Apple Watch and a Storied Swiss Company
Apple Watch officially hit the US market for pre-sales on April 10, selling more than one million on its first day. Threatened by Apple’s quick success, many small to mid-sized watch manufactures began rethinking their futures. These more traditional-type companies—fearing a tech-watch-takeover—needed some inspiration and a role model. But who had walked this path before? After 176 years, Patek Philippe has not […]
Enamel-decorated porcelains
Enamel-decorated porcelain, a fusion of Arabian enamel-making and Chinese porcelain-making, is further evidence of cultural exchanges between the East and West. The nobility in the West had rising demand for China’s porcelain, while painting on the porcelain was noticeably improved with the introduction of Western paintings into China. The Qing dynasty took over the country in 1644. Porcelains decorated with enamel were signature pieces of […]
How Porcelain is Made
China, or porcelain, is made by molding china clay into desired shapes, glazed and fired at 1200 Celsius. You can hear a clear metallic sound if you tap a piece of china. Porcelain was first made by craftsmen in Zhejiang province during the Eastern Han dynasty (25-220). Those first china had a blue tint. Black glazed porcelain was also […]
Porcelain – Yuan Qinghua
Porcelain-making had been enhanced by the Mongolians who ruled China during the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368). From the Yuan dynasty, Jingdezhen became the porcelain-making center in China. The world-famous “Yuan Qinghua”, which literally means “Yuan dynasty flower design porcelain”, was also made during that time. “Yuan Qinghua” porcelain was mainly made in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Kilns in Zhejiang province and Yunnan province also made […]
Why Do Americans Like Mulan?
Mulan is familiar to Americans of all ages. With the 1998 Walt Disney animation Mulan, the historical character is as popular in the United States as she is in China. Out of the tens of thousands of stories from Chinese history and folklore, what is the special appeal to the story of Mulan? Why did […]