Ceramics
Porcelain Wares Unearthed
From Song Dynasty Tombs
in Songyang County,
Zhejiang Province
Zijun Song 宋子军
Research Curator, Songyang County Museum
Ding Liu 刘鼎
Assistant Research Curator, Songyang County Museum
A NORTHERN SONG DYNASTY TOMB
AT AN INDUSTRIAL PARK
O
n December 23, 2003, construction
workers uncovered 24 porcelain
ware items and two lacquerware
items from the industrial park at the
foot of Yunyan Mountain in Xiping Town, Songyang
County, Zhejiang Province. The tomb had been disturbed previously. The porcelain and lacquer wares
are now in the collection of the Songyang County
Museum. The 24 celadon-glazed, shadow-blue and
black-glazed porcelain ware items are introduced
below.
Longquan kiln celadon-glazed wan-bowls with
carved decoration (2 items): Each has a rounded
lip, a wide flared mouth, an everted rim, a deep belly
with rounded sides and a ring foot. The bottom of
the interior is decorated with a chrysanthemum-posy
pattern, and the interior walls are incised with chrysanthemums. There is a bowstring surrounding the
area below the outer rim, and a folding-fan pattern
decorates the area below this. Two bowstrings surround the base. Each has a grayish-white body with
celadon glaze and an unglazed base. Artifact 1 has
a mouth diameter of 18 centimeters, foot diameter
of 5.4 cm and height of 8.4 cm (Figures 1 and 2).
Artifact 2 is damaged. It has a mouth diameter of
17.7 cm, foot diameter of 5.4 cm and height of 8.1 cm
(Figures 3 and 4).
Longquan kiln celadon-glazed pan-plates with
incised decoration (3 items): Each has a rounded lip,
a wide flared rim, a shallow bowl with rounded sides
and a ring foot. The bottom and walls of the interior
of Artifact 3 are decorated with a chrysanthemumposy pattern, and a bowstring is incised below the
outer rim. It has a gray body covered with celadon
glaze, except for the interior wall of the ring foot. The
opening diameter is 18.5 cm, foot diameter 5 cm
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Chinese Cultural Relics » Issue Number 1-2, 2016
Figure 1: Longquan kiln celadon-glazed wan-bowl with
carved decoration (Artifact 1)
Figure 2: Artifact 1, interior
Figure 3: Longquan kiln celadon-glazed wan-bowl with
Figure 4: Artifact 2, interior
and height 4.4 cm (Figures 5-7). The bottom and
walls of the interior of Artifact 4 are decorated with a
chrysanthemum-posy pattern. A bowstring is incised
below the outer rim. It has a gray body covered with
celadon glaze with fine crackles and an unglazed base.
The rim diameter is 18.6 cm, foot diameter 5.8 cm
and height 4.4 cm (Figures 8 and 9). Artifact 5 is
damaged. The bottom and walls of the interior are
decorated with a chrysanthemum-posy pattern, and
the exterior has a folding-fan pattern. The grayishwhite body is covered with dark celadon glaze, and
the base is unglazed. The rim diameter is 24.4 cm, foot
diameter 8.8 cm and height 6 cm (Figures 10 and 11).
Longquan kiln celadon-glazed zhihu-ewer with
incised decoration (1 item: Artifact 6): It has a sharp
lip, a flaring mouth, a long flaring neck, a rounded
shoulder, a bulging belly and a concave base. The
shoulder has a curved spout and a curved handle with
symmetrical lugs on the sides. The exterior of the
belly has melon ridges and is decorated with intertwining chrysanthemums. It has a fine grayish-white
body covered with celadon glaze except for the base,
which is unglazed. The mouth diameter is 7.1 cm,
base diameter 7.8 cm and height 18 cm (Figure 12).
Longquan kiln celadon-glazed xunlu-censer with
incised decoration (1 item: Artifact 7): It has a wide
carved decoration (Artifact 2)
278
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Porcelain Wares Unearthed From Song Dynasty Tombs in Zhejiang Province
flat rim, a straight mouth, a straight belly and a flat
bottom. The lower part is a stand with a foliate base.
