Jingdezhen

Throughout both the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the area of present-day Jingdezhen belonged to the Chu State.[2] After the fall of the Chu, the area was incorporated into the Qin Dynasty as part of Fan County (番县) in Jiujiang Commandery.[2] Under the Han Dynasty, the area belonged to Poyang County (鄱阳县) in Yuzhang Commandery.[2] Under the Han Dynasty, the particular area of future Jingdezhen was known as Xinping (新平).[2] Historical records show that it was during this time that it began to make porcelain.[3]

The town was established during the Jin Dynasty under the name Changnan (昌南),[2] due to its location on the south bank of the Chang river.[4] The town's name would be changed twice, first in 742 CE to Fuliang (浮梁), and then in 1004 to Jingdezhen, its current name,[2] after the era name of the Emperor Zhenzong of Song during whose reign its porcelain production first rose to fame.[5] The town was placed under the jurisdiction of Fuliang County.[2]

In the Ming and Qing dynasties, Jingdezhen was considered one of China's four great towns in terms of commercial and industrial importance. The others were Foshan in Guangdong, Hankou in Hubei, and Zhuxian in Henan.[6]

In 1855 during the Taiping Rebellion, Taiping forces destroyed all 9,000 kilns in Jingdezhen. They would be rebuilt after the war in 1866.

In the 19th century, Jingdezhen became a county.

On April 29, 1949, Communist forces took the city.[2]

May 4, 1949, it was upgraded to a prefecture city. However, to honor its history, Jingdezhen retained it the word zhen meaning town in its name. Usually when a town is upgraded to a city, the designation of shi meaning city replaces that of zhen.[7]

On June, 1953 Jindezhen was upgraded into a provincial level city.[7]

In 1960, Fuliang County was merged into the city.[2]

Jingdezhen was named one of top 24 national historical and cultural cities of the People's Republic of China on February 28, 1982.[8]

In July 1983, Leping County was also merged into the city.[2] In October 1988, Fuliang County was re-established, and in September 1992, Leping County was re-established as a county-level city.[2]

In 2004, Jingdezhen celebrated the millennium of its becoming the porcelain capital and it is assuming its present name.

Due to the relatively low cost of living and the heritage of the porcelain industry, Jingdezhen has become a haven for young artists from all over China, who are often referred to known as Jingpiao (景漂).[4][5][9]

Topographic Map of Jingdezhen

Jingdezhen is situated in the north-east of Jiangxi and borders on Anhui; the city center area is located in the north-east of the Poyang Lake Plain. Its area is 5,256 km² (2,029 sq mi).[10] The highest point is 1,618 m (5,308 ft), with plains on the southern part having an average altitude of 200 m (660 ft).

There are some cities and counties between Jiangxi and Anhui Province around Jingdezhen. To its north, northwest and northeast are Dongzhi, Xiuning and Qimen County of Anhui province. To its south are Wannian County and Yiyang County. To its west is Boyang County. Lastly, to its southeast are Wuyuan County and Dexing City.

Jingdezhen's natural resources include kaolin, coal, manganese, and lime, but it is the kaolin that has made the city famous in China and the world. For over a millennium, its unique kaolin has enabled Jingdezhen to make high-quality porcelain. (The word "Kaolin" came from "Gaoling" or "Kaoling", a village located in Ehu Town, Fuliang County, Jingdezhen).[11][12]

The city of Jingdezhen is divided into 4 county-level divisions: Zhushan District, Changjiang District, Fuliang County, and the county-level city of Leping.[2] These 4 county-level divisions administer 52 township-level divisions, and 687 village-level divisions.[2]

Map
Zhushan Changjiang Fuliang County Leping (city)

Porcelain workshop in Jingdezhen

Jingdezhen may have produced pottery as early as the sixth century CE, though it is named after the reign name of Emperor Zhenzong, in whose reign it became a major kiln site, around 1004. By the 14th century it had become the largest centre of production of Chinese porcelain, which it has remained, increasing its dominance in subsequent centuries. For several centuries, almost all top quality Chinese porcelain has come from the town.[15] From the Ming period onwards, official kilns in Jingdezhen were controlled by the emperor, making "imperial porcelain" in large quantity for the court and the emperor to give as gifts.

Although apparently an unpromising location for potteries, being a remote town in a hilly region, Jingdezhen is close to the best quality deposits of petuntse, or porcelain stone, in China, as well as being surrounded by forests, mostly of pine, providing wood for the kilns. It also has a river leading to river systems flowing north and south, facilitating transport of fragile wares.[16] The imperial kilns were in the centre of the city at Zhushan (Pearl Hill), with many other kilns four kilometres away at Hutian.[17]

It has produced a great variety of pottery and porcelain, for the Chinese market and as Chinese export porcelain, but its best-known high quality porcelain wares have been successively Qingbai ware in the Song and Yuan dynasties, blue and white porcelain from the 1330s, and the "famille rose" and other "famille" colours under the Qing dynasty. The town continues to produce cheaper tablewares in great quantity, as well as more expensive decorative pieces. During the Cultural Revolution, Jingdezhen produced a large number of porcelain Mao badges and statues of a seated Mao Zedong.

