Free Essay Example - The Art History of Ceramic Design

Jingdezhen in Qing dynasty, China is one of the pioneer cities in ceramic modeling globally. The residents in Jingdezhen have made pottery activities and porcelain manufacturing as part of the community's culture. Ceramic designing in China traces back to the early years before the introduction of technology. The previous generation in Jingdezhen could manufacture essential ceramic products for public use. The introduction of technology in the current production has facilitated the modification of the ceramic designing industry. Enhancement of technology and its adoption in ceramic designing in Jingdezhen has facilitated modeling of beautiful ceramics and porcelains. The improvement of ceramic beauty has enabled China to become one of the primary exporters of ceramic products to the global market. This research plan has identified study questions that will facilitate the collection of relevant data from the respondents during fieldwork. The objective of understanding the art history of ceramic designing and its transformation is the primary objective of this research project.

Keywords: China, Arts history, Jingdezhen, Modern China history, Ceramic product design, Qing dynasty.

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History Transformation of Ceramic Product Design in the Qing Dynasty

The history of ceramic designing and porcelain manufacturing in Jingdezhen is has been transformed (Pollard, 2015). The fine-textured soils of Jingdezhen in Qing dynasty, China have been used for ceramic designing and manufacturing of porcelain for a period exceeding two thousand years (Cui, 2017). The residents of Jingdezhen have fully embraced pottering as the primary economic activity. It is a culture the residents learn from the preceding generation. The ceramics manufactured in Jingdezhen are both sold locally and internationally. The ancient improvement of the ceramic designing in Qing dynasty, Jingdezhen, China progresses every year. The current designing of ceramic in Jingdezhen has incorporated technology innovations to model some of the most exquisite pottery and ceramic products (Richards, 2018). Over time, ceramic designing has been improving the number of tourists visiting China to witness the excellent ceramic designing in the Qing dynasty (Wu, 2016). The primary reason of this project is to examine the historical progression of ceramic designing and manufacturing of porcelains in Qing dynasty since the ancient time to the current period. The study plan will analyze the old kiln and folk culture in Jingdezhen, China. Study questions and research objectives that will guide the team during the research have been evaluated. Jingdezhen has significantly progressed its designing of ceramics and porcelain manufacturing with the innovation of technology.

Research Questions

Proper research needs to study questions. Study often keeps the team within the scope of the study, hence the collection of relevant data (Klose & Schrire, 2018). Study questions define the problem of the research (Miksic, 2017). In studying the progress of ceramic designing in Jingdezhen, Qing dynasty, the following study questions will be used during the examination;

• What are the breakthroughs and the challenges facing ceramic designing, ancient kiln, and folk culture in Jingdezhen, China?
• How has the history of ceramic designing and porcelain manufacturing in Jingdezhen progressed from the early times to the present?
• What type of technology is improving the design of ceramic and porcelain manufacturing in Jingdezhen, China?
• What is the economic, social, and political importance of the ceramic designing and porcelain industries in Jingdezhen?
• What elements lure the majority of the residents and other settlers around Jingdezhen into ceramic designing and porcelain manufacturing?

Research Objectives

Research objectives are the goals which the completion of the study will present to the users (Li & Lu, 2015). Study objectives give a detailed summary of what the researcher wants to achieve by the end of the study (Dosun & Samuel, 2016). A variety of questions that are useful in comprehending the transformation that has been made in the ceramic designing in Jingdezhen involve;

• To assess the achievements and the challenges facing ceramic designing, ancient kiln, and folk culture in Jingdezhen, China.
• To examine how the history of ceramic designing and porcelain manufacturing in Jingdezhen has progressed from ancient times to the present.
• To assess the type of technology is improving the design of ceramic and porcelain manufacturing in Jingdezhen, China.
• To establish the economic, social, and political importance of ceramic designing and porcelain industries in Jingdezhen.
• To establish some of the factors that lure the majority of the residents and other settlers around Jingdezhen into ceramic designing and porcelain manufacturing.

Literature Review

Jingdezhen is the first city worldwide to discover clay (Kraft, 2018). Upon discovery, Jingdezhen has uniquely put in use the clay soil by modeling the most beautiful ceramics and porcelains. Ceramic designing and porcelain manufacturing is currently the primary economic activity of the residents in Jingdezhen, Qing dynasty. The intense ceramic designing has earned Jingdezhen another title - the capital of ceramic. The ceramic designing and porcelain manufacturing in Jingdezhen has become a crucial addition to the Gross Domestic Product if China (Kraft, 2018). The taxes collected by the Chinese government form part of the revenue of the GDP. The income is used in improving the face of Jingdezhen to create adequate space for modeling and provide a conducive environment for the designers to develop quality ceramic products. Apart from ceramic designing being an economic activity in Jingdezhen, it has also become a cultural practice among the residents. The ceramic designing practices was inherited from the previous generations. The development of technology has significantly influenced advancement in ceramic designing (Kraft, 2018).