There are intertwining flowers around the rim, and
the upper part of the base is decorated with a lotus
pattern. It has a grayish-white body with celadon
glaze covering the whole body except the inner rim
and the base, which are unglazed. The mouth diameter is 13.2 cm, base diameter 11.2 cm and height
7 cm (Figure 13).
Longquan kiln celadon-glazed ping-vase (1 item:
Artifact 8): It has a rounded lip and a straight mouth,
a constricted neck, a slanting shoulder, an ovoid belly
and a flat base that is slightly concave. It has a grayish-white body covered by celadon glaze, except for
the base, which is unglazed. The mouth diameter is
3.3 cm, base diameter 3 cm and height 8.4 cm (Figure 14).
Longquan kiln celadon-glazed bo-bowl (1 item:
Artifact 9): It has a contracted mouth, a wide everted
rim, and rounded sides, tapering off at the flat base.
The body is grayish-white and covered by celadon
glaze, except for the base, which is unglazed. The
mouth diameter is 12 cm, base diameter 3.8 cm and
height 6.5 cm (Figure 15).
Hutian kiln shadow-blue die-saucers (6 items):
Each has a rounded lip, a flared lobed rim, shallow
sides and a flat base. There is a bowstring surrounding
the bottom of the interior. The walls are in the form of
chrysanthemum petals divided by protruding ridges.
The white body is light and thin. Crystalline bluishwhite glaze covers the whole body, except for the
base, which is unglazed. The base has the ink mark “辛
未叶宅” [Ye Studio in the year of xinwei]. Artifact 10
has a mouth rim diameter of 10.1 cm, base diameter
of 4.2 cm and height of 2.5 cm (Figures 16-18). The
sizes of the remaining five artifacts [Artifacts 11-15]
are similar to that of Artifact 10 (Figures 19-23).
Hutian kiln shadow-blue he-boxes (3 items):
Each is oblate overall, and consists of a zimukou-fitted
lid and body. The lid has a square-edged lip and a
straight mouth. The top is flat and undecorated. The
body has a rounded rim, a straight mouth, tapering
sides and a ring foot. The tapering walls are in the
shape of chrysanthemum petals. The artifact has a
fine white body, and is covered with a bluish-white
glaze, except for the rims of the lid and body and
the base, all of which are unglazed. Artifact 16 has
an outer diameter of 8 cm, inner diameter of 6.9 cm,
foot diameter of 5.6 cm and full height of 5.6 cm (Figures 24 and 25). Artifact 17 has an outer diameter
of 8.1 cm, inner diameter of 7 cm, foot diameter of
5.5 cm and full height of 5.3 cm (Figure 26). Artifact 18 has no lid. The outer diameter is 7 cm, inner diameter 5.5 cm, ring foot diameter 4.8 cm and
height 4.4 cm (Figure 27).
Hutian kiln shadow-blue zhihu-ewer (1 item:
Artifact 19): It consists of a lid and a body. The dishshaped lid has a wide rim, and the concave center has
a lotus-shaped finial on top. The body has a rounded
lip, a straight mouth, a long straight neck, a slanting
shoulder, a slightly bulging and tapering belly, and a
flat base. Where the neck and shoulder join, there is a
flat strap handle with a small lug on top. On the side
opposite the handle, there is a long, narrow spout.
Bowstring patterns decorate the exterior of the belly.
The artifact has a fine white body, which is covered
with a bluish-white glaze, except for the base, which
is unglazed. The mouth diameter is 5.2 cm, base diameter 15.2 cm and height 6.8 cm (Figure 28).
Hutian kiln shadow-blue guan-jar with four lugs
(1 item: Artifact 20): It has a rounded lip, a straight
neck, a rounded shoulder, a bulging belly and a flared
ring foot. There are four symmetrical lugs where the
neck and shoulder join. The white body is covered
with a bluish-white glaze with fine crackles, except
for the base, which is unglazed. The mouth diameter
is 3.7 cm, foot diameter 3.7 cm and height 8.4 cm
(Figure 29).
