Study of High Transitional Ware

Transitional porcelain is Jingdezhen porcelain, manufactured at China's principle ceramic production area, in the years during and after the transition from Ming to Qing. As with several previous changes of dynasty in China, this was a protracted and painful period of civil war. Though the start date of Qing rule is customarily given as 1644, when the last Ming Emperor hanged himself as the capital fell, the war had really begun in 1618 and Ming resistance continued until 1683. During this period, the Ming system of large-scale manufacturing in the Imperial porcelain factories, with orders and payments coming mainly from the imperial court, finally collapsed, and the officials in charge had to turn themselves from obedient civil servants into businessmen, seeking private customers, including foreign trading companies from Europe, Japanese merchants, and new domestic customers.

在从明代万历三十五年（1607年）到清代康熙中期（约1676—1700年）将近一百年的时间里，随着农民起义的蓬勃发展，直至摧毁明王朝的统治和清朝入主中原，中国社会曾发生剧烈变革。作为全国制瓷中心的景德镇，其瓷器制造业也经历了一次重大转变。主要表现在万历三十五年以前，景德镇的制瓷业是由官窑占统治地位，此后，官窑急剧衰落，民营瓷业则因国内和亚欧市场需求的刺激而渐趋兴盛，跃居主导地位。以往人们曾将17世纪这一时期景德镇的制瓷业称为“转变期”或“转型期”。