Qingbai Porcelain

Explanation of the term qingbai , as used in 'qingbaici' for Chinese ceramic glazes of certain colors.

What is the meaning of 'qingbai' (青白)?
The term contains two Chinese words: qing and bai
'qing' is explained below, 'bai' means white.
(The term for white is pretty straightforward, but a complicated explanation is necessary to understand the meaning of 'qing'.)

An exact equivalent term for 'qing' does not exist in European languages. Japanese also uses this term (character), with slightly different usage, though.
In relation to porcelain, qing is usually translated by the word celadon.

Interpreting the character 'qing'
Meaning of the character 青 (qing) – in Chinese and Japanese

Chinese meaning: greenish, bluish, fresh, young, unripe, etc.
Japanese meaning: blue, green, greenish, fresh (old Japanese?), unripe

The term 'qing' has no real equivalent in western languages. General usage in Japan is somewhat different from Chinese, although its essential character is maintained. Among other, the Japanese language uses this term also for the color 'blue', for which Chinese has an altogether different term/character.

In current Japanese this term (read ao, aoi or sei) it is often used for something that is blue or bluish, serving as THE term for the color blue. But, strangely it is also used for some colors that according to European terminology would be called blue-green, or even green. In Japanese it is used for the 'green' traffic light　as well as for the "blue" sky, just as an example. Thus its meaning is somewhat ambiguous.

In Chinese there is a separate term for both blue and green, and 'qing' (青) defines a range of colors ranging from greenish / green to bluish. But, blue itself is termed 'lan' (藍). There is also a separate term for green, namely 'lü' (綠).

So, it is very difficult to accurately describe what color 'qing' refers to, other than that it is neither blue nor green, but a color that is greenish or bluish or a color tone resembling both.

Complicating this is the fact that the term 'qing' is also used as an adjective for a number of other purposes, like describing a vegetable or fruit as 'unripe', 'fresh', 'not mature'; it is also used to describe people (as young adults), etc.

So what means 'qingbai' in relation to porcelain?
Strictly said qingbai wares cannot be classified either as white porcelain or celadon, it is something in between, having the trait of a white glaze with a bluish or greenish tint. Or it appears white/whitish, but in the recesses where the glaze accumulates and has a greater thickness, the glaze appears greenish or bluish.
That means, of course, that the white ground showing through the thin glaze dominates the surface color, but in areas where the glaze is thick enough, the 'qing' component of the glaze shows. If that is not the case, then an item would have to be classified as white ware.


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