Porcelain power
China DailyA rare variety of ancient celadon, whose production technique was lost more than a millennium ago, has captivated the public's imagination. They were 13 pieces of the legendary mise celadon, discovered in 1987 in Famen Temple's underground palace in Baoji, Shaanxi province, when work was being done on the holy site. Prior to the discovery, people could only imagine its beauty based on limited clues from ancient texts, such as a poem that compares mise celadon to "a piece of the moon dyed with spring water". In 2016, mise celadon was unearthed at the Housi'ao kiln, part of the Yue Kiln Sites at Shanglin Lake in Cixi, Zhejiang province. "One thing that sets mise celadon apart is its crystalline texture," says Du Liuqi, a staff member at the Shanglin Lake Yue Kiln Museum in Cixi.