The history of porcelain-making in Dehua can be traced back to the Neolithic period. During the Song and Yuan dynasties, Dehua‘s ceramic industry flourished alongside overseas trade, with qingbai (bluish-white) and white porcelain becoming mainstream products that were continuously shipped abroad as important commodities on the Maritime Silk Road. At that time, kilns dotted the Dehua landscape. The Italian traveler Marco Polo recorded in his travels that Dehua “manufactures bowls and porcelain, both abundant and beautiful.” The Dehua white porcelain he brought back to Europe was treasured in St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, and Europeans hence called it “Marco Polo porcelain.”
The Ming Dynasty marked the zenith of Dehua white porcelain. During this period, Dehua kilns departed from the tradition of firing qingbai ware and produced white porcelain with distinctive local character. The body and glaze formed an inseparable whole, with a lustrous and bright finish — pure white tinged with a hint of ivory yellow. It was known as “ivory white,” “lard white,” or “goose-down white,” representing the highest level of white porcelain production in China at the time. Throughout its evolution, Dehua white porcelain has displayed not a single uniform white but a range of warm, layered, and ever-evolving whites: from the “ivory white,” “lard white,” and “child-red” of the Ming Dynasty, to the “scallion-root white” of the late Ming and early Qing, and to the “high white” and “Jian white” of the contemporary era. The whiteness of Dehua porcelain has risen from around 70 degrees to approximately 80 degrees — a testament to technological progress and craft innovation. Because Dehua‘s porcelain clay contains relatively high levels of silicon oxide and potassium oxide, the fired porcelain is pure, bright, and possesses a creamy texture — like fat or jade, warm and elegant. It embodies the aesthetic ideals of traditional Chinese culture and its ethos of restrained, understated beauty.
The Pinnacle of Ceramic Sculpture: He Chaozong and the “Sage of Eastern Porcelain”
The artistic achievements of Dehua white porcelain are most strikingly embodied in its sculptural art. During the Jiajing to Wanli reigns of the Ming Dynasty, a large number of master ceramic sculptors emerged, with He Chaozong as the most prominent. He absorbed various techniques from clay sculpture, wood carving, and stone carving, drawing on the strengths of many traditions. He summarized the “eight techniques” of pinching, molding, carving, engraving, scraping, paring, joining, and appliqué, elevating Dehua’s ceramic sculpture to unprecedented heights. He is revered by later generations as the “Sage of Eastern Porcelain.” The folds of garments in his figure sculptures flow naturally, with a texture that seems to flutter in the wind, inspiring awe. Among his works, Guanyin figures are the most numerous and the most expressive, possessing a vast yet invisible aura that brings a sense of serenity and well-being — truly deserving of the title “Eastern Venus.” He Chaozong‘s works not only became the hallmark of Dehua white porcelain but also set a model of creative technique and artistic style for later generations of ceramic sculptors to study and emulate.
Envoy of the Silk Road: “Blanc de Chine” Sweeping Across Europe
Dehua white porcelain was a major export on the Maritime Silk Road, sharing world renown alongside silk and tea. Between the 17th and 18th centuries, at least tens of millions of pieces of Dehua white porcelain were shipped to European countries, and traces of it can still be found throughout the world today. Its unique qualities happened to satisfy two market demands simultaneously — artistic appreciation and practical use — and it quickly became sought after by European aristocracy. Today, the British Museum holds more than 2,000 pieces of Dehua ceramics in its collection, and renowned museums in over 40 countries — including the Frankfurt Museum and the Louvre — house Dehua white porcelain. Dehua white porcelain not only occupied an important position in international trade but also conveyed the allure of Chinese culture to the world.
Passing the Torch: The Contemporary “World Porcelain Capital”
The firing technique of Dehua porcelain has been inscribed on the first batch of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection List. In 2015, Dehua was awarded the title of “World Porcelain Capital” by the United Nations World Crafts Council, becoming the only city in China to receive this honor. Today, Dehua has formed an industrial cluster of over 4,500 enterprises with a scale of 66.3 billion yuan, and its products are sold to more than 190 countries and regions. From traditional “Blanc de Chine” to a diversified product system, from artisan workshops to intelligent production lines, Dehua ceramics has embraced the principle of “inheriting tradition without clinging to the old, innovating without forgetting the roots.” Under the name “Blanc de Chine · Dehua Porcelain,” it continues to shine brilliantly on the international ceramic stage. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Dehua white porcelain piece “Triumphal Vessel” appeared on the world stage as a national gift, using porcelain as a medium to write a new chapter of cultural dialogue.