Porcelain single operation. In this process, "green" (unfired) ceramic wares are heated to high temperatures in a kiln to permanently set their shapes. Porcelain is fired at a higher temperature than earthenware so that the body can vitrify and become non-porous. Porcelain originated in China, and it took a long time to reach the modern material. Until recent times, almost all East Asian porcelain was of the hard-paste type. There is no precise date to separate the production of proto-porcelain from that of porcelain. Although proto-porcelain wares exist dating from the Shang dynasty (1600–1046 BC), by the time of the Eastern
Jingdezhen porcelain were appointed by the provincial administration up until 1726, when Beijing appointed Nian Xiyao. Wares of this interim period are often called "Transitional", and include the Tianqi porcelain mostly made for the Japanese market. The effect on the Jingdezhen potters was "liberating", as the range of subject matter in decoration greatly expanded. Printed books had become much more widely available, and were used, directly or indirectly, as sources for scenes on porcelain. Conveniently for the historian, many pieces began to be dated. Towards the end of the period the first "famille rose" porcelains appeared; the various colour "families" were to