德化瓷 Te-hua porcelain

   德化位于福建省中部，是泉州市西南部的一个山区小县。这里丰茂的山林和质地优良的瓷土矿藏造就了享誉世界的德化瓷。据民间传说德化瓷于宋朝开始烧制。近年来考古发现，德化窑始烧年代为商周时期。德化瓷以烧制白釉瓷器闻名于世，白瓷洁白如玉，透光度好，釉面晶莹光亮，被誉为“中国白”。唐代之前，德化陶瓷以生产日用器具为主，产品供本地民众日常所需。宋元时期，凭借泉州港日益兴盛的海外贸易，德化瓷开始大量销往“海上丝绸之路”沿途各个国家和地区。德化瓷作为古代中国南方外销瓷生产的大窑场之一，在古代中国与世界各国的文化互动中起到过很大的作用。2006年“德化瓷烧制工艺”被国务院公布为第一批国家级非物质文化遗产。

 Located in the middle of Fujian province, Te-hua is a small county in the southwest of Quanzhou. The lush forest and fine quality porcelain clay make Te-hua porcelain very famous. It is said that Te-hua porcelain began in Song dynasty, but it was found to be started in Shang and Zhou periods based on the new archeological findings. The most famous type of Te-hua porcelain is its ceramic white ware. The ceramic white ware is as white as polished jade, and its appearance is crystal. It has won the good reputation as “Chinese white”. Before Tang Dynasty, Te-hua porcelain was mainly for local people of everyday use. With the development of Port of Quanzhou during Song and Yuan Dynasties, Te-hua porcelain started to be sold to the countries along the famous “Maritime Silk Road”. As one of the largest exporting kilns in South China, Te-hua porcelain had a large significance in cultural interaction between ancient China and other countries. Te-hua porcelain has been listed among the first batch of national nonmaterial cultural heritage in 2006 by State Council.