【Abstract】In the history of ancient Chinese ceramics, wood kiln is known as the crown of China's famous kilns, and wood kiln porcelain is known as "Chinese porcelain emperor". Founded in the early years of Zhou Xiande after the Five Dynasties, the chai kiln is the imperial kiln of the Emperor of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, Zhou Shizong. In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, the wood kiln stopped burning, and the wood kiln became a "mystery of eternity". What does the "Chinese Porcelain Emperor" wood kiln porcelain look like? Where exactly is its kiln located? Over the years, there have been many controversies surrounding the location of the wood kiln, such as "Yaozhou theory", "Jingdezhen theory", "Yueyao theory", "Zhengzhou saying" and so on. On March 21-23, the "Wood Kiln Seminar" held by the China Cultural Relics Conservation Foundation in Luoyang was attended by more than 50 experts and scholars from all over the country. At the meeting, the historian zhao Haijun carefully examined the discovery process of the wood kiln and combined with historical documents. It has been unanimously affirmed by many experts such as Professor Ye Wencheng. This article is the keynote speech and paper of the "Wood Kiln Seminar".
The official website of the International Bureau of Cultural Heritage reported on the seminar
China-Singapore International Fashion Network, March 31 (Qu Weilin, Wang Na correspondent Qu Dapeng, Li Xiao) In the history of ancient Chinese ceramics, the wood kiln is known as the crown of China's famous kilns, and the wood kiln porcelain is called the "Chinese porcelain emperor". However, the wood kiln has been hidden in the long river of Chinese history for thousands of years, and its true face of Lushan has become a difficult puzzle for ancient ceramic lovers. So, where did the wood kilns recorded in the literature come from? What is the dignity of wood kiln porcelain? Over the years, the ancient ceramics discussion team headed by Wang Guanghui in Luoyang, closely related to the historical development background of the Tang, Five Dynasties and Song Dynasties, has gradually formed the view of "chai kiln out of Wu County, Zhou Shizong Chai Rong Royal Kiln" on the basis of studying and studying many historical materials of the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties and the exploration articles of contemporary scholars, especially combined with the collection and study of a large number of ancient porcelain objects. Although the final identification of the wood kiln still needs the subsequent field archaeological results, after all, on the basis of the previous discussion, the wood kiln research will be pushed forward a step.
In view of the above views, combined with the discovery process of the wood kiln in Wuxian County, the basic characteristics of the suspected wood kiln porcelain seen so far are analyzed.
First, the discovery process of the suspected wood kiln site in Wuxian County
What does the "Chinese Porcelain Emperor" wood kiln porcelain look like? Where exactly is its kiln located? Over the years, there have been many controversies surrounding the location of the wood kiln, such as "Yaozhou theory", "Jingdezhen theory", "Yueyao theory", "Zhengzhou saying" and so on. In order to unveil the mysterious veil of the wood kiln and restore the historical face of the wood kiln, the ancient ceramic scholars and collectors across the country have been painstakingly pursuing, and the footsteps have never stopped, and their spirit is commendable! Some historians, archaeologists and collectors in Luoyang are also tirelessly pursuing this ancient mystery! Here is a brief description of the discovery of the wood kiln and its suspected kiln site by the ancient ceramics research team led by Wang Guanghui in Luoyang.
One day in the spring and summer of 2017, Wang Shaotian, who likes to explore and explore in Luoyang, found Wang Guanghui with a number of porcelain pieces to identify the age. Wang Guanghui has a special love and deep research on ancient art, and he is keenly aware of some exquisite porcelain pieces brought by Wang Shaotian that he has never seen before. Its characteristics are very consistent with the characteristics of wood kiln porcelain recorded in the literature, so it is allowed to find the source. Wang Shaotian posted a picture of porcelain in the online circle of friends and claimed that if he could provide clues, he would be rewarded. Two months later, Wang Shaotian and his exploration team finally found the location of the porcelain piece. After many investigations and explorations, it was confirmed that it was in Lanhe Bay in Wuxian County (the location was kept secret for the time being). ）
Over the past few years, Jiao Kun, Geng Tuan, Zhang Baosheng, etc. in the team have also collected certain similar porcelain pieces and utensils many times, azure color, moist and delicate, with fine lines. Its characteristics are consistent with the characteristics of wood kiln porcelain recorded in the literature. In this regard, Wang Guanghui and others have studied many times based on the fragments of porcelain collected, and preliminarily concluded that these porcelain pieces are wood kiln porcelain that has disappeared for thousands of years, and the kiln site may be in Wuxian County, which is also the location of the Tang Dynasty Zodiac Kiln.
