During the Han Dynasty, Jingdezhen was known as Xinpin. Historical records show that it was during time that it began to make porcelain. Xinpin then was renamed Changnanzhen (Changnan Town) during the Northern Song Dynasty. It took the era name of the emperor during whose reign its porcelain production first rose to fame. In 1004 CE, during the North Song Dynasty, Changnanzhen became Jingdezhen. "Allegedly, Jingdezhen gave birth to the English name of the country. The ancient name of the town is Changnan.... Way back in time, Changnan was synonymous with ceramics, and over time, foreign ceramics traders made the name sound like "china." The rest is history." In the 19th century, Jingdezhen became a county. During the period of the People's Republic of China it became a provincial city but retained the Jingdezhen name. Usually when a town is upgraded to a city, the designation of "city" replaces that of "town", but Jingdezhen retained its name to honor its history.