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Porcelain is an important symbol of China’s excellent traditional culture and has played an important role in promoting exchanges between China and foreign countries. The English word “China” in China means porcelain, and the Maritime Silk Road is also called the “Porcelain Road”. The main exports of ancient China were silk, porcelain, and tea. After thousands of years, they have become popular around the world, confirming the mutual learning between Chinese and foreign civilizations and fully embodying the peaceful nature of Chinese civilization. In stark contrast, in modern times, Western imperialism has dumped opium, sold arms, and engaged in colonial plunder against Eastern countries. This column takes you to review China’s representative commodity on the Maritime Silk Road – porcelain, appreciate the shining cultural charm of Chinese porcelain, recall the traditional friendship of people-to-people exchanges, and reveal the historical logic of a community with a shared future for mankind.
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▲Silk Road route map. (Image source: Earth Knowledge Bureau)
▲Five Dynasties secret color lotus bowl, collected by Suzhou Museum.
“The wind and dew of the Nine Autumn Festival bloom over the kiln, and capture the green color of thousands of peaks. I hope that the Midnight Festival will be prosperous, and we will share the remaining cups in the middle of the night.”
This is the poem “Secret Color Yueqi” by Lu Guimeng, a poet of the Tang Dynasty. In autumn, when the morning breeze is slightly cold and the frost and dew are thick, I can see the Yue kiln’s secret-color porcelain being fired through the fierce fire of the kiln. The treasures, which are as green as black as black, seem to capture the green color of thousands of stacked peaks. It seems that through Lu Guimeng’s eyes, one can glimpse the “Guangling Sanjue” Ji Kang.
Yue kiln celadon is called “mother porcelain”. The past is like smoke, but through the treasures of celadon, we can think about it for thousands of years, find the past of Yue kiln celadon, or learn how the star products of the Maritime Silk Road came to the spotlight of the historical stage..
There is also a Yue kiln passed down through the ages: the quiet and good years of Yue kiln celadon
Earth gives the body, fire gives life, and man shapes the soul. The evolution history of celadon is closely related to the development of Chinese civilization. The earliest “celadon” unearthed is undoubtedly the celadon-printed Dakou Zun from the Shang Dynasty tomb on Minggong Road, Zhengzhou, Henan. Its cyan color comes from the iron element in the glaze. Because it is in the transformation stage from pottery to porcelain, this type of porcelain is It is called “early celadon”. However, due to natural conditions and craftsmanship, this kind of pottery and porcelain product is not yet true porcelain.
▲Shang Dynasty celadon-printed large-mouth statue, collected by Henan Museum.
Mr. Xia Nai, the founder of modern Chinese archeology, pointed out that “the original porcelain was gradually improved in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and finally porcelain appeared in the late Han Dynasty, becoming one of the characteristics of Chinese civilization.” Combining the three keywords of “porcelain”, “late Han Dynasty” and “lower Yangtze River”, it is not difficult to deduce the “mother porcelain” status of Yue kiln celadon. The celadon of the late Eastern Han Dynasty has a good degree of porcelain, a firm glaze bond, and a crisp sound when struck, making it a mature porcelain. The finished products handed down from generation to generation are full of simplicity and simplicity.
During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, political power changed and nationalities blended. The old thoughts were free and spiritual freedom was unprecedented. The art of porcelain making reflected the changes in the social aesthetic consciousness at that time. Yue kiln celadon began to adopt various molding methods such as wheeling, kneading, and molding. Incorporating Buddhist and Taoist beliefs, many new styles were introduced – lotus petal patterns and honeysuckle patterns were widely used, animal-shaped statues, chicken-head pots, and sheep-shaped utensils , lion-shaped utensils are even more diverse.
▲Yue kiln celadon and Xing kiln white porcelain.
