Do you know the milestone of blue and white porcelain development

To say our country mature blue-and-white porcelain, only the Yuan Dynasty blue-and-white.

According to Chinese history, all ceramics have a certain continuity.Many of us, including R. L. Hobson, a British scholar who first discovered the blue-and-white porcelain of the Yuan Dynasty in 1929, think that since the first blue-and-white porcelain was produced in the Tang Dynasty, it should be inherited in the Song Dynasty.In 1929, after hobson published his paper on the discovery of yuanqing hua in the old furniture magazine (in fact, before 1929, other scholars published the relevant articles of yuanqing hua, which did not attract the attention of the academic community), he had been struggling to find tang qinghua in this kind of inertia thinking. There is no way to classify and distinguish the blue and white flowers in the Yuan Dynasty.Then, two American folk scholars took the lead and first identified some of the early collection of Yuan Ming blue-and-white porcelain.Later in the United StatesMr. Pope, a scholar at Ferrell’s Museum, perfected the idea after examining Sweden, Iran and Turkey, using the distinction between two American folk scholars.By publishing twice as many books, he has established his special position in the international research field of yuanqing hua.But mr popper, a scholar at the ferrell museum in the united states, is a bit selfish, not only attacking the british scholars, hobson and grand, in his writings, but also covering up the two american folk scholars who discovered the “partition of the ivy china”.Mr. Hobson, who died from 1929 to 1941, has been searching for important archaeological evidence and historical data of the blue-and-white porcelain of the Song Dynasty after the Tang Qing-hua period, in the light of the importance of the study of archaeological evidence in traditional British academic studies. But even though he was commissioned to do an antique business in china, investigating some of the evidence of the song qing and yuanqing flowers, he was enthralled by the cheap selling of chinese antiques during the war, That’s a good time to do it. (In fact, in 193, Great Wade examined and published the museum’s encyclopedic porcelain collection in the Middle East, and was later criticized by Pope as a “hole-in-the-hole” because of the confusion in the description.)Mr. Hobson, who was of great significance to the discovery of blue-and-white porcelain in the Yuan Dynasty of China, died helpless in his dream of finding reliable evidence of the art of blue-and-white porcelain in the Song Dynasty and the archaeology of the Yuan Dynasty.From the rigorous point of view of academic research, although Mr. Hobson did not use painting style and shape as Popper, the Yuan Qinghua from the original general “Ming Dynasty blue-and-white porcelain”, but his academic attitude is worthy of our respect.Moreover, whether or not Mr. Popper’s” Yuan Qing Hua Classification “can completely distinguish Kaiyuan Ming blue-and-white porcelain, as a result of the construction of Yuan Qing Hua kiln site in Jingdezhen was disrupted and destroyed, to the present academic circles and collectors are also dissenting.But Popper put aside the trouble of Tang Qing Hua and Song Qing Hua, and simply studied the blue-and-white porcelain of Yuan Dynasty and Ming Dynasty. As an official museum scholar, he also had to take great risks when the archaeological materials and Chinese native Yuan Qing flower were very scarce. Some senior experts in the British Academy of Archaeology think he’s making jokes.It turned out that Mr. Pope was lucky. The blue-and-white porcelain of the Yuan Dynasty was not directly related to the Qing Hua of the Song Dynasty and the Qing Hua of the Tang Dynasty.If Hobson’s search for “Song Qing Hua”, in China’s local archaeological excavations, confirmed that there is no factor affecting the Yuan Dynasty blue-and-white porcelain, then Yuan Qing Hua is truly unique in the sense of blue-and-white porcelain.

