Fanchang kiln blue and white porcelain, and Jiangxi Jingdezhen blue and white porcelain creation era should be the same, the texture of the two is both similar and different. Yunyang, Fengjie, Zhongxian, Fuling and other places in the Chongqing section of the Three Gorges Reservoir area of the Yangtze River have unearthed five generations of Fanchang kiln blue and white porcelain from the Northern Song Dynasty. Although the Three Gorges is fierce in water and dangerous in transportation, many prosperous kilns of blue and white porcelain have been unearthed, which not only reflects the large number of their output, but also fully confirms that they are deeply loved by the people of the gorge area. Fanchang kiln tire glaze is very refined, but most of the tire glaze is yellow, the outer lower gastropod is unglazed or leaky glaze; Jingdezhen kiln blue and white porcelain, tire glaze is fine, glaze color is blue, take bowls, plates, cups as an example, in addition to the bottom without glaze, the outer lower gastropods are full of glaze. Through the excavation of physical objects and documentary records, it is believed that the two kilns are the production centers of mainland blue and white porcelain.
The Three Gorges Basin of the Yangtze River includes the counties along the coast of Badong, Zigui, Yichang and Chongqing in Hubei. In the Three Gorges Basin, the cliffs on both sides of the strait are cliffs, the mountains are majestic and dangerous, and the rivers are rushing and rushing, making the water traffic in the Three Gorges extremely inconvenient. However, in the fight against water transport, the ancestors overcame many hardships and created and left behind countless precious material civilization and spiritual civilization wealth. From the 1990s to 2003, due to the construction of the Three Gorges Water Conservancy Hub Project of the Yangtze River, archaeologists carried out all-round archaeological surveys and field archaeological excavations in order to rescue and protect the underground cultural relics on the ground, unearthed countless and extremely precious historical relics, and found a large number of ancient cultural relics, which attracted the attention of the world. As far as porcelain is concerned, many porcelains have been unearthed from various places along the coast, and the book "Three Gorges and Chinese Porcelain" compiled by collecting porcelain unearthed from various places was published in 2010, which also briefly recorded the Blue and White Porcelain of Fanchang Kiln, but there are not many public announcements and time-pressing limitations of excavated artifacts in various places, and the number and texture of the records are not complete enough. With the passage of time, and the successive publications of the utensils, I hereby make further explanations as follows:
Fragments of Qingbai porcelain from Fanchang kilns have been unearthed in almost all parts of the Three Gorges coast, and only the bowls, plates, cups, and stoves unearthed in Yunyang, Fengjie, Zhongxian, and Fuling are described as follows:
None
The riverside city on the left bank of the Three Gorges section of the Yangtze River, the Zhongba site excavated by archaeology in the 1990s, is known as "a 5,000-year-old continuous general history site, unique in China and rare in the world." "The excavated ceramics of the past are difficult to count, and here are examples of the five generations of Anhui Fanchang kilns and the Northern Song Dynasty blue and white porcelain.
Five generations – bowls
(1) Lip, diagonal bowl, 2 fragments, tire white, glaze color blue-white, glaze blue-green. (Figures 1 and 2) Excavated in Zhong County in 2002.
Figure 1 Five generations of Fanchang kiln bowl slices
Figure 2 Five generations of Fanchang kiln bowl slices
(2) Lip, oblique arc wall, circle foot. White tire, glaze color blue white yellowish, glaze is bluish green, full of glaze inside, outer shin foot and bottom unglazed. The carcass is thin and light, with a regular shape (Figures 3 and 4). Height 6, caliber 15, foot diameter 5.5 cm. It was unearthed in Zhong County in 2002.
Figure 3 Five generations of Fanchang kiln bowl
Figure 4 Five generations of Fanchang kiln bowl
Northern Song Dynasty - Bowl
Open, oblique arc wall, circle foot. White tire, glaze blue-white yellowish, full of glaze, outer shin foot and bottom unglazed, inner wall with small openings and small bubbles, glaze is bluish green (Fig. 5). Height 5.8, caliber 15.6, foot diameter 5.3 cm. It was unearthed in Zhong County in 2002.
