High Middle Ages · East Asia · Technology

1065

Song Dynasty Advances Porcelain Kiln Technology

1065

Song potters in Jingdezhen and other kiln centers achieved new breakthroughs in ceramic technology, producing celadon and white wares of a translucency that astonished the world. Continuous-firing dragon kilns climbing hillsides reached temperatures above 1,300 degrees Celsius, and new glaze formulas yielded colors - jade-green, sky-blue, moonlight-white - that no other civilization could replicate. Song porcelain became the most sought-after luxury good on earth, traded from Japan to Egypt.