Page 36 - Zhangzhou Or Swatow The Collection of Zhangzhou Ware at the Princessehof Museum, Leeuwarden, Netherlands

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The majority of kilns in Zhangzhou did not resume production. Dehua and the kilns in its vicinity replaced
Zhangzhou as major blue and white ceramic production centres; Yuegang as an “international” port failed to
recover to its previous glory.

Fujian
The port of Yuegang is only about 50 km from Zhangzhou prefecture in southern Fujian, the production sites
of Zhangzhou porcelains. When in 1567 the trade ban was lifted, Chinese merchants, particularly from the
coastal provinces of Fujian and Guangdong, were once again allowed to trade freely.

Around 1620, by the end of the Wanli reign (1573-1620), the declining fortunes of the Ming necessitated sharp
decreases in court orders for the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen. Private kilns in Fujian and Guangdong however
were able to find new clients and cater the tastes of different markets. They became prominent manufacturers
for the ceramic trade. The range of products included not only blue and white or white porcelain from Dehua,
th
but the range of ceramics made in the kilns of Zhangzhou. This period, from the mid 16 to the mid 17
th
century, represents the peak of production and export of Zhangzhou. It coincided with the heyday of the port
Yuegang, which declined with the rise of the Xiamen in the mid-17 century.
th
The evolution of the Chinese ceramic industry in the late Ming took place in the broader context of a growing
trading network. Among the maritime participants again were the coastal merchants and junk owners,
especially of Fujian, who sailed to the trading centres of maritime Southeast Asia. Large sea borne trading
enterprises came into existence that possessed the military capabilities and a talent for negotiating with
th
foreigners. This lasted from the mid 16 century until 1683, when the Qing court regained hegemony over
South China and its ceramic industry.

OKS 1986-32 NO 2632

Publ: Harrisson 1979, no. 147, p. 78; Harrisson 1995, pl. 23 a/b, p. 18

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