Figure 5 Fanchang kiln bowl in the Northern Song Dynasty
Cup
Mouth mutilation, oblique arc wall, high circle foot. The tire is white and fine, the glaze is blue and white like jade, the inner glaze is full, the outer shin foot wall and the bottom are unglazed, the glaze is blue-blue, if it is not damaged, it should be the best work of the Fanchang kiln (Figure 6). Foot diameter 3.5 cm, excavated in 2002 in Chung County.
Figure 6 Northern Song Dynasty Fanchang kiln bowl
Yunyang
Located in the northeast of Chongqing, it is the heartland of the Three Gorges Water Conservancy Hub Project of the Yangtze River. With convenient transportation, the economy and culture of the Tang And Song dynasties were relatively prosperous, and the excavated cultural relics were rich. There are many kiln systems of porcelain excavated in the Site of Mingyueba in Yunyang, including Xing kilns and Ding kilns in the north, and more famous kilns in the south, such as Yue kilns in Zhejiang, Qiong kilns in Sichuan, Changsha kilns in Hunan, Hutian kilns in Jiangxi, And Fanchang kilns in Anhui, etc. Now only the selected Fanchang kiln bowls are recorded as follows:
Five dynasties to the Northern Song Dynasty - bowl
(1) Six out of the lotus mouth bowl
The mouth edge is a six-petal lotus flower, extravagant mouth, the outer wall oblique arc is a six-petal melon ridge wall, the lower abdomen is rounded, the inner wall is carved with double lines and six curved petals, and the inner sole is also carved and circled. The tire is fine white, the glaze is fine and white, the inner glaze is full of glaze, the outer foot wall and the bottom are unglazed, and the glaze is sparkling blue. The carcass is light and thin, the shape is regular, the whole shape resembles a blooming lotus flower, the imitation gold and silver shape (Fig. 7) is 6 high, the caliber is 14.5, the foot diameter is 6.9 cm, and it was excavated in Yunyang in 2002.
Figure 7 Five Dynasties - Song Fanchang Kiln Six Lotus Mouth Bowls
(2) Carved lotus petal pattern bowl
Extravagant mouth, oblique arc wall, shallow foot, inner glaze, outer shin foot and bottom unglazed, outer wall engraved with striped lotus petals, white tire, glaze blue and yellow, rough workmanship (Figure 8). Height 5.8, caliber 12.5, foot diameter 4.3 cm. Unearthed in Yunyang in 2002.
Fig. 8 Five generations - Song Fanchang kiln carved bowl
Fengjie
The East Gate of Chongqing, the heart of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area of the Yangtze River, has a long history and a collection of humanities. Especially in the Tang and Song dynasties, the economy and culture were more prosperous, and the realist poet Du Fu and the patriotic poet Lu You, who were known as the "poet saints", stopped here successively. "Between the clouds of the White Emperor, a thousand miles of Jiangling is still a day." The apes on both sides of the strait could not stop crying, and the light boat had already passed through the Ten Thousand Heavy Mountains. The "White Emperor" in this famous poem of Li Bai is Fengjie City, so Fengjie is also known as the Poetry City. The cultural relics unearthed in Fengjie are extremely rich, and there is no shortage of fine porcelain from previous dynasties, as evidenced by only a few pieces of Fanchang kiln blue and white porcelain:
Five dynasties to the Northern Song Dynasty - six lotus mouth plates
Extravagant mouth, mouth along the six petals, oblique abdomen folded waist, the inner wall of the flower mouth to the bottom of the six tendons, the outer wall of the flower mouth to the bend of the waist in the form of six melon ridge abdomen, shallow and wide circle foot. The tire is white and thin, the glaze is white and yellow, the inner glaze is full of glaze, the outer abdominal foot edge and the foot wall and the outer sole are unglazed, the tire is light and thin, the glaze is uniform and bright, the glaze is blue-yellow, the shape is beautiful, the workmanship is fine, and it is imitating the shape of the five generations to the Song dynasty gold and silverware (Figure 9). Height 3.4, caliber 12.9, foot diameter 5.7 cm, excavated in 2004 by Fengjie.
