This was an official kiln established in Zhengzhou, Henan Province during the Xiande reign (954-160) of King Sejong of the 5th Later Zhou Dynasty in China, and was called Shibayao because Sejong’s family name was Shibai. There are many different theories about this kiln, and its true nature is not clear. It is said that the thinness of the porcelain is like paper, the clarity is like a mirror, and the blue color is like heaven, and that it is the most exquisite celadon ever produced. A few examples of Shibayo are described in the “Yimon Kwangtok” (Letter to the Editor): “Shibayo is found in the northern part of the country. It is blue in color and rich in moisture. There is a lot of ocherous clay in the foot. In the Natural History Dictionary, it is said, “People of old discussed the Shibayao, saying that it is blue like heaven, bright like a mirror, thin like paper, and has a voice like a qing”; in the Jimonokonju, “Shibayao is made with precision and has different colors, and is the crown of all kilns”; and in the Novel of Ceramics, “Shibayao occurs in the soup. In the “Novel of the Novel of Ceramic Ware,” it is said, “Shibayo is a type of pottery that occurs in soup. The “Novel of Ceramic Ware” says, “The Shibayama kiln is a place where soup is made. Those who discuss kiln furniture nowadays always refer to it as “bush,” “you,” “official,” “my friend,” and “judge,” but bush has not been obtained for a long time. If you obtain a piece of leftover ware, it can be made into a decoration, a ring, or a toy. They are also highly prized. It is said that the treasure of a piece of bush should be shot out with a lighted eye, and an arrow should be repelled. The treasure is here, but it is not yet possible to shoot an arrow. The “Shiba Kiln” is not a complete piece of equipment. Recently, it has appeared again a little. A piece of wash is shown at Mabuan. The diameter of the face is seven suns, but it is deep and sunken, and the light color is indefinite. The blue sky after the rain is still not enough to describe it. Buan said, “This is a kind of camellia that looks like a Chinese lantern. It is difficult to see. As described above, it had already been considered rare for a considerable period of time. In his “Ancient Ceramics of China,” Otani Mitsuzui notes that the inscriptions on the Shibayao kilns were all made after the Ming dynasty and none before the Song dynasty; that the kilns were named after emperors; that the reign of King Sejong of the Later Zhou dynasty lasted only six years, during which time he was on military expeditions to the south and fought in the north, and never had time to get warm in his seat; and that if Shibayao kilns existed, they would have been used for the imperial vessels, not for the regular kilns. For these reasons, he argued that the Shibayo kiln was a fake product of the Ming dynasty’s Ya guest, and that it depicted the ideal of Chinese ceramics. Another theory is that while most of the kilns in northern China were coal kilns, the Guan kilns of the Later Zhou in particular were fired with firewood, hence the name Shiba kilns. In short, the reality of shiba kilns is still unclear.
