Haitou - Kaito

A general term for gray earthenware made in China. Generally, when earthenware is fired in an oxidizing flame, the iron in the clay turns into red ferric oxide, giving it a reddish color, but when fired in a reducing flame with moderate ventilation, oxidation does not progress, and the earthenware turns gray, i.e., gray earthenware in the broad sense. The main earthenware in North China changed from red to gray from the end of the Yangshao culture to the Longshan culture of the Neolithic Age, with the development of kilns that allowed firing in a reducing flame. Gray earthenware became even more common during the Shang Dynasty, and remained as the center of practical utensils or Ming utensils until the Tang and Song Dynasties, when the use of porcelain became widespread. However, gray earthenware in the narrow sense is also called painted earthenware and black earthenware, and refers to the type that flourished from the Neolithic Age to the Shang Dynasty. Grey pottery from the Longshan culture was the most common pottery in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, but was relatively rare in the eastern Yellow River and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, where black pottery developed in parallel, and the production methods and types of vessels were different. The former grey pottery was usually shaped using the rolling method, and the surface was struck with a hammer with a rope wrapped around it. At this point, the striking marks, called "ranmon" or "joining patterns", are applied to the surface of the vessel. Representative vessel types include the three-legged bag-shaped reki and ka. In the subsequent Yin period, grey pottery vessels became extremely diverse.

[Kiyotaka Nishie]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国でつくられた灰色系土器の総称。一般に土器は酸化炎で焼いた場合、粘土中の鉄分が赤色の酸化第二鉄となり紅色系を呈するが、適度に通風を制御した還元炎で焼くと酸化が進まず、灰色系の土器すなわち広義の灰陶となる。華北地方における土器の主体は、新石器時代の仰韶(ぎょうしょう)文化期末から竜山(りゅうざん)文化期にかけて、還元炎焼成を可能にする窯(かま)の発達に伴い、紅色系から灰色系へと変化した。灰色系の土器は殷(いん)代になるとさらに一般化し、以後、実用器あるいは明器(めいき)類の中心として、磁器の使用が広まる唐・宋(そう)期まで残存した。しかし、このうち狭義の灰陶とは、彩陶(さいとう)、黒陶(こくとう)などと併称され、新石器時代から殷代に盛行したそれをさす。竜山文化期の灰陶は、黄河中流地方にもっとも一般的な土器であったが、黒陶が並行して発達する東方の黄河、揚子江(ようすこう)下流地方では相対的に少なく、またその製作法、器種とも異なっていた。前者の灰陶は、普通、巻き上げ法で形をつくり、縄を巻いた叩(たた)き板で器面を拍打して成形する。このとき、その叩き痕(あと)である籃文(らんもん)、縄文が器表に施文される。代表的な器種として、袋状の三足をもつ鬲(れき)、斝(か)などがある。続く殷代では、灰陶の器種はきわめて多様化した。

［西江清高］

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