A Timeline Analysis of Modern Ceramics in China under Cultural Policy and Global Exchange (1980s-2024)

From the 1980s to 2024, modern ceramics in China has undergone significant transformations shaped by cultural policy reforms, global artistic exchange, and shifts in artistic concepts and production practices. Existing studies have largely focused on individual artists, stylistic evolution, or specific art movements, while fewer have examined how broader social, institutional, and policy-related forces have structured the historical development of modern ceramics over time. This study adopts a timeline analysis to map the development of modern ceramics in China from the 1980s to 2024, identifying key milestone events and developmental stages. Drawing on qualitative document analysis and representative case studies, the research examines how cultural policy, international exchange, and evolving artistic paradigms influenced the transformation of ceramics from a primarily craft-based practice to a recognized contemporary art medium. The analysis organizes this historical process into four major stages—early exploration (1980s), institutional formation (1990s), diversification and independent development (2000s), and globalization and technological expansion (2010s–2024). The study employs a qualitative timeline-based document analysis and representative case studies to examine how cultural policy, institutional development, and global artistic exchange shaped modern ceramics in China. In this framework, ‘institutional formation’ refers to the development of ceramic education systems, exhibition platforms, and academic structures during the 1990s, while ‘globalization and technological expansion’ refers to the increasing influence of international exchange, cross-media practices, digital technologies, and global exhibition networks from the 2010s onward. By situating modern ceramics within the contexts of cultural policy and global exchange, this study provides a structured understanding of how modern ceramics in China has been shaped by broader socio-cultural conditions and contributes to socialscience discussions on cultural production and the globalization of contemporary art in China.