Hutian kiln shadow-blue guan-jar (1 item: Artifact 21): It has a slightly flared straight mouth,
an everted shoulder, a sharply tapering rounded
belly and a flat base. The body is thin and fine, and
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Figure 5: Longquan kiln celadon-glazed pan-plate with
incised decoration (Artifact 3)
Figure 8: Longquan kiln celadon-glazed pan-plate with
Figure 6: Artifact 3, interior
Figure 9: Artifact 4, interior
Figure 7: Artifact 3, base
280
incised decoration (Artifact 4)
a bluish-white glaze covers the whole body except
the base, which is unglazed. The mouth diameter
is 9.8 cm, base diameter 3.4 cm and height 8.4 cm
(Figure 30).
Jian kiln black glaze zhan-tea bowl (1 item: Artifact 22): It has a sharp lip, a wide flared mouth, and
rounded sides tapering above the ring foot. The lip
has a silver metal fitting. The grayish-black body is
covered with black hare’s fur glaze, and the lower
belly has coagulated glaze. The mouth diameter is
12.5 cm, foot diameter 3.7 cm and height 5.1 cm
(Figure 31).
Celadon-glazed ping-vases with double lugs
(2 items): Each has a wide flared mouth, a con-
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Porcelain Wares Unearthed From Song Dynasty Tombs in Zhejiang Province
Figure 10: Longquan kiln celadon-glazed pan-plate
with incised decoration (Artifact 5)
Figure 11: Artifact 5, interior
Figure 12: Longquan kiln celadon-glazed zhihu-ewer
with incised decoration (Artifact 6)
Figure 13: Longquan kiln celadon-glazed xunlu-censer
with incised decoration (Artifact 7)
Figure 14: Longquan kiln celadon-glazed ping-vase
(Artifact 8)
Figure 15: Longquan kiln celadon-glazed bo-bowl
(Artifact 9)
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Figure 19: Hutian kiln shadow-blue die-saucer
(Artifact 11)
Figure 16: Hutian kiln shadow-blue die-saucer
(Artifact 10)
Figure 20: Hutian kiln shadow-blue die-saucer
(Artifact 12)
Figure 21: Hutian kiln shadow-blue die-saucer
(Artifact 13)
Figure 17: Artifact 10, interior
Figure 22: Hutian kiln shadow-blue die-saucer
(Artifact 14)
Figure 18: Artifact 10, base
282
Figure 23: Hutian kiln shadow-blue die-saucer
(Artifact 15)
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Porcelain Wares Unearthed From Song Dynasty Tombs in Zhejiang Province
Figure 24: Hutian kiln shadow-blue he-box
(Artifact 16)
Figure 25: Artifact 16
Figure 26: Hutian kiln shadow-blue he-box
Figure 27: Body of Hutian kiln shadow-blue he-box
(Artifact 18)
Figure 28: Hutian kiln shadow-blue zhihu-ewer
(Artifact 19)
Figure 29: Hutian kiln shadow-blue guan-jar with four
(Artifact 17)
lugs (Artifact 20)
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Figure 30: Hutian kiln shadow-blue guan-jar
(Artifact 21)
Figure 31: Jian kiln black-glazed zhan-tea bowl
(Artifact 22)
Figure 32: Celadon-glazed ping-vase with double lugs
(Artifact 23)
Figure 33: Celadon-glazed ping-vase with double lugs
(Artifact 24)
stricted neck, a sloping shoulder, a bulging and tapering belly, and a slightly concave base. Each vase
has two symmetrical lugs at the shoulder. Each has
a gray body from which the celadon-gray glaze has
peeled off. Artifact 23 has the Chinese character “大”
[big] on the shoulder. The mouth diameter is 7.8 cm,
base diameter 6 cm and height 30 cm (Figure 32).
Artifact 24 has a mouth diameter of 7.5 cm, base diameter of 6.5 cm and height of 31.5 cm (Figure 33).