Consulting ancient documents, Cao Zhao of the Ming Dynasty recorded in the "Treatise on gegu essentials": "The wood kiln goes out of the north" and "The Ru kiln goes out of the north". Because the county belonged to Ru Prefecture during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, it coincided with the "wood kiln out of the north" recorded in Cao Zhao's "Treatise on the Ancient Essentials". Compared with ancient documents, coupled with the ancient historical fact that "Ru porcelain was fired in Ruzhou", it is preliminarily determined that Yu County (LanheWan) may be the birthplace of the wood kiln. In the summer of 2018, Yang Fenghe, Peng Changxin, former director of the Department of Policies and Regulations of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, and Jin Zhizhong, president of the Ancient Ceramics Branch of the China Collectors Association, came to Luoyang to inspect and saw the sample of porcelain pieces provided by Wang Guanghui, and also believed that this may be the "wood kiln" porcelain pieces that were looking for. In July 2019, Director General Peng Changxin and Director Xue Guofang of the China Foundation for the Conservation of Cultural Relics came to Luoyang and accompanied by Wang Guanghui, Zhou Jiashen, Jin Zhengxin, Wang Shaotian, Yang Fengjun, etc., to investigate the site. Many porcelain pieces of the same kind were found at the scene, including a thin-tire sky blue porcelain piece with the word "official" at the bottom (the author took a photo of it at the scene as evidence). The inspection further enhanced everyone's confidence.
Where did the wood kiln come from? The Notes on the Southern Kiln says that the wood kiln was "made in Ruzhou, and the porcelain is worth thousands of gold" The Notes on the Southern Kiln is a ceramic notebook that appeared in the early Qing Dynasty and was written around the Qianlong period. Only copies remain. Zhang Jiuyu, the author of "Notes on the Southern Kiln", is a native of Xiangtan, Hunan. Born in the 60th year of the Kangxi Dynasty (1721), died in the 8th year of Jiaqing (1803) and the 27th year of Qianlong (1762) Shuntianxiang Trial. I have known the counties of Jiangxi Nanfeng, Xiajiang, Nanchang, Guangdong Sixing, Baochang and Haiyang. Qianlong forty-one years (1776) was implicated in the Haiyang theft. After that, he traveled all over Song, Luo, Yan, and Gong, and returned to Xiangtan in the evening to teach Zhaotan Academy. He is the author of twelve volumes of Taoyuan Anthology, twenty-six volumes of Taoyuan Poetry Collection, two volumes of Taoyuan Poetry Yu, two volumes of Shulu Zhi, Liuru Tingyuan Ben, four volumes of Poetry of Past Dynasties, Xia Jiang Zhi, Yan Shi Zhi, Gong Xian Zhi, Yongning Zhi, and Jinnan Essays. Apparently, Zhang Jiuyu said in the Notes on the Southern Kiln that the wood kiln was "built in Ruzhou" (at that time, the county belonged to Ruzhou) was thoroughly investigated.
