Ceramics possess a series of outstanding advantages such as heat resistance, oxidation resistance, and corrosion resistance. In particular, clay has excellent plasticity, allowing it to be molded into various shapes and sizes according to actual needs and pre-designed specifications. In this aspect, ceramics are far superior to stone, wood, bone tools, woven items, and leather-made containers. Additionally, clay, the raw material for ceramics, is abundant, easily accessible, and relatively easy to process. These unparalleled advantages led to the rapid development of ceramics during the Neolithic period.
How did ceramic shapes originate? This question has long been of interest to experts and scholars, with varied interpretations. However, the understanding of shapes did not begin with ceramics but with the first tool made by humans—stone tools. During the early Paleolithic period, stone tools were simple and rough. By the late Paleolithic period, during the era of the Upper Cave Man, significant advancements were made in stone tool-making techniques, leading to an increase in types and a pursuit of regularity and symmetry in stone tool shapes. In the Neolithic period, stone tool-making techniques underwent a qualitative leap, leading to the appearance of polished stone tools. The curves in stone tool shapes became clearly defined, the variety of stone tools increased, and their functions became more specialized.
From the Paleolithic to the Neolithic period, spanning hundreds of thousands of years, the development of stone tools as tools can be seen as a progression from simplicity, roughness, and uncertainty in shape to fine processing, fixed forms, and an increase in variety. Especially with polished stone tools, elements of formal beauty such as proportion, symmetry, and smoothness were much richer and more mature than those in the Paleolithic period. The creations of human labor not only had practical use and usability but also, to some extent, possessed aesthetic value. This was not only because they met certain needs but also because they embodied human labor, creativity, and talent. People cherished these creations not just for their utility but also for the aesthetic pleasure they provided.
It was through the making and use of stone tools that humans first gained an understanding of shape, which deepened as their technical skills improved. Meanwhile, humans themselves were refined in this process, gradually acquiring other skills. Before the advent of ceramics, humans had already mastered stone tool-making and the skills of weaving, basket-making, sewing animal skins, and crafting wooden and bone tools. In mastering these techniques, humans gained several insights: firstly, they gradually observed and understood the beauty of shape and form, especially in the making of stone tools, where the most important aspects were comfort in handling and sharpness of the blade. This required that the surface of stone tools be as smooth, thin, and sharp as possible, with a symmetrical and well-proportioned shape. The contour lines of the shape, whether curved or straight, long or short, were unified with the overall form. Secondly, they gradually recognized the properties of different materials and learned how to utilize them appropriately. For example, animal skins could not only protect against wind, cold, and provide modesty but could also be sewn into pouches for storing items. In the process of mastering these skills, humans developed a preliminary understanding and design considerations for the materials and forms they used, striving for unity between beauty and utility, between practical use and psychological satisfaction. This preliminary understanding of shape and form and the knowledge and use of different materials laid a solid foundation and accumulated valuable experience for the later diversification of ceramic shapes.
“The prototypes of all ceramics were imitations of objects made from other materials.” Generally, it is believed that in the process of the origin of ceramics, the shapes of ceramics were modeled after certain natural objects and man-made artifacts, including imitations of animals, plants, humans, and various objects made from other materials. This view is generally correct, but specific analysis is necessary. Before the invention of ceramics, there were already tools made of stone, bone, wood, woven items, and leather, with a long history of development. After the invention of ceramics, as a new material, people were not yet fully aware of its properties and had not mastered the characteristics of the material—clay. Combined with simple forming techniques, there was insufficient understanding of what shapes could be made with clay. At this stage, the sources of ceramic shapes were primarily imitations, which were passive, without considering the characteristics of the material itself, relying entirely on the superficial form of the imitated objects. This was a lack of creativity in the production process. Not everything can be imitated, meaning that imitation was subject to certain constraints, especially in the early stages of ceramic production. These constraints manifested in several aspects:
Firstly, the material. Ceramic production is different from the making of woven items, stone tools, wooden tools, and leather products, as it is determined by the material used—clay. The production of ceramics must adhere to the properties and characteristics of the material itself. “All materials, whether artificial or natural, have their own character. We must understand their character before working with them. Materials and construction methods are not necessarily superior; the value of materials lies in whether new things can be created from them.” Clay is soft and pliable, with good plasticity when mixed with water, and undergoes chemical reactions when fired at high temperatures, becoming fixed and resistant to heat, making it the primary material for ceramic production. This gives ceramic production its unique characteristics.
