Tang Dynasty bowl with newly found poem on display in Hunan

CHANGSHA -- A porcelain bowl dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907) has been displayed for the first time in Central China's Hunan province.

A poem about lotus picking is inscribed on the celadon-glazed porcelain bowl. It is not included in the Complete Tang Poems, a massive collection of Tang poetry.

The bowl is on display at the Changsha Museum in the provincial capital Changsha as part of a special exhibition titled Selected Archaeological Achievements of Changsha in the Past 70 Years.

The bowl was unearthed at a kiln site in Changsha's Wangcheng district, and this is its first public display, according to Zhang Haijun, vice curator of the museum.

A total of 110 poems have to date been found inscribed on porcelain ware excavated at the kiln, 100 of which are not in the Complete Tang Poems, said Zhang.

The poems faithfully recorded what life was like in Changsha in the Tang Dynasty, Zhang said. "Most of them were authored by kiln workers and other common people."

These poems are precious records for studying the society and culture of the Tang period, said Zhang Xingguo, an associate researcher with the Hunan provincial institute of cultural relics and archaeology.