In the late 1950s, Jinsha Tower and Shaoxing Huantu Tower excavated in the Song Dynasty Taji blue-and-white ware and porcelain pieces, careful observation, blue-and-white quality is generally thicker, most of the gray-white tire, the bottom glaze has shadow blue, white yellow, pale blue glaze and so on, the true pure white glaze is very few.The burning quality of objects is generally not high, blue and white hair color is mostly blue-black or blue-gray, some even with some black, blue and white color is not bright enough.The “Song Qinghua” unearthed in Taji of Song Dynasty in Zhejiang Province, has been analyzed by chemical elements, and the blue-and-white pigment used is home-made cobalt with high manganese oxide.From their color characteristics, they should also contain more impurities of the original domestic cobalt materials.The subject matter of the decoration is single, and the objects are mainly the practical tools of life.Although there is no relationship between Song Qing Hua and Tang Qing Hua and Yuan Qing Hua, there seems to be some inheritance and development between them.Was it influenced by the Qing-hua in Tang Dynasty? While people are still searching for accurate answers, it is said that these blue-and-white porcelain excavated by the State Archaeological Research has been found to belong to the Ming Dynasty products.So the Song Dynasty and the Song Dynasty there are blue-and-white two camps, to the present debate.Even “Song Qinghua” products, but because the quantity is very small, the quality is also very poor, the scope of use is also very limited, estimated to have no effect on future generations and the effect, we can ignore.As for the growing environment of the blue-and-white porcelain in Song Dynasty, there was little room for growth from the inside (the pursuit of elegance in Song Dynasty) and from the outside (the emphasis on literature and the suppression of commerce).Even sporadic discoveries in a small part of a region have no effect on the surrounding area, let alone on later generations.To this end, Yuan Ming blue and white porcelain and the so-called “Song Qinghua” is basically not very direct inheritance relationship.Even Tang Qing-hua, and Yuan Ming Qing-hua although the same use of West Asian cobalt materials, but the composition of the foetal materials, processing technology, glazing method, blue material drawing, firing process, temperature and so on are completely different two systems.

In the same period of the Northern Song Dynasty, the quality and firing technology of blue-colored and multicolored pottery were not comparable to that of Chinese porcelain, but the decoration far exceeded that of Qing-hua and other porcelain in the Tang Dynasty.In addition, the overall recommendation of the Song Dynasty, resulting in the reduction of overseas commercial trade and the Tang Dynasty compared to the Central Plains political center of the ceramic trade natural impact, the central region of the civilian kiln site far from the political center of the southern kiln in order to survive, indirect or secretly engaged in overseas trade (to Yangzhou, Quanzhou, Fujian, Guangzhou).The results of investigation and investigation in the Middle East and Southeast Asia confirmed that there were very few official kilns in the Northern Song Dynasty, such as Jun kilns, Cizhou kilns, Yaozhou kilns and Yue kilns in the Southern Song Dynasty. The most are Hutian kiln in Jingdezhen town of Northern Song Dynasty, Fujian kiln (also very few, estimated to be controlled or foreigners are not used to, except Japan), Longquan kiln, Jizhou kiln and other products.

The long-term influence of porcelain from the Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties and the Northern Song Dynasty on the Arab region, together with the inadequacy of the quality of porcelain clay in the Arab region, can’t burn out high-quality porcelain, China’s fine porcelain is still the high-end products of the upper society in the Arab region.During the Southern Song Dynasty, the Jin Dynasty in the North, the Southern Song Dynasty, the government relied on overseas trade, with the exception of the official kiln, other porcelain was an important trade product for the development of the economy, so the Jingdezhen kiln and Longquan kiln (except for the official kiln) in the Southern Song Dynasty in Southeast Asia and the Arab region. There are also part of Fujian imitation kiln and Jizhou kiln.Is the main export products, the inspection and see no Song Qinghua and other products, half of the ceramic plates do not see.That is, what is produced here, what is exported, does not take into account the traditional Arab appreciation habits (the Arab through the Tang, the Five Dynasties, the Southern Song trade imports, also adapted to the Chinese style of porcelain).

