The Truth About Kaolin: The Secret Behind Jingdezhen Porcelain

Have you always believed that Jingdezhen porcelain is made from local kaolin?
In fact, the kaolin deposits in Jingdezhen were exhausted long ago.

Before the Yuan dynasty, Jingdezhen porcelain was made using only porcelain stone as its raw material. These pieces were pure white and beautifully detailed, but the material couldn’t withstand high temperatures, and large items were difficult to produce—they often deformed during firing.

During the Yuan dynasty, however, the Mongol aristocracy’s lifestyle demanded large-sized tableware and wine vessels, pushing Jingdezhen craftsmen to achieve a major technological breakthrough. They eventually discovered a special type of clay called Machang clay, found in Machang Village of today’s Ehu Town, Fuliang County.

When mixed with porcelain stone, this Machang clay created a dual-material formula that allowed porcelain to endure higher firing temperatures. As a result, potters could produce larger, more refined, and more durable porcelain pieces. Machang clay became an imperial-exclusive material during the Yuan and Ming dynasties—ordinary people were forbidden to use it.

By the 10th year of the Wanli reign in the Ming dynasty (1582 CE), however, the Machang clay deposits had been completely exhausted. Clever potters then discovered a substitute about two kilometers away—in Gaoling Village, Dongbu, also in Fuliang County.

By the 32nd year of the Wanli reign (1604 CE), this new material was officially named “Gaoling clay” (高岭土)—literally, “clay from Gaoling.” During the Qing dynasty, French missionary François Xavier d’Entrecolles translated the name into English as Kaolin, and it spread across the world. Today, international academia uses “kaolin” as a general term for clays of similar composition.

Remarkably, kaolin is the only mineral among more than 200 known metallic and non-metallic minerals in the world that is named after a geographic location rather than its chemical composition.

Kaolin deposits exist across the globe, and China remains one of the most important sources. Beyond Jingdezhen, high-quality kaolin is also found in Linchuan (Jiangxi), Jiepai (Hunan), Longyan (Fujian), and Suzhou (Jiangsu). Among all, Ordos in Inner Mongolia currently holds China’s finest kaolin reserves—estimated at an impressive 5.6 billion tons.

Even though the original Gaoling deposits were exhausted as early as 1968, Jingdezhen’s porcelain industry continues to thrive today, sourcing premium kaolin from various regions across China.