According to the collection of porcelain pieces, ophthalmic judgment, field investigation, and based on ancient documents, a relatively complete chain of evidence was formed, so that relevant people agreed that the suspected kiln site of chai rong of the five dynasties and ten kingdoms emperor Zhou Shizong Chai Rong was in Lanhe Bay, present-day WuXian (ancient Ruzhou). Therefore, the Luoyang team of this seminar put forward the view of "wood kiln out of Wu County". (Wang Guanghui, Wang Shaotian, Zhou Jiashen, Jin Zhengxin, Jiao Kun, Geng Tuan, Zhang Baosheng, Yang Fengjun, Li Taixuan, Li Bingyang, Liu Jingqiu, etc. have made a lot of effort and effort to this!) ）
It should be noted that The county is located in the west-central part of Henan Province, and is now directly under the direct administration of Pingdingshan City. During the Sui and Tang dynasties to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, it was a county under the jurisdiction of Ruzhou. Within a few hundred square kilometers around the center of The County, the porcelain kilns from the Sui and Tang Dynasties to the Song Dynasty are dotted with porcelain raw materials and various elements.
2. The chai kiln is the Royal Kiln of Zhou Shizong Chai Rong
The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period was the last large-scale division of China's feudal society, and there were first Later Liang, Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han, and Later Five Dynasties dynasties in the Central Plains. The Five Dynasties began in 907 AD and ended in 960 AD, after 54 years, and 8 surnames and 14 emperors. In addition to the Central Plains, there were ten independent kingdoms such as the Southern Tang Dynasty and Chu.
Emperor Chai Rong of Zhou shizong was the emperor of the Later Zhou Dynasty during the Five Dynasties period, reigning for more than five years. Legend has it that Chai Rong, who had burned porcelain and sold porcelain, succeeded to the throne and ordered the creation of the imperial kiln, which was later called "chai kiln". The wood kiln gathered the national strength and porcelain masters at that time, looked for a variety of high-quality tire soil, painstakingly explored the craftsmanship, glaze and firing, and finally became a generation of porcelain emperors. On June 19, 959, the sixth year of Xiande (959), Chai Sejong died of illness at the age of 39. For future generations, it has left a string of mysteries such as wood kilns that have been interpreted for more than a thousand years and are still being interpreted.
The porcelain fragments suspected of being wood kilns that can be seen so far are extremely rare thin-tire exquisite porcelain pieces. So, is this wood kiln porcelain piece the imperial kiln of Zhou Shizong Chai Rong? It can be distinguished by the type of "chai" character for the fragments of wood kiln porcelain:
So far, no authoritative authorities have given a clear definition of "wood kiln". Baidu Encyclopedia says that the chai kiln is the imperial kiln of Chai Rong, the emperor of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.
So, is the chai kiln "the person who burned when the surname Chai" or the "imperial kiln" of Zhou Shizong? During an inspection of The Village of Xinmi Chai Kiln in Zhengzhou, the Chai clan said that the Chai Kiln was a royal kiln. In ancient times, there were not too few records of wood kilns, most of them were the notes of the literati in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and most of them were just a few words, which were copied from each other. Even so, there are many shadows of cao zhao's "Gegu Essentials" and Wang Zuo's "New Gegu Essentials" and other works.
The Treatise on gegu was written in the 21st year of Hongwu (1388) of the Ming Dynasty and was written by Cao Zhao of Songjiang. It is a monograph that identifies the authenticity and value of antiquities in the context of antiquities collection and trading. Cao Zhao's "Treatise on Ancient Kiln Ware" records: "The burning of chai shizong in the generations, so it is called the wood kiln".
The Ming Dynasty Wang Zuo's "New Treatise on Gegu Essentials" is an addition or deletion of the "Treatise on Gegu Essentials", and the earliest inscription is the sixth year of Tianshun (1462). The "New Treatise on the Ancient Essentials" says that the wood kiln is "burned when the Zhou Dynasty emperor was surnamed Chai, so it is called the wood kiln".
Both the Treatise on gegu essentials and the new treatise on gegu essentials propose that the wood kiln was burned by Emperor Shizong of Zhou. It is just that the "Treatise on Gegu Essentials" says that it is the burner when Chai Shizong was burned, while the "New Gegu Essentials" says that it was burned when Zhou Shizong was surnamed Chai. The meaning of the two statements is slightly different.
