Brilliance of Daming Culture and Technology: Jingdezhen, the World Porcelain Capital

& gt in English, "China" is the address of foreigners to China; In their daily life, "China" is often mentioned, because another meaning of "China" means "porcelain". It can be seen that in the eyes of foreigners, "porcelain" and "China" are equated. Porcelain made "China" enter the homes of ordinary people in foreign countries and made them remember Jingdezhen, the capital of porcelain. & gt& gt In the vast territory of China, there are many places rich in porcelain. Since Sui and Tang Dynasties, there have been six kilns and five famous kilns. Every place of origin has exquisite porcelain to be proud of. Ding kiln in Quyang, Hebei Province, produces white porcelain comparable to white jade. There is a saying in the Jun kiln in Yuzhou, Henan Province that "a piece of Jun porcelain is not as rich as a piece". However, among many porcelain producing areas, the name of Jingdezhen in Jiangxi is undoubtedly the loudest, and it is known as the "Millennium Porcelain Capital". & gt& gt Jingdezhen is located in the northeast of Jiangxi Province, bordering Anhui, and was originally a part of ancient Huizhou. As far as topography is concerned, God does not have much preference for Jingdezhen. Jingdezhen is located in the hilly area, just a small basin surrounded by mountains, surrounded by mountains and steep hills. For ancient times with underdeveloped transportation, this meant being isolated from the outside world and in danger of being forgotten by the world. But God played another joke and buried the precious treasure in the mountains. One is kaolin, which is the most important raw material for making ceramics, and the kaolin produced in Jingdezhen is the best among the best. There is a small village called Gaoling 60 miles northeast of Jingdezhen. It is the soil here that gives Jingdezhen such a famous reputation. The porcelain clay in Gaoling Village mainly contains kaolinite, which is white, slightly yellow and light blue. It can be used to fire porcelain and is famous for its whiteness, delicacy and strong fire resistance. The reputation of kaolin also spread all over the world very early. In Europe, kaolin in the ceramic industry is also called "porcelain clay", and Xiaogaoling Village has won a worldwide brand for China. Jingdezhen's porcelain is famous far and near, and it is inseparable from the kaolin here. One is coal, which provides sufficient energy for firing porcelain. This also made Jingdezhen burn porcelain for thousands of years. Other porcelain producing areas are not so lucky. After their peak, they will face the dilemma of no fire to burn, which has become a historical relic. It is these that will leave green mountains and green waters for Jingdezhen, where the forest coverage rate is still above 70%. With these two gifts, the people of Jingdezhen have created a splendid ceramic culture with their own ingenuity, leaving a long list of exquisite ceramics for the title of "porcelain capital". & gt& gt Jingdezhen has a history of more than 2,000 years. History says that "the new level of pottery began in Han Dynasty". Although the porcelain produced at this time still belongs to primitive porcelain or early porcelain, the color and carcass of the burned objects are not mature, but this is the beginning of Jingdezhen porcelain making, and the brilliant future begins with the objects with uneven glaze color and different thickness. After hundreds of years of wind and rain, Jingdezhen's ceramics have gradually matured. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, Jingdezhen ushered in its first brilliant peak. There is a kind of porcelain called "fake jade" here. This is porcelain made by a local man named Tao Yu, which is comparable to precious jade in quality and color. For a time, "fake jade" was famous all over the country. Even Tang Gaozu ordered Jingdezhen porcelain to be listed as a tribute. Under the emperor's command, Jingdezhen was awarded the certificate of famous brand products and made free advertisements. Since then, Jingdezhen porcelain has been out of control. During the Zhao and Song Dynasties, emperors preferred Jingdezhen porcelain. Song Zhenzong specially sent people here to burn the official porcelain used by the imperial court, and marked the words "Jingdezhen year system" at the bottom of the porcelain to show the proper appearance of its royal porcelain. These porcelains are famous because they are top-notch in color, color and shape. This place was officially named "Jingdezhen" because of its porcelain. Since then, "Jingdezhen porcelain is salty in the world" has become a widely publicized slogan, which is popular all over the country. & gt& gt Here, Jingdezhen has gone up a storey still higher on the original basis, becoming the center of China porcelain manufacturing industry. The baptism of song and yuan war and the smoke of the uprising at the end of Yuan Dynasty did not bring down this city without walls. On the contrary, a large number of porcelain craftsmen who took refuge here poured into the city, making famous kiln crafts from all over the country gather here, absorbing and digesting these crafts, and Jingdezhen's ceramic manufacturing industry was able to make a new breakthrough. The establishment of the Ming Dynasty brought a peaceful and prosperous life, and the economic prosperity also promoted the ceramic manufacturing industry in Jingdezhen. Jingdezhen's porcelain is not only large in quantity and good in quality, but also has many varieties, which are exported at home and abroad. & gt& gt is like the emperor of the Tang and