Ancient China in Pictures

By N.S. Gill, About.com Guide

The name "china" is sometimes used for porcelain because China was, for a while, the only source for porcelain in the West. Porcelain was made, perhaps as early as the Eastern Han period, from kaolin clay covered with petuntse glaze, fired together in high heat so the glaze is fused and doesn't chip off.

Chinese art goes back to the neolithic period from which time we have painted pottery. By the Shang Dynasty, China was producing jade carvings and cast bronze found among grave goods.

Sources:
"Chinese art" World Encyclopedia. Philip's, 2008. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.
Chinese pottery and porcelain : an account of the potter's art in China from primitive times to the present day (Volume 1), by R.L. Hobson, 1872-1941. Internet Archive online.

• Pottery in Ancient China

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• Writing in Ancient China
• Religions in Ancient China
• Dynasties and Rulers of Ancient China
• Maps of China
• Trade and Economy in Ancient China
• Art in Ancient China
• Great Wall of China

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