A Hundred Years of Chinese Archaeology| The Century of Archaeology and Research in Cizhou Kiln (Part 2)

【Keywords】Cizhou kiln; archaeological work; research results; centennial course

【Abstract】Cizhou kiln is one of the most representative and influential kilns in the Song and Yuan dynasties, and the porcelain it produces is a typical representative of the art of the common people in the Song Dynasty. Combing through the development and changes of Cizhou kiln from ancient literature records to the zhaoxing of modern archaeological work and the results of archaeological work carried out over the years, it can be seen that Cizhou kiln has few records in ancient documents and is mostly unfair, but it is one of the kilns that has been carried out earlier in modern ceramic archaeology and has been more adequately excavated, and important results have been achieved in related research from the production to use of porcelain.

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Fourth, the promotion and main achievements of Cizhou kiln research

In the more than 60 years since the excavation of the Guantai kiln site in 1958, the academic community has continuously deepened the research on ancient ceramics, and ceramic archaeology has also developed rapidly and gradually matured. Among them, Cizhou kiln is one of the kilns with the most mature archaeological work and the richest research results, and it is also the most active kiln in the field of academic research. Summarizing the relevant archaeological findings and achievements, it can be seen that the research of Cizhou kiln is based on archaeological staging and regional investigation, covering the generation and development of product types, the progress of firing technology, the source flow of decorative techniques, the distribution and use of products, the production system and the characteristics of the kiln, and many other aspects, and has also conducted in-depth research on its artistic style, cultural background, craftsmanship and artistic exchanges. Since the current research on the Cizhou kiln covers a wide range of topics and various discussions, only its basic appearance and the main aspects involved in archaeological research are sorted out here.

1. Zhaoxing of Cizhou kiln research

In the 1970s, Japan published as many as 48 volumes of the "Ceramic Series", including the "Magnetic State Kiln" special volume compiled by Hasebe Ler, which brought together the fine works of Magnetic State Kiln porcelain collected abroad and studied it from the perspective of art history, which was the first special catalogue of Magnetic State Kiln published worldwide. In 1981, The Indianapolis Art Museum in the United States held a special exhibition of Cizhou kilns, collecting the fine works of Cizhou kiln porcelain collected by the United States, Japan, Britain, Canada and other countries.

With the deepening of reform and opening up, foreign writings have been introduced to China, which has attracted the attention of Chinese scholars. As the inheritor of Cizhou kiln porcelain making technology, Handan Ceramic Industry Company, in order to explore the porcelain-making tradition and origin of Cizhou kiln, established the "Handan Ceramic History" writing group, successively held two academic seminars on Cizhou kiln, gathered scholars from various aspects, conducted research on Cizhou kiln, and published a collection of papers printed internally. The seminar made a comprehensive discussion of cizhou kiln from the aspects of domestic collection, product type and scientific and technological analysis, as well as the geological conditions of the kiln site. Although the relevant research is relatively preliminary, it undoubtedly shows the Zhaoxing of the comprehensive research of the Cizhou kiln, which laid a certain academic foundation for the initiative excavation of the first Cizhou kiln and subsequent research in 1987. The writing team of the "History of Handan Ceramics" also inspected the Linshui kiln site in Handan City and the Jiabi kiln site in Cixian County, and reported the basic appearance of these two kiln sites. At the same time, the organizers collected and translated a series of articles on foreign research on Cizhou kilns, such as Liu Zhiguo of the Ceramic Research Institute of Handan Ceramic Industry Company, who translated the research part of the book "Cizhou Kiln" published in Japan into Chinese, published in the form of internal materials, and also translated several Papers of Japanese scholars on the study of Cizhou Kiln.

Regarding the research history of Cizhou kiln, before the site of The Cizhou kiln in Guantai was excavated, Liu Zhiguo had already made a preliminary review of its research status. Subsequently, Qin Dashu carefully sorted out and summarized the research history of Cizhou kiln, starting from the meaning of Cizhou kiln, dividing people's records and research on Cizhou kiln into three stages: from the beginning of the Ming Dynasty to the beginning of the 20th century, from the beginning of the 20th century to the end of the 50s, and after the end of the 50s, and elaborated on the research status of each stage.

With the excavation and collation of kiln sites, problems such as product overview, stage development and technology dissemination of Cizhou kiln have become the breakthrough points of scholars' research. Based on the increasingly rich archaeological data, the research of Cizhou kilns has been able to advance from a wider perspective to a more diverse dimension.

