Recently, the exhibition “Jinshan Jinmei—The Kiln Fires of Shanxi: A Special Exhibition of Ancient Shanxi Ceramics,” hosted by the China International Friendship Association, the Beijing Zhongyi Art Foundation, and other organizations, was held in Beijing. According to Zhang Ruipeng, Director of the Shanxi Provincial Department of Culture, this is the first large-scale exhibition of ancient Shanxi ceramics ever held in Beijing. Through this exhibition, it is hoped that people around the world will gain a deeper understanding of the brilliant artistic and technological achievements of ancient Shanxi ceramics, and that ancient Shanxi ceramics will be given a brand-new position in the history of Chinese arts and crafts and the history of Chinese ceramics.

Over 20 years of preparation for cultural relic collection

At the exhibition site, visitors can closely admire more than 130 exquisite pieces (sets) of ancient Shanxi ceramics. It is reported that all these antique ceramics come from the collection of the Wangye Museum and span several dynasties—from the Song, Jin, Yuan, Ming, to the Qing periods. The collection covers numerous kiln sites ranging from Datong Kiln in the north to Huai Ren Kiln, Jiexiu Kiln, Huozhou Kiln, and Changzhi Kiln in the south. Through these ceramics, which feature diverse shapes and an unadorned, rustic beauty, viewers can gain a vivid sense of the prosperous history of Shanxi’s ceramic industry from the 12th to the 19th centuries. According to Yan Yan, director of the Wangye Museum, this is the first large-scale thematic exhibition dedicated to ancient Shanxi ceramics in China. The inaugural exhibition opened in Shenzhen this June and has attracted over 32,000 ceramic scholars and porcelain enthusiasts from both home and abroad.

Shanxi is one of the birthplaces of Chinese civilization, boasting abundant cultural relics and a long history of ceramic production. The region is dotted with numerous kiln sites from various dynasties. So why is it only now that people are able to see this “first-ever exhibition” of ancient Shanxi ceramics? At the exhibition site, Geng Baochang, an expert in ancient ceramic appraisal and researcher at the Palace Museum, remarked that for a long time, the academic community has categorized Shanxi ceramics within the broader framework of the “North China region” ceramic system without conducting large-scale, systematic studies. Moreover, previous analyses based on individual pieces have failed to clearly define the distinctive characteristics of Shanxi ceramics.

“The Cizhou Kiln was one of the most important regionally distinctive folk porcelain kilns in northern China during the Song, Jin, Yuan, and Ming dynasties. For a long time, Shanxi ceramics, along with Henan ceramics, have been broadly categorized under the Cizhou Kiln system.” More than 20 years ago, Yan Yan went to Shanxi to conduct archaeological surveys and collect cultural relics. There, he discovered that Shanxi ceramics possessed distinct regional characteristics and a unique stylistic identity—yet they had consistently remained largely overlooked by the wider world. From that moment on, he began paying close attention to collecting ceramics that clearly reflected their regional flavor. Three years ago, while casually gathering with friends from the cultural-relics community in Jinzhong, Shanxi, they started discussing the idea that ancient Shanxi ceramics deserved to be recognized as an independent artistic tradition. Everyone agreed that he should take the lead in organizing a special exhibition dedicated to Shanxi ceramics.

At the time, many experts—both at home and abroad—who study the Cizhou kiln system affirmed that holding this special exhibition was “creative and meaningful,” yet they also felt it was “far too challenging.” In the winter of 2011, while visiting the “Ryukyu Ancient Kilns” in Okinawa, Yan Yan happened to pass through Osaka, Japan, and exchanged ideas about the exhibition with Minoru Kobayashi, the curator of the Department of Art Studies at the Osaka City Museum of Oriental Ceramics. Kobayashi argued that organizing a special exhibition on Shanxi ceramics would represent a groundbreaking contribution to the study of ancient ceramics—but gathering the necessary materials proved exceedingly difficult. On the one hand, meticulous material comparisons and thorough archival research were required; yet for a long time, academia had remained stuck within the broader framework of the Cizhou kiln system, and no one had yet conducted a systematic, comprehensive analysis of Shanxi ceramics. On the other hand, physical specimens were extremely scarce—even among museums and institutions within Shanxi Province itself, collections of local ancient ceramics were relatively limited.

What gives Yan Yan such confidence is that, after years of collecting cultural relics, the Wangye Museum now boasts a collection of hundreds of ancient Shanxi ceramics. In terms of both its mastery of Shanxi’s ancient ceramic materials and its thorough grasp of actual artifacts, the museum is at the forefront of its peers. After the exhibition began to take shape, Yan Yan made a special trip to visit three leading Chinese authorities on ancient ceramics—Su Bai, Geng Baochang, and Shui Jisheng—and engaged them in detailed discussions and research on the exhibition’s conceptual framework and scholarly judgments, receiving their full support. “Everything depends on those who are truly dedicated,” Yan Yan concluded. “We’ve always placed great emphasis on collecting cultural relics, and in doing so, we’ve unconsciously laid the deepest possible groundwork for this exhibition.”

A dust-covered pearl reveals its natural beauty.

Since ancient Shanxi ceramics have long remained unseparated and studied individually, the immediate priority now is to identify and clarify these ancient pieces. As Yan Yan put it, “The brilliant flames of the Sanjin kilns once shone dazzlingly—such treasures should not be forgotten by the world, allowing these pearls to gather dust.” Moreover, from this concentrated exhibition of ancient Shanxi ceramics, ceramic researchers and attentive viewers alike can discern the distinctive characteristics of Shanxi ceramics.

