: A Third System? | 119