龙泉是浙江省历史文化名城，以出产青瓷著称。中国历史上有官窑、哥窑、汝窑、定窑和钧窑五大名窑，其中哥窑指的就是龙泉的青瓷窑。

Longquan is a historic and cultural city in Zhejiang Province, well-known for its celadon industry. There were five famous kilns in the Chinese history, namely Guan, Ge, Ru, Ding and Jun, among which Ge referred to the celadon kiln in Longquan.

　   龙泉窑是中国陶瓷史上烧制年代最长、窑址分布最广、产品质量最高、生产规模和外销范围最大的青瓷名窑。龙泉窑始于西晋，北宋时已初具规模，南宋中晚期进入鼎盛时期，明代以后生产规模不减，但质量下降，至清代逐渐衰落。中华人民共和国成立后，逐步恢复了龙泉青瓷烧制工艺。

Longquan kiln has the longest history, the widest distribution, the best quality and the broadest production scale and export scope among all the celadon kilns in the Chinese ceramic history. Longquan celadon industry, dating back to the Western Jin Dynasty, began to take shape in the Northern Song Dynasty, reached its prime in the middle and later periods of the Southern Song Dynasty, saw a reduction in quality during the Ming Dynasty with a production scale as large as before, and finally met its decline in the Qing Dynasty. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the firing technology of Longquan celadon has gradually resumed.

　   龙泉青瓷以铁作为主要呈色剂，釉面基本色调呈青绿色，以发色纯正、釉面类玉为上品。龙泉青瓷有哥窑和弟窑之分。哥窑的特点是黑胎厚釉，瓷器釉面布满裂纹，金丝铁线，紫口铁足。弟窑的特点是白胎厚釉，外形光洁不开片。弟窑瓷品青如玉、明如镜、薄如纸、声如磬，赏之令人心情畅然。弟窑中的梅子青、粉青达到了青瓷釉色的最高境界。

With iron as the main color agent, Longquan porcelains are glazed in a blue-green color and the top-grade ones have a glaze as pure as jade. There are two types of Longquan celadon: one is ge (“elder brother”) kiln celadon and the other is di (“younger brother”) kiln celadon. The ge kiln celadon has a black body and a thick glaze full of crackle patterns formed by the so-called “golden threads and iron wires”, appearing purple along the rim and brown in the foot. The di kiln celadon is characterized by a white body, a thick glaze and a smooth and crackle-free surface. Porcelains of the di kiln are as green as jade, as bright as a mirror and as thin as paper, giving out a chime-like sound when tapped and making it a pleasure to look at them. The plum-green and lavender-green glazes fired in di kiln rank the highest in the vitreous enamel among all the celadon ware.

　   龙泉青瓷在世界各地享有很高的声誉。自北宋时期，龙泉青瓷就对外输出至菲律宾、马来西亚、日本等国，南宋中期外销瓷进一步增加。元代随着贸易的发达，龙泉瓷作为主要产品之一，通过宁波、温州、丽水等港口大量销往印度、斯里兰卡、泰国、越南等数十个国家。明代龙泉青瓷传入欧洲，备受青睐，身价不菲。多年来，世界各地陆续发现了许多古代龙泉青瓷，世界众多博物馆都收藏有龙泉青瓷，并视之为珍品。

Longquan celadon enjoys a high reputation all over the world. It was already exported to countries such as the Philippines, Malaysia and Japan in as early as the Northern Song Dynasty and saw an increase in the exportation in the middle of the Southern Song Dynasty. With the thriving trade in the Yuan Dynasty, Longquan porcelain, as one of the major commodities, was sold in great quantities through such ports as Ningbo, Wenzhou and Lishui to India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam among dozens of other countries. In the Ming Dynasty, Longquan celadon was introduced to Europe where it was widely favored and was sold at high prices. Over the years, Longquan celadon products made in ancient China have been found one after another in various places around the world and are now kept as treasures in a number of museums around the world.