Looking at the history of the new and old five dynasties, the two books only say "Zhou Taizu" and "Zhou Shizong" to the emperors of Later Zhou. None of them are named. This is a recourse to ancient emperors. There are also special backgrounds for both. "Zhou Taizu" refers to Guo Wei, who founded the foundation, and whether Zhou Shizong, who later inherited the throne, was "Guo Rong" as Guo Wei's adopted son or "Chai Rong" who changed back to his original surname? After Chai Rong succeeded to the throne, this was both a headache for the courtiers and a problem that the writers of the Song Dynasty had always been concerned about.
In fact, whether Zhou Shizong's surname is "Chai" or "Guo" has always put his father and son in an embarrassing situation. When Later Zhou Shizong Chai Rong succeeded to the throne, his father Chai Shouli was already enjoying his old age in Luoyang, and the history books record that "the life of Emperor Shizong (Chai Rong) did not reach the capital master." According to the etiquette, Chai Shouli saw that the emperor was going to bow down. However, from the aspect of filial piety of his relatives, he was also the biological father of the current emperor, and his father knelt down to his son, and yu li was discordant. If Chai Rong wanted to see his father, he had to make his father the Emperor Taishang (but never). The ancients were the most "ceremonial", and Chai Rong's throne came from his uncle Guo Wei, so he had to think of himself as the heir of the Guo family. Therefore, the father and son have not seen each other since their son became emperor until his death.
In any case, judging from the discovery of the "Chai" porcelain and the treatment of the descendants of the Chai family by the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, the tendency of the "Chai" clan of Zhou Shizong is still relatively obvious. There are five Chai Rong brothers, and Chai Rong is the third oldest. After Emperor Chai Rong of Zhou succeeded to the throne, he added his father as Grand Master Jin Zi Guanglu, Inspector Sikong, and Guanglu Qing. The eldest brother Chai Mu (柴穆), the Duke of Fengshu , the general of Chengdu ; the second brother Chai Mao , the Duke of Fengchen , the Left General , the Porcelain Political Division , lived in The City of Chai Wangcheng (present-day Xihua County, Henan Province); the fourth brother Chai Hua , the Duke of Fengqi , the Right General ; the fifth brother Chai Gui , Feng Lü Guogong, the Assassin of Yuzhou , and the Left Inspector of Kyoto. It can be known that the second brother Chai Mao is in charge of the Porcelain Political Division.
Is the chai kiln the Chai Sejong Imperial Kiln? According to legend, during the reign of Zhou ChaiRong after the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the so-si (porcelain political division) asked Chai Shizong for instructions on the color of the porcelain, and Chai Shizong replied that "the rain passes through the sky and the clouds break, and such a color is the future", so the craftsmen painstakingly designed and carefully produced according to the requirements, and finally burned out the fine works in the porcelain. For "where the rain passes through the sky and the clouds break, such a color will be the future" The people of Ruzhou are mostly said by Emperor Huizong of Song. Regarding the provenance of this sentence, many references have been made to the literature, which can be seen in the Ming Dynasty edition of "Five Miscellaneous Tricks" (Wu Hangbao Shutang Collection Edition).
Volume 12 of the Five Miscellaneous Tricks records that chai kiln porcelain: "When the chai shizong was fired, the priest asked for its color, and the royal approval cloud: 'The rain passes through the sky where the clouds break, and this color will do the future.'" Chai Shizong in the text refers to Zhou Shizong Chai Rong. "Five Miscellaneous Tricks" (now "Five Miscellaneous Groups") (zǔ, an ancient artifact that placed sacrifices during sacrifices). According to this, the chai kiln is the credible chai rong imperial kiln of The Zhou Shizong.
During the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, porcelain production has been relatively prosperous, and the official government has specially managed porcelain
In the department of ware production, fragments with official names were found near the suspected wood kiln site in Wuxian County. Inferring that the wood kiln may be the successor of Zhou Shizong Chai Rong, the porcelain political secretary asked Chai Rong for the color of porcelain firing, and Chai Shizong replied that "the rain has passed through the sky and the clouds have broken, and this color is the future." At that time, there may have been several official kilns, but the official kilns in Yu County were changed to imperial kilns, which were specially used to make ceremonial or sacrificial vessels for the imperial family. In this regard, as early as the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, Yue Wang Gou Jian once created a kiln for firing high-grade imitation bronze ware of the original celadon ritual music offering.
