Culture stories
From Jingdezhen to Delft
In the seventeenth century, Dutch East India Company ships brought blue-and-white porcelain from China to the Netherlands. Everyone wanted it. Potters in Delft began to imitate it – and that is how Delft Blue was born.
A Dutch icon with Chinese roots: a bridge between two cultures could not be more beautiful.
Tea or chá?
Why do the Dutch and English say thee and tea, while the Portuguese say chá? The Dutch bought their tea in ports in Fujian, where people say te. The Portuguese traded through Macau, where it is called chá. One word shows you the old trade routes.
