In the antique circle, whenever Song porcelain is mentioned, there are five famous kilns: Ru, Guan, Ge, Jun, and Ding. So far, this concept has not only appeared in textbooks, but has been said so by people inside and outside the industry. It seems that there was no other porcelain in the Song Dynasty except Ru, Guan, Ge, Jun and Ding. As for what famous kiln mouths there were in the Song Dynasty, no one can go back to the Song Dynasty to investigate. But for people in the industry, it is not professional enough to spread rumors and spread rumors. The theory of the five famous kilns of the Song Dynasty first appeared in the "Xuande Ding Yi Pu" of the Ming Dynasty. Although the Ming Dynasty was closer to the Song Dynasty than we are, it was still an era apart, so the Ming Dynasty must have its limitations when writing about Song porcelain. As collectors in the industry, we should still rely on facts and restore the true appearance of things as much as possible.
First of all, if there are only five famous kilns in the Song Dynasty, then Longquan kiln is not considered a famous kiln entrance in the Song Dynasty. According to field investigations, it is known that the Longquan kiln system in the Song Dynasty was so huge that it is unimaginable. In the Song Dynasty, Longquan, Shangrao and Lishui formed a triangle and relied on their geographical resource advantages to have more than a hundred kilns. The porcelain at each kiln entrance is also different, or even very different. It would be inaccurate to define all these kiln mouths as Longquan kilns. For example, the porcelain produced by Longquan kiln (main kiln), Xiaomeizhen kiln and Xikou kiln are very different in terms of body, glaze and shape. Not to mention the exquisiteness of the porcelain.
For another example, were the Jingdezhen kilns in the Song Dynasty a wasteland? no! The Jingdezhen kiln of the Song Dynasty was the Raozhou kiln, which created a unique style of blue and white porcelain. As early as the Tang Dynasty, there was a saying of "Southern Qing and North White". In the Song Dynasty, the Jingdezhen kiln reached its peak. The blue and white porcelain produced at that time was known as "Rao Yu" and later called Ying Qing. While maintaining the plain glaze, blue and white porcelain uses printing and porcelain carving techniques as the main decorative style. Its exquisiteness puts porcelain from the five famous kilns in a league of its own. Currently, most of what can be seen in the market are civilian products, and all the tributes are incomparable.
Let’s talk about Ru kiln next. Speaking of Ru kiln, everyone knows that Ru kiln was the leader of the five famous kilns in the Song Dynasty, and its site is located in Qingliang Temple, Baofeng. During the Northern Song Dynasty, it was only fired for less than twenty years, and there are less than a hundred pieces in existence in the world. It seems that the Ru kiln in the Song Dynasty could only be the Baofeng Qingliangsi kiln, and the other kiln mouths did not exist, or even if they existed, they could not be counted as Ru kilns. So which one is the Ru porcelain produced by the Lushan Kiln in Duandian? In fact, the entrance of Ru kiln is still very complicated.
There is also the Yue Kiln located on the bank of Shanglin Lake. As early as the Tang Dynasty, it had a shocking work of "secret color porcelain", so why did it disappear in the Song Dynasty. It's just that people don't have the ability to distinguish the difference between the Yue kiln porcelain of the Song Dynasty and the Five Dynasties period. When it comes to Yue kiln, they are simply attributed to the Five Dynasties.
Some people may think that the five famous kilns of the Song Dynasty only refer to tribute works. If the tribute works of the Song Dynasty only appeared in Ru, Guan, Ge, Jun, and Ding, then it would be wrong. The porcelain making in the Song Dynasty The system is mainly based on popular elections and official elections. There are a large number of tribute works when a kiln is built. There are countless tributes from Longquan Kiln, Raozhou Kiln, Lushan Kiln, etc., and tributes are by no means exclusive to the five famous kilns.
After more than 40 years of reform and opening up, manned spaceflight has become a reality. A large number of facts prove that there were more than five famous kilns in the Song Dynasty. However, people still adhere to old rules in the study of ancient culture and art, and follow the script. The records of the five famous kilns of Ming and Song porcelain have been misused from generation to generation and have been passed down to this day. This is the result of people in the industry not wanting to make progress and being complacent. This is not only inconsistent with the facts, but also creates a huge misunderstanding for future generations.