Beyond: the path of civilization

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Germany was the first European country to invent china. Although China remained a china-producing monopoly for a thousand years, the technology of producing china spread across Europe in just 50 years. Such rapid spread of technology was possible because some 400 countries competed for it and even dispatched industrial spies. That also explains why Europe’s porcelain industry evolved at a fast pace and ultimately surpassed China, the womb of chinaware, in just 300 years. So when did the focus of modern civilization shift to Western Europe? Join us to learn about the present and future of mankind from “china perspective.”

Cristoph Hunger, the First Industrial Spy

King Augustus of Sachsen was preoccupied with the collection of Oriental porcelain pieces. Although he suffered from a huge amount of debts, he gave his full support to the development of porcelain-producing technologies. After three years of experiments, a group of his scientists succeeded in developing a porcelain technology. But his ambition to monopolize the market was dampened in just 10 years because one of his potters, Hunger, leaked the technology to Austria, Italy, Denmark and Russia. Europeans had to watch China enjoy its suzerain status in chinaware for 1,000 years. But they finally developed their own technology in the eighteenth century and spread it, grabbing the market in just 300 years. How did they succeed in taking the market from China?

Exploring Pompeii, a Roman city, which Created a Neo-Classicism Boom

Pompeii was a prosperous ancient Roman city. After its oblivion for centuries, Pompeii made its majestic reappearance in the eighteenth century. After discovering this buried under ashes city, Europeans made arduous efforts to learn about Rome’s prosperity and traditions. Their social and cultural changes were reflected in their porcelain. While imitating Chinese chinaware, European porcelain companies competed to hit the market using traditional Greek and Roman patterns and designs. And they succeeded eventually. The KBS production team filmed the splendid scenes of the ruins of Pompeii, whose traditions and culture once swept Europe.

Wedgwood, a British Porcelain Company during the Industrial Revolution

How did Britain succeed in the world’s first industrial revolution in the eighteenth century? Britain invented a steam engine, introduced market economy and implemented the division of labor – to a great surprise of its neighbors. Join us to learn about Britain’s feats through Wedgwood, a British porcelain company, and the development of modern Britain, from the “Society of Moonmen,” a young men’s club in Birmingham, to the invention of decal and molding techniques that ushered in the era of industrial porcelain, to the birth of bone china.

How did International Exhibitions Begin?

International exhibitions, where industrial products compete to grab the market, date back to 1850. By that time, the industrial revolution had already swept across Europe. Queen Victoria initiated the first exhibition so that various industrial products could be introduced. Since the first exhibition in London, porcelain has been one of the main items on display. Exhibitions served as the outlets of new brands and a stage for the creation of new trends. The Ukiyoe woodblock printing of Japan, Royal Copenhagen of Denmark and Herend of Hungary set new trends in European art in the nineteenth century. All new trends were introduced at international exhibitions. Join us to learn how countries the world over encountered and influenced each other in the era of industrial society.

Modern Civilization from Porcelain Perspective

Space industry lies at the core of state-of-the-art technologies of the 21st century, with NASA standing at the heart of the industry. Spacecrafts are supposed to withstand about 1,800 degrees Celsius when entering the orbit. Fire-proof tiles for spacecrafts are baked in high temperatures, and the United States possesses top-of-the-line technologies to make that possible. But now the U.S. wants to learn a new technology from Japan, where potters bake new-type fire-proof tiles in their traditional kilns. Who is leading civilization? How does it develop? Through this program, the KBS production team seeks to find an answer to any of these two questions, which have remained unanswered since the beginning of human civilization.