Jingdezhen porcelain has fetched record prices at auctions, with a blue and white porcelain jar produced during the Yuan dynasty auctioning for $27.7 million in London in 2005,[18] and a porcelain cup produced during the Ming dynasty auctioning for $36.3 million in 2014.[3]

• 
  Jingdezhen soft paste porcelain flower holder, "Famille Rose", 1736–1796, Qianlong period
• 
  Jingdezhen blue and white plate, mid-14th century
• 
  Early Kangxi 17th century, Jingdezhen Ware, Nantoyōsō Collection, Japan
• 
  Ming plate with grape design, 15th century, Jingdezhen kilns, Jiangxi, British Museum
• 
  Wine Jar with Carp among Water Weeds and Lotuses, 16th century, The Walters Art Museum

Jingdezhen serves as an important industrial and commercial base in Jiangxi Province. In 2018, Jingdezhen achieved a GDP of 92.611 billion yuan.[2] Of this, 6.62% of the city's GDP came from its primary sector, 44.22% came from its secondary sector, and the remaining 49.16% came from its tertiary sector.[2]

As of 2018, the per capita disposable income of urban residents in the city is ¥37,183, which ranks third among prefecture-level divisions in Jiangxi (behind Nanchang and Xinyu).[2] Per capita disposable income for rural residents for 2018 is ¥16,510, which ranks fourth among prefecture-level divisions in Jiangxi (behind Pingxiang, Xinyu, and Nanchang).[2]

For 2018, the city's public budget revenue was ¥8.98555 billion, and its public budget expenditure was ¥20.43550 billion.[2]

Industry

The French SA 321 Super Frelon, which Changhe produces under license as the Z-8

There are some important industrial enterprises in Jingdezhen City, such as Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation; Jingdezhen Ceramics; Jingdezhen Refrigeration Compressor, etc.

Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation, a subsidiary of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, is based in Jingdezhen.[19] The firm, established in 1969, mainly sells helicopters to the People's Liberation Army, but also does business with firms such as Boeing, Sikorsky, and Leonardo.[19] Changhe produces aircraft parts for the Boeing 767-300BCF.

Jiangxi Changhe Automobile Co Ltd, commonly known as Changhe, is an automotive firm owned by BAIC Group which is based in the city.[20] The firm is forecast to produce 53,400 vehicles in 2019.[2]

Jingdezhen Ceramics Co Ltd (景德镇陶瓷股份有限公司) is a joint venture with a French company and is most famous of Jingdezhen's ceramic companies. In February 2002, then-CCP General Secretary Jiang Zemin presented a porcelain set produced by the company under its Hongye (红叶) brand to U.S. President George W. Bush.[21]

Jingdezhen Refrigeration Compressor Company is well known in China for its non-Eph refrigeration compressor. It holds a 20% share of its market in China.

Jingdezhen is the most important transportation hub in the northeast region of Jiangxi province. Historically, Jingdezhen's main communication route was via the Chang River. It could ship its porcelain down the Chang to Poyang Lake and connected there with the Yangtze River in Hukou County, Jiangxi Province. From there the porcelain could get to the coast for export. Today, the city is connected to the rest of China via road, rail, and air.

Jingdezhen has 4 higher education institutions, 110 secondary schools, 328 primary schools, and 4 special education schools.[2]

The city's 4 higher education institutions are the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute (JCI), Jingdezhen College, Jiangxi Ceramic Arts and Crafts Vocational and Technical College (江西陶瓷工艺美术职业技术学院), and Jingdezhen Ceramic Vocational and Technical College (景德镇陶瓷职业技术学院).

Among the city's secondary schools is the No.1 Middle School of Jingdezhen, which was founded in 1940. It is famous for its success rate, relative to other schools in Jiangxi Province, in placing its students in Chinese colleges.[24]

Jingdezhen has more than 20 medical service institutions with a total 2182 beds. Doctors and nurses number 2,672. It has the largest hospital system in the north-east of Jiangxi Province. The No.1, No.2 and No.3 People's Hospital of Jingdezhen are the most important hospitals in the city; the No.4 People's Hospital is a psychiatric hospital.

• : Arita, Saga, Japan
• : Seto, Aichi, Japan[25]
• : Icheon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• : Redbridge, London, UK
• : Delft, South Holland, Netherlands
• : Door County, Wisconsin, US

• Curtis, Julia B., Stephen Little & Mary Ann Rogers, Trade taste and transformation, Jingdezhen porcelain for Japan, 1620–1645, New York, China Institute Gallery, 2006. ISBN 0-9774054-0-0

• Official site of the Jingdezhen Government (Languages: English, Chinese)

• Krahl, Regina, "Jingdezhen" Grove Art Online, Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 2 Nov. 2016. subscription required
• Rawson, Jessica, Chinese Ornament: The Lotus and the Dragon, 1984, British Museum Publications, ISBN 0714114316
• Vainker, S.J., Chinese Pottery and Porcelain, 1991, British Museum Press, ISBN 9780714114705