Figure 9 Five Dynasties - Song Fanchang Kiln Six Lotus Mouth Plate
Song - Open bucket cup
Open mouth, pointed lips, oblique straight abdominal wall, high circle foot, tire white thin and thin, glaze blue and white lustrous, glaze with fine open pieces, full of glaze, outer abdominal foot edge and foot wall leakage glaze is obvious, the bottom is unglazed. The shape is neat and beautiful, and the production is exquisite, which is a masterpiece of Fanchang kiln (Figure 10). 5 cm high, 10.7 caliber, 3.4 cm foot diameter, excavated in 2004 by Fengjie.
Figure 10 Song Fanchang kiln bucket cup
Round-bellied four-stage high-foot furnace
Extravagant mouth, wide folded edge, neck, round belly, the bottom of the abdomen and the four-stage tower high foot are connected into one, from the bottom to the top of the three levels, all plain surface without grain, its top engraved lotus petal pattern, white tire, glazed blue yellow, elegant shape (Figure 11). 9.2 cm high, 6.4 caliber, 5.9 cm diameter, excavated in 2002.
Figure 11 Northern Song Dynasty Fanchang kiln round belly four-stage high-foot furnace
Fuling
Located at the confluence of the Yangtze River and the Wujiang River, it is an ancient transportation artery, and many celebrities from generations have gathered here. Sima Qian in Han, Du Fu and Zhang Hu in Tang, Su Shi, Huang Tingjian, Zhu Xi, Cheng Hao, Lu You, etc. all lived here to teach and write books, creating a brilliant culture. There are many excavated porcelain kilns, and the Qingbai porcelain of the Fanchang kilns from the five generations to the Song Dynasty has also been excavated.
Five generations to the Song Dynasty - bowl
(1) Lip along the diagonal arc wall bowl
Open, oblique arc wall, high circle foot, white tire, glazed blue white yellow, inner glaze, outer lower abdomen and foot wall glaze leakage, bottom unglazed (Fig. 12) height 6.2, caliber 12, foot diameter 3.5 cm. It was excavated in Fuling in 2003.
Fig. 12 Five generations - Song lip along the oblique arc wall bowl
(2) Oblique arc wall lotus petal pattern bowl
Open, obliquely curved abdomen, circle foot width shallow, inner wall without striation, outer wall carved striped lotus petal pattern, white tire, glaze color blue white yellow, inner glaze, outer lower quadrant foot wall leakage glaze, bottom unglazed, glaze is bluish yellow (Figure 13) height 5.8, caliber 12.7, foot diameter 4.5 cm. It was excavated in Fuling in 2005.
Fig. 13 Wudai - Song Oblique arc wall lotus petal pattern bowl
(1) Six out of the lotus mouth cup
Open, obliquely straight abdomen lower abdomen rounded, high circle foot, carcass white thin color, glaze blue white beautiful, glaze blue blue, glazed full of glaze, outer foot wall and bottom are unglazed (Fig. 14). Height 7, caliber 13, foot diameter 3.2 cm, excavated in Fuling in 2004.
Fig. 14 Five Dynasties - Song Six Lotus Mouth Cups
(2) Six-petal lotus flower mouth cup
Extravagant mouth, oblique arc wall, high circle foot, inner wall flower mouth to the bottom with equidistant six-rib line convexity, outer wall is six melon ridge abdomen, tire white is thin and thin, glaze color blue and white uniform, full of glaze, outer lower quadrant foot leakage glaze, bottom glaze, shape is delicate, is a fine work (Figure 15). Height 5, caliber 13.2, foot diameter 3.6 cm, excavated in Fuling in 2003.
