Archaeological Research on Ceramics of the Liao Dynasty

This open access book is the first monograph written by a Chinese scholar on the systematic archaeological research conducted on the ceramic remains of the Liao Dynasty (916-1125 AD). These remains can be divided into two parts: “Liao-produced ceramics” and “imported ceramics.” The former reflects the development of the ceramic handicraft industry in Liao State, while the latter refers to evidence of political, economic and cultural exchanges between Liao State, the Five Dynasties of the Central Plains, and the Northern Song Dynasty.

The research gathered here shows that the art of making ceramics at the Gangwayao Kiln in Chifeng and a group of kilns in Aluke’erqin Banner of Inner Mongolia, Longquanwu Kiln in Beijing, Gangguantun Kiln in Liaoyang of Liaoning, Jiezhuang Kiln in Hunyuan of Shanxi, and so on, which are distributed around the five capitals of the Liao Dynasty. The study reveals a significant consistency in firing techniques between the Liao kilns and those of the Central Plains during the Five Dynasties and the Northern Song dynasty, particularly those of Xing Kiln and Ding Kiln. This aspect should be viewed in connection with the historical background that the craftsmen of Han nationality spread to Liao State around the middle of the tenth century. Based on the tomb remains, this book constructs a chronological sequence of development for the “Liao-produced ceramics,” categorizes it into periods, and reveals its dynamic nature on the basis of historical documents. The research shows that the “Tricolor (Sancai) of Liao” with regional and national characteristics was an important stage in the development of Chinese low-temperature lead-glazed ceramics after the “Tricolor of Tang” (Tang Sancai). The “Khitan-style” artifacts represented by cockscomb-shaped kettles and the “Han-style” artifacts represented by zhuhu ewers and cup stands are consistent with the “Khitan-Han dual administration systems” of the Liao Dynasty, which implied a complex situation of ethnic communication and integration.