--- title: "Chinese Porcelain Marks and How to Read Them: Ming and Qing Reign Marks, Blue and White and the Famous Kilns, With Pinyin" description: "How to read the marks on Chinese porcelain, 大清乾隆年製 and the other reign marks of the Ming and Qing, what porcelain is called in Chinese, why it is blue and white, the famous kilns, and 56 words with pinyin and sound." canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-porcelain" author: "Mandarin The Wild" --- Free · 56 words # Chinese porcelain and pottery [Print as flashcards](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-flashcards?level=mine&words=%E7%93%B7%E5%99%A8%20%E7%93%B7%20%E9%99%B6%E5%99%A8%20%E9%99%B6%E7%93%B7%20%E9%99%B6%20%E5%8F%A4%E8%91%A3%20%E6%96%87%E7%89%A9%20%E5%85%B5%E9%A9%AC%E4%BF%91%20%E9%9D%92%E8%8A%B1%E7%93%B7%20%E9%9D%92%E8%8A%B1%20%E9%9D%92%E7%93%B7%20%E7%99%BD%E7%93%B7%20%E5%94%90%E4%B8%89%E5%BD%A9%20%E5%BD%A9%E9%99%B6%20%E9%BB%91%E9%99%B6%20%E7%B4%AB%E7%A0%82%20%E7%B4%AB%E7%A0%82%E5%A3%B6%20%E6%99%AF%E6%B3%B0%E8%93%9D%20%E7%8F%90%E7%90%85%20%E7%AA%91%20%E5%AE%98%E7%AA%91%20%E6%99%AF%E5%BE%B7%E9%95%87%20%E5%AE%9C%E5%85%B4%20%E6%B1%9D%E7%AA%91%20%E9%92%A7%E7%AA%91%20%E5%93%A5%E7%AA%91%20%E5%AE%9A%E7%AA%91%20%E9%BE%99%E6%B3%89%E7%AA%91%20%E9%AB%98%E5%B2%AD%E5%9C%9F%20%E9%99%B6%E5%9C%9F%20%E9%87%89%20%E9%92%B4%20%E4%BA%94%E5%BD%A9%20%E6%AC%BE%20%E5%B9%B4%E5%8F%B7%20%E6%94%B6%E8%97%8F%20%E9%89%B4%E5%AE%9A%20%E4%BB%BF%E5%88%B6%20%E8%8A%B1%E7%93%B6%20%E7%93%B6%20%E7%A2%97%20%E7%9B%98%E5%AD%90%20%E7%BD%90%20%E8%8C%B6%E7%A2%97%20%E7%9B%96%E7%A2%97%20%E5%A4%A7%E6%98%8E%20%E5%A4%A7%E6%B8%85%20%E6%B0%B8%E4%B9%90%20%E5%AE%A3%E5%BE%B7%20%E6%88%90%E5%8C%96%20%E5%98%89%E9%9D%96%20%E4%B8%87%E5%8E%86%20%E5%BA%B7%E7%86%99%20%E9%9B%8D%E6%AD%A3%20%E4%B9%BE%E9%9A%86%20%E5%85%89%E7%BB%AA) Speed ## Common reign marks on Chinese porcelain, as written on the base | | In Chinese | Reign era | | --- | --- | --- | | Yongle mark | 大明永樂年製 dà Míng Yǒnglè nián zhì | Ming, 1403–1424; rare, and usually just four characters, 永樂年製 | | Xuande mark | 大明宣德年製 dà Míng Xuāndé nián zhì | Ming, 1426–1435 | | Chenghua mark | 大明成化年製 dà Míng Chénghuà nián zhì | Ming, 1465–1487; the most copied of all | | Jiajing mark | 大明嘉靖年製 dà Míng Jiājìng nián zhì | Ming, 1522–1566 | | Wanli mark | 大明萬曆年製 dà Míng Wànlì nián zhì | Ming, 1573–1620 | | Kangxi mark | 大清康熙年製 dà Qīng Kāngxī nián zhì | Qing, 1662–1722 | | Yongzheng mark | 大清雍正年製 dà Qīng Yōngzhèng nián zhì | Qing, 1723–1735 | | Qianlong mark | 大清乾隆年製 dà Qīng Qiánlóng nián zhì | Qing, 1736–1795; often in seal script | | Guangxu mark | 大清光緒年製 dà Qīng Guāngxù nián zhì | Qing, 1875–1908 | ## Porcelain and pottery cí瓷qì器 porcelain; chinaware cí瓷 porcelain; china táo陶qì器 pottery; earthenware táo陶cí瓷 ceramics; pottery and porcelain táo陶 pottery; ceramics gǔ古dǒng董 antique; curio wén文wù物 cultural relic; historical artifact bīng兵mǎ马yǒng俑 terracotta warriors; Terracotta