Song Porcelain Export System

Timeline

1. c. 960–1127Guangzhou port · GuangzhouThe Northern Song established the Superintendency of Maritime Shipping to manage overseas trade; porcelain from kilns at Jingdezhen, Longquan, Cizhou, and elsewhere was shipped out via Guangzhou and Mingzhou to Goryeo, Japan, the Abbasid Caliphate, and Southeast Asian states, with export porcelain styles beginning to adapt to overseas markets.
2. c. 1127–1220Quanzhou port · QuanzhouThe Southern Song's finances relied heavily on maritime trade revenue; Quanzhou surpassed Guangzhou to become the largest port, with Longquan celadon and Jian ware black tea bowls exported in large quantities to Champa, Srivijaya, India, and East Africa, forming an export system combining government regulation with private merchant vessels.
3. 1221–1230Quanzhou's Zayton port · QuanzhouAmid Song-Jin confrontation, the Southern Song still maintained maritime trade to fill the treasury; in the 1220s, large quantities of Southern Song Longquan celadon and Jingdezhen qingbai ware were excavated from South China Sea shipwrecks and overseas sites, proving the export system continued operating amid war.