The Yuan Dynasty conquered the Arab region, Iraq, Turkey, Iran and so on belong to the Yuan Dynasty vassal state scope.At the same time, the early Yuan Dynasty in the north of Zhuyao (Jun kiln, Cizhou kiln) and the south (Jingdezhen kiln, Longquan kiln and a small number of Fujian kiln and Jizhou kiln) still export to Southeast Asia and the Arab region.But the unchanging nature of these products has led to weak export sales.The mid-Yuan Dynasty probably Renzong period also only Longquan kiln and Jingdezhen blue and white porcelain is a bulk export, followed by the northern Cizhou kiln more and more sporadic exports (overseas like to have pictures of porcelain), other kilns basically turned to the domestic market.And the color glaze pottery of Arabic area compares Tang, Song period product already had great progress.In particular, decoration is generally recommended (especially in Iran’s multi-colored pottery and other monochrome glazed pottery).

In order to promote the huge overseas market, and to defend the unique position of Chinese porcelain in the world, the government of the Yuan Dynasty, for the influence of religion and cultural products on the overseas vassal states, combined with some national customs of Mongolian rulers, China’s most influential nature is porcelain, which must be considered as a vehicle for national power and cultural (religious) influence.By the way, it also suppresses the growing trend of multicolored pottery in the Arab region (not just the issue of foreign exchange generated by exports, but mainly by politics and religion[Buddhism was the national religion in the Yuan Dynasty].Under this background, the Yuanqinghua gradually tested successfully in the mid-Yuan Dynasty, although there were Arab influence factors, except that qinghua cobalt materials rely on imports, the Yuanqing culture background, decorative composition, decorative painting, porcelain craft are all local excavations. A great deal of reference and integration of Chinese traditional arts and crafts and traditional decorative basis on the basis of innovation.People can’t help but ask: is the blue and white flower influenced by the painted pottery of the arabian blue and white flowers?Is there any chance of Arab craftsmen coming to Jingdezhen, China to participate?I think that the Arab region and China began cultural exchanges from the Tang Dynasty, during the Yuan Dynasty, a lot of Arabs traveled in two regions, the impact is natural, but not the main factor.Because, from core interest, politics, religion, cultural strategy consideration, the degree of participation is very limited.As we all know, the ancient porcelain making and firing process is extremely confidential, which is the only core technology known as China’s porcelain country, and is an important part of the interests of the country and the people’s livelihood.Otherwise, the Yuan Qing Hua from birth to maturity will not go through 28 years of long groping and development period.Would it take 28 years if there were Arab craftsmen involved in the firing of blue-and-white pottery?

Yuanqing flowers from strategic starting to start feeling burning, and then to basic success, and then gradually mature, not like many people think that the birth is a beautiful big girl.From Yanyou six years (1319) germination period, to the first seven years (1335) blue-and-white hair color and painting basic maturity, experienced 16 years of experimental groping period. From Yanyou’s six years (1319) to the first seven years (1347), the blue-and-white flower was fully matured (also depicted) and experienced 28 years of long groping and development. During the four years from the seventh year (1347) to the eleventh year (1351), it was inferred from the inscriptions on archaeological excavations (which did not rule out the possibility that blue-and-white porcelain would mature earlier than non-inscriptions) that the development and production of blue-and-white porcelain were advancing by leaps and bounds, It is also the prosperous period of the production of Yuanqing porcelain. This is only from the present has the solid archaeological inscriptions to calculate. Even if we continue to find early blue-and-white porcelain inscriptions unearthed and appeared, at least to experience 20 years of groping development time, and finally became well-known at home and abroad famous porcelain _ Yuan blue-and-white porcelain.

The success of the firing of the ivy china made it difficult for the rival arabic porcelain to spread to all parts of the arab world, including parts of africa, east asia japan, southeast asia vietnam, thailand, singapore, malaysia, indonesia, the philippines, brunei, and so on. South Asia, India (including Pakistan), Nepal and many other areas of the Mongolian Yuan sphere of influence.The international status of Chinese porcelain has been established from a new perspective, and it has also given the world a brand-new look. It has become an important milestone in the history of Chinese ceramics and opened up a future for the development of Chinese porcelain in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Qing Hua in Yuan Dynasty