In 1991, a large Song Dynasty porcelain hoard was discovered in Goldfish Village, Suining City. After cleaning and excavating, 985 pieces of porcelain were unearthed, among which a number of extremely precious porcelain from Longquan Kiln of the Southern Song Dynasty were regarded as national treasures.

Southern Song Dynasty Longquan kiln green glaze dish mouth string pattern porcelain vases Sichuan Song Dynasty porcelain museum

Blue Glazed Cong Porcelain Vase from Longquan Kiln of Southern Song Dynasty, Sichuan Song Porcelain Museum

Southern Song Dynasty Longquan kiln blue glaze lotus leaf covered porcelain pot Sichuan Song Dynasty Porcelain Museum

 In fact, many local museums in China have collections of Longquan kiln porcelain, which shows how large the scale of production was at that time.

Southern Song Dynasty Longquan Kiln pile plastic flat dragon lotus flap lid jar, Shanghai Museum

Southern Song Dynasty Longquan Kiln Panlong Bottle Wenzhou Museum

Yuan Longquan Kiln Plum Green Glaze Double Ear Belt Ring Porcelain Vase Sichuan Museum

In fact, the porcelain of Longquan Kiln has always attracted the attention of the palace. The Palace Museum in Beijing and the Palace Museum in Taipei have a large number of Longquan Kiln porcelain collections. It can be said that in terms of the collection of Longquan Kiln, the collections of the Palace Museum on both sides of the Taiwan Strait complement each other with splendor.

Song Dragon Spring Kiln Green Glazed Cong Style Bottle Palace Museum

Song Long Spring Kiln, Green Glazed Cong Bottle, Taipei Palace Museum

The Palace Museum with green glaze carved with pomegranate from the Ming Longquan Kiln

Ming-longquan kiln green glaze engraving pomegranate statue of Taipei Palace Museum

Since the Song Dynasty, Longquan Kiln has become a famous kiln. The porcelain produced by Longquan Kiln is not only sold in China, but also exported to Asia, Europe and even Australia and Africa. Today, we can still see celadon from Longquan Kiln in museums in Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and many other countries.

Yuan Longquan kiln carved Ling Kou large Topkapi Palace

Topkapi Palace is a royal palace in Istanbul, Turkey. It was the official residence and main residence of the Ottoman sultans from 1465 to 1853, and has been a museum of the imperial era since 1924. The Topkapi Palace Museum houses many treasures of Longquan kiln porcelain from the Yuan Dynasty, which bears witness to the close relationship between the Yuan Dynasty and Western Asia.

Yuan Long Quanyao exposed fetal dragon grain large Topkappa Palace

Dragon kiln cloud dragon pattern folded along the large Topkapi Palace

Yuan Longquan kiln twine peony grain beast ear bit ring bottle top kappa palace

In our neighboring country -- Japan, we can see a lot of Longquan celadon, which originated from the Japanese people's admiration for Chinese culture.

Southern Song Longquan Kiln Arge Pi Furnace Fuji Museum, Tokyo

As early as the Sui and Tang dynasties, the Japanese had a longing for China's advanced system and culture. Therefore, I also like to pursue all kinds of utensils from China, and Chinese porcelain is no exception.

Southern Song Dynasty Longquan Kiln Cong Bottle, Fuji Art Museum, Tokyo

As famous kilns in the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Longquan porcelain naturally became the objects they were keen to collect. Therefore, in Japan, major museums, conglomerates, temples and antique dealers are keen to collect the fine celadon of Longquan Kiln.

Southern Song Dynasty celadon and phoenix ear bottle from Longquan kiln, Osaka City Toyo Ceramic Museum

Yuan Longquan Kiln Point Brown Colorful Jade Jettle Spring Bottle Osaka City Toyo Ceramic Museum

For the Japanese, celadon from Longquan kiln is not only a representative of advanced Chinese culture, but also in line with their worship of Zen.

Southern Song Dynasty Longquan Kiln Green Glaze Flower Mouth Bowl Tokyo National Museum

Since the introduction of Zen Buddhism from China in Kamakura Era, it has gradually formed a unique ideological system, which runs through all aspects of Japanese life.

Southern Song Dynasty Longquan Kiln Pi Arge Furnace Out of Light Art Museum

Southern Song Dynasty Longquan Kiln string grain perforated ear bottle out of light art gallery

   The overall style of Longquan celadon is subtle and quiet, dignified and simple in shape, smooth in line, and pure and clear in color. It is in harmony with the three aesthetics of tranquility, simplicity and nature advocated by Zen Buddhism, and nature has become a synonym for the beauty of Zen.

Southern Song Dynasty Longquan celadon bottle with phoenix ear, Japanese White Crane Art Museum

In Europe and the United States, the beauty of Longquan Kiln comes from their curiosity to the mysterious ancient country of the East and their yearning for fine porcelain. When westerners first saw the fine porcelain from China, they were amazed at how exquisitely the Oriental wares could be cooked. Because of their love for Chinese porcelain, porcelain naturally became a staple commodity in Chinese trade with Europe.

Southern Song Dynasty Longquan Kiln Gui Furnace British Museum

Another interesting story about Longquan celadon in Europe is that when Europeans first saw Longquan celadon from China, they didn't know how to describe the glaze color. At that time, there was an opera, in which the hero Shiraitong wore the same color as the Longquan celadon, and both were loved by the French and even Europeans, so people used "Shiraitong" to call Longquan celadon.

Southern song dynasty long spring kiln green glaze string grain long neck dish mouth bottle Da Wei De foundation

Yuanlong Quan Kiln Mei Bottle Da Wei De Foundation

In the Records of the Kingdom of Portugal, a record of China's porcelain trade with the West, Europeans called Longquan celadon "the most beautiful thing ever invented, more lovely to look at than all gold, silver, or crystal. "It can be seen that they cherish Longquan celadon.

Southern Song Dynasty Longquan kiln made of chi dragon five tube bottles Ashmolean Museum in England

Today, we can often see Longquan celadon in major museums in the United States. These exquisite porcelain snot only witness the enthusiasm of people all over the world for these porcelain sbut also show that Longquan porcelains played the role of Chinese cultural ambassadors around the world.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in Yuanlong

Early Ming Dynasty Longquan Kiln carved flower pattern of the large Metropolitan Museum of Art

Yuan Longquan Kiln Paste Flower Pattern Honors Detroit Art Museum

Yuan Longquan Kiln is attached to the Cleveland Museum of Art with floral patterns

Yuan dragon spring kiln play pearl dragon pattern folds along a plate at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Yuan dragon kiln play pearl dragon pattern folding along the plate of Boston museum of art

Minneapolis Museum of Art

From the Longquan porcelain of these museums at home and abroad, we can see not only the prosperity of Longquan celadon at that time, but also the prosperity of trade and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. This is exactly what a big country should have.