Secondly, the production techniques. Ceramic production is a highly technical craft activity, not something that can be done casually. It requires repeated practice and operation to master. Only by skillfully mastering techniques, including forming techniques, decorative techniques, and firing techniques, can one create the desired shapes in ceramic production. In the early stages of ceramic production, coiling was the primary forming method. As ceramic-making experience accumulated, forming methods gradually increased, including molding, slip casting, and slab construction techniques, and finally, advanced forming techniques like the fast wheel method were used. The increasingly rich forming techniques for ceramics resulted in the diversification of ceramic shapes. Of course, the progress of firing techniques ultimately determined the success of ceramic forming. From open-air firing on the ground to once-firing in shallow pits, and eventually to ground kilns and half-ground kilns of various types, firing techniques progressed along with forming techniques, providing a material basis for the realization and development of ceramic shapes.
Thirdly, the functional utility of ceramics. The reason ceramics were invented and developed was due to the new modes of production—agriculture, and the new way of life—sedentism, which required new materials to create more convenient and useful containers for storing and holding various types of items, both liquid and solid. Thus, ceramics came into being. It can also be said that ceramics were invented as containers. Although containers were already in use before the invention of ceramics, with a long history of development, such as woven baskets, leather pouches, fruit shells, stone containers, and bone containers, these were all made for holding items. However, it was not until the Neolithic period that ceramics, as containers, underwent significant development. “In the history of ceramic development, due to the shape and purpose of the items being held, the functions and forms of ceramics evolved into countless varieties, influenced by the development of ceramic technology, materials, craftsmanship, and decoration methods, as well as the impact of other materials and decoration techniques. This led to the emergence of a vast array of ceramic styles, with numerous variations in different countries and ethnic groups, each reflecting their unique technological and cultural styles.”
If ceramics were invented as containers, then at the beginning of their development, their shapes were likely imitations of pre-existing containers used for holding items. Due to the constraints of forming techniques, they were mostly simple shapes, such as round or flat-bottomed bowls, or forms created by coating, molding, and removing molds from clay applied to baskets, gourds, and other natural objects. Therefore, early ceramic shapes were simple and the production process was relatively coarse. The sophisticated and lifelike imitations seen in later ceramic forms were rare in the initial stages of ceramic development.
In Neolithic ceramic forms, there were indeed many imitative ceramics, such as the boat-shaped pots of the Banpo culture, gourd-shaped pots, tripod-shaped pots of the Tangwang culture, human-shaped pots of the Qijia culture, bird-shaped pots, and cow-shaped pots of the Liangzhu culture. However, these imitative ceramics appeared in the mature stages of ceramic development, not in the initial stages. Regarding ceramics from the early, middle, and late Neolithic periods, the formation and development of ceramic forms underwent a process from simple, passive imitation to active creation based on actual needs. The variety of ceramics increased, and the production became increasingly refined. “No matter how difficult life may be for any ethnic group, they would not spend all their time and energy solely on food and shelter. Ethnic groups with relatively abundant living conditions would not devote all their time to production or remain idle. Even the poorest tribes produce their own handicrafts, deriving aesthetic pleasure from them, and tribes with rich natural resources have the luxury to create beautiful works.” In the formation of ceramic shapes, in addition to having the necessary material and technical conditions, as well as different needs arising from life and production, the most fundamental factor was human beings themselves—their concepts, aesthetic preferences, understanding, and knowledge of the world. With practical needs and the improvement of ceramic craft techniques, the diversification of ceramic shapes became possible, creating a material basis and conditions for this diversification. However, the realization of diverse ceramic forms ultimately depended on human innovation. The various objects existing in nature gradually became familiar to humans through practice, providing abundant material for creative inspiration. Moreover, actual needs prompted continuous thinking on how to create new, structurally reasonable, and functionally effective ceramic forms based on existing ones. This interactive relationship between creativity and need drove the formation and development of ceramic shapes.
