Ming Vases

The Ming Dynasty, which was established by Zhu Yuan Zhang, ruled China from 1368 to 1644.(→ Ming’s first ruler assumed the t_______ in the fourteenth century.) It is notable for several major achievements, including throwing off the  of Mongol rule, setting the southern borders of China, moving the imperial capital to Beijing, and adopting / adapting  the Mandarin dialect as the official language of the court and governmental administration. (       ), at present, what most people remember the Ming Dynasty for is the talent of its ceramic makers, who made pottery, particularly vases, which can fetch millions of dollars at auctions.

Prior to the a_______ of the Ming Dynasty, the Chinese had been making pottery for centuries, primarily for u________ purposes but also for decoration.(→It was the time when the Chinese first began to make ceramic vases. T / F) The country was fortunate to have an a________ of deposits of fine clays that could easily be transformed into pottery. Most early Chinese pottery was celadon; it was green because the high iron content in the clay made the finish turn that color when f_____. Later, the Chinese discovered deposits of fine white clay, called kaolin, near the city of Jingdezhen in southeastern China. This led to the creation of porcelain ceramics.

(→ It can be made when it contains the clay called ______.)

Over time, Chinese artisans perfected the art of putting fine designs on ceramics. Many were of animals, such as birds, and flowers while designs of mythical beasts such as dragons were also common. Of _______ was a preference for white ceramic vases with blue patterns on the g______ finish. At first, the Chinese had difficulty with the color blue because the mineral cobalt, which was used to make blue dyes, tended to bleed when fired in ; however, by adding manganese to the cobalt dyes, this problem was overcome. Blue was not the only color utilized as red, green, yellow, and orange colors were also favored, but blue-white vases and other similar ceramics are more highly prized for their beauty in modern times.

This style for vases was not n______ to China when the Ming Dynasty was established, but by the early fifteenth century, Ming vase makers had attained new heights of skill and design. New r______ for mixing kaolin enabled them to create thinner yet stronger vases. New glazes were more translucent, permitting a glossier finish.

← How to i________ the quality of their ceramics.

(Ming vase makers

-made vases that looked very s_____ when they were completed.

-created ceramics that were not as thin / thick as others but were stronger.)

A wider variety of shapes of vases and other ceramics appeared during this period, which was a t_________ to the skill of the craftsmen and their imaginations. Ming rulers began ordering vast quantities / qualities of ceramics for their own use and for c________ purposes. One record shows that during the reign of Emperor Xuande in 1433, he ordered more than 400,000 pieces from imperial ceramic makers.(Emperor Xuande is used as an example of a person responsible for the c_______ of enormous numbers of Ming ceramics.)

Such a large order was not merely for d______ use as China had extensive trade networks reaching as far as Africa and Europe during the Ming Dynasty. Huge trading f______ sailed the South Pacific and Indian oceans while extensive caravans traveled, overland on the Silk Road to reach the Middle East. Most of the cobalt used in Chinese ceramics came from Iran.(→ Chinese ceramics frequently relied upon materials that were i_______ from other lands.) Large numbers of Ming ceramics, including vases, reached Arabian and European markets. This trade is s________ as being one reason so many Ming Dynasty ceramics have survived to modern times. However, when shopping for Ming products, buyers must be conscious of fakes. A true Ming vase has a reign mark on its bottom. This is a series of four or six Chinese c_______ indicating which e______ the ceramic product came from. In six-character r_____ marks, the first two characters name the d______, the next two name the reigning emperor, and the last two always read “made for” in Chinese. In four-character reign marks, the dynasty name is omitted.

This has made it virtually impossible for regular people to determine the authenticity of a ceramic that is said to have been made during the Ming Dynasty.

A well-designed reign mark should indicate that the ceramic is an a________ work from the Ming Dynasty. ❶However, to complicate matters, for many centuries after the dynasty ended, Chinese artists marked their ceramics with the names of Ming emperors to bestow honor upon them. ❷Today, only experts can v_____ whether objects were made during the Ming Dynasty or in periods afterward. The prices of Ming ceramics, including vases, vary but are typically expensive, and authentic Ming pieces in pristine condition sell for millions of dollars. This was the case for one blue and white Ming vase that was recently sold for the price of 6.2 million dollars.

왕위를 계승하다

ornamental / specific

practical / official

⦗단수취급⦘ 제도술(製陶術), 요업;

⦗복수취급⦘ 도자기류.

=

enabled them to make a dye that could be easily a______to pottery

=

opaque / smooth

radiant / unique

be a testament to something

proving or showing very clearly that something exists or is true

a group of ships

The u______ of design marks on ceramics made after the Ming Dynasty ended

= o