In the era of pluralism, openness and strong national strength,In the Tang Dynasty, porcelain-making workshops blossomed everywhere and competed for beauty. During this period, celadon completed its transformation from a still gray and loose fetus to a delicate and light fetus, which is known as “green in the south and white in the north”. “Beibai” refers to Xing kiln white porcelain, while “Nanqing” refers to Yue kiln celadon. Lu Yu, the tea sage who is very particular about tea drinking utensils, commented, “Xing porcelain is like silver, Yue porcelain is like jade, Xing porcelain is like snow, Yue porcelain is like ice, Xing porcelain is white but brown, and Yue porcelain is green but brown.” Lu Yu’s conclusion is that “Xing is not as good as Yue” and “bowls are worse than Yue kiln”, which shows that the status of Yue kiln celadon in the industry had reached its peak at that time.
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▲The “Clothing Account” stone tablet in the underground palace of Famen Temple, Fufeng County, Baoji City, Shaanxi Province, collected by Famen Temple Museum.
Around the late Tang Dynasty, secret color porcelain appeared, and the artistic level of Yue kiln celadon reached an unparalleled lofty status. What is secret color? Zhao Lingji of the Song Dynasty recorded in “Hou Zhen Lu” that “Today’s secret color porcelain is said to be a secret color porcelain. It is said that the Qian family had a country and burned it in Yuezhou as an offering. The ministers were not allowed to use it, so it was called secret color porcelain.” The “Qian family” refers to the Wuyue Kingdom during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The Qian family attached great importance to the Yue kiln’s secret-color porcelain, and the secret-color porcelain became tribute porcelain for a time. However, there are still different opinions on what the secret color is. In 1987, 14 pieces of Yue kiln secret-color porcelain were unearthed from the underground palace of Famen Temple in Fufeng County, Shaanxi Province, as well as the “Clothing Account” stone tablet. The stele contains “seven porcelain secret color bowls with two silver ribs inside; a total of six porcelain secret color plates and stacks.” The mystery of the secret color, namely blue, was finally revealed.
▲Records about the Yamatai Kingdom in “Three Kingdoms”.
During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Yue kiln celadon passed the sea route and became the “top product” in East Asia. Bronze mirrors dating from the “Chiwu” reign of the Eastern Wu Dynasty and fragments of Yue kiln celadon have been unearthed from ancient tombs in Japan. The Chiwu period coincided with the reign of Queen Bemihu of Yamatai Kingdom, and was also an important period for the rapid development of Yue kiln celadon. According to “Three Kingdoms”It is recorded that the envoy of the Wei State visited Japan at that time and “seriously gave you (Yamatai State) good things.” In addition to giving Queen Himihu a gold seal to represent the pro-Wei Japanese king, he also rewarded Japanese subjects five pieces of Jiangdi Jiaolong brocade and Jiangdi millet. Ten pieces of silk, fifty pieces of crimson, fifty pieces of cyan blue, three pieces of cyan ground sentence and wen brocade, five pieces of fine Chinese silk, fifty pieces of white silk, eight ounces of gold, two five-foot knives, and one hundred bronze mirrors. (with the inscription “Jingchu three years” on it), fifty kilograms each of pearls and red vermilion, but there is no mention of celadon. It can be generally inferred that the Yue kiln celadon products produced under Sun Wu’s rule are truly rare and precious.
Coincidentally, Yue kiln celadon Huzi from the Western Jin Dynasty, as well as Yue kiln celadon products such as chicken-head pots and sheep-shaped vessels from the Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties have also been unearthed in the Korean Peninsula.
Li Tang’s Yueqi is unprecedented: the “star” of the Maritime Silk Road
Since the Tang Dynasty, it has been a good deep-water port and is close to the small lotus pond. There are many fish in it. She used to sit by the pond and fish, using a bamboo pole to scare the fish. Mischievous laughter seemed to scatter in the air. Mingzhou Port (now Ningbo Port), adjacent to Cixi, Shangyu and other Yue kiln production areas, has become an important foreign trade port, shouldering the historical mission of economic and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, and is one of the starting points of the Maritime Silk Road.
