Déhuà

Dehua is a county in central Fujian under the administration of Quanzhou City. Its territory covers 2,232 square kilometres. The county combines a mountain landscape with communities spread through its towns and townships rather than concentrating all activity in one administrative point.

Its reputation rests on ceramics. Dehua holds rich deposits of kaolin, the essential clay for porcelain, and became famous for ceramic products ranging from dinnerware and jars to vases, plaques, garden ornaments and figures of people and animals. The surviving range shows that local workshops served both practical household needs and decorative markets. Kilns at Dehua were already producing porcelain in the Song period. A Ming-dynasty qilin made in Dehua porcelain illustrates the skill and symbolic vocabulary associated with its kilns. The county’s economy and identity therefore developed from the meeting of abundant raw material, specialized craft and access to wider markets through Quanzhou. That combination made Dehua a lasting name in Chinese porcelain production, while its towns, townships and rural settlements supported the complex network of workshops and trade behind the finished wares.