ICP-MS Trace Element Analysis of Song Dynasty Porcelains from Ding, Jiexiu and Guantai kilns, North China

Bodies of Ding kiln white porcelains and their imitations from Guantai and Jiexiu kilns of the Chinese Song dynasty (960-1279 AD) were analysed for 40 trace elements by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Numerous trace element compositions and ratios allow these visually similar products to be distinguished, and a Ding-style shard of uncertain origin is identified as a likely genuine Ding product. In Jiexiu kiln, Ding-style products have trace element features distinctive from blackwares of an inferior quality intended for the lower end market. Based on geochemical behaviour of these trace elements, we propose that geochemically distinctive raw materials were used for Ding-style products of a higher quality, which possibly also underwent purification by levigation prior to use. Capable of analysing over 40 elements with a typical long term precision of < 2%, this high precision ICP-MS method proves to be very powerful for grouping and characterising archaeological ceramics. Combined with geochemical interpretation, it can provide insights into the raw materials and techniques used by ancient potters. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Xu Zi zhi tong jian chang bian : 520 juan /

Block print.

Bazhitoutuo shi ji : shi juan ; Bazhitoutuo xu ji : ba juan ; Bazhitoutuo za wen : yi juan /

Pai ji: Ji wei zhong dong yue kan yu Beijing Fa yuan si.

Li Liweng shi zhong qu : shi er jia ping dian.

On double leaves, oriental style.

Tang shi bai ming jia quan ji /

Imprint date from postscript.

Fan xie shan fang quan ji /

Issued in a case.

Xiao cang shan fang shi ji : 37 juan, bu yi 2 juan /

Mode of access: Internet.

Tang shi ji shi : 81 juan /

Ju Shanghai Han fen lou cang Jiajing zhong kan ben ying yin.

Han shu bu zhu.

Mode of access: Internet.

Huang chao jing shi wen bian /

Mode of access: Internet.

Burning books and burying scholars: on the policies of the short-lived Qin Dynasty in ancient China (221-207 BC)

In 221 BC, the battle-hardened warriors of the Qin state, the western frontier state and the most aggressive of the Warring States, subjugated the last of its rival states, thus establishing the Qin dynasty, with itscapital in Xianyang, near the modern Xi’an. The Qin dynasty is customarily regarded by Chinese and Western scholars as the beginning of a new age – the Chinese empire – that lasted until 1911 AD. The dynasty lasted only fifteen years. This study examines the main policies of the Qin dynasty and seeks to address the question what brought the quick downfall of the Qin rule. This paper takes the cultural and political contexts carefully into consideration, and argues that the Qin annexation of its rival states might be better understood as an end of an old era as much as a beginning of a new epoch.

The ancient history of China to the end of the Chóu dynasty,

Mode of access: Internet.