1. First read the introductory paragraphs on the first (this) page, including the definition of porcelain, etc. and follow any links to the relevant pages for more details. This is basic knowledge when getting involved with Chinese porcelain.
   
   

2. Read about age signs and characteristics of old porcelain.
   
   

3. Read about fakes and faking methods (yes, that is important too, especially with Chinese porcelain).
   
   

4. Read the overview of pocelain marks.
   It is intentional that this part is not listed at the top of this list. Many people may head here first, hoping they can go ahead with marks as they would with western antiques, but this is futile. Trying to identify Chinese porcelain via marks will just not work.
   
   

5. Click the left menu for content of specific interest.
   Many pages contain links to other internal pages.

For an overview of site content:

• Click “View more...” below, at the bottom of the first page, or the “Sitemap” link in the footer of any other page, to access a partial Table of Contents of subjects mentioned in this site.

• Use the search box at the top of the right column to find content of your choice.

It is recommended to also have a look at these pages:

From the left menu click ‘Timeline’ and ‘Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties’ to get acquainted with the dynasties and emperor’s reign names mentioned in the pages. We frequently mention the reign names of Chinese emperors.

At the top of the menu on each page is a link to the glossaries, for ceramic terms or Chinese terminology.