뉴스레터

In 1998, Tianjin Customs in China arrested a group of people who tried to smuggle cultural assets. Among them, there were about 40 Goryeo celadon, so people were surprised. It is a remarkable number compared to the fact that there were only about 30 Goryeo porcelain(including Goryeo celadon) in the Shanghai Museum at the time. In addition, it included celadon with high artistic value such as pure celadon and inlaid celadon, which was high in quality. This is a representative event that shows how valuable Goryeo celadon is in China and how much attention it is.

World's Coolest ‘Celadon Blue’: The development of Goryeo Celadon

The Goryeo celadon was influenced by the technique of making ceramics in southern China around the 10th century. At that time, the representative Goryeo celadon was a low grade celadon, which is called Haetmurigup celadon and Green celadon. By the 11th century, celadon had developed technically in raw materials, glazes, shapes, and patterns. So, it gradually escaped from the influence of Yue Kiln, Yaozhou Kiln, and Dingyao in China, and made the characteristics of Goryeo. In particular, the Goryeo celadon of this period showed its sophistication with its unique blue color. And it exudes the best beauty in the first half of the 12th century.

In the first half of the 12th century, Goryeo celadon became more sophisticated by raising the level of glaze and raw materials. That was the best time of pure celadon, with its subtle blue beauty, sharpness, elegance and partially flexible lines. By the middle of the 12th century, Goryeo celadon was in its second heyday as it was in full swing to engrave the inlaid technique and the inlaid pattern. The inlaid technique is a high-level technique that uses tools to engrave patterns on the surface of the bowl and fill them with soil such as white and red to make the pattern feel realistic and lively. Goryeo celadon, which developed around inlaid, enjoyed its heyday from the mid-12th century until the early 13th century when Mongolian interference began in earnest. In addition to the inlaid technique, other techniques have also developed. Donghwa celadon(銅畵靑磁), Cheolhwa celadon(鐵畵靑磁), Cheolchae(鐵彩), and Yeonrimun(練理文) were also more sophisticated, and Hwageum porcelain(畵金瓷器), Cheolyu(鐵釉), and Heukyu(黑釉) peaked.

Chinese Evaluations on the Goryeo Celadon

The mysterious beauty of Goryeo celadon became the object of longing and praise of neighboring countries. For example, Xu Jing of Song Dynasty came to Goryeo and returned to his home country and praised the beauty of Goryeo celadon as follows.

In addition, Taiping Laoren(太平老人) of Song Dynasty discussed 'the best' of 'the world' and said as follows.

He praised the celadon of Goryeo as the 'best of the world' that can not be imitated like tea of Jianzhou, silk of Shu, white porcelain of Dingyao, and lacquer ware of Zhejiang. Especially, this evaluation is even more meaningful because it was the peak of celadon of Ruguan Kiln(汝官窯) in China at the time.

The Goryeo celadon, which was regarded as the 'first of the world', is still showing its appearance through many excavations. It is continuously excavated in the Ningbo area of ​​the present Zhejiang province, which was the center of international floating trade during the Song Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty. It is also continuously excavated in Shandong, Liaoning, Beijing, Hebei, Jilin, and Inner Mongolia, which are the core areas of exchanges between Korea and China at that time.

Eternal Nostalgia, Goryeo Celadon

However, Goryeo celadon declined in all parts of raw materials, glaze, and shape from the early 13th century when Mongolian interference began to the late 14th century when Goryeo was destroyed. So in the late Goryeo period, the ware became dull and heavy, the blue color gradually changed to brown and yellow, and the fine raw material became rough, and the world's best celadon blue disappeared. The celadon blue of Goryeo is gorgeous but never vulgar. It became an eternal nostalgia that lived in the hearts of Koreans as a spirit of the times representing Goryeo and a cultural spirit of Korea.