2. Phased studies

The most basic and important research data of Cizhou kiln is the archaeological excavation report "Guantai Cizhou Kiln Site" published in 1997. This report comprehensively shows the results of archaeological excavations of the Guantai kiln in 1987 and clarifies the basic appearance of the Guantai kiln products. According to the excavated data, the report uses stratigraphy and typology methods to study the Guantai kiln in stages, and divides its development history into four phases and seven sections: the first period of the first period is roughly from the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty to before the Zhenzong Dynasty, no earlier than the Later Zhou (mid-10th century - 997). The second period of the first period is the first half of the 11th century, that is, from the Xianping period of Emperor Zhenzong of Song to the qing calendar of Emperor Renzong (998-1048). There is a missing loop between the first and second periods, which lasted from the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song to the reign of Emperor Yingzong (1049-1067). The first period of the second period lasted from the xining period of Emperor Shenzong of Song to the year of Emperor Zhezong Yuanfu (1068-1100). The second period of the second period is the first half of the 12th century, including the Hui and Qin dynasties at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty to the Early Jin Dynasty and the Hailing Dynasty (1101-1148). The third period is the middle and late Jin Dynasty, from the reign of King Tiande of Jinhailing to the mongol army's capture of the site of the Cizhou kiln, the third year of Jin Xuanzong Xingding (1149-1219) in Zhangde Province. The first period of the fourth period is from the Mongol period to the early Yuan Dynasty, that is, the fifteenth year of the Mongolian Taizu to the Yuan Chengzong Dade period (1220-1307). The period of the latter period of the fourth period is the late Yuan period, which began from Emperor Wuzong of Yuan to the year of the Great Yuan, no later than the Ming Jianwen period (before the end of 1308-14). Through the staging, it can be seen that the Guantai Cizhou kiln was first burned in the five dynasties period of the late Tang Dynasty, developed rapidly from the late Northern Song Dynasty to the early Jin Dynasty, prospered in the middle and late Jin Dynasty, and stopped burning from the end of the Yuan Dynasty to the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. The division of the four phases represents the process of kiln production in the Cizhou Yaozhang River Basin from production, development, prosperity to decline. "Guantai Cizhou Kiln Site" is the first academic work to interpret the development profile of the production center of the Cizhou Kiln Zhanghe River Basin from rise to prosperity to decline based on archaeological data, and has become a model for the later report on the archaeological kiln site of ceramics. Based on the excavation of the Cizhou kiln in Guantai in 1987, Qin Dashu, as the main excavator, wrote two dissertations - "The Phased Study of cizhou kiln" and "Cizhou kiln research", which conducted a more comprehensive investigation of the cizhou kiln, and made a more detailed discussion on the staging of the cizhou kiln, the development of process technology, the generation, development and source flow of decorative techniques, and the interaction between cizhou kiln and the surrounding kiln field, and constructed a spatio-temporal framework for the follow-up research of cizhou kiln from the perspective of archaeological research. This staging study has been widely recognized by the academic community, except for the later excavation of the Yezi kiln site, which pushed the production time of the Cizhou kiln in the Zhanghe River Basin to the five dynasties period at the end of the Tang Dynasty, and basically no one studied the staging of the Cizhou kiln after that. Although some scholars have believed that the firing time of the Cizhou kiln can be pushed forward to the end of the Northern Dynasty to the Sui Dynasty, in fact, the relics found at the Linshui kiln site and the Jiabi kiln site in the early days are mainly celadon porcelain, which should belong to the production system of the Anyang Xiangzhou kiln at that time, and there is no technical connection and inheritance with the later Cizhou kiln with makeup white porcelain as the main feature.

3. Comprehensive research

The earliest introduction to the Cizhou kiln was Chen Wanli and Feng Xianming, although the discussion was brief, but it had pioneering merits. Edited by Ye Zhemin and Ma Zhongli, "China Cizhou Kiln" is an important work on cizhou kiln. The book is divided into two volumes, the first volume is divided into the overall research overview, modeling and decorative art characteristics of Cizhou kiln, and according to the above archaeological phases, the development history of Cizhou kiln and its decorative technology are discussed, and the next volume is a catalogue of the fine works collected by Cizhou kilns at home and abroad. Wang Jianzhong's "Cizhou Kiln", the basic framework is roughly the same as "China Cizhou Kiln", not only discusses the relationship and mutual influence of Cizhou kiln and other porcelain kilns, but also attaches related works such as the overseas dissemination of Cizhou kiln art style. The 2017 edition of Cizhou Kiln in China, compiled by the Beijing Art Museum, also contains a number of research articles on Cizhou kiln, including the excavation and main harvest of the Yezi kiln in 2015, and the research content of porcelain, decorative themes, utensils and other aspects of the Cizhou kiln collection, which is an important achievement of recent Cizhou kiln research. Wang Jianzhong's "Identification and Appreciation of Cizhou Kiln Porcelain" focuses on product classification and process discussion. There are also scholars who focus on catalogue publications, such as "Cizhou Kiln Ceramics" and "Cizhou Kiln Ancient Porcelain".

