Mysterious Porcelain From The East, The Origin Of Ru Kiln Celadon

#RuWare #Celadon #ChineseCeramics
In the final years of the Northern Song dynasty, Emperor Huizong dreamed of a color he could not name — and ordered his potters to bring it to life. What followed was one of the most demanding ceramic traditions in Chinese history: Ru ware, celadon fired for the imperial court for barely twenty years, with a success rate so low that flawed pieces were smashed rather than sold.

In this episode, we trace the legend behind Ru ware's famous "sky blue after rain" glaze, then dig into what archaeology actually tells us — that this imperial treasure began as an ordinary kiln making everyday bowls. We also take a close look at two surviving masterpieces held in the Palace Museum: a sky-blue glazed dish and a rare tripod zun-shaped censer, one of only three of its kind left in the world.

Fewer than 100 authentic pieces of Ru ware are known to survive today. This is their story — and the beginning of a series on Song dynasty celadon.

00:00 The Emperor's Dream
00:49 An Impossible Color to Fire
02:15 Why Ruzhou? The Fall of Ding Ware
03:11 The Imperial Order (1086–1125)
04:06 Legend vs. History
04:52 What Archaeology Revealed
05:52 Masterpiece 1: The Sky-Blue Dish
07:17 Masterpiece 2: The Tripod Zun Censer
08:24 The Fall of the Northern Song
09:30 What Comes Next: Guan Ware

#RuWare #Celadon #ChineseCeramics #SongDynasty #ChineseHistory