Alex Kraft has extensively researched on ceramic designing and porcelain manufacturing Jingdezhen. Kraft uses a variety of sources to present credible results from his intensive research (Zhang & Huang, 2018). Crucial data on the impact of technology on the enhancement of ceramic designing and porcelain manufacturing in Jingdezhen has also been widely discussed by the author to present informative data to the end-users. The author also presents findings on the cultural activities of ceramic designing among the residents of Jingdezhen (Low, 2018).

The principal limitation is the failure to analyze the factors that attract the residents into ceramic designing. The author has also failed to explain how the breakthroughs and the challenges facing ceramic designing in Jingdezhen. Kraft has also failed to discuss the political significance of ceramic modeling in Jingdezhen (Madsen & White, 2017).

Significance of the Study

The users of the study findings will comprehend the achievements and the challenges that face ceramic designing in Jingdezhen (Hart, 2018). The end-users will understand how the transformation of the ceramic designing has progressed over time in Jingdezhen to the present. The recipient of the data will also comprehend how the ceramic designing activities are critical to the economic, political, and social life of the residents (Li, 2015). The users will also get the opportunity to know the various elements that attract the locals around Jingdezhen into ceramic designing (Gillette, 2016).

Research Methodology

The most compelling research technique for the study is qualitative methodology. To the qualitative research, the methodology allows prediction of future happening using the current findings (Flick, 2018). The method will enable the team to foresee future developments that are likely to take place in the ceramic designing in Jingdezhen. The qualitative technique also facilitates easy analysis of data. Two primary sources and two secondary data collection methods will be used for the study (Zhang & Yang, 2016). The fundamental techniques comprise of questionnaires and interviews. The secondary approaches involve the use of historical documentaries and library research (Guo & Fan, 2017).

Conclusion

The development of ceramic development in Jingdezhen is evident. This research project features the study questions and objectives which the researchers will use to accomplish the study. The research proposal further highlights on the benefits the end-users of the study findings will get when completed. An extensive literature review on the transformation of ceramic designing has also been availed. Quantitative research techniques will be used in the evaluation of the collected data.

References

Cui, D. (2017, July). Research on the Inheritance of Ceramic Industry civilization in Jingdezhen Post-industrial Landscape Design. In 2017 3rd International Conference on Economics, Social Science, Arts, Education, and Management Engineering (ESSAEME 2017). Atlantis Press. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.atlantis-press.com/proceedings/essaeme-17/25880991&ved=2ahUKEwj6pIDf2vrjAhUjA2MBHY9fAk8QFjAAegQIAhAC&usg=AOvVaw0jAAxEF2brH9kO8ar6YNpp

Dosun, S., & Samuel, C. (2016). Tactile digital: an exploration of merging ceramic art and industrial design. In DS 83: Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (E&PDE16), Design Education: Collaboration and Cross-Disciplinarity, Aalborg, Denmark, 8th-9th September 2016 (pp. 688-693). Retrieved from https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.designsociety.org/download-publication/39145/TACTILE%2BDIGITAL%253A%2BAN%2BEXPLORATION%2BOF%2BMERGING%2BCERAMIC%2BART%2BAND%2BINDUSTRIAL%2BDESIGN&ved=2ahUKEwikrISh2_rjAhVs5OAKHaGnBOwQFjAAegQIAxAB&usg=AOvVaw0lQ1WSENMEPIDpj_lZDRlp

Flick, U. (2018). An introduction to qualitative research. Sage Publications Limited. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/an-introduction-to-qualitative-research/book261109&ved=2ahUKEwjTh4rMvfjjAhXU8uAKHfEIABEQFjAAegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw1Sn6ZFFn-lsG7_z7KngosH

Gillette, M. B. (2016). China's Porcelain Capital: The Rise, Fall, and Reinvention of Ceramics in Jingdezhen. Bloomsbury Publishing. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://sarovozosega.ga/art-history/maris-boyd-gillette-chinas-porcelain-capital-the-rise-fall-and-reinvention-of-ceramics-in-jingdezhen.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiVv5uGufjjAhWFD2MBHcq7C1UQFjACegQIBBAB&usg=AOvVaw0AkLNGIkCkSsirgS_ctiw-

Guo, Y., & Fan, Y. (2017, May). Jingdezhen Ceramic" Old" Brand Decorative Design Again. In 3rd International Symposium on Social Science (ISSS 2017). Atlantis Press. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.atlantis-press.com/proceedings/msie-16/25863990&ved=2ahUKEwiEtZj32vrjAhVr5eAKHQLDCpQQFjAKegQIBBAC&usg=AOvVaw0y7_k89bIDFjJfkY3VPTF-

Hart, C. (2018). Doing a literature review: Releasing the research imagination. Sage. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.cuzproduces.com/producinganew/files/resources/HART_Doing%2520a%2520literature%2520review_1988_ch1.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwj21YzuvvjjAhXyBGMBHQhGBxMQFjABegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw22GZVMyDG-ygyBfXAqIO6j