From the Tang period onward, Chinese porcelain exerted a deep-going influence on Islamic pottery. During the last several decates, European and American scholars have made a lot of studies on this subject. Since cultural exchange is always bilateral, Islamic pottery and metalwork also distinctly affected Chinese porcelain, which, however, has not attracted enough attention from academic circles. The present paper deals mainly with multiple Isiamic influence on the porcelain of the Ming period in the shape, decoration and even making technique of products. The Islamic elements displayed in Ming porcelain should be taken to be an embodiment of mutual cultural exchange,as well as a reflection of a social reality for it demonstrates from one side that the Hui nationality of China must have formed in the Ming period. Islamic elements in Ming porcelain were introduced via the Western Regions and the South Sea. In researches on Sino-foreign cultural exchange,a common method is comparative study. For archaeology,it should be based on solid archaeological data and related additional evidence, and requires a comprehensive and historical approach; sometimes, multi-type combinations of articles should be taken as research objects.
