Jun porcelain, a specialty of Yuzhou City, Henan Province, China, is a national geographical indication product.

Jun porcelain originated in the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Song Dynasty. It is one of the five famous ancient Chinese ceramics and is famous for its unique glaze and magical kiln changes produced by firing methods. During the reign of Emperor Huizong of the Northern Song Dynasty, the government established an official kiln in the northeast of Yuzhou City, Henan Province, to burn tribute porcelain for the imperial palace. Due to the proximity of the kiln site to the ancient Spring and Autumn and Warring States period's Juntai, it is named "Juntai Kiln", abbreviated as "Jun Kiln", and the porcelain produced is called "Jun Porcelain".

The reason why Jun porcelain is precious is not only due to its rich and dignified appearance, but also due to two prominent aspects: firstly, Jun porcelain undergoes kiln transformation during firing. Glazes containing copper will form glaze colors such as begonia red, cinnabar red, and chicken blood red after kiln transformation, permeating and reflecting each other to create brilliance. There is a saying that "one color in the kiln, one color out of the kiln"; Secondly, the production process of Jun porcelain is complex and the yield is low. A piece of Jun porcelain needs to go through 72 processes from material selection to firing. 

Jun porcelain, as an important symbol in the history of Chinese ceramic art, holds an important position in the development of world ceramics. Since ancient times, there have been sayings such as "gold is valuable, but Jun is priceless" and "a family with thousands of resources is not as valuable as Jun porcelain in one piece". Its unique kiln transformation art is widely loved by ceramic enthusiasts due to its artistic characteristics of "one color entering the kiln, one color leaving the kiln"

On July 29, 2003, the former General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of China approved the implementation of geographical indication product protection for "Jun porcelain".

Song Dynasty Jun Porcelain

During the Northern Song Dynasty, after a long period of exploration, the technique of kiln transformation had become increasingly mature. The brilliant glaze color formed by natural kiln transformation was no longer comparable to that of Tang Dynasty porcelain, and it was loved by literati, nobles, and nobles. In the early years of Emperor Huizong of Song, an official kiln was built near Juntai in Yuzhou to burn tribute porcelain for the imperial palace, providing a good opportunity for the comprehensive development of Jun porcelain art.

The Jun Guan Kiln is a tribute fired by the royal family. It only requires exquisite artifacts, regardless of working hours or costs. Good ones are sent to the court, while bad ones are broken and buried deep, and are not allowed to enter the common people. Therefore, craftsmen are able to present the exquisite products of the kiln. These craftsmen have creatively built a double milk shaped firewood kiln with a reasonable structure and excellent performance in the long-term practice process. This type of kiln has a large fire net area, which can quickly burn wood and heat up quickly. The soft flame and uniform temperature distribution inside the kiln are conducive to the formation of kiln transformation effect. At the same time, a scientific formula for Jun glaze has also been developed, and the use of copper red glaze is one of them. The History of Chinese Ceramics records that the Jun kiln in the Song Dynasty was the first to creatively burn copper red glaze, which was a remarkable achievement. The successful creation and firing of Jun red glaze opened up a new aesthetic realm and had a profound impact on the development of future ceramic careers.

The works of Song Jun, especially those of Guan Jun Kiln, have a natural and warm glaze color, truly reflecting the art of fire. The glaze color of Song Jun porcelain kilns can be generally divided into three categories:

One is the kiln transformation of monochromatic glaze, mainly including moon white, lake blue, sky blue, bean green, etc;

The second is the kiln transformation colored spot glaze, represented by sky blue red spots or milky white purple halos;

The third is the kiln transformed floral glaze, which mainly includes varieties such as Dan Hong, Haitang Hong, Xia Hong, Mulan Zi, and Dingxiang Zi.

Among them, the artistic value of kiln transformed floral glaze is the highest, as it best represents the style and charm of Jun porcelain's natural kiln transformation. Most landscape paintings with exquisite artistic conception are formed naturally from flower glazed kilns, making porcelain an artistic treasure.