Yaozhou ware

[4] The most important of these are at Linru and Baofeng in Henan,[5] but their quality is regarded as inferior to Yaozhou, although the bodies are extremely similar, and the range of glaze colours overlap.

[11] A characteristic northern type of "horseshoe-shaped" or mantou kiln was used, named after the Chinese bun it resembles in shape; one of a group excavated at Yaozhou was unusually well-preserved, allowing accurate plans to be made.

[12] Towards the end, after saggars were abandoned, a ring was left unglazed in the centre of vessels, which avoided pieces stacked directly in piles from sticking together, but detracts from their appearance.

[20] For vertical shapes such as vases and ewers a style of carving floral patterns in deeper relief was developed; these pieces may be known as Dong ware, though the term "has no archaeological foundation".

The Yaozhou Kiln complex, at Huangbaozhen just outside Tongchuan, Shaanxi, began production under the Tang dynasty, when it was notable for three-colour sancai earthenwares,[22] but produced black wares and other types as well.

Although considerably further from Kaifeng, which became the capital of the Song in 960,[24] Yaozhou benefited from the move, as the previous main high-quality celadon Yue ware, from further south, declined.

It was at this time that the poet Lu You (1125–1209), a refugee from the north as a baby, wrote that Yaozhou greenwares "are extremely coarse and are used only by restaurants because they are durable".