In addition to Chinese academic circles, some foreign scholars also have unique views on Cizhou kiln, such as Hasebe Leer's "China の陶磁· Cizhou Kiln" is a typical work in early research. The book contains 90 Cizhou kiln products from the 10th century to the 13th century (including Cizhou kiln type utensils produced by other kilns in the north), introduces the unique techniques and artistic treasures of Cizhou kiln with physical pictures, outlines the development history of Cizhou kiln, puts forward some famous arguments, and also attaches the Cizhou kiln chronology, the Cizhou kiln system scope division map and the Cizhou kiln kiln list.

4. Research on the rise and fall of kiln farms and technological development

This research has been published by Chen Wanli, Liu Zhiguo, Zhang Ziying, Qin Dashu, Yang Jingrong and others. According to the cleaning of the Guantai kiln site in 1987, Qin Dashu conducted a restoration study on the kiln ruins, and discussed the level and characteristics of the commodity production of the folk kilns represented by the Cizhou kilns according to the distribution and scale of various relics. However, unfortunately, the discussion of the production management system of the Cizhou kiln in combination with archaeological excavation data is still relatively lacking.

The study of the appearance of cizhou kilns in stages mainly focuses on the two stages of the Jin Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty. Based on the data excavated by the Guantai kiln, Qin Dashu summarized the characteristics of the prosperity of the Cizhou kiln in the Jin Dynasty, and discussed the main reasons for the prosperity and production of the Cizhou kiln in the Jin Dynasty from five aspects. Guo Xuelei paid attention to the production of Cizhou kilns after the Ming Dynasty, collectively referred to the kilns that were still firing in the Ming Dynasty in the northern region as Cizhou kilns, analyzed the technological development and product characteristics of these kilns in the Ming Dynasty, and divided their products into Pengcheng Cizhou kiln type, Yuzhou Cizhou kiln type, Yaozhou Cizhou kiln type, Huozhou Cizhou kiln type and Huguan Cizhou kiln type. Mr. Guo's research actually distinguishes several central kiln areas for northern porcelain production after the Ming Dynasty, and clarifies the appearance and technical interaction of Ming Dynasty products in each kiln area. Hao Liangzhen noted the influence of the decorative techniques of the Ming and Qing Cizhou kilns on the local modern kiln industry.

5. Research on decorative techniques and ornamentation

In the research of the late 20th century, In the "Catalogue of Special Exhibitions of Cizhou Kilns", Hefeng divided the main products of Cizhou kilns into 19 categories according to decorative techniques; Hasebe Leer divided the decorative techniques of Cizhou kilns into 13 categories in the book "China の Ceramic Magneto And Cizhou Kiln", and on the basis of summarizing the research results of predecessors, the formation, development and decorative techniques of Cizhou kilns were discussed. These research results were also published in Chinese, which promoted the early research of Cizhou kilns. Qin Dashu published a series of monographs on the generation, development and source flow of many decorative techniques such as white ground black flowers, white glazed flowers, pearl ground flowers, white glazed green colors, red and green colors, and emerald blue glaze in Cizhou kilns. Liu Tao took the Cizhou kiln type porcelain using several decorative techniques such as flower picking, hanging tires, black glaze jump knife carving, red and green color and peacock blue glaze as the research object, and further refined the age and origin of these porcelain varieties. Zheng Yuan discussed the artistic achievement of Cizhou kiln type porcelain combining makeup soil with black color filling. Guo Xuelei conducted research on black glazed porcelain in the northern region of the Song and Yuan dynasties, mainly discussing the black glazed porcelain in Shanxi, which is mostly considered to be the product of Cizhou kiln, and also involved in the black glaze porcelain of Cizhou kiln. "Cizhou Kiln Decorative Patterns" summarizes the decorative techniques and patterns of Cizhou kiln white glaze carved flowers, black glaze carved flowers, Song Sancai, red and green colors. Hao Liangzhen et al. described in the book "Cizhou Kiln Ancient Porcelain" that the decorative techniques of Cizhou kiln include six categories: engraving, culling, scratching, printing and molding, painting and color glaze, and there are more than 60 kinds of decorative varieties.

