Porcelain making in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) showed more prominent progress, as demonstrated by the emergence of some famous kilns with distinctive characteristics, and the appearance of two major schools known as white in the north and blue in the south. The technique of creating color glaze in this period far outdid that of previous dynasties, with new achievements.

A celadon jar from the Yue Kiln

During this period, porcelain wares with blue glaze, multi-colored glaze and blended glazes emerged. Since the emergence of the primitive porcelain in the Shang Dynasty (17th-11th century BC), the light green celadon had been the mainstream of all glazed porcelains. The glassy translucent glaze became purer and more verdant after more than 2,000 years of development. In the Tang Dynasty (618-907), celadon from the Yue Kiln in east China's Zhejiang Province was characterized by simple but refined shapes, jade-like glaze, solid substance and a distinctive style.

A white-glazed porcelain bowl from the Xing Kiln

White-glazed porcelains emerged around the sixth century. In the initial period, white glaze was not that pure and took on a grayish color. It was not until the Tang Dynasty that the Xing Kiln produced porcelain as white as silver and snow, which could really contend with celadon. In the period, celadon from the Yue Kiln in the south, and white porcelain from the Xing Kiln in the north were famous for their high quality.

The emergence of white porcelain injected a new vigor into Chinese porcelain craft, and was a milestone in the development history of porcelain in China. If there were no the foundation laid by white porcelain of the Xing Kiln, there would be no blue and white porcelain, the under-glaze red porcelain, the polychrome porcelain or the Famille rose porcelain that were popular in the later dynasties.