Me and the Ceramic Museum in Ming Dynasty

The writer visited the ceramic museum that’s located next to Fatahillah Museum. The writer didn’t go there alone, she was with some of her friends. They went there by bus way. There were some difficulty getting there, first, we somehow get off in the wrong bus stop, and thus we ended up late getting there. At first before the writer went to ceramic museum, she went to the Museum of Bank Indonesia. When they were going to get in, they were given some questionnaire about Bank Indonesia, and they could find the answer inside the museum. While looking for some artifact, the writer and her friends also tried to find the answer for the questionnaire. It was quite fun because it was not as boring as the writer thought to be. It was interesting because the museum itself was interesting to say the least. They have holographic coin and some interesting stuff. From all of the museum that the writer has visited, the museum of bank Indonesia is the most interesting and modern. Because generally all other museum in Indonesia didn’t use air conditioner, and they didn’t have any games or activity that could make the visitors interested. In the museum of bank Indonesia, the writer and her friends learn a lot about the history of the development of the museum. The writer also see all the money that was circulated when Indonesia was still colonized by dutch and japan. the most interesting things for the writer was the coin that was worth 250 million rupiah. That coin was made by pure gold. Unfortunately the writer didn’t find the right artifact she could make as her writing material. Finally the writer and her friends went to Fatahillah Museum, it was located not far from there. When the writer was going there, she was thinking to use “meriam si jargur” as her writing material. But when she got there she saw the ceramic museum. Since the writer and her friends haven’t gone there before, they went there. When they got there, the writer and her friends went to the second floor immediately, because they didn’t like any ceramic on the first floor. When they got to the second floor there were many ceramic in the form of a plate, a bowl, etc. there were many ceramic from different dynasty and Japan period. From the writer’s point of view there weren’t many different in the ceramic from all those dynasty and japan’s period. Then after much thinking, the writer decided to write about the ceramic from Ming Dynasty. Short history about Ming Dynasty The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history",was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic Han Chinese. Although the Ming capital Beijing fell in 1644 to a rebellion led by Li Zicheng (who established the Shun Dynasty, soon replaced by the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty), regimes loyal to the Ming throne — collectively called the Southern Ming — survived until 1662. Ming rule saw the construction of a vast navy and a standing army of one million troops. Although private maritime trade and official tribute missions from China had taken place in previous dynasties, the tributary fleet under the Muslim eunuch admiral Zheng He in the 15th century far surpassed all others in size. There were enormous construction projects, including the restoration of the Grand Canal and the Great Wall and the establishment of the Forbidden City in Beijing during the first quarter of the 15th century. Estimates for the late-Ming population vary from 160 to 200 million. Emperor Hongwu (ruled in 1368–98) attempted to create a society of self-sufficient rural communities in a rigid, immobile system that would have no need to engage with the commercial life and trade of urban centers. His rebuilding of China's agricultural base and strengthening of communication routes through the militarized courier system had the unintended effect of creating a vast agricultural surplus that could be sold at burgeoning markets located along courier routes. Rural culture and commerce became influenced by urban trends. The upper echelons of society embodied in the scholarly gentry class were also affected by this new consumption-based culture. In a departure from tradition, merchant families began to produce examination candidates to become scholar-officials and adopted cultural traits and practices typical of the gentry. Parallel to this trend involving social class and commercial consumption were changes in social and political philosophy, bureaucracy and governmental institutions, and even arts and literature. By the 16th century the Ming economy was stimulated by trade with the Portuguese, the Spanish, and the Dutch. China became involved in a new global trade of goods, plants, animals, and food crops known as the Columbian Exchange. Trade with European powers and the Japanese brought in massive amounts of silver, which then replaced copper and paper banknotes as the common medium of exchange in China. During the last decades of the Ming the flow of silver into China diminished greatly, undermining state revenues. This damage to the Ming economy was compounded by the effects on agriculture of the incipient Little Ice Age, natural calamities, crop failure, and sudden epidemics. The ensuing breakdown of authority and people's livelihoods allowed rebel leaders such as Li Zicheng to challenge Ming authority. Ceramic in Ming Dynasty The Ming Dynasty saw an extraordinary period of innovation in ceramic manufacture. Kilns investigated new techniques In design and shapes, showing a predilection for colour and painted design, and an openness to foreign forms. The Yongle Emperor (1402–24) was especially curious about other countries (as evidenced by his support of the eunuch Zheng He's extended exploration of the Indian Ocean), and enjoyed unusual shapes, many inspired by Islamic metalwork, During the Xuande reign (1425–35), a technical refinement was introduced in the preparation of the cobalt used for underglaze blue decoration. Prior to this the cobalt had been brilliant in colour, but with a tendency to bleed in firing; by adding a manganese the colour was duller, but the line crisper. Xuande porcelain is now considered among the finest of all Ming output. Enameled decoration (such as the one at left) was perfected under the Chenghua Emperor (1464–87), and greatly prized by later collectors. Indeed by the late sixteenth century, Chenghua and Xuande era works – especially wine cups – had grown so much in popularity, that their prices nearly matched genuine antique wares of Song or even older. This esteem for relatively recent ceramics excited much scorn on the part of literati scholars (such as Wen Zhenheng, Tu Long, and Gao Lian, who is cited below); these men fancied themselves arbiters of taste and found the painted aesthetic 'vulgar. In addition to these decorative innovations, the late Ming period underwent a dramatic shift towards a market economy, exporting porcelain around the world on an unprecedented scale. Thus aside from supplying porcelain for domestic use, the kilns at Jingdezhen became the main production centre for large-scale porcelain exports to Europe starting with the reign of the Wanli Emperor (1572–1620). By this time, kaolin and pottery stone were mixed in about equal proportions. Kaolin produced wares of great strength when added to the paste; it also enhanced the whiteness of the body - a trait that became a much sought after property, especially when form blue-and-white wares grew in popularity. Pottery stone could be fired at a lower temperature (1250 °C) than paste mixed with kaolin, which required 1350 °C. These sorts of variations were important to keep in mind because the large southern egg-shaped kiln varied greatly in temperature. Near the firebox it was hottest; near the chimney, at the opposite end of the kiln, it was cooler. Swatow Ceramic Swatow ceramic is a name of a ceramic group in the late Dynasty Ming. They are exported to southern south east market. Swatow porcelain albarello, blue and white Ming, before 1600. One of the reason, why it’s called Swatow is maybe because ceramic trade is always happen through Swatow harbor. The term Swatow came from Tio Chiu dialect, one of tiongkok’s ethnic in the province. Formerly it was Canton or Guang Dong and it was more famous in Fukien dialect or Hokien. According to the grammar Swatow is a mountain peak. Even though the name means mountain peak, it doesn’t mean that Swatow was found there. Because the location where it was found is not clear yet. But they are generally estimated around Swatow Harbor (Shantou) in the north beach of Guangdong. Type of Paintings on the Ceramic A. Blue-White Ceramic a) Traditional decoration 1. Spiritual animal symbol and good fortune 2. Spiritual flower 3. Traditional decoration imitates Ming Wanli Ceramic b) European influence 1. Asian’s view 2. The west world view