6. Research on the special instrument of Cizhou kiln

At present, the special instrument research on Cizhou kiln involves porcelain pillows, plum bottles (various types of bottles), porcelain pots and wine utensils. Among them, the research on the most characteristic porcelain pillows in Cizhou kiln has been carried out earliest and most systematically, not only the review research of Song Jinyuan Cizhou kiln porcelain pillows, but also the topics of pillow painting themes, poetry inscriptions and craftsmanship. In addition, in recent years, official and private collection institutions have also successively published a number of Song and Yuan Cizhou kiln porcelain pillow collections, and there are many books.

7. Technical exchange and mutual influence

The technical interaction of cizhou kilns with other kilns in the Song and Yuan dynasties was the first topic that attracted the attention of scholars. Cizhou kiln is closely related to the porcelain industry in a large area of northern China. Chen Wanli was the first scholar to discuss the Cizhou kiln with many folk kilns in the north, and he replaced the concept of the so-called "Cizhou kiln system" first proposed by Western scholars with the concept of "northern folk porcelain of the Song Dynasty". The close connection between Cizhou kiln and the kiln mouth of the main production of makeup white porcelain in Henan is also the earliest issue that has aroused scholars' discussion, and there are many discussions among scholars on the relevance of Cizhou kiln and some important kilns in Henan such as Dangyangyu kiln, and the discussion also extends the influence of Cizhou kiln on Jiangxi Jizhou kiln, Hebei Ding kiln, Guangdong Leizhou kiln, Shanxi zhu kiln, as well as Korean Goryeo celadon and pink sand ware. In addition, Yu Luyang, Peng Shanguo, Xie Mingliang, etc. have all promoted the research on product similarities and differences and technical interaction at kiln sites in the north, including Cizhou kilns, which have coloring technology. Guo Sanjuan conducted a comprehensive comparative study of the three main porcelain producing areas in southern Hebei and northern Henan, Cizhou kiln, Hebi kiln and Dangyangyu kiln.

8. Scientific and technological testing and research

The scientific and technological testing of Cizhou kiln porcelain mainly includes: Chen Yaocheng, Guo Yanyi, and Liu Lizhong used the samples collected from the Guantai kiln and the Pengcheng kiln to study the black-brown colored porcelain of the Cizhou kiln in previous dynasties; after the excavation of the Guantai kiln site, Chen Tiemei, Liu Wei, and Qin Dashu carried out a series of scientific and technological analysis and research on the excavated porcelain specimens; Wang Quanyu and Qin Dashu used modern analytical means to conduct performance measurement, composition analysis, and microscopic structure observation of the porcelain pieces unearthed in the Guantai kiln to explore its process characteristics and study the production of the Guantai kiln from the perspective of process technology 2. The development and decline provide reliable data; Liang Baojun, Chen Tiemei, etc. have studied the specimens excavated from the Guantai kiln from the perspective of composition analysis; and so on. Cheng Zailian of the Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources of Hebei Province discussed the distribution of the kiln sites of the Cizhou kiln system according to the raw materials used in the porcelain industry in the northern region, which are mainly the secondary kaolin of the coal strata formed in the Cretaceous period, and analyzed their close relationship with the natural outcrops of the coal strata in the coal-bearing areas, especially in the marginal areas of the coal-bearing fields. In addition, there are scientific and technological research on black glaze, lead glaze, green glaze and other porcelain varieties in Cizhou kiln.

9. Conference proceedings and exhibition catalogues

With the publication and collation of the kiln site investigation and excavation materials, cizhou kiln has attracted continuous attention from the academic circles at home and abroad, and relevant conferences, forums and exhibitions have been held one after another.

In conjunction with the aforementioned 1981 Special Exhibition of Cizhou Kilns held at the Indianapolis Art Museum in the United States, scholars from Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada held the "Cizhou Kiln International Symposium" in Indiana, USA, and conducted a thematic touring exhibition of the fine works of Cizhou kilns collected by the four countries in the United States, and published a catalogue and the Proceedings of the International Cizhou Kiln Symposium. In 1985, led by Handan Ceramic Industry Company, two academic seminars were held successively, starting from the internal relationship of the Cizhou kiln system, technology, scientific and technological analysis and art and the introduction of foreign research results, and strived to deepen the research of cizhou kiln.

On October 1, 2002, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, "The Competition of White and Black - Special Exhibition of Cizhou Kiln Porcelain" was held at the Osaka City Museum of Art in Japan. The exhibition was organized by the Osaka Municipal Museum of Art and the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, and co-organized by the Hebei Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau and the Handan Municipal Cultural Relics Bureau, and lasted for 68 days. This exhibition clearly shows the development of Cizhou kiln, and also publishes a relevant catalogue, and the "Cizhou Kiln International Academic Symposium" was held during the exhibition.