Army ## Kinds of ware qīng青huā花cí瓷 blue-and-white porcelain qīng青huā花 blue and white porcelain qīng青cí瓷 celadon bái白cí瓷 white porcelain táng唐sān三cǎi彩 Tang tri-color glazed pottery cǎi彩táo陶 painted pottery hēi黑táo陶 black pottery (Neolithic) zǐ紫shā砂 purple clay (used for Yixing teapots) zǐ紫shā砂hú壶 Yixing clay teapot; purple clay teapot jǐng景tài泰lán蓝 cloisonné enamel fà珐láng琅 enamel; cloisonné ## Kilns and places yáo窑 kiln guān官yáo窑 imperial kiln; official porcelain jǐng景dé德zhèn镇 Jingdezhen (city in Jiangxi, famous for porcelain) yí宜xīng兴 Yixing (city in Jiangsu, famous for teapots) rǔ汝yáo窑 Ru kiln; Ru ware (Song porcelain) jūn钧yáo窑 Jun kiln; Jun ware (Song dynasty porcelain) gē哥yáo窑 Ge kiln (famous Song dynasty kiln) dìng定yáo窑 Ding kiln (famous Song dynasty kiln) lóng龙quán泉yáo窑 Longquan kiln; Longquan celadon ware ## Clay, glaze and marks gāo高lǐng岭tǔ土 kaolin; china clay táo陶tǔ土 potter's clay; kaolin yòu釉 glaze (on ceramics) gǔ钴 cobalt wǔ五cǎi彩 multicolored; colorful kuǎn款 inscription (on a painting or calligraphy, as in 落款, 题款) nián年hào号 reign title; era name shōu收cáng藏 to collect; collection jiàn鉴dìng定 to appraise; to identify fǎng仿zhì制 to copy; to imitate ## Shapes huā花píng瓶 vase píng瓶 bottle; vase wǎn碗 bowl pán盘zi子 plate; dish guàn罐 jar; pot chá茶wǎn碗 teacup; tea bowl gài盖wǎn碗 lidded tea bowl ## Names in the marks dà大míng明 the Great Ming (dynasty) dà大qīng清 Great Qing (the Qing dynasty, 1644-1911) yǒng永lè乐 Yongle (Ming emperor's reign title, 1403-1424) xuān宣dé德 Xuande (Ming reign period, 1426-1435) chéng成huà化 Chenghua (reign of Ming emperor, 1465-1487) jiā嘉jìng靖 Jiajing (Ming emperor's reign title, 1522-1566) wàn万lì历 Wanli (Ming emperor reign title, 1573-1620) kāng康xī熙 Kangxi Emperor (reigned 1661-1722) of the Qing dynasty yōng雍zhèng正 Yongzheng (reign name of the Qing emperor, 1723-1735) qián乾lóng隆 Qianlong (Qing emperor, reigned 1735-1796) guāng光xù绪 Guangxu (Qing emperor's reign title, 1875-1908) ## Now read them in a real story [**十两饺子**How to order dumplings in ChineseHSK 1 · 1 minRead it free](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/how-to-order-dumplings-in-chinese) ## How do you read the marks on Chinese porcelain? Most imperial marks have six characters in two columns of three, read from the top of the right-hand column down, then the left: the dynasty, 大明 (dà Míng) or 大清 (dà Qīng), the reign name, 年号 (niánhào), such as 康熙 (Kāngxī), and 年制 (nián zhì), made in the reign of. So 大清康熙年製 is “made in the Kangxi reign of the Great Qing”. A four-character mark leaves out the dynasty, from the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns many marks are in seal script, 篆书 (zhuànshū), and like all the old marks they are written in traditional characters: 製 for 制, and 萬曆 for 万历 (Wànlì). The mark on the base is a 款 (kuǎn). Be careful: potters copied earlier marks in every period, out of respect or to sell, so a mark is where to start, not proof of age. ## What is Chinese porcelain called in Chinese? 