Third, the type of wood kiln porcelain fragments
Wood kiln porcelain is one of the amazing glimpses in the history of magnificent ceramics, and after a thousand years, after continuous exploration and pursuit, there has finally been a surprising discovery. So, how to judge the porcelain of the wood kiln? There must be a sound specimen as a basis. After several years of collection, the fragments that Wang Guanghui's team has found so far that are considered to be wood kiln porcelain are mainly as follows:
(1) The word "official"
(2) "Chai" character (seal glyph)
(3) The word "chai" is added to the black box or the disease is widely bypassed
In addition to the above, from the perspective of the type, it has also been found that there are Song, Ming, and Qing imitations plus "chai" characters. However, the porcelain pieces of these vessel types are far from those of the suspected wood kilns in Wuxian County.
On the first day of the first lunar month in 960 (January 31), Chen Qiao mutinied Zhao Kuangyin's yellow robes. Zhao Kuangyin claimed that the empress dowager gave legal preferential treatment to the Chai clan and gave Danshu iron coupons, and the chai kiln should not stop production because of this, which was a continuation of his Zhou Shizong chai kiln.
Legend has it that in the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, the wood kiln closed production. According to the "Song Shi Taizu Benji", "Imperial filial piety is frugal, the quality is natural, and there is no mannerism... The reed curtains in the palace, the edges are made of green cloth; the clothes of regular clothing, sweat until again. Princess Wei Guochang decorated Cui Yu and refrained from reusing it, and also taught it: "Ru grows rich and noble, and should cherish the blessings." Seeing that Meng Changbao was filled with a drowning vessel, and the tsubaki was broken, he said: "Ru decorates this with seven treasures, and what vessel should be used to store food?" If you do it, you won't die! ’”
In the records of the Canonical History, Zhao Kuangyin, the founding emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, advocated frugality like Chai Rong of the Later Zhou Dynasty. When Zhao Kuangyin first ascended to the throne, he learned the lessons of the previous dynasty and was very disgusted with the urine drowning device used by the Later Shu lord Meng Chang to decorate it with seven treasures, and smashed it to warn the courtiers. In the twenty-seventh year of Guangzheng (964), The Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin sent Wang Quanbin and others to cut down Shu. The following year, after the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the Shu lord Meng Chang surrendered to the Song Dynasty, was captured to the Jingshi, paid homage to the Inspector Taishi and Zhongshu Ling, and was enfeoffed as the Duke of Qin. He lived in Fenjing and died in July 965. Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin saw Meng Chang's Seven Treasures drowning device around this time. The estimated time to close the wood kiln is also around this time.
In this regard, the folk legend handed down along the Xinmi Platform in Zhengzhou, Zhao Kuangyin, on the way to the Zhongyue Temple to enter the incense, passed by the location of the wood kiln, on the pretext of admiring the moon, climbed the Wangyue Ridge to inspect, found that the furnaces on both sides of the Platform River were bright and lively, that is, he ordered the closure of these expensive wood kilns and left the craftsmen behind. In addition, in the area of the Xinmiyaogou porcelain kiln and the Xiguan porcelain kiln, there are also legends and stories of Zhao Kuangyin slaughtering kilns destroying kilns. Some skilled craftsmen wandered to the surrounding areas of Ruzhou, such as Qingliang Temple, Duandian and Shenyuan, and spread the firing technology of wood kilns there, thus creating the famous Ru porcelain and jun porcelain in these places. This legend confirms the historical fact that the wood kiln in the history of ceramics has a relationship with the Ru kiln and the later Jun kiln.
