Establishment of the Imperial Kiln in the Qing Dynasty

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The Qing dynasty lasted for 296 years (1644–1911) and had twelve emperors, but if counting from the time when the Shunzhi Emperor (1638–1661) moved the capital to Beijing, it was a total of 268 years. The Qing dynasty experienced four historical periods, beginning its prosperous time in the reign of the Tianming Emperor (1616–1626), Tiancong Emperor (1627–1636), and Shunzhi Emperor (1644–1661), and reaching its prime in the reign of the Kangxi Emperor (1662–1722), Yongzheng Emperor (1723–1735), and Qianlong Emperor (1735–1795). However, the national strength declined during the time of the Jiaqing Emperor (1796–1820), Daoguang Emperor (1821–1850), and Xianfeng Emperor (1851–1861), and the regime finally came to perish during the reigns of the Tongzhi Emperor (1862–1874), Guangxu Emperor (1875–1908), and Xuantong Emperor (1909–1911). The dynastic succession from the Ming to the Qing led to a radical change in the political situation, exerting tremendous influence on imperial ceramics. Nearly 80 years have passed between the closure of the Imperial Ware Factory of the Ming and the reopening of the Imperial Kiln Factory of the Qing, which occurred during the Kangxi reign. During these years, the Qing dynasty replaced the Ming dynasty with the rise of Manchu, who lived in Manchuria, an area east of the Shanhaiguan Pass. However, people living in the area west of the Shanhaiguan Pass and east of the Jiayuguan Pass were plunged into an abyss of suffering due to wars raging everywhere by uprising armies. The Qing dynasty (officially the Great Qing), the Ming dynasty (officially the Great Ming), the Shun dynasty (officially the Great Shun), and the Xi dynasty (officially the Great Xi) all fought for the throne. Hence, the flames of war lasted for many years. Under such a harsh historical background, the imperial kiln in Jingdezhen still survived after three consecutive fights.