Transport and Marketing in the Development of the Jingdezhen Porcelain Industry During the Ming and Qing Dynasties

During the Ming dynasty, the industry and the town of Jingdezhen underwent radical changes. The quantity of porcelain produced increased dramatically and the quality greatly improved. Porcelain produced in Jingdezhen during the Ming and Qing dynasties is generally divided into two groups, the official wares, guanyao , and the privately produced pottery, minyao . Porcelain trade in the town can be divided into two parts: retail shops for the individual customer and branches of wholesale buyers. Two factors which played an important role in the development of the industry, and which have perhaps been underestimated, were the existence of a viable local transport system and Jingdezhen's access to a nationwide marketing network. The inability of late imperial and early republican China to sustain and modernise its transport and marketing systems was one of the major factors that deprived Jingdezhen of a chance to develop into a modern industrial centre.