Chinese Pottery Essay

    The Sui Dynasty only had a lifespan of two main emperors, Emperor Wen and Emperor Yang. Emperor Wen was a great leader for this empire, but his son was an awful tyrant, and due to this, the empire failed.  Li Yuan, a governor of the Sui and also Emperor Yang’s cousin, rebelled and with the help of his sons and others, was able to overthrow the horrible ruler.  In the end, Li Yuan gained power and established the Tang Dynasty.  He became Emperor Gaozu of Tang in 618 AD. (Ancient China: Sui Dynasty)

Emperor K’ang-hsi was one of the greatest Chinese emperors of all time. Ruling from 1662 to 1722 he was also one of the longest ruling emperors in Chinese history and for that matter the world. K’ang-hsi brought China to long-term stability and relative wealth after years of war and chaos. Jonathan Spence writes from the eyes of K’ang-hsi getting his information from K’ang-hsi’s own writings. Though a little biased towards himself this book still provides important insight into his mind. Emperor of China is divided into six parts; In Motion, Ruling, Thinking, Growing Old, Sons, and Valedictory.

The Tang and Song dynasties in China existed between 618 to 1279 CE. Throughout this period, there were many developments in art, poetry, and technology. China was highly influential all around the world. It became known as the Golden Age of China. With advances in technology and ideas that could improve the everyday life, a unified government, and a strong economic system, the Tang and Song dynasties became the Golden Age of China.

The definition of a Golden Age is a time of economic, political, technological, and social improvement and advance at a great level. The Tang and Song Dynasties are very important to the history of Chinese civilization. The Tang Era is the most well-known dynasty in Chinese history, mainly because the empire was the largest, richest and most sophisticated state in the world at the time. The Song Era had far-reaching impacts economically, culturally, and socially. During the Song Era, there was major development in urbanization. The Tang and Song Eras are commonly referred to as being the basis of a Golden Age of Chinese civilization because they were two major time periods in which stunning development in China took place.

China was divided for almost four centuries. It became unified in 581 with the founding of the new dynasties, Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties. During the time of these dynasties, many changes took place. There were changes in the political, social, and economic structures. The first changes took place during the Sui dynasty in 581. Additional changes took place during the Tang dynasty in 618, and the Song dynasty in 960.

The following are the Chinese dynasties in order from oldest to most recent: Xia, Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui, Tang, Song, Jin, Yuan, Ming, and Qing. The legendary dynasty is the Xia, which is believed to be around 2000 BC. The Shang (1700-1000BC) developed the first written Chinese language. The Zhou (1028-221BC) built the first roads, expanded trade contacts and trade routes, and also developed plows and irrigation systems. Trade at this time was expanding in China. The Qin Dynasty (221-207BC) built the famous Great Wall of China as a defense mechanism and also united all of China under one central government. Next is the Han Dynasty (207BC-AD220), which did a lot for China in terms of trading. They developed the Great Silk Road, a trading route that stretched from China all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. The Sui Dynasty (589-618) united almost all of China. Followed in suit by the Tang Dynasty (618-917) discovered one of Chinas' leading exports, porcelain. During the Tang Dynasty, the first block-style printing press was invented. The Song Dynasty (960-1279) came next, which took over all of China and later took the southern rule after being conquered by the Jin. The Song Dynasty is responsible for developing Chinese cuisine as we know it today. During this time period the compass and gunpowder were also discovered. The Jin Dynasty (1127-1234) took rule over Northern China from the Song. The Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) brought a long period of peace to

From 618-907, the unprecedented leniency and tolerance of the Tang dynasty created a large hyper power, with alliances and trading and such. This empire left a lasting impression on the Chinese. “These and other factors converged to produce a dynasty more tolerant of foreign cultures, religions, and influences than any other in Chinese history.” Taizong was the first emperor of the tang dynasty and set the precedent for his successors. His main goal was to establish equality throughout the regions. He achieved this and became “the first Chinese ruler to establish dominion over the steppes.” As the Tang rule grew larger and larger, it engulfed areas like Manchuria, Vietnam, and parts of Iran. The way they chose to handle the commerce and diplomacy

