Despite China inventing porcelain and dominating worldwide production and trade for centuries, from the 19th century, due to the Western world's industrialization, the entire Chinese porcelain industry lagged far behind.

Episode 7: The 72 processes of making porcelain

May 30th, 2020 8m 16s

Traditionally, there are 72 steps involved in the making of one Chinese porcelain piece. Other traditional crafts, like weaving, blacksmithing or carpentry, usually take place in a small workshop with simple procedures. Why does porcelain makin

Episode 6: The rise of European porcelain producers

May 29th, 2020 10m 21s

Even though porcelain originated in China, only a few commercial brands were created there. Despite being 1,000 years behind, the European porcelain industry was soon developing its own porcelain brands. What happened?

Episode 5: Imari ware and a story lost in the mists of time

May 28th, 2020 7m 31s

Imari is a style of porcelain named after the Japanese port from which it was shipped to the West. At around the same period, the Chinese porcelain industry suddenly reached its peak and lost its glamorous appeal in the world market, replaced b

Episode 4: Kraak ware and its European influence

May 27th, 2020 9m 8s

Kraak ware has been popular in Europe for hundreds of years. However, it was not made in Europe but in China. To find out why this chinaware has a fancy Western name and how it looks, let's travel back in time to the Netherlands in 1602.

Episode 3: The story of blue and white porcelain

May 26th, 2020 10m 9s

In Chinese pop singer Jay Chou's famous song "Blue and White Porcelain", he mistakenly suggests that the colors are a "light sky blue". In this episode, we find the truth about blue and white porcelain, as well as how it became a global obsessi

Episode 2: Chinese porcelain: a history of thousands of years

May 25th, 2020 17m 25s

Jingdezhen is known as China's porcelain capital because it has been producing Chinese ceramics for more than 1,000 years. How did the small town get its name and why is porcelain called 'china' across the world?

Episode 1: A story told from porcelain fragments

May 24th, 2020 8m 25s

One day in June 2005, Chinese fishermen found several pieces of ancient porcelain while out working on their boat. What information was found from these porcelain fragments and why are they considered by experts to be "living fossils" that have

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