Lacquer wan-bowl (1 item: Artifact 25): It has
a sharp lip, a foliate rim, deep, rounded sides in the
form of petals, and a flat base. It has a wooden core
with a silver metal fitting on the mouth. Its interior
walls have lotus-petal-shaped ridges, and its exterior
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Porcelain Wares Unearthed From Song Dynasty Tombs in Zhejiang Province
Figure 34: Lacquer he-box (Artifact 26)
Figure 37: Lacquer wan-bowl (Artifact 25)
Figure 38: Artifact 25, base
Figure 35: Artifact 26, lid
Figure 36: Artifact 26, interior
Figure 39: Longquan kiln celadon-glazed meipingprunus vase (Artifact 27)
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Figure 40: Rubbing of Cheng
Daya’s tomb epitaph (scale
approx. 1:5)
walls have concave ridges. The interior wall is covered with red lacquer, and the exterior wall has green
lacquer. The base has an ink inscription: “Neilijin
Workshop of Tongdao, Quzhou Prefecture, in the
year of dingsi.” The mouth diameter is 12.5 cm, base
diameter 6.4 cm and height 7 cm (Figures 37 and 38).
Lacquer he-box (1 item: Artifact 26): This
round he-box with a wooden core has a zimukoufitted lid and a flat base. The exterior wall has a silver
metal fitting, some of which has peeled off. Black
lacquer coating covers the exterior wall, and red
lacquer covers the interior. On its interior, the lid
has a vermilion inscription: “Ye Family Workshop
of Baili Precinct, Wenzhou Prefecture, in the year
of guiyou.” The diameter is 12.5 cm and full height
4 cm (Figures 34-36).
286
The artifacts unearthed from the Northern Song
dynasty tomb at the industrial park have three sexagenary cycle dates: the years of xinwei, dingsi and
guiyou. Based on the characteristics of the unearthed
Longquan kiln celadon-glazed porcelain and Hutian kiln shadow-blue porcelain, this tomb should
be dated to the late Northern Song dynasty.
THE TOMB OF CHENG DAYA
OF THE SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY
In April 1979, while cultivating wasteland, villagers of Hengshan Village discovered an ancient tomb
at Wugui Mountain in Shuinan Township, Suichang
County (Songyang County from November 1958 to
January 1982, when it was annexed into Suichang
County), Zhejiang Province. By the time staff from
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Porcelain Wares Unearthed From Song Dynasty Tombs in Zhejiang Province
the Suichang County Cultural Office arrived at the
site, the tomb had been destroyed. Only a portion
of the unearthed artifacts were recovered, including
six porcelain wares, one epitaph and a few pieces of
rosin. All of the porcelain wares are celadon-glazed
meiping-prunus vases from the Longquan kiln, and
four of them are now in the collection of the Songyang County Museum.
Longquan kiln celadon-glazed meiping-prunus
vases (4 items): Each has a thick lip, a small mouth, a
short neck, a rounded shoulder, a tapering belly and
a concave base. The lids are shaped like an inverted
cup. The whole body of each vase is decorated with
bowstrings. Each artifact’s thick grayish-white body
is covered with celadon glaze, except for the base,
which is unglazed and bears the impression of a discsetter. Artifact 27 has a mouth diameter of 6.5 cm,
base diameter of 7.1 cm and full height of 28.2 cm
(Figure 39).
Epitaph (1 item: Artifact 32): This rectangular
epitaph is made of sandstone and has a length of
63.5 cm, width of 51.5 cm and thickness of 10.6 cm.
The inscription was written in standard script (Figure 40). According to its contents, the tomb occupant Cheng Daya was born in the fourth year of the
Shaoxing reign period (1134 CE) and died in the
first year of the Qingyuan reign period (1195 CE)
of the Southern Song dynasty.
Wenwu (Cultural Relics) Editor: Xia Wang
Translated by Yuting Gao, M.A., Associate Editor, Chinese Cultural Relics; Independent Scholar, Beijing, China
This article was originally published as “Zhejiang Songyang Song mu chutu ciqi” 浙江松阳宋墓出土瓷器 in Wenwu
(Cultural Relics) No. 7, 2015, pp. 80-88.
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