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Why is kaolin also called china clay?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Stages in the slip casting of a thin-walled whiteware container. Clay powder is mixed in water together with a dispersing agent, which keeps the clay particles suspended evenly throughout the clay-water slurry, or slip. The slip is poured into a plaster mold, where water is drawn out by capillary action and a cast is formed by the deposition of clay particles on the inner surfaces of the mold. The remaining slip is drained, and the cast is allowed to dry partially before the drain hole is plugged and the mold separated. The unfinished ware is given a final drying in an oven before it is fired into a finished product.
traditional ceramics Stages in the slip casting of a thin-walled whiteware container. Clay powder is mixed in water together with a dispersing agent, which keeps the clay particles suspended evenly throughout the clay-water slurry, or slip. The slip is poured into a plaster mold, where water is drawn out by capillary action and a cast is formed by the deposition of clay particles on the inner surfaces of the mold. The remaining slip is drained, and the cast is allowed to dry partially before the drain hole is plugged and the mold separated. The unfinished ware is given a final drying in an oven before it is fired into a finished product.

Kaolin is referred to as "china clay" primarily because it is an essential ingredient used in the manufacture of china and porcelain.12

The term "kaolin" itself is derived from Kao-ling, a hill in China where the material was mined for centuries. Samples of this clay were first introduced to Europe by a French Jesuit missionary around 1700, specifically as examples of the materials the Chinese utilized to create their high-quality porcelain. Because of its high fusion temperature and white-burning characteristics, it remains a fundamental component in the ceramic industry for producing fine grades of whiteware.312