“For example, many of the exhibits are small-mouth jars with a thick, trapezoidal opening at the top. Shanxi’s terrain is rugged and uneven; thanks to this sturdy trapezoidal mouth, people could easily tie these ceramic jars together with ropes for carrying, using them to store liquids such as wine and vinegar—while also ensuring that the ceramics remained undamaged during transport. By contrast, Hebei and Henan have relatively flat terrain, making it convenient to transport ceramics by vehicle. As a result, ceramics from the plains lacked this particular feature. This is precisely the ingenious practical approach employed by ancient artisans—and it’s precisely this functional distinction that allows us to identify the unique characteristics of Shanxi ceramics.” Yan Yan told the reporter. “At first glance, an ordinary viewer might not be able to tell the difference between Shanxi ceramics and those from other regions. But in reality, Shanxi ceramics stand out in terms of their shape, glaze color, decorative motifs, and craftsmanship. Take, for instance, a white-ground basin decorated with ochre-pink floral patterns and paired fish designs. The use of this pink-colored technique is particularly common at the Jiexiu kiln—it’s a distinctive decorative method unique to Shanxi kilns, imbued with strong local flavor.”

Porcelain from Shanxi is predominantly fired using coal, in contrast to the wood-fired porcelain produced in the south. Porcelain artifacts unearthed in Shanxi clearly reflect the stylistic characteristics of northern China. The kiln workers demonstrated remarkable technical skill—take, for example, a black-glazed, red-and-green painted "Yu Hu Chun" bottle from the Changzhi kiln dating to the Jin Dynasty. This piece features a round body and a long neck, entirely coated with a black glaze. On top of the black glaze, a layer of white slip was applied, and then red and green pigments were delicately outlined on the white slip surface. This technique first emerged in northern kilns during the 12th century and represented an innovative achievement by the kiln artisans of that era.

Shanxi ceramics also possess a precious, unpretentious beauty. Yan Yan pointed to a black-brown-glazed jar with grass-leaf motifs, made at the Datong kiln, and explained that the kiln workers would casually use flowers and leaves to cover parts of the piece during glazing. Before the glaze dried, they’d carefully peel off the flowers and leaves, leaving the delicate texture of the leaves permanently imprinted on the ceramic. “No two leaves in the world are exactly alike, so each of these ceramics is unique. Some kiln workers even applied paper-cuttings, then peeled them away, allowing the beauty of the paper cuts to complement the beauty of the ceramics themselves.” He particularly loves the tiger-shaped pillows found in Shanxi ceramics—among them, a terracotta-colored pillow decorated with black-painted poetry and tiger motifs. The pillow’s surface bears two lines of poetry: “Idlely reciting ancient melodies, I tap the horns of dragons; Drunk, I lie among green hills, my head resting on the tiger’s waist.” “Tiger-shaped ceramic pillows were a distinctive everyday object popular during the Jin Dynasty,” Yan Yan said.

We look forward to Shanxi’s ancient porcelain receiving a “brand-new positioning.”

During a comparison between a porcelain pillow inscribed with an imperial poem by Emperor Qianlong—a treasure held in the Palace Museum—and ceramics from Shanxi, Yan Yan discovered that ancient Shanxi ceramics had long been “misunderstood.” This porcelain pillow was fired at the turn of the Song and Jin dynasties; its surface is decorated with a pearl-ground pattern. Emperor Qianlong greatly admired it, so he instructed the Imperial Workshops’ jade artisans to carve an imperial poem onto it: “In the porcelain of Dingzhou, the roughness still lingers; no need for elaborate coloring with pigments…” From the poem, we can see that Qianlong believed this porcelain pillow originated from the Ding kiln. However, after Yan Yan and ceramic experts meticulously compared it with samples from kiln sites and conducted thorough research, they confirmed that this porcelain pillow was not actually a product of the Ding kiln. Its true origin lies in the Jiexi Kiln in Shanxi. The pearl-ground patterns on this pillow are exceptionally deep and richly colored—not imprinted using the characteristic wooden tools of the Ding kiln, but rather carved with a metal tube. This very technique is precisely a hallmark of the Jiexi Kiln.

“According to the ‘Song Huiyao Jigao,’ at that time, the central government collected over 700 guan in taxes from the Hongshan kiln site in Jiexiu, Shanxi, and over 800 guan from the Dingzhou kiln site in Hebei. As we all know, the Ding kiln is renowned throughout the world; yet judging from the tax amounts collected, the two kiln sites were virtually neck and neck. From this, we can infer that the scale of the Shanxi kiln sites at that time was also quite impressive. Due to various historical reasons, Shanxi today has almost no active kiln sites left. Nevertheless, I firmly believe that ancient Shanxi ceramics undoubtedly had their own glorious chapter in the history of Chinese ceramics.” Yan Yan told reporters that although the exact quantity of ancient Shanxi ceramics remaining today remains unverifiable, as the academic and collecting communities gain a clearer understanding of these ancient pieces from Shanxi, more and more of them will come into public view. He also expressed his hope that ancient Shanxi ceramics could thereby attain a brand-new identity and no longer be lumped together with the kiln systems of Henan and Hebei.