Pottery is an art form that is significant in China because they mastered the form before any western civilization did. The Chinese artists figured out how to fire the pottery so that it would become hard to different degrees, based on their preference for their work, and they discovered new types of clay to make different types of pottery, and discovered different ways to decorate their pottery, including painting, carving, and different glazes.

Until the development of true porcelain, the Chinese people only made clay vessels of stoneware or earthenware. These clays were mainly colored by mineral impurities in the clay, usually iron compounds, which colored anywhere from yellow to brownish black.

Earthenware is clay that has been fired at a relatively low temperature in a kiln or open pit. These items remained somewhat soft and porous, which allowed liquids and air to seep through. An example of this earthenware style pottery is the vases from the Yangshao culture. These pots were found in the Gansu Province. They date to the mid-third millennium BC, and are fine examples of Chinese earthenware because they show the Chinese early mastery of the art of making pottery.

Stoneware is the same type of clay that is used for earthenware vessels, except it is fired to extremely high temperatures, up to 2000 degrees fahrenheit, which makes the clay harder and more solid and better for holding things. This new form was favored because it gave the pottery more durability and usefulness.

The pottery was decorated in various ways. One method was to rely on the changes which occurred in the kiln, changing the color of the natural impurities of the clay. Another method was to paint over the clay. Some pieces were carved into or glazed over to give a decorative look.

Chinese artists did not only use earthenware and stoneware for their pottery. They also used porcelain, made from a type of clay called kaolin, which was mixed with ground petuntse. Porcelain is, like stoneware, fired at extremely high temperatures, and is decorated mainly with underglaze which is applied to the piece before firing, and overglaze which is applied to the piece after firing. The underglaze fully bonds to the piece in the kiln, but there are fewer colors possible, while with the overglaze has more colors, but doesn’t bond as fully to the piece.

The art of pottery is important to Chinese culture because they were the first to master it and develop it until it was perfected. The Chinese people have used pottery since their beginning and it defines the Chinese culture. Pottery is a good way for artists to express themselves, while making something that is useful too.