After weeks of working I made a total of three pottery pieces, the one that I spent most time on is a clay pot that was made to look like an ancient greece piece of art. They used as grave markers and many other useful things. Back in ancient Greek pottery was divided into four different areas. These areas are for storage and transport vessels, mixing vessels, jugs and cups, vases for oils, perfumes and cosmetics. Many believed that Greek pottery, unlike today's pottery, was only fired once, but that firing had three stages. When firing their art pieces the kiln was heated to around 920-950 °C. They technically decorated their pieces to tell a old story or to represent something, normally people in a darker shaded color. I chose this culture

A golden age is a specific time where peace, happiness and prosperity flourishes within a civilization. In China. This period was known as the Song Dynasty, which lasted from (920-1279). China’s Golden Age was followed by the Yuan Dynasty, which dated from the years (1271-1368). During this period the Song Dynasty was exciting to people. Agriculture flourished leading to the inventions of the moveable typewriter and magnetic compass, paper money, and even gunpowder. The Song Dynasty led to China’s most significant achievement, Neo-Confucianism. Despite the influential importance art and creativity had on the Chinese people, it did not perform as much of an important, helpful part to the Chinese people as Agriculture and Neo-Confucianism did.

The Han dynasty was a golden era for China. It saw the greatest land confiscation of the nation’s history and economic success. In this paper I will be focusing on the structure of the national government, the monopolizing of iron and salt, the Yumen Pass and the Yellow Turban rebellion. Join me as we take a trip back in time to visit a time in Chinas history that is highly revered.

Richard Fairbanks, although many times overlooked, was an important American ceramist. He was known as a "loner" and because of this he was never really appreciated for his talent. Fairbanks was greatly influence by his professors. Professor Paul Bonifas, who taught at the University of Washington, was one who left a huge impact on Fairbanks work. Fairbanks created a system of sketching pottery profiles, which stemmed from Bonifas’ teachings, as a mean of "thinking on paper." This approach to pottery through sketching was a crucial element that separated Fairbanks from many other Asian-inspired American peers. Although, Fairbanks was a wheel thrown expert, he continued to "think on

2. Albert M. Craig, William A. Graham, Donald Kagan, Steven Ozment, Frank M. Turner. “China‘s First Empire”. The Heritage of World Civilizations. 1: 1152 (2007, 2005, 2002) Pearson Education, Inc. New

During the outward-looking rule of China's Tang dynasty (seventh-ninth century C. E. ), sophisticated people in northeastern Iran developed such a taste for expensive, imported Chinese pottery that they began to imitate it in great quantity for sale to people who could not afford the real thing. And in northern China there was a vogue for beautiful pottery figurines of camels laden with caravan goods or ridden by obviously non-Chinese merchants, musicians, or entertainers. Non-Chinese camel figurines found in Mesopotamia carry loads that duplicate the distinctive appearance of the loads on the Chinese figurines. So it is clear that by the time of the rise of Islam in the seventh century, contact across the Silk

In china there has been no central rule in China for 70 years until the Song Dynasty created in 960. Things started to change in China, for example, the government started to aid the poor a lot more than what they have in the past. They were getting this money from the newly introduced income tax. This made a lot of people happy and everyone started to have more patriotism and pride. This pride gave the government a feel of legitimacy. Some of the major things the government is paying for is the roads, food, and education. Pottery at this time helps out the economy in China, because the pottery is so advanced that it was being exported for good money and it also led more people to come to China. Even though China was number one in the world for many things like technology and a sophisticated culture they were weak military wise (Holcombe p.127).

Next, looking at the Han Dynasty, it lasted from 202 B.C.E. to 220 C.E. This time period was said to be the most prosperous; population growth of approximately 50 million, expansion to Korea, Vietnam, and Pakistan, and the establishment of the famous Silk Road. It was not until about 184 C.E that this dynasty was to break internally through political and economical reasons