Song Dynasties, and his descendants also have a special liking for Jingdezhen porcelain. They directly built an imperial ware factory in Jingdezhen, called imperial kiln, also called official kiln; Appoint officials to manage and supervise the production of porcelain and burn all kinds of palace, diplomatic and gift porcelain for the royal family. The building of Imperial Factory is divided into two parts: management and production workshop. There are three main halls in the middle of the management part, followed by a hall, which is the sleeping room. On the left side of the main hall is the official office, and there are main halls, galleries, instrument doors, drum towers, warehouses and even prisons in the yamen. Here, officials are everywhere and the figure of the emperor is everywhere. The production workshop is composed of various "works", which is equivalent to the current workshop. According to different production categories, there are 23 kinds of works: big bowls, small wine glasses, plates, dishes, clocks, seals, cones, paintings, writing, colors, boxes, muddy water, big trees, Joinery Work, ship wood, iron, bamboo, lacquer, cables and so on. Also, due to the different products produced, the number of rooms in each "workshop" is also different, from dozens to only one. There are also various kilns in the factory: wind fire kiln, color kiln, Dalonggang kiln, green kiln and so on. In the Ming dynasty, it reached more than 80 kinds. In addition, there are ancillary facilities such as wells, woodhouses, sheds and shrines in the factory area. & gt& gt Imperial Factory, relying on the power of the emperor, gathered the best craftsmen, possessed the best raw materials, possessed rich financial resources that ordinary people could not have, and carried out meticulous work at no cost, producing a large number of wonderful masterpieces handed down from generation to generation. The porcelain of Imperial Ware Factory represents the highest achievement of porcelain manufacturing in Ming Dynasty. Traditionally, the products of official kilns in Ming Dynasty were named after the emperor's year number. Yongle kiln is the general name of official kiln porcelain in Yongle period. The products of Yongle kiln in history are "top grade, pressed cup, double lion ball in the middle"; Yuanyang's heart is second, the flower heart is second, the blue and white outside the cup is dark green, and the style is exquisite. "It can be seen that people's production technology was excellent at that time. In the vast fleet, as a reward of the Ming Dynasty, Jingdezhen porcelain occupies half of the country. It not only expanded the reputation of China porcelain, but also promoted the internationalization of Jingdezhen porcelain. Xuande porcelain is the most exquisite ware in the official kiln of Ming Dynasty, and the color of blue and white porcelain reaches the highest level. Blue-and-white porcelain refers to underglaze colored porcelain with white and blue flowers, which is first coated with cobalt and then coated with a layer of colorless and transparent glaze, and then sintered in reducing flame at high temperature. When Xuande Xuandi was proclaimed, the carcass of blue-and-white porcelain was heavy and solemn, giving people a sense of calmness. It is said that the blue and white raw materials of this period were brought back to China from * * * area when Zheng He went to the Western Ocean, and they were called Subeniqing, with clear and stable color. When it dissolves into the fetal glaze, it looks green and simple. Because this kind of green material has been exhausted, Xuande's blue and white porcelain is more precious. There is a white tea cup, jade in color, with chicken skin under the glaze, and a very fine dragon and phoenix in the cup. This kind of artworks witnessed the glorious moment of Ming dynasty porcelain. From Xuande furnace to later cloisonne, it became the national treasure of China. & gt& gt After entering the mid-Ming Dynasty, the blue and white porcelain produced in Jingdezhen was not as good as Xuande, and the bright red on the glaze was not as good as Yongle and Xuande. However, technological innovation in this period made up for this deficiency. Doucai, which developed during Chenghua years, is another peak of ceramic manufacturing industry. The so-called color fighting is to draw a blue-and-white pattern under the glaze with thin lines, then send it into a kiln to burn it into blue-and-white at high temperature (the porcelain firing temperature is above 1.250 degrees), then fill the glaze with colored materials with the outline outlined by green materials, and then fire it at low temperature (1000 degrees glazed or colored porcelain). Because the colors above and below the glaze compete with each other and set each other off. According to Jingdezhen dialect, making do together is called fighting color, so it is called fighting color. There are two kinds of fighting colors. One is to use blue and white, underglaze red and bean green as color paintings, which is called "under-glaze color fighting"; A color painting composed of underglaze blue and white and underglaze multicolor is called "over-glaze color bucket". This colorful image jumps over porcelain and makes people fondle it. Taking the chicken jar cup as an example, it is recorded that "there is a chicken jar cup in the kiln, which is a first-class wine vessel with peony painted on it and hen painted on it." "Some people commented that this cup tire is thin and light, with low beam and fine painting. This kind of treasure was extremely expensive at that time, and only one cup was worth100000 yuan. During the