Porcelain styles, and there are several modern industrial manufacturers. These exported Chinese porcelains were held in such great esteem in Europe that in English "china" became a commonly–used synonym for the Italian term "porcelain". The first mention of porcelain in Europe is in "Il Milione" by Marco Polo in XII sec. Apart from copying Chinese porcelain in "faience" (tin glazed earthenware), the soft-paste Medici porcelain in 16th-century Florence was the first real European attempt to reproduce it, with little success. Early in the 16th century, Portuguese traders returned home with samples of kaolin, which they discovered in China to be essential
Porcelain trade in Qing China invasions caused a temporary stalling in the creation for porcelain. Once the Qing dynasty sought to bring back porcelain in the trade they developed a more efficient way to transport the Porcelain goods. The Qing emperors like Kangxi helped to initiate a furthering of maritime trade which would help the growth of porcelain trade. By using the Yangtze River not only was porcelain materials cheaper to send but the final good could be transported to other regions that were not accessible. Kangxi furthered the trade for porcelain by allowing an organization of private maritime trade that allowed families who own