What is porcelain and what is pottery?

Any vessel made of porcelain clay is called porcelain. But at present, there is no unified opinion on the specific definition of porcelain. It is generally believed that porcelain can only be called porcelain if it meets the following conditions:

First, the tire material of porcelain must be porcelain clay. The composition of porcelain clay is mainly kaolin, but also feldspar, quartzite and mullite. Low iron content. After high temperature firing, the tire is white, transparent or translucent, and the water absorption of the carcass is less than 1%, or it does not absorb water.

Secondly, the matrix of porcelain must be baked at 1200℃ ~ 1300℃ to have the physical properties of porcelain. The firing temperature varies from place to place with different porcelain clay, so the firing shall prevail.

Third, the glaze applied to the surface of porcelain must be glass glaze fired with porcelain at high temperature.

Fourth, after the porcelain is fired, the matrix must be hard and firm, with a fine structure, and it can make a crisp and pleasant metallic sound when it is knocked.

After careful study by ceramic workers and scientific determination of unearthed objects, it is proved that at the end of Neolithic Age in primitive society in China, our ancestors used porcelain clay as raw material to burn so-called gray pottery with gray embryo, unglazed surface and low temperature. In the Xia Dynasty in the early days of slave society, with the development of society and the improvement of technological level, people mixed a certain amount of feldspar, quartz stone and other ingredients into porcelain clay to burn a kind of white and hard ware. As far as its sintering performance and hardness are concerned, it is different from pottery and close to the original celadon. Because there is no glaze on the surface, it is called "primitive plain-fired porcelain". During the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, a blue glazed ware was widely made. The tire color of this green glaze device is gray, with firm structure, high temperature resistance and high hardness, and it can make a clang sound when knocking; In particular, the surface of the utensils is coated with a layer of blue or yellow-green glassy high-temperature glaze, which looks very different from ordinary pottery, but it is quite consistent with porcelain. Through chemical analysis, its embryo quality, glaze color, firing temperature, water absorption and physical properties all show that it has the standard conditions of porcelain, which is porcelain rather than pottery. So this celadon is the earliest celadon in China. However, due to the low technical level at that time, the treatment of raw materials and the extraction of green mud were rough, and there were no detailed processes such as filtration, elutriation, kneading and aging. Moreover, the tire material has small plasticity and monotonous shape; At the same time, there are many impurities in the cell material, such as cracks in the matrix and unstable glaze color. Compared with the later mature porcelain, it has obvious primitiveness, so it is called primitive celadon.

From the Warring States to the Western Han Dynasty, it was a period of transition from primitive celadon to mature celadon. The celadon of this period has made great progress compared with the original celadon in sintering performance and glazing, but there are still some differences compared with the mature celadon.

After a long journey from primitive celadon to early celadon, celadon appeared in the Eastern Han Dynasty 1800 years ago. In Shangyu, Ningbo and Cixi, Zhejiang. Yongjia and other places have successively discovered the ruins of porcelain kilns in the Han Dynasty; Porcelain products were found in the tombs of the late Eastern Han Dynasty, such as Zhongzhou Road, Shaogou in Luoyang, Henan, Lujiazhuang in Anping, Hebei, Boxian in Anhui, Yiyang in Hunan, Liujiajiazi in Dangyang, Hubei and Shaojiagou in Gaoyou, Jiangsu, especially in Jiangxi and Zhejiang. Among them, there are four series of linen celadon pots unearthed from the tomb in the seventh year of the Eastern Han Dynasty (164), celadon ear cups unearthed from the tomb in the fourth year of Ping Dynasty (175), five-ring pots, wells, fuming stoves, ghost stoves and celadon pots unearthed from the tomb in the fifth year of Ping Dynasty (176), and these are clear.

Zhejiang province is rich in porcelain clay minerals, and porcelain stone minerals are generally buried not deep from the surface and easy to be mined. Zhejiang porcelain clay is mainly a weathered rock mineral containing syenite-Gaoling-sericite pegmatite granite. Those with low weathering degree contain some feldspar, while those with high weathering degree contain more kaolinite minerals. This forms a natural advantage. As long as this porcelain stone is used as the main raw material, it can be made into porcelain tires. This mineral has high iron content and is suitable for reduction sintering. Under the influence of reducing atmosphere, high-priced iron is reduced to low-priced iron, which has a strong fluxing effect and helps ceramic tires to sinter at a lower temperature.

In the long-term porcelain-making practice, porcelain kiln workers have made great improvements in the selection of raw materials, the elutriation of embryo mud, the molding of utensils, glazing and firing, which has created the necessary technical conditions for the appearance of porcelain. From the observation of the natural environment around the porcelain kiln site, it is generally rich in hydraulic resources, and at that time, it was generally difficult to pedal and use water hammer, so it is very likely that water hammer was used to crush the porcelain clay at this time to improve the fineness and production efficiency of the blank soil. During the excavation of the Hanyao site in Shangyu, Shandong Province, Zhang Zi found a component of the pottery cart-the porcelain shaft top bowl. This kind of shaft top bowl is mortar-shaped, and the wall is coated with uniform blue glaze, which is very smooth; Its outer wall is octagonal, with a small top and a large bottom. It is embedded in the center of the wheel and added to the top of the shaft. Once pushed by external force, the wheel can rotate rapidly and continuously. The close cooperation of this advanced pottery car equipment and skilled painting technology makes the porcelain shape regular and the efficiency improved. All this shows that it is no accident that Zhejiang became the birthplace of China celadon. Celadon unearthed from Xiaoxiantan kiln site in Shangyu County at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty is fine in texture, good in light transmittance and low in water absorption, and it was fired at a high temperature of1260 ~1310℃. The surface of the device is glazed, and the combination of fetal glaze is quite firm; The glaze layer is transparent, shiny, clear and elegant, and beautiful.

