No. 237 Maritime Archaeology in the People's Republic of China ...

Figure 126. Celadon A Type 1.
Figure 127. Celadon A Type 2.
0 mm 50
0 mm 50
on was the direct participation of the Chinese in the maritime
trade in the South China Sea and beyond. With this there began
to appear ceramics in substantial quantities in insular South-
East Asia (Guy: 1980:14). Before this period Chinese ceramics
found overseas were more a result of expatriate and intermittent
traders rather than established trading networks.
One aspect of the China trade was the tribute system
from South-East Asian countries to the Chinese emperors.
Handsome rewards were given to tribute bearers in return
for their cooperation. Each of the South-East Asian powers
offered this formal recognition in return for the privilege to
trade and the local political advantage that accrued from being
an ally of China. However:
Ceramics do not appear as gifts to friendly governments at this
time (circa 987 AD) and were not sufficiently highly regarded
to warrant mention as a significant component of the trade (Guy,
1980:14).
During the Song Dynasty a serious trade deficit developed
as a result of the vast demand for goods from the Middle East
and South-East Asia. Concerned at the outflow of copper
coins the settlement of trade debts using this medium of
exchange was banned and alternatives encourage. There was
considerable stimulus for ceramic production in the coastal
regions of southern China
Also, it was the Song government that introduced the
system of hiring craft people, and abolished the old system of
using unpaid labourers to produce ceramics in the government
workshops. Control over the personal liberty of the craft people
was eased and this helped in the development of ceramic
production and that of other trades and professions.
Professional handicraft centres were established and even
towns developed specifically to produce ceramic material.
Cities prospered and tea drinking and tea-tasting contests
became popular filtering down from the upper strata of the
ruling class. The demand for pottery and porcelain vessels
greatly increased.
Song merchants traded in porcelain vessels on a much
larger scale than the merchants of the Tang, or Five dynasties.
Stone monuments were erected near quite a number of Song
porcelain kilns and inscriptions record the activities of
merchants engaged in transporting the ceramics to distant
regions for sale. They were known as ‘porcelain merchants’.
To advertise their ware certain workshops stamped their
porcelain vessels with exclusive inscriptions. As noted an
example of a bowl with a potters mark was recovered from
Bai Jiao 1 (refer to Figure 29).
Chau ju-kua in his Records on the Foreigners (circa 1225
AD) contains reference to both rough and fine porcelains and
supports the thesis that ceramics of varying grades of quality
were traded to the South-East Asian region. Their distribution
reflects established trading patterns based on the taste and
wealth of consumer markets (Guy, 1980:19).
In the Song Dynasty porcelain production was spread
through out different parts of the county. Various schools and
distinctive styles appeared in different places depending on
the characteristics of the raw materials and fuels, traditions in
workmanship and the customs and habits of the region. It is
considered that Chinese porcelain art had reached its zenith
(Li Zhiyan & Cheng Wen, 1989:53–4).
The effects of the Ming Ban and the rise of the Confucian
anti-maritime party and the later interregnum (1435 –1465
AD) lead to the temporary cessation of the Chinese export of
ceramics. While the Ming Ban was having serious effects on
the overseas trade, the interregnum resulted in the closure of
the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen causing a dramatic reduction
in the production of ceramic material. The shortage created is
suggested to have been a stimulus the export of Thai ceramic
material in South-East Asia (Green & Harper, 1987:5).
Information on the volume of trade in ceramics in the
Song period is based more on the distribution in South-East
Asia than on Chinese textual references. The vast quantities
of green glazed utility wares produced in the ‘dragon’ kilns
may suggest that the system of tribute already in operation
opened up the path for private traders. An analysis of Chinese
ceramic material from wreck sites in South-East Asia that
can be used to determine the extent and nature of this trade is
beyond the scope of this report and the reader is referred to
Green & Harper (1987), & Guy (1980).
bl a C k G l a z e d b o w l S
The black glazed bowls are the predominant artefact of the
Bai Jiao 1 site. The black glazed bowls are representative of
the black bowls of Jian kilns of the Fujian Province although
they are not of the same quality as those usually attributed to
this kiln site. Examples that have direct provenance to the Jian
kiln sites were highly valued in historic times and also have
archaeological value today. Jian ware has been described:
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