Archaeological investigations by the relevant departments in Zhengzhou found that during the Tang and Song dynasties, the new secret porcelain process reached its peak, and large kiln sites such as Xiguan porcelain kiln, kilngou porcelain kiln and platform porcelain kiln appeared. The Site of Xiguan Porcelain Kiln is located outside the west gate of the old city of Xinmi City, on both sides of the Seasonal River from north to south, with an area of about 300,000 square meters. The firing time of the Xiguan kiln began in the Tang Dynasty and ended in the Northern Song Dynasty. Yaogou porcelain kiln site is located in Xinmi City, 18 kilometers southeast of Dakui Town, Weishui South Bank Yaogou Village, an area of about 2 square kilometers, only near the kiln ditch found 13 residual kilns, excavated porcelain fragments are mainly white glaze, followed by black glaze, white ground black flowers, pearl ground scratching, black glaze convex stripes and Song Sancai porcelain pieces. According to the shape, glaze color and pattern of porcelain, the kiln should be created and fired in five generations.
The Xinmiyuetai Porcelain Kiln Site is a large porcelain kiln site found in Zhengzhou area from the Five Dynasties to the Song Dynasty. From the side, it is explained that the rise and fall of the new secret porcelain kiln industry is related to the Zhao and Song Dynasties. The ruins of the terrace porcelain kiln are about 45 kilometers southwest of Zhengzhou. After the establishment of the Northern Song Dynasty, for some reason, Zhao Kuangyin closed the kiln yard around the platform around 965-967 AD. It is only 50 kilometers away from the suspected wood kiln ruins in Yuxian County, which were discovered today. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, due to wars and droughts and floods, Henan and Shandong were sparsely populated, and the population of the two provinces was less than that of Shanxi. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Chai Rong's fifth brother Chai Gui moved from Pingyang, Shanxi to the south of the platform in Mixian County, forming the village of Chai Kiln, which has a population of more than 400 people, basically surnamed Chai. In addition to ChaiYao Village, there are also Guoyao Village and XieYao Village around the platform. This area has also been under the jurisdiction of Zhengzhou many times in history. The reputation of the Mixian Yuetai kiln, Xiguan kiln, and kiln ditch kiln from the Sui and Tang dynasties to the Ming and Qing dynasties (the Northern Song Dynasty was interrupted) has always been very large. Thus, the Ming Dynasty's "New GeGu Essentials" proposed: "The wood kiln goes out of the north of Henan Zhengzhou". Wang Zedang is therefore.
Zhengzhou Xinzheng once unearthed a large azure bowl from the time of Emperor Chairong of Zhou five generations later, with a caliber of 20.8 cm, a height of 8.8 cm, and a foot diameter of 8.7 cm. The bottom is engraved with the words "Xiande Two Years, Inner House Honoration, One Hundred Two Picks, Xinzheng County", which is obviously a practical instrument. The second year of Xiande, 956 AD, was the second year of Chai Rong's succession to the emperor's throne, more than 1,000 years ago. Because there are "Inner House Respectful Manufacturing" and the number, it indicates that there are indeed official kilns in Zhengzhou that are fired here. Although the porcelain bowl is exquisitely made, the porcelain tire is thicker, which is far from the fragments excavated in Wuxian County. Because Chai Rong was the fiefdom of Zhengzhou when he was the King of Jin, it is inferred that there may indeed be porcelain-making official kilns in Xinmi, Xinzheng or other parts of Zhengzhou, but in any case, the "chai kilns out of Zhengzhou, Henan" still need to provide at least not weaker than the azure thin tire porcelain pieces in Lanhe Bay in Yixian County to fully prove it.
It should be further explained that the site of the Dock Porcelain Kiln is close to the north of the Ru Kiln and the Jun Kiln, which is a very important link in the development sequence of the ancient porcelain kiln from north to south. Excavations at the Site of the Moon Terrace Porcelain Kiln include artifacts from the late Tang Dynasty, artifacts from the Five Dynasties, and artifacts from the early Song Dynasty and later, and Ru porcelain and Jun porcelain have been found in this site. It is one of the important sources of Ru kiln and Jun kiln.