瓷器 (cíqì), or just 瓷 (cí); pottery is 陶器 (táoqì), and the two together, ceramics, 陶瓷 (táocí). English calls porcelain “china” because it came from China. Porcelain is made with kaolin, 高岭土 (gāolǐngtǔ), named after Gaoling, a hill near Jingdezhen, and fired hotter than pottery, at about 1,300 °C, so it comes out white, hard and thin enough to let light through. ## Why is Chinese porcelain blue and white? Blue and white, 青花瓷 (qīnghuācí), is painted in cobalt, 钴 (gǔ), on the white body under a clear glaze, 釉 (yòu), and fired once, so the blue never wears off. It took off in the Yuan dynasty in the 1300s, with cobalt brought from Persia, at the kilns of 景德镇 (Jǐngdézhèn), and was shipped across Asia, the Middle East and later Europe, where it was copied as Delftware and willow pattern. ## Where and when was porcelain invented? In China. Early porcelain appears by the Eastern Han dynasty, about 1,800 years ago, and fine white porcelain by the Sui and Tang. The Song dynasty had five famous kilns, 汝窑 (Rǔ yáo), 官窑 (guān yáo), 哥窑 (Gē yáo), 钧窑 (Jūn yáo) and 定窑 (Dìng yáo), and celadon, 青瓷 (qīngcí), from 龙泉 (Lóngquán). From the Ming, the imperial kilns at 景德镇, the porcelain capital, made the pieces for the court. ## What do the patterns on Chinese porcelain mean? Most are wishes, as in paper cutting and New Year pictures. A five-clawed dragon, 龙 (lóng), was for the emperor and a phoenix, 凤 (fèng), for the empress; peonies, 牡丹 (mǔdan), mean wealth; a lotus, 莲 (lián), purity; fish, 鱼 (yú), a surplus, 余 (yú); bats, 蝠 (fú), good fortune, 福 (fú); and peaches, 桃 (táo), a long life. ## Is there a Chinese way of fixing broken pottery with gold? Mending with gold lacquer is the Japanese kintsugi, known in China as 金缮 (jīnshàn). The old Chinese way is 锔瓷 (jūcí): a mender drills tiny holes with a diamond drill, 金刚钻 (jīngāngzuàn), and clamps the pieces with metal staples. It gave a saying: 没有金刚钻，别揽瓷器活 (méiyǒu jīngāngzuàn, bié lǎn cíqì huó), without a diamond drill, don’t take on porcelain work: don’t take a job you lack the skill for. ## Can’t hear it? Play uses your device’s Mandarin voice. Edge, Chrome and Safari have one; a browser with none plays each character in our recorded voice instead. ## More Chinese culture - [Chinese good luck charms and symbols](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-good-luck-charms) - [Chinese dynasties in order](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-dynasties) - [Chinese scripts through history](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-scripts) - [Chinese tea names](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-tea-names) Words, pinyin and meanings from our own dictionary; the reign eras and history from Wikipedia’s Chinese ceramics, Jingdezhen porcelain and Chinese era name. We do not date or value pieces.