Qualla: Cizhou Ware https://qualla.com/cizhou-ware en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:38 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: Cizhou Ware https://qualla.com/cizhou-ware Cizhou Ware: Introduction https://qualla.com/cizhou-ware/ While the imperial court demanded monochrome perfection -- celadons in muted greens, white Ding ware of austere elegance -- the kilns of Cizhou were doing something different. Working in bold contrasts of black on white, the potters of this Hebei prefecture produced ceramics for taverns, households, and everyday life from the late Tang dynasty through the early Ming. They decorated wine bottles with painted boys, inscribed head-rests with wishes for good sleep, and carved peony scrolls with a freedom their court-serving counterparts could never afford. In doing so, they quietly invented techniques that would reshape ceramics worldwide.

Read more: Cizhou Ware on Qualla

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/w/3/p/cizhou-ware-wp/ww3p-cizhou-ware-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Cizhou Ware: The People's Pottery https://qualla.com/cizhou-ware/ Cizhou ware takes its name from a prefecture now called Ci County in Handan, southern Hebei, though dozens of kilns across northern China produced similar wares. The pottery was sturdy and often large, made for use rather than display. Wine jars, head-rests, and storage vessels d...

Read more: Cizhou Ware on Qualla

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/w/3/p/cizhou-ware-wp/ww3p-cizhou-ware-the-peoples-pottery.mp3 0:06 2 full Cizhou Ware: Scratching the Surface https://qualla.com/cizhou-ware/ Painting was only one weapon in the Cizhou arsenal. Potters employed sgraffito techniques, scratching or cutting through layers of slip to reveal contrasting colors beneath. They carved designs into the surface with the shallow precision common in Song dynasty ceramics. They stam...

Read more: Cizhou Ware on Qualla

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/w/3/p/cizhou-ware-wp/ww3p-cizhou-ware-scratching-the-surface.mp3 0:06 3 full Cizhou Ware: Fire Twice, Change Everything https://qualla.com/cizhou-ware/ Around 1200 CE, Cizhou kilns developed overglaze enamelling -- applying colored glazes atop an already-fired surface and firing a second time at a lower temperature. This was the first use of the technique on Chinese pottery. The earliest dated example, now in Tokyo, is from 1201...

Read more: Cizhou Ware on Qualla

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/w/3/p/cizhou-ware-wp/ww3p-cizhou-ware-fire-twice-change-everything.mp3 0:06 4 full Cizhou Ware: From Popular Craft to Global Legacy https://qualla.com/cizhou-ware/ Free from court dictates, Cizhou potters experimented across centuries and dynasties with relatively little disruption. Political upheavals that devastated the production of high-status wares barely touched the people's pottery. When the Mongols established the Yuan dynasty, they...

Read more: Cizhou Ware on Qualla

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/w/3/p/cizhou-ware-wp/ww3p-cizhou-ware-from-popular-craft-to-global-legacy.mp3 0:06 5 full