It is quite remarkable that ceramic art in China is the longest, continuously evolving art form, which dates all the way back to 7,000B.C. The word porcelain 'China' is perhaps China's most significant contribution to world culture and art. The Chinese started with earthenware and then moved to stoneware about the 11th century B.C with added alkaline glaze to enhance the beauty of stoneware. And further on, about the 8th century A.D, they had a prototype of porcelain in the making. By the Song Dynasty, 12th century A.D, the Chinese had totally mastered the art of porcelain. But it wasn't really until the Mongolians, who conquered China as well as the Eurasian continent, came on the scene that Chinese porcelain became widely known to people outside of China. The Mongolians were not only conquerors but also able traders. They were the ones who brought the cobalt materials( blue pigment ) from Iraq and Iran all the way to China to decorate blue and white porcelain. Then they turned around and exported such new wares to the Near East for a huge profit. In the 16th - 17th centuries, high-quality porcelain wares were exported to Europe. They were made according to European tastes in terms of shapes and designs. Chinese porcelains were also exported to Chinese communities throughout Southeast Asian countries, because of great demands for Chinese porcelains by the Overseas Chinese.