In addition, black glazed porcelain was also found in the kiln sites of the Eastern Han Dynasty in Shangyu and Ningbo. Black glazed porcelain has also been unearthed from Han tombs in Hubei, Jiangsu, Anhui and other places, especially the tomb in Jianning, Hao County, Anhui Province for three years (170), which proves that its firing time should be in the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty. Obviously, this innovative product is developed on the basis of celadon. The colorant of black porcelain and celadon is iron, which is bluish green or bluish yellow after high temperature firing, so it is called celadon. Try to eliminate the color interference of iron in the process, that is, white porcelain; On the contrary, if the iron glaze is colored, it will become black and shiny black porcelain.

The period of the Three Kingdoms, the Jin Dynasty and the Southern and Northern Dynasties is a period of rapid development and growth of Jiangnan porcelain industry. Porcelain kilns were established in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and Jiangxi in the east and southeast coast, and in the two lakes and Sichuan in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River in the west to burn porcelain with local characteristics. Among them, Yueyao has the fastest development, the widest distribution of kiln sites and the highest quality porcelain.

During the more than 100 years from the rebellion of the Eight Kings in the Western Jin Dynasty to the melee of the Sixteen Countries, the northern region suffered from war, economic depression and extreme decline of handicrafts. Therefore, during this period, porcelain-making technology has always been unique to the South. In 439, Wu Tai in the Northern Wei Dynasty unified northern China, and 450 ~ 45 1 failed to invade the Song Dynasty, thus establishing a separatist regime between the north and the south. In 458, Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty implemented the land equalization system, which helped dependent farmers set up households to divide their fields, restricted the use of slaves by ordinary landlords, and restored the development of agriculture, thus making it possible to revive handicrafts.

Judging from the celadon unearthed in Hebei and Henan, Hebei and Henan are likely to become the central producing areas of celadon in the Northern Dynasties. White porcelain first appeared in the Northern Qi Dynasty. Early white porcelain, the tire material is fine and white, obviously washed, but not glazed; The glaze color is milky white and the glaze layer is thin and moist; The glaze thickness is cyan and the surface is generally blue. The appearance of white porcelain has opened up a broad road for the porcelain industry. White porcelain includes shadow, blue and white, underglaze red, bucket color, multicolored, pastel and so on. Therefore, the invention of white porcelain is a new milestone in the history of China ceramics.

Black porcelain originated in the south. After the Eastern Jin Dynasty, black porcelain was fired in the north. A four-series cylinder with black glaze unearthed from Ang Cui's tomb in Northern Qi Dynasty in Pingshan County, Hebei Province, indicates that relatively mature black porcelain appeared in Northern Qi Dynasty. 1975, a piece of black glazed porcelain was found in the tomb of Li Xizong of the Eastern Wei Dynasty in Zanhuang County, Hebei Province. Although the shape of porcelain was unknown at that time, the glaze was black and bright, the porcelain tire was hard and thin, and the production was regular. This black porcelain is twelve years earlier than the black porcelain jar unearthed in Ang Cui's tomb. It can be inferred that there was black porcelain in the Eastern Wei and Northern Dynasties.

The appearance of celadon, white porcelain and black porcelain marked the rapid development of northern porcelain handicraft industry and laid the foundation for the widespread appearance of famous kilns in Tang and Song Dynasties.

Sui unified the whole country on the basis of the Northern Dynasties, and the cultural outlook of the early Sui Dynasty also had a strong color of the Northern Dynasties. With the political unification of the north and the south, it also promoted the confluence and blending of the economy and culture between the north and the south, and began a new period. This new period is embodied in two aspects of porcelain-making technology:

First, before the Sui Dynasty, the kilns for firing porcelain were mainly located in the south of the Yangtze River and the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in Sichuan, and no notable kilns were found in the north. However, after the Sui Dynasty, this appearance changed, and the porcelain industry developed in the north and south of the Yangtze River. Six Sui porcelain kilns have been found in China, including Jiabicun kiln in Cixian county, Hebei province, An kiln in Henan province, Gongxian kiln in Anhui province, Huainan kiln, Xiangyin kiln in Hunan province and Deng Yu kiln in Sichuan province, among which four kilns are located in the north and south of the river. This is the forerunner of the great development of porcelain industry in Tang and Song Dynasties.

Secondly, although celadon of the sui dynasty is still the mainstream of porcelain production, the white porcelain unearthed in Henan, Shaanxi and Anhui has made great progress compared with the Northern Dynasties. The fetal quality is whiter, the glaze is smooth, and the fetal glaze is not blue and yellow.

The white porcelain fired in the Tang Dynasty has a white glaze, such as silver and snow, which indicates the real maturity of white porcelain. At present, there are Xing kilns and Quyang kilns in Lincheng, Hebei, Gongxian kilns, Hebi kilns, dengfeng kiln kilns, Jiaxian kilns, Xingyang kilns, Anyang