Firewood kiln and firewood burning

Last month, with the enthusiasm of a batch of new products of Jueshan Hidden Kiln, we chatted with you about our humble opinions on Chai Kiln. I didn't expect a short article that attracted many friends' interest and received many messages at one time. Unexpected enthusiasm really touched us.

Of course, in addition to encouragement and support, it is more based on the exchange of firewood kiln itself. After sorting it out these two days, I found that nearly half of my friends especially wanted to know the difference between "firewood kiln" and "firewood fire". Therefore, we might as well talk to you about this topic, which also counts as fulfilling the promise made at the end of the last article on firewood kiln.

Although there is only one word difference between firewood kiln and firewood burning, they are completely different in terms of technology and final product. Simply put, firewood kilns pay attention to inheritance and have relatively standardized production processes and standards, such as official kilns; Burning wood is more personalized, there is no border on the production, and the work is also spent on every eye. It can be said that firewood kiln and firewood burning are completely opposite in nature. The more extreme you go on your own road, the more successful you will be.

Just like men and women, we can feel from the appearance of two objects that many "genes" determine natural perfection. For example, before the Ming Dynasty, the "firewood" used for firing was pine firewood and firewood mixed by various kilns. Pine firewood only refers to firewood chopped from big pine trees, which is all kinds of miscellaneous wood, such as shrubs, thatch, wolves, pine branches and so on. Later, with the progress of technology, a lot of attention was paid to it. According to the records in Zheng Tao County Records of Fuliang County, this proportion is about 60% in Chaichai and 40% in Songchai. In the Qing Dynasty, pine and chamwood began to be burned separately, because the kiln workers found that pine was not only durable in firepower, but also rich in grease that could moisten glaze, so the vessels burned by pine were fine, but not as good as chamwood, so the vessels burned were rough.

At present, in order to achieve the best "firing atmosphere", the wood kiln still follows the rule of burning only loose wood, because people in the industry and players have long believed that only porcelain fired from pine can be called a real wood kiln. Comparatively speaking, due to different pursuits, the requirements for burning firewood are more relaxed. No matter whether it is loose or not, it has always been to burn whatever is available. In fact, this requirement for firewood also reflects the requirement for temperature when they are fired, because the kiln temperature must be above 1300 degrees to reach the porcelain degree close to jade. Some firewood can even be ceramic, so the temperature requirement is not strict, and there is no need to loosen firewood.

The temperature is determined not only by firewood, but also by kiln. Because the different structures will directly affect the kiln temperature, in order to improve the porcelain temperature and reduce the fuel consumption of wooden kilns, kiln workers in past dynasties created many kilns with different shapes and structures, such as horseshoe kiln in Song and Yuan Dynasties, dragon kiln in Ming Dynasty and gourd kiln in Ming Dynasty. Among them, the most advanced is the egg-shaped kiln, which has been used in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. The official kilns in Qing Dynasty and the firewood kilns we generally call also refer to this kind of kilns.

Therefore, when the kiln workers understand the characteristics of the egg-shaped kiln, the kiln burning becomes more controllable. By observing the color of fire holes, the smoke from chimneys and even a mouthful of saliva, the master can accurately grasp the firing temperature of various areas in the kiln. This skill has also raised the firewood kiln and firewood kiln to a new height. However, the construction method of egg-shaped kiln has always been mysterious, and the technology of building kiln bricks and the modulation of mud have been said. Now there are even fewer masters who can be built well.

At this point, wood burning is more arbitrary. Therefore, we can see different styles of firewood burning process, regardless of site restrictions, including self-built and self-built burning sites without roofs. Although the technical difficulty is not comparable to that of the wooden kiln, wood burning is more important than modeling. If you are too formal, you may lose your original flavor. Burning a handful of firewood is also a pleasure.

With the increasing popularity of wood burners by modern people, this ancient art has also been revived and developed. Many kiln mouths also learn from each other in kiln body construction and firing methods according to their own creative needs. Even so, there are many essential differences due to different artistic pursuits. For example, glaze, wood kiln appliances pay attention to uniform and full glaze color, so manual methods such as blowing glaze and dipping glaze should be used before firing, while wood kiln appliances make full use of the ash generated by wood combustion to escape into the kiln and adsorb on the blank, forming natural gray glaze under the action of high temperature.

It is also burning wood. Compared with the falling ash works, which are more relaxed about the temperature and flow direction of fire, the fire mark works have formed a unique artistic expression through the control of fire. After firing, the surface of the work has changes in the fire surface and the back fire surface, as well as traces of flame wandering, which is very textured and dynamic. However, whether it is ash falling or over-burning, it is unacceptable in the field of wood kiln. Therefore, different from the naked burning mode of wooden kiln, the blank of wooden kiln must be fitted with saggers before the kiln is full, and the saggers should be corrected one by one, so that the saggers can closely cooperate with each other and the works will not be damaged by fire.

In addition, all "accidents" such as slag dropping, smoke and glaze dripping are defined as defects. At this point, firewood burning is very inclusive, and these unpredictable "defects" are regarded as fascinating parts, which is also called a kind of beauty close to the author's initial heart with kiln fire. It can be seen that although both wood kilns and wood burning are processes of shaping beautiful objects with fire clay, the understanding of beauty has made completely different individuals, and which is better or worse can only be based on personal preferences.

In fact, there are still many differences between them, such as the placement of the kiln when it is full, the temperature control when it is burned, and so on. However, our level is not high, our writing is still lacking, and our time is limited. We can only put down our writing temporarily and talk about it another day.

Moreover, for a long time, the hidden kiln in Jueshan only loves firewood kiln and is not good at burning wood. Therefore, what this article says is only our superficial understanding, and there is no intention to evaluate the level of the two. Please forgive me if there is anything one-sided or inappropriate.

- ? A small reward for the works of Jueshan Hidden Kiln? -