Fig. 15 Five Dynasties - Song Six-petal lotus flower mouth cup
Disc - six out of the lotus mouth plate
Open, oblique arc wall, flat bottom, fine tire, glaze blue and white bright yellow, full of glaze, no glaze on the outside, concave string pattern on the inner sole, six ribs on the flower mouth and the bottom concave string pattern connection, forming a simple lotus flower, the form and color glaze are beautiful (Figure 16). 2.5 cm high, 12.5 caliber 4.9 cm in diameter, excavated in Fuling in 2004.
Fig. 16 Five Dynasties - Song Six Lotus Mouth Plates
Song - Cup
(1) Open bucket cup
Oblique straight wall, high circle foot, light and thin white tire, glazed blue and white lustrous, full of glaze, a small round navel bulge in the center of the inner insole, leakage glaze on the outer and lower foot edges and foot wall, no glaze at the bottom. The glaze is shiny blue, the shape is stable, the workmanship is thinner (Figure 17), the height is 4.2, the caliber is 12.5, and the foot diameter is 3.6 cm, which was excavated in Fuling in 2004.
Figure 17 Song Open mouth bucket cup
(2) Extravagant bucket cup
Oblique wall, lower abdomen rounded or oblique straight wall, high circle foot, carcass color white light, glaze color blue white yellow, inner glaze, outer lower quadrant wall leakage glaze, bottom unglazed, glazed at the end, glazed at the end of the glaze is bluish yellow (Figure 18). 5.7 meters high, 12.9 caliber, 3.8 cm foot diameter, excavated in Fuling in 2004.
Figure 18 Song Luxury Mouth Bucket Cup
According to the carrier of the above utensils, Fanchang kiln blue and white porcelain, tire color white, glaze color blue and white, there are blue and white flashing blue like jade, there are green and white flashing yellow, and most of them are flashing yellow.
Styling evolution. From the fifth generation to the beginning of the Northern Song Dynasty, the characteristics of the bowl were characterized by the lip (also known as the folded lip), the flower mouth, the open mouth, the oblique abdomen, and the shallow and wide circle foot as its main features. The characteristics of the cup: it is still dominated by the lips, flower mouth, curved abdomen, and high circle feet. The characteristics of the disk: mainly flower mouth, shallow arc wall, flat bottom. In the Song Dynasty, the characteristics of the bowl: the tire glaze did not change much, the shape changed, that is, the lips and flower mouth disappeared, the new pointed lips appeared, the foot was slightly increased, and the abdominal wall was still obliquely curved. Characteristics of the cup: the new appearance of extravagant mouth, oblique straight wall, insole with a small round umbilicus and so on. The most noteworthy and important thing is that whether it is the fifth generation to the beginning of the Song Dynasty, or the middle and late Song Dynasties, its common characteristics are: white tires, glaze color blue and white, accumulated glaze has blue in the blue, blue in the yellow, and the latter is the majority. The glaze is full of glaze inside, the outer lower abdomen and foot wall are glazed or leaky, and the bottom is unglazed. This should be an important difference between Fanchang kiln blue and white porcelain and Jingdezhen Hutian kiln blue and white porcelain.
A few points to see:
First, the above-mentioned Fanchang kiln five generations to the Song Dynasty's qingbai porcelain, only a few counties and cities as an example, does not fully represent the whole picture and quantity of the Fanchang kiln qingbai porcelain left in the Three Gorges reservoir area of the Yangtze River, but at least can prove that from the five generations to the Song Dynasty, The Fanchang kiln produced a lot of production, sold widely, and was well used by the people of the Gorge Area.
Second, the discontinuation of the above utensils is mainly based on the shape characteristics of the utensils, and with reference to the excavation report of the Fanchang kiln, and the "Collection of Blue and White Porcelain of the Fanchang Kiln". Its collection (hereinafter Fanchang kiln blue and white porcelain collection, all called after jizhi) said: "Fanchang kiln was created and burned in five generations, flourished in the early Northern Song Dynasty, and gradually declined in the middle and late Northern Song Dynasty, continuing for nearly 200 years." This is undoubtedly a collection of scientific assertions, and it is also the consensus of everyone.
