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A Study on the Investigation Methods of Jesuit Father d’Entrecolles Regarding Jingdezhen Porcelain Production Techniques



Author(s)

YANG Min, LI Xue, MIAO Lifeng, ZHENG Naizhang

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DOI:10.17265/2328-2177/2025.09.003

Jingdezhen Ceramic University, Jingdezhen, China; Jingdezhen University, Jingdezhen, China

In the early 18th century, to meet Europe’s urgent demand for Jingdezhen’s ceramic production techniques, French Jesuit missionary François Xavier d’Entrecolles traveled to Jingdezhen, Jiangxi. While conducting missionary work, he thoroughly investigated local porcelain-making techniques. He compiled his findings into two lengthy letters and sent samples of porcelain raw materials to Europe, successfully disseminating Jingdezhen’s ceramic artistry to the continent. D’Entrecolles skillfully integrated the protective function of his religious identity, the resource coordination capabilities of political networks, the documentation methods of empirical science, and a localized infiltration strategy, constructing a four-dimensional investigative framework of “missionary integration—observation and interviews—literature review—experimental verification” through Broussonetia papyrifera. These systematic research methods enabled him to comprehensively master Jingdezhen’s porcelain technology at the time, establishing him as the pioneer of Western systematic studies on Chinese ceramics and creating a new paradigm of “field research + scientific empiricism” in early cross-cultural technological transmission.

the society of Jesus, Father d’Entrecolles, Jingdezhen, porcelain manufacturing techniques, investigation methods