Since then, since 2010, led by the People's Government of Cixian County and the Cizhou Kiln Museum, it has cooperated with the China Ancient Ceramics Society, the Cultural Relics Bureau of Hebei Province, the People's Government of Handan Municipality and other units to hold five international Cizhou Kiln Forums in Cixian County, Hebei Province. The forum is held every two years, and each session discusses a theme: the theme of the first forum is "Cizhou kiln facing the world", the second session is "The mutual dissemination and influence of Cizhou kiln and the kiln field process in the Song and Yuan Dynasties", the third session is "Research on the Decorative Theme of Cizhou Kiln", the fourth session is "The Inheritance and Innovation of Cizhou Kiln Culture", and the fifth session is "Research on the Cultural Inheritance and Exchange of Cizhou Kiln and Jizhou Kiln". Each forum published a collection of relevant monographs and catalogues. The forum is the most academically influential and longest-lasting academic research forum held in various ancient porcelain producing areas across the country, and effectively promotes the research of different topics of Cizhou kiln with the strength of the national academic community. The China Ancient Ceramics Society also held an annual meeting with the theme of Cizhou kiln, and the results of the meeting involved kiln site investigation and test excavation, management system discussion, collection introduction, Discussion of Cizhou kiln system and comparative research on technology flow.

Conclusion

In summary, although in the main porcelain production tradition of the Song and Yuan dynasties, the Cizhou kiln is not a kiln with many ancient documents and high evaluations, but the economic and practical production technology, colorful decorative expressions, close to the theme of ornamentation close to life, and a wide range of use classes make its products have strong vitality and wide acceptance in the Song and Yuan dynasties, and is one of the most representative material carriers of the song dynasty's social culture. Therefore, in modern times, the Western and Japanese academic circles, which are less influenced by ancient Chinese literature and have more social and popular awareness, have taken the lead in paying more attention to and researching Cizhou kiln, and then triggered a boom in Chinese academic research on Cizhou kiln. It was found that the cultural connotation of the Song Dynasty carried by the Cizhou kiln exceeded that of some so-called official products, and it was more closely related to the national porcelain industry, and the branch research content was also richer, so the research on the Cizhou kiln could continue to be carried out to a broader and deeper dimension. From another point of view, the archaeological research of Cizhou kiln was carried out earlier and more fully, and reliable staging studies laid a solid foundation for subsequent research. Since the end of the 20th century, the spatio-temporal scope of Cizhou kiln research has continued to expand: in terms of time, it began to extend from the Song and Yuan dynasties to the Ming and Qing dynasties; in the spatial dimension, the two production centers in Gucizhou have carried out archaeological work and research, and the research on the relationship between Cizhou kiln and the surrounding and even national kilns has also been carried out to a certain extent. If we introduce Chen Wanli's concept of "folk porcelain of the Song Dynasty", we have made great progress in the research of many porcelain-making centers in Henan, Shanxi, Shandong and other places that are also folk kilns and are closely related to Cizhou kilns. The microscopic study of cizhou kilns has penetrated into various glazes, decorations, and specific utensils and patterns.

The research results of Cizhou Kiln are fruitful, and the writings are numerous, and what we have said will inevitably be missed, and we can only ask the Fang family for forgiveness.

Although the achievements of cizhou kiln research are remarkable, it is inevitable that there are shortcomings, and here are a few examples. First of all, the discussion on the reasons for the rise and fall of Cizhou kilns is still seriously insufficient, that is, the research on the connection between the production of Cizhou kilns and the social and historical background is relatively lacking, and it rarely involves the management system and operation mode of the production of Cizhou kilns, so that people have the feeling of cizhou kilns and cannot jump out of the feeling of porcelain and porcelain. Secondly, the research on the flow cloth of Cizhou kiln products, the research on the distribution route, scope and export sales is still very weak, which does not match the overall level of Cizhou kiln research. Third, from the timeline of Cizhou kiln production, the status of Cizhou kiln in the national porcelain industry in the Ming and Qing dynasties is higher than that in the Song and Yuan dynasties, and the research in this period is relatively weak, and the research of Cizhou kiln is relatively lagging behind when the national ceramic archaeological research has been greatly extended to the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Clarify the results of previous research and clarify the direction of future research, and the research of Cizhou kiln will certainly achieve greater achievements.

The original article "The Centennial Course of Archaeology and Research in Cizhou Kiln" was published in "Cultural Relics Spring and Autumn" No. 6, 2021, and the annotation is omitted here. Author: Qin Dashu, Li Kai, Center for Chinese Archaeology, Peking University; Guo Sanjuan, Hunan Provincial Museum.