Zheng De and Jiajing Dynasties, foreign pigments "revived" in China, comparable to "Su Bo Ni Qing" by Xuande. At this time, the blue-and-white porcelain is thick in color, with bright colors of red and purple in the blue. Because Emperor Jiajing believed in Taoism, works with the themes of Eight Immortals, Eight Diagrams, Shoushan and Fuhai were constantly produced. Wanli period was the last glorious period of official kiln porcelain in Ming Dynasty, and the foreign pigments of blue and white porcelain were exhausted. As a result, blue and white porcelain began to pursue the magnificence of patterns and the various shapes. There are all kinds of figures in the flowers, and the patterns in the colored porcelain are all over the whole device. The appearance of porcelain chessboards, pen holders, candlesticks, drum stools and other utensils has made the diversification of the shapes of the utensils reach the point of "exquisite production and omnipresence". Through the efforts of artisans in imperial ware factories in past dynasties, the production level of porcelain in Ming Dynasty has reached a new height, and even reached the best level in history in some aspects. & gt& gt The extravagant Ming royal family spared no expense in building official kilns to satisfy their desire for porcelain, while Jingdezhen people used their own sweat and smart construction folk kilns as the real social driving force. Folk kilns not only produce a large number of daily necessities, but also produce a large number of ceramic masters because of their active thinking and strong creativity, which has written a strong stroke for the history of porcelain development. For example, Wu Haoxi, who is famous for making "egg cups" and "leaving lights", is from Jingdezhen. His thin-walled porcelain cups are as thin as eggshells and the lights are as bright as pearls. Each one weighs only half a baht and less than one gram. It can be said that it is crystal clear and light as a feather. Thin-walled porcelain "Egg Cup" is known as one of the tallest porcelains in history. Zhou Danquan is a famous producer of antique porcelain, and he can't tell the authenticity of the antique porcelain made by his men. This Mr. Zhou often asks famous experts to appraise his imitation antiques. Therefore, he is often deceived by his imitation. It is said that once, when he saw an ancient tripod at a friend's house, he quietly measured the height of the utensil with his finger and copied the impression of the tripod with a small piece of paper. Half a year later, Mr. Zhou visited his friend with his antique tripod. His friend was surprised to find that Zhou Danquan's ancient tripod was exactly the same as his original one. So, I immediately bought it as an accessory. After Zhou Danzhichun's fame was greatly boosted, a fine product came out, and there was a lively scene in which the four sides asked for it at a high price and competed for thousands of dollars. Cui, another antique master, is more famous. The porcelain he copied from Xuande and Chenghua Kiln was called "Cuigong Kiln", which became famous and was contested from all directions. & gt& gt With famous artists and thousands of famous porcelain makers, the golden age of Jingdezhen has arrived. Wang Shimao, an official in the Ming Dynasty, said in "On the Second Committee": "A province is rich with a large number of people who gather in the kiln. I tasted it, sent it to its place and lit the candle. People can't sleep at night, and the play is: Leizhen at four o'clock. "It can be seen that the bustling scene at that time, the kiln fire that never dies day and night, and the sound of hammering porcelain clay made people who just arrived here unable to sleep. The whole town became a huge handicraft workshop, and was even dubbed the' Four Seasons Thunderbolt Town'. & gt& gt Jingdezhen porcelain is not only for domestic consumption, but also spread abroad, becoming a symbol, a symbol and a symbol for foreigners to know China. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Jingdezhen porcelain was exported. In the Ming Dynasty, due to the improvement of production technology and the increase of output, the overseas sales of Jingdezhen porcelain were promoted. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the national strength was strong. Under the great country mentality of China, Jingdezhen porcelain was spread to foreign countries in the form of gifts. However, this kind of reward form is only more in the early Ming Dynasty. In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, with the arrival of the international trade era and the economic prosperity era of the Ming Dynasty, more porcelains went to the world through commodity trade. At that time, Chinese and foreign merchant ships in coastal ports all transported porcelain as articles, and the whole ship's porcelain was transported to Japan, Southeast Asia, India, Africa and even Europe. In the 42nd year of Wanli (16 14), a Dutch ship returned from Java at that time, carrying more than 69,000 pieces of Jingdezhen porcelain, accounting for 1.9% of the annual output of Jingdezhen porcelain. It can be seen that the demand for porcelain in Europe at that time was quite large. & gt& gt Jingdezhen, a small southern town with a long history, once again left its immortal legend in the glorious period of the Ming Dynasty. Masterpieces handed down from generation to generation tell the peak of the Ming Dynasty, and the touching stories behind pieces of porcelain count the glory that Jingdezhen has gone through. Jingdezhen's exquisite porcelain added a lot of color to the brilliant picture of the Ming Dynasty.