Third, the "Collection of Qingbai Porcelain of Fanchang Kiln" believes that Fanchang kiln: "It is the earliest blue and white porcelain in the history of mainland ceramics, and the source of Chinese blue and white porcelain." We think that "one" should be added, because according to the 1988 "Qingbai Porcelain Theory" written by Li Yihua and Chen Dingrong: "Qingbai porcelain was invented by kiln workers in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, modeled on jade. ... According to the "Chronicle of Fuliang County", "Wude four years, there are people pottery jade, carry porcelain into guanzhong, called fake jade", and according to the "Jingdezhen Pottery Record": "Huo kiln, porcelain color is also plain, soil is greasy, thin, the best is as delicate as jade'. It is very appropriate to call it blue and white porcelain. Judging from the ruins, a large number of ancient kiln sites such as Hutian, Nanshi Street and Yangjiawan in Jingdezhen are all remnants of the Northern Song Dynasty (the early ones are also five generations). From this, the literature records that Jingdezhen in the Tang Dynasty already had a blue and white porcelain called fake jade, the best one yingjing jade, but the author did not absolutely believe it, and according to the reality of the earliest is also five generations, it can be seen that Jingdezhen has been able to produce blue and white porcelain in the fifth generation, we in order to understand whether this is the case, in the winter of 1989, accompanied by the staff of the Jingdezhen Archaeological Institute, in the Yangmei kiln found that there are lip short circle foot blue and white porcelain bowls and open shallow abdominal circle foot skimming blue and white porcelain plates, there is full glaze inside and outside, or only the foot wall has a glaze, the outer sole is glazed, or the outer sole is glazed, But there are strip-shaped branch burn scars. Judging from its vessel shape characteristics and the characteristics of the support firing process, it is five generations of porcelain. It is enough to prove that the firing technology of Jingdezhen in the fifth generation of blue and white porcelain has been relatively mature, so the Fanchang kiln blue and white porcelain can only be called one of the sources of Chinese blue and white porcelain, which is more objective.
Fourth, Jingdezhen blue and white porcelain, the five generations of bowls and plates are full of glaze on the inner and outer walls, the outer foot wall has little leakage of glaze, the bottom is glazed or glazed, to the Northern Song Dynasty, there are chronological tombs unearthed blue and white porcelain as evidence, its bowls, plates, cups in addition to the bottom without glaze, are full of glaze inside and outside, there is no unglazed vessel in the lower abdomen. The Fanchang kilns are all unglazed in the lower abdomen, which is the main difference between the two kilns.
bibliography:
1. Kan Xuhang, "Excavation of Luo Chong Kiln Site in Fanchang County and the Problem of Creation and Firing of Blue and White Glazed Porcelain", published in The Spring and Autumn of Cultural Relics, 1997 Supplement.
2. Fanchang County Museum, ed., Fanchang Kiln Blue and White Porcelain, Cultural Relics Publishing House, 2013.
3. Li Yihua and Chen Dingrong' "The Theory of Qingbai Porcelain" is published in the Chinese Ancient Ceramics Research Society.The album of the 92 annual meeting "Jingdezhen Ceramics", volume III, the first and second issues.
4. Peng Shifan, editor-in-chief of "Qingbai Porcelain in the Song and Yuan Dynasties", Zhuang Wanli Cultural Foundation, 1998 edition.
Photo: Dong Xiaochen Li Yubin
Editor-in-charge: Dong Yongjia
Editor: Liu Wei
Review: Lin Bizhong
About author:Dong Xiaochen is a librarian of cultural and bo research at the Institute of Archaeology of Chongqing Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. Li Yubin is an associate research librarian of the Yongchuan District Cultural Relics Management Institute.
Reprinted from: Chongqing Archaeology