Page 18 - Jindezhen Porcelain Production of the 19th C. by Ellen Huang, Univ. San Diego 2008

Introduction

Some 300 miles southwest of metropolitan Shanghai lies Jingdezhen (Map 1).

Surrounded by rocky granite, mountainous terrain and the two river valleys of Xinjiang and

Raohe, the city is located in the minerally rich alluvial plains of Jiangxi province.

Historically, Jingdezhen was considered to be part of the heart of the agriculturally

productive region the lower Yangtze River valley. Jingdezhen lies on the Cheng River, just

east of Poyang Lake, linking the city to Jiujiang. During the Qing dynasty (1644-1911),

Jiujiang was a busy Yangtze River customs station (Map 2). After the defeat of the Qing by

British troops in 1861, it became a treaty port. Although it was one of the most important

economic market towns of the region, Jingdezhen was never the seat of local government

during the imperial period. The county (xian) magistrate sat at Fuliang, a walled town just

north of Jingdezhen that was also located on the banks of the Cheng River, while the higher

level of officials, the prefectural (fu) officials, were based at Raozhou at the point where the

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Cheng rushes into Poyang Lake (Map 3).

Since the eleventh century, the city of Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province has been the

world’s largest and primary producer of porcelain. Its inland location shielded the city and

environs from major battles, overland adversaries, and attackers from the eastern coast. At

the same time, its proximity to major water transport and communication channels

integrated the city to larger trading and economic networks. For 800 years, the hundreds of

kilns at Jingdezhen have produced porcelains for domestic use as well as for export use all

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