双语科技百科(化学) 第47期:瓷器的发展
Development of Porcelain
It’s widely acknowledged that porcelain was invented by Chinese. After several thousand years of hard work, the early potters accumulated rich experience in their craft. The earliest porcelain appeared in the slave societies of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties.
瓷器是中国人发明的，这是举世公认的。瓷器的发明是在陶器技术不断发展和提高的基础上产生的。瓷器最早出现于商代和周代的奴隶制社会。Porcelain as such was, in its initial stage, known now as the proto-celadonl from which porcelain developed independently. Whereas pottery is porous and o-paque and gives a dull sound when struck, porcelain, non-porous, translucent,and smooth-surfaced, is finer, harder, and closer-knit in texture and gives a me-tallic sound when struck.
中国商周时期的原始瓷器称为“原始青瓷”，它们和陶器的区别在于：陶器渗水性强，不透明，敲击时发出厚重的声音；早期原始瓷器质地较陶器细腻坚硬，吸水性较弱，敲击时发出清脆的金属声。
A considerable number of Shang and Zhou proto-celadon vessels have been unearthed in many provinces in the Huanghe River(Yellow River) valley and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. These findings revealed basic char-acteristics of o-celadon used White china clay, or kaolin (an infusible white mineral earth produced in the area of Gaoling Village in Fuliang County in East China’s Jian-gxi Province) , which is a fine, pure material suitable for making high quality porce-lain. The firing temperature was at least l,200 degrees Celsius-much higher than for firing potfery.
在黄河流域和长江中下游沿岸的商代和西周遗址中发现的“原始青瓷”明显的具有瓷器的基本特征。它们由白色瓷土和高岭土（产于江西省浮梁县高岭村的一种矿物土）烧制，这些材料易于烧制出高质量的瓷器，烧结温度高达1000℃~1200℃，比陶器的烧结温度高出许多。Porcelain making be-came steadily popular in the Warring States Peri-od, when it began to step out of its primitive state.
瓷器业稳步发展，日益成熟，在战国时期已经非常普及。Early in the Western Han Dynasty whole sets of celadon vessels were manufactured, according to speamens of Western Han vessels that were ex-cavated in Peixian Coun-ty, Jiangsu Province. The ewers, steamers, vases,jars, tripods and boxes have a hard paste and are smooth and lustrous compared with earlier wares. The frequent dis-covery of Han porcelain in archaeological digs indicates that large quantities of the ware were manufactured during the period.
根据江苏省沛县出土的西汉早期的瓷器，当时已经开始生产成套的瓷器器皿了。耳杯、沙锅、花瓶、罐、三脚壶、盒等坚硬细腻，釉面有光泽。此外在考古中不断发现汉代瓷器，这说明当时瓷器已大批量生产了。白瓷出现于北朝时期，白瓷的出现为釉下彩和釉上彩瓷器的发展打下基础。到了隋朝和唐朝，瓷器更有新的发展，颜色丰富、样式新颖。而且釉的成分含有多种金属氧化物，使釉底颜料烧制后异彩纷呈。White porcelain was invented during the Northern Dynasties (386-581),which laid a foundation for the invention of under glazed and on-glazed was in the Sui and Tang dynasties that porcelain became more varied and color-ful. Glaze ingredients containing different metal oxides became available to pro-duce brilliant underglaze ( pre-glaze) colors via firing.
宋代制瓷业蓬勃发展，名窑涌现，形成了备具特色的地方瓷器派系。宋代以前，瓷器装饰主要靠雕刻印嵌，即在瓷糊变干之前用刀在瓷身上刻上花纹印章，然后上釉烧造。而到了宋、辽、金等时期，人们在瓷胎上直接绘画图案，这标志着中国瓷器艺术进入一个全新的发展阶段。In the Song Dynasty, porcelain kilns mushroomed in different places, while porcelain schools representative of particular regions appeared. Before the Song Dynasty, porcelain was decorated by caNed, incised, and impressed is, before the paste was dried, designs were carved or incised with a knife on the unglazed body or impressed with stamps for mass production and then glazed for firing. In the Song, Liao,and Jin Dynasties, decorative designs were painted o-ver the glaze, with this painting on porcelain marking an entirely new stage in Chi-nese porcelain art.
元代的瓷器业持续蓬勃发展，创造出很多著名的瓷器种类。明清两代是中国瓷器生产最鼎盛时期。由于瓷料质地精良、烧制考究、色料丰富、做工精湛，加上当时的各种社会影响，使瓷器生产的数量、造型、色彩、图案都达到了高峰。The Yuan Dynasty saw continuous new developments in the art of porcelain making which contributed to different types of famous wares. Porcelain-manufac-turing craft attained its acme in Chinese history in the Ming and Qing was shown in a tremendous variehjr of vessel shapes, lustrous colors, and splendid designs made possible by the fine texture of the paste, adequate firing,abundance of pigments, improvement of craflsmanship, and various social influ-ences of the time. Apart from exquisite patterns, Ming porcelain decoration fea-tured landscapes, portraits, and flower-and-bird and other paintings, while most of the Qing paintings on porcelain were works of famous contemporary artists or imitations of their works.
明代的瓷器不仅图案精美，还增加了自然景色、画像、花鸟等绘画，而清代的瓷器图案很多都是当代艺术大师的作品或对他们的临摹。明清时期景德镇成为瓷器业的中心，“瓷都”的确立，使景德镇窑在瓷器行业中独占鳌头，为瓷器的进一步提高作出巨大贡献。Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province was the center of porcelain production in China during the Ming and Gting dynasties. lts kilns have contributed much to the perfec-tion of porcelain and occupy a distinguished place in ceramic art.
经过漫长的历史发展，中国出现了很多种名瓷，包括越州的青瓷，邢洲的白瓷，河北的定瓷，汝州的汝瓷，浙江省的龙泉青瓷和景德镇瓷器。这些名瓷各具特色，名扬四海。China’s various dynasties have seen a wealth of wares including the green Yue ware of Yuezhou, Xing white porcelain ware of Xingzhou, Ding ware in Hebei, Ru ware of Ruzhou, the celadon of Longquan in present-day Zhejiang Province, and Jingdezhen ware. The distinctive style of each is admired in different parts of the world, for Chinese pottery and porcelain went abroad as early as in the Han Dy-nasty, and was exported in large quantities by the late Tang Dynasty. From North China the wares went wesiward along the famous “Silk Road”; from the south they were shipped by sea to neighboring Asian countries and then to North Africd and Mediterranean countries. Not until the i5th century did they reach Europe and so have the worldwide impact that provided their brilliant page in the history of world civilization.
早在汉代，中国瓷器就开始走出国门，至晚唐时期大量出口。中国瓷器在中国北部由著名的“丝绸之路”运往西方，在中国南部经海运运往亚洲邻国，然后运至非洲和地中海沿岸各国。但中国瓷器直到15世纪才运到欧洲，也从此在世界的文明历史写下了辉煌的一页。Today, every Chinese province or autonomous region turns out ceramics with local features or in the style of the ethnic group of the le in the business have inherited and carried forward the fine traditions of the ancient Chinese ceramic art, thereby creating a flourishing situation in pottery and porcelain production.
今天，中国的各省市自治区都能生产出具有地方特色的陶瓷制品，从事陶瓷行韭的人们也将古代陶瓷艺术的优良传统发扬光大，开创了陶瓷生产繁荣兴盛的新局面。