Among the wood kiln porcelain pieces that have been collected, there are also the second generation of "wood kilns" from the Northern Song Dynasty, that is, thin tire porcelain pieces later in 968 AD. It may be that its original wood kiln was closed and stopped by craftsmen or their descendants. Perhaps due to the complexity of the production process, the high cost and the fact that it is not a practical tool, wood kiln porcelain is eventually hidden in the long river of history.
In the Ming and Qing dynasties, there were imitations with the word "chai". But the appearance cannot be compared with the Chai Rong wood kiln.
Fourth, the color and characteristics of wood kiln porcelain
For the color and characteristics of wood kiln porcelain, Cao Zhao's "Treatise on Gegu Essentials" records that "azure color, moist and delicate, with fine lines, mostly coarse loess feet, rare in recent times." The "New Treatise on the Ancients" records the same.
The Qing Secret Collection was written around the thirteenth year of the Ming Dynasty and is also a book of antique appreciation. The author Zhang Yingwen (c. 1524 – 1585), a native of Kunshan (now part of Jiangsu), was a Ming collector. Love to collect, famous paintings of French books, rare treasures, all dedicated to searching. At that time, his friend Wang Xiaodeng outlined the appearance of his study with "books full of beds, Ding Yi and Yi Tang mixed and Chen" ("Qing Secret Collection Sequence"). Ying Wen recorded the inscriptions he had hidden and seen one by one, and after his death, he edited a book by his son and named it "Qing Secret Collection", which was borrowed from Ni Yunlin's "Qing Secret Cabinet" in the Yuan Dynasty. "On kiln ware, we must know chai, ru, official, brother, and ding, and chai cannot be obtained", "green as the sky, bright as a mirror, thin as paper, and sound as exhausted", this is the description of the wood kiln in the "Qing Secret Collection". Zhang Yingwen was the first to propose the "four ru" characteristics of wood kilns.
Gao Lian in the Wanli dynasty in the book "Zunsheng Eight Notes • Yan XianQing Appreciation Notes" Yun: Gao Zi said: "When it comes to kiln ware, we must talk about chai, ru, official, brother, and Ding, but I have not seen the porcelain of the wood kiln, and there are many opinions, some people say: green as the sky, bright as a mirror, thin as paper, sound like a chime." This is thin porcelain, but Cao Mingzhong said: wood kiln loess foot. Gao Qian repeated Zhang Yingwen's "four ru" characteristics, which are definitely "thin porcelain", but questioned the "loess foot".
Ming dynasty scholars, except for Gao Lian's explicit statement that the wood kiln is thin porcelain, and questioned the "foot loess soil", all recognized the "four ru" characteristics. Until now, people still regard "four ru" as the main criterion for appreciating chai porcelain. Therefore, the main basis for judging the wood kiln is: (1) Cao Zhao's "Treatise on gegu essentials" says that "azure color, moist and delicate, with fine lines" ;(2) Zhang Yingwen's "green as the sky, bright as a mirror, thin as paper, sound as exhausted"; in addition, in the chronology, it is particularly necessary to meet the requirements of 955 to 960.
The interpretation of the "azure blue" of wood kiln porcelain, that is, the cyan of the sky. Wang Zhidao, a Song Dynasty, has a poetic cloud: "The rain is as blue as the sky, and the blue clouds are included in the turtle pond." Lu You's "Lu Za" poem: "The stars are rare and avoid the moon, and the river white reflects the sky blue." The Azure in the Song language may be found in the "Crane Diagram" by Zhao Yao of the Song Huizong, which is a rare picture scroll depicting the color of the sky, with a light blue and slightly blue color.
In addition, as for the color of wood kiln porcelain, the "Outline of The Museum" published during the Ming Dynasty's Gu Tai Tianqi period said that chai porcelain: "There are still shrimp green, bean green, bean green and other colors, not only azure blue and one color." It shows that "rain over sunny days" is more than one color. When it comes to color, the famous art emperor Zhao Tuo of the Northern Song Dynasty has such a passage: "Azure is precious, pink is still, and sky blue is precious." Rain over the sky and clouds break, such a color to do the future" (Zhenghe First Year Imperial Inscription in the Ru porcelain plate). Visible cyan is a color that is more expensive and popular in comparison!