▲Route map of the Tang Dynasty Maritime Silk Road. (Image source: Fujian Provincial Library official website)
The Maritime Silk Road in the Tang Dynasty roughly had three main routes: northeast, from Myeongju via Heishan Island to Yeongam, Jeollanam-do on the Korean Peninsula today; eastward, from Myeongju across the East China Sea to Tajie in southern Japan. Crossing the scale, he gently lifted the red hijab on the bride’s head, and a thick pink bridal makeup slowly appeared in front of him. His bride lowered her eyes and did not dare to look up at him, nor did she dare to go to Amami Oshima. They were with us when we sailed northward. The Han Dynasty was the first and second trading houses. It was fate that the young man met the eldest brother in the business group. After he helped intercede, he got Kayaku and Taji, then moved to Satsuma, went north to Hakata and Chikushi, and from the Seto Inland Sea to Namba Mitsuura in Gyeonggi Province; south One direction, one goes south from Mingzhou through the Taiwan Strait, to the southeast to the Philippine Islands, then along the west coast of Luzon Island, Mindoro Island, Cebu Island, Mindanao Island, and the Sulu Islands, and through the northwest coast of Kalimantan Island to Java and Sumatra. Island, then passes through the Strait of Malacca, passes through the Nicobar Islands and the Andaman Islands, passes through the Bay of Bengal, and reaches the east coast of India.Descend Sri Lanka, then go north along the west coast to reach the Persian Gulf. At this time, you can land at Shiraf and go deep into the interior of Iran. At the end of the Persian Gulf, you can trace the Tigris River to Thesiphon, Samarra and Abilta, or pass along the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. From Oman to the Gulf of Aden, or via the Red Sea to the north to Aizab and the port of Qusayr, then across the desert to the Nile River and down the river to Fustat; the other starts from Mingzhou and goes south to Guangzhou and Champa. Around the Malay Peninsula to Sumatra, and then coincide with the previous route.
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▲The monsoon route once brought huge profits to the trading activities of Arab merchants. Today, it can also become the starting point for us to explore the Maritime Silk Road. (Image source: “Human History on the Map”)
▲Japan’s customs clearance documents for entering the Tang Dynasty.
Through the hands of a large number of merchants, Yue kiln celadon was put on ships and sailed to the Maritime Silk Roads. After experiencing turbulent waves, it traveled thousands of miles across the ocean and reached as far away as Ethiopia, Egypt, Tanzania, Kenya, Somalia, Oman, Iran, Iraq, and more recently India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Using celadon as a medium, a huge trade network spanning Asia and Africa was formed between China and foreign countries.
During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Wu Yue State gave secret-colored porcelain to the Japanese royal family as a foreign affairs gift. Its route starts from Mingzhou and goes straight across the East China Sea to the southwest coast of Kyushu, then arrives at Hakata Port and reaches Kyoto. As soon as the secret color porcelain arrived in Kyoto, it was regarded as the most precious Tang object by the imperial family. Prince Shigemei, the fourth prince of Emperor Daigo, recorded in his “Original Records” that “on June 9, the fifth year of the Celestial Calendar, four pieces of agarwood from the royal meal were folded and applied, and the bottle was decorated with a secret color.” As you can imagine, burning agarwood and burning agarwoodThe light smoke rises slowly, and the secret-colored porcelain, which is as ice-like as jade, adds to the elegant mood.
▲Celadon box with the inscription “Shangyakju” is collected by the National Museum of Korea.
As countries compete for Yue kiln celadon, the trend of imitating celadon overseas has emerged. Goryeo celadon produced in the Korean Peninsula has emerged in large quantities, and even has a “Goryeo secret color”, and is sold to eastern Zhejiang. The Sarutou kiln near Nagoya, Japan, produces a large number of ceramic products with shapes, patterns, and glaze colors similar to celadon. After the 9th century, even Egyptian craftsmen began to imitate Yue kiln celadon to make pottery. These imitations show the craftsmen’s admiration for Yue kiln celadon and their sincere admiration for Chinese culture.
▲ Yue kiln secret color porcelain eight-sided pure bottle, “She always made some sacrifices. Her parents were worried and sad, and she was not a good daughter.” Her expression and tone were full of deep regret and remorse. Collection of the Palace Museum.
Treasure celadon will never fade under the erosion of history, and the story of the Maritime Silk Road continues.
(About the author: Wei Shijun, a doctoral candidate at the School of History and Culture, Hubei University)
(Daozhonghua WeChat public account)