Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln

Timeline

1. 1369–1380Jingdezhen · JiangxiIn the second year of Hongwu, the Imperial Porcelain Factory was established at Jingdezhen, conscripting former Yuan craftsmen and local kiln households to fire porcelain exclusively for the court, inheriting Yuan shufu ware and underglaze red techniques, marking the beginning of the Ming official kiln system.
2. 1381–1390Jingdezhen · JiangxiIn mid-to-late Hongwu, the Jingdezhen official kiln continued firing ritual vessels and daily-use porcelain for the court; underglaze red and early blue-and-white coexisted, the rotation of craftsmen's labor service and the official-commissioned-private-firing system gradually standardized, and products strictly prohibited private kilns from imitating imperial styles.
3. 1404–1435Jingdezhen · JiangxiIn the second year of Yongle the Imperial Kiln Factory was formally established and expanded; blue-and-white porcelain became the mainstream, and the sumaliqing cobalt brought back by Zheng He's voyages brought Yongle and Xuande blue-and-white to its peak, bringing the imperial kiln system to full maturity.