Southern Song Dynasty blue glaze carved "Ji" word bowl - the porcelain pearl of the Maritime Silk Road (naturalist vision)

　　Southern Song Dynasty blue glaze carved "Ji" word bowl.

　　Courtesy of the Central Headquarters of the National Version Pavilion of China

　　The Maritime Silk Road crisscrossed most of the sea areas of the ancient world, becoming a channel for transportation and economic trade between the East and the West, and a link for communication between different civilizations. In recent years, with the continuous deepening of the archaeological work of underwater cultural relics in the mainland, many precious artifacts sleeping on the bottom of the sea have resurfaced after thousands of years, like pearls strung with the imprint of Chinese and foreign civilization exchanges. The Southern Song Dynasty blue glaze engraved "Ji" bowl that is on display in the "Version Craft" special exhibition of the Central Pavilion of the China National Version Pavilion is such an artifact version.

　　The beauty of timeless utensils:

　　Record the wisdom and creation of the ancient Chinese

　　Porcelain is a great invention of China, not only an ideal living utensils, but also a handicraft with cultural functions, known as "blue as the sky, bright as a mirror, thin as paper, sound like chime" reputation, representing Chinese wisdom, Chinese creation and Chinese way of life.

　　The Southern Song Dynasty blue glaze carved "Ji" character bowl is a piece of export porcelain from the archaeological excavation of the "Huaguangjiao No. 1" shipwreck site, which is produced in Luodong kiln in Nan'an, Fujian. This version of the artifact has a diameter of about 24.2 cm, a foot diameter of 7.8 cm, and a height of 7.1 cm. The tire color is grayish-white, dense, and the carcass is thick. The glaze is blue and yellowish, the outer wall is glazed near the foot of the circle, and the inner wall is covered with glaze. The inner edge is carved under a circle of string patterns, and the grate is drawn with a streamlined arc pattern, and the outer wall mouth is drawn along the bottom of the bowl with an array of vertical patterns.

　　The most different thing between the Southern Song Dynasty blue glaze engraved "Ji" bowl and ordinary ancient porcelain is that the bowl center is stamped with the Yin character "Ji", which symbolizes the Chinese people's yearning for an auspicious and peaceful life, and reproduces the attitude of the ancestors on the Maritime Silk Road thousands of years ago who sailed away and pioneered abroad. As a result, this piece of porcelain has a vivid and concrete cultural connotation, and it also has the value of a hand-me-down version.

　　The instruments of the Silk Road carried the way:

　　Witness the exchange and mutual learning of Chinese and foreign cultures

　　The Japanese scholar Hasebe Lele once commented on the influence of Chinese porcelain on world culture: "Through ceramics, it seems that the history of human cultural exchange can be better understood...... Examining cultural exchange through ceramics, the best clue is Chinese ceramics". Thanks to the economic prosperity of the Song Dynasty and the prevalence of tea drinking in society, Chinese porcelain began to be sold in large quantities in the form of commodities. During this period, the export porcelain such as the "Ji" bowl had the dual attributes of daily necessities and arts and crafts, carrying the lifestyle and aesthetic style from China. According to the "History of the Ming Dynasty", the god Wenlang Ma (in the area of Machen in the south of Kalimantan Island, Indonesia) "used banana leaves as food utensils at first, and later gradually used magnets with the Chinese market". The records in the classics show that the introduction of Chinese porcelain has changed the way of life of people in some countries and regions to a certain extent.

　　With the popularity of export porcelain, Chinese traditional culture, moral pursuit and aesthetic interest have spread overseas, and its influence has not been limited to East Asia and Southeast Asia, but as far as the Middle East, West Asia and Europe. In the 15th century, Iznik craftsmen of the Ottoman Empire imitated Chinese blue and white porcelain and produced a large number of ceramics with blue flowers on a white background. To this day, ceramics remain a symbol of the city and bear witness to the long history of friendship between China and Turkey. In the 17th century, the production technology and aesthetic style of Chinese blue and white porcelain had an important impact on the artistic style of Portuguese porcelain panel painting, and "Portuguese blue" was born and passed down to this day, becoming a beautiful scenery integrated into the life of local people.

　　During the Ming and Qing dynasties, export porcelain began to pay attention to the cultural characteristics and customs of the consumer countries, and created many porcelain treasures with both Eastern traditional themes and Western decorative patterns. According to the needs of European customers, Chinese craftsmen carried out painted firing, and the symbols of European nobles, cities, and groups were the main ornaments, hence the name "heraldic porcelain".

　　Rediscover the Underwater Treasures:

　　Constructing the collective memory of the Maritime Silk Road culture

　　The Maritime Silk Road is the oldest known sea route, also known as the "Maritime Ceramics Road" and the "Maritime Spice Road". After entering the Song Dynasty, with the southward shift of the economic center of gravity, the improvement of shipbuilding technology and the development of navigation technology, merchant ships gathered in the South China Sea, and water and land exchanges were frequent.

　　Huaguang Reef is located in the Yongle Islands of the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea, at the key point of the Maritime Silk Road, and is an important transportation point between ancient China and other countries in the South China Sea. More than 800 years ago, a cargo ship sailed from Quanzhou Port in Fujian Province ran aground and sank in Huaguang Reef, which is now known as "Huaguang Reef No. 1" - the first time that China discovered and successfully salvaged a wooden shipwreck in the open sea, and it is also the first ancient ship with 6 layers of hull components found in the mainland. At the same time, watertight compartments were found on the wreck. The hulls contain historical information that demonstrates the high level of shipbuilding and seafaring skills of the continent in ancient times.

　　Since 2007, the Xisha Underwater Archaeology Task Force has carried out rescue excavations and underwater archaeological investigations at the Huaguangjiao No. 1 shipwreck site. According to the excavation report, the underwater archaeological excavation unearthed more than 10,000 pieces (sets/pieces) of various relics in the water, and ceramics accounted for the vast majority. These ancient porcelain vessels are diverse, with a variety of techniques and ornaments, constituting a group portrait of the cultural heritage of ancient China's foreign trade: representative utensils such as the Southern Song Dynasty blue glaze carved "Ji" character bowl, the blue and white glazed peony pattern eight-sided powder box, and the blue and white glazed gourd bottle are being exhibited in many cultural and museum places in the mainland, quietly telling the splendor of ancient Chinese civilization and the close exchanges between Chinese and foreign civilizations.

　　Mainland archaeological researchers have never stopped their scientific exploration of "Huaguang Jiao No. 1". In December 2023, the second phase of the "Huaguangjiao No. 1" Southern Song Dynasty shipwreck protection and restoration project will be launched, and it is planned to spend three years to carry out hull restoration research, fill and strengthen hull components and a series of protection measures. This scientific research work will help promote the construction of the memory of the archaeological relics of the Maritime Silk Road culture, and realize the creative transformation and innovative development of the Maritime Silk Road culture.

　　Thousands of years ago, the ancient Silk Road opened a great era of exchanges between the East and the West, and built a bridge between China and the world. Thousands of years later, the Belt and Road Initiative has revitalized the ancient Silk Road and opened a new chapter in international cooperation. Over the past 10 years, the Silk Road spirit of peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit has moved from history to reality, continuing to write a good story of the integration of civilizations.

　　(Author's Affiliation: Central Headquarters of the National Version Museum of China)