At present, the same kind of wood kiln porcelain collected in The county does have a variety of colors, at least: azure blue, bean green, beige, pink (Ru) red and so on. It can be seen that "azure blue" refers to the general characteristics of the wood kiln, not the characteristics.
For the interpretation of the "four characteristics" of the wood kiln, which is as blue as the sky, bright as a mirror, thin as paper, and sound like a chime:
According to the interpretation of spectral wavelengths by modern physics: between 390 nm and 730 nm is the wavelength range of electromagnetic waves visible to our human eyes, and various colors are in this wavelength range. Cyan is the color between green and blue in the visible spectrum. The wave length is about 470 nm. Somewhat similar to the color of the sky. In the older generation, green and blue were collectively called cyan. Green is a base color, crisp but not ostentatious, smart but not sleek, refreshing and not monotonous. Cyan is a color unique to China that symbolizes strength, hope, simplicity and solemnity.
Bright as a mirror: the ancients cloud "Bao Ying shoots the eye, the light can be desired";
Thin as paper: describe the wood kiln porcelain tire thin (about 1.7mm);
The sound quality is as clear, transparent and pleasant as the ancient "chime"!
Fifth, wood kiln porcelain innovation and firing discussion
According to the observation of the tire glaze of the wood kiln porcelain pieces collected at present, the tire glaze of the wood kiln porcelain is one color. The color of the tire glaze is expressed in the color of the porcelain tire, and the re-firing is only added with glass glaze. Wood kiln porcelain is thin tire porcelain, molded into shapes, mostly small utensils, carcass thickness of about 1.7mm. The ingredients may contain agate, glass, and gemstones. The black purple-brown color on the carcass of some circle feet indicates that the raw material of the carcass may contain peach blossom crucible, etc., which is formed by oxidation for a long time after breaking. In the Qing Dynasty, Zhang Jiuyu said in the "Notes on the Southern Kiln": "During the years of Zhou Wude (when it was "Xiande", it may be a mistake of hand-copied conversion), the treasure house fire, glass, agate and other gold stones were sintered in one place, because the order was glazed. Perhaps the glaze color and raw material secrets of the wood kiln are due to a fire in the treasure house "unintentional willow insertion". The surface of the porcelain made of these materials used as glaze raw materials is still as bright as the excavated Warring States Qin and Han crystals or turquoise and glazed glazed utensils after thousands of years, and the surface is difficult to be oxidized and corroded to produce a sense of old age, resulting in future generations thinking that it is newly made at a glance and dare not accept it.
Wood kiln porcelain adopts the secondary firing method in the firing process, that is, the plain blank that meets the standard is fired first, and the glass glaze is applied to the plain blank for re-firing after the initial firing. In terms of firing method, the mat soil is used to burn the mat. During the Song Dynasty, imitation utensils were padded with spikes.
Judging from the collected wood kiln porcelain pieces, it is also necessary to load a specific cassette bowl when firing to ensure that the fetal bone is firm and the tire is not exposed. At the same time, avoid direct contact with the flame, have sufficient firepower and do not flow glaze. The resulting porcelain is smooth and lustrous. The firing materials of the wood kiln are different, and the temperature in the kiln is also different, and the specific firing temperature data curve needs to be test fired. For the relevant data of wood kiln porcelain, porcelain experts need to continuously detect and reproduce in the trial production.
January 1, 2021
Written by: Zhao Haijun
Participated in the discussion: Wang Guanghui, Zhou Jiashen, Jin Zhengxin, Geng Tuan, Jiao Kun, Li Taixuan, Li Bingyang, etc
References & Information:
"New Five Dynasties History, Biography of Chai Shouli", "Chronicle of TangShan County", "Examination of the Tang Dynasty", "History of Song Dynasty, Taizu Benji", etc