Ye Zhemin

Ye Zhemin (; 1924 – 2 January 2018), also romanized as Yeh Che-min, was a Chinese art historian and authority on the history of Chinese ceramics and calligraphy. He is credited with making a discovery that led to the identification of Qingliangsi as the kiln site for the rare Ru ware of the Song dynasty. His published works include the extensive History of Chinese Pottery and Porcelain.

Life and career Ye Zhemin was born in 1924 into a Manchu family that descended from the Qing dynasty poet Nalan Xingde. His father, Ye Linzhi 叶麟趾, was a historian of Chinese ceramics who discovered the Ding ware kiln site. Ye studied history of ceramics with his father from a young age, and later attended Peking University, where he studied art and calligraphy under Xu Beihong, , and Pu Xinyu.

Contributions In 1977, while surveying the Qingliangsi archaeological site in Baofeng County, Henan, Ye found a sherd of pottery that was typical of Ru ware. His other books include A General Overview of the History of Chinese Calligraphy (中国书法史通论), A General Overview of the Pottery and Porcelain of the Sui, Tang, Song, and Yuan Dynasties (隋唐宋元陶瓷通论), Cizhou Ware of China (中国磁州窑, 2009).