陶瓷是陶器和瓷器的合称。中国陶瓷历史悠久，种类繁多，制作精美，是中国古代劳动人民的伟大发明。在唐宋以来一千多年的时间里，中国陶瓷源源不断地输送到海外，为中国文化增添了光彩，为世界文明做出了贡献。本篇主要介绍陶器、瓷器的特点。
1.什么是中国陶器？
What are Chinese pottery and porcelain?
Pottery and porcelain refer to all products that are made of a mixture of clay, feldspar and quartz, through shaping, drying and firing. Chinese pottery and porcelain go back to distant antiquity and have played an important role in cultural development of Chinese society. China is among the first countries in the world to use pottery, and China has been recognized as the“home of porcelain,”the word“china”being synonymous with porcelain. Throughout the ages, China’s porcelain has been admired and valued by the world for its usefulness and beauty.
Notes：1）feldspar长石；2）quartz石英
2.在中国，最早的陶器有什么特点？
What are the features of the earliest pottery vessels in China?
The earliest pottery vessels so far found in China are those unearthed at the sites in Xinzheng, Wu’an and Yuyao counties. The vessels found at the Hemudu site have large quantities of organic matter such as grass, powdered leaves and seed hulls from a grass family mixed with the clay. Firing turned the organic matter to charcoal, which made the pottery black. These vessels were entirely hand-made and fired at a fairly low temperature. The walls of the vessel body were rather thick, and their appearance was simple and irregular. Jars were often uneven in thickness, and the color was not properly curved. Some were even distorted in appearance, which indicates that the art at that time was very primitive.
Notes：1）powdered粉末（状）的；2）hull壳；荚；3）irregular无规律的；4）uneven参差不齐
3.原始社会彩陶的特点是什么？
What are features of painted pottery in primitive society?
Primitive cultures produced painted pottery utensils, especially during the periods of the Yangshao Culture, Daxi Culture and the Qujialing Culture. Potters also produced painted cauldrons, tripods and ovens for cooking, as well as rings, beads and other small objects for use and ornaments. These designs were well arranged and graceful. Most were painted on a red pottery background.
Primitive dwellers on the Central Plains used parallel lines, circles, checks, waves and herring patterns in accordance with the shape of the vessels. Pottery unearthed in Huaxian County, Shanxi Province, has a pattern of standing swans and flying wild birds; vessels found in Banpo Village have patterns of wild deer and long-tailed aquatic birds with fish in their beaks. One pottery basin was painted with the smiling face of a man who wore a fish-shaped headdress.
During the period of the Longshan Culture, the pottery manufacture changed from clan ownership to family ownership. Pottery vessels achieved regularity of shape. The paste was even, and some vessels’ walls were as thin as eggshell. This kind of pottery is known as“eggshell black pottery (蛋壳陶).”The black color was due to a relatively high charcoal content. Utensils and vessels made of black pottery include bowls, basins, plates and others, such as the gui (簋), a three-legged cooking vessel with a handle, and jia (斝), wine goblets, which were new products that did not exist in the Yangshao Period.
Notes：1）The Daxi Culture大溪文化；2）The Qujialing Culture屈家岭文化；3）cauldron大锅；4）tripod三脚架；5）dweller居住者； 6）herring鲱鱼；7）aquatic水生的；8）manufacture（大量）制造；9）regularity规则性；10）eggshell蛋壳；11）goblet高脚杯
4.瓷器与陶器有哪些区别？
What is the difference between porcelain and pottery?
Chinese pottery and porcelain go back to distant antiquity and have played an important role in cultural development of Chinese society. Porcelain differs from pottery in the following respects:
a. Common clay can be used to form the basic material of pottery. Porcelain requires specific materials including pure white gaoling clay, feldspar and quartz.
b. A pottery base body is usually fired into a fixed shape at a fairly low temperature between 800℃ and 1,100℃ (degrees centigrade). Porcelain has a coating of vitreous glaze that is fired at a temperature of at least 1,200℃ until tough crystals appear. Common clay made for a pottery base body cannot become porcelain, but instead will be melted into glassiness when fired at a temperature of 1,200℃ and above.
c. A pottery base body is opaque, and even its wall is as thin as an egg-shell. A porcelain base body appears semitransparent regardless of wall-thickness.
d. A pottery base body is not fired completely due to the low temperature of the heat during the firing process. This process results in a porous material that produces an unclear ringing sound when struck. A porcelain base body is non-porous for it is fired completely due to the high temperature of the heat during the firing process. Accordingly, porcelain produces a clear ringing sound like the sound of struck metal.
e. There are two types of pottery, one being glazed and the other unglazed. In the Han Dynasty diverse types of glazed pottery were manufactured in large quantities. There are two types of porcelain glaze. One type of glaze is used to coat a porcelain base body. Both the coating and the body are together fired at a high temperature. The other type is called a low-temperature glaze, which is used to coat an unglazed porcelain base body after the body has completed its high temperature heating. The newly-coated body is fired again at a low temperature.
f. Mankind shares the invention of pottery, and China is among the first countries in the world to use pottery. Porcelain is often called china because it was first made in China.
Notes：1）glassiness玻璃质；2）regardless of不管……；3）non-porous无孔的；4）mankind人类；5）invention发明
5.瓷器是什么时候发明的？
When was Chinese porcelain invented?
Academic circles still debate when this occurred. Some scholars think that porcelain originated in the Wei and Jin dynasties; others look to the date of the origin within the Eastern Han Dynasty or the Three Kingdoms Period. The most recent viewpoint, based on new data and chemical findings from 1972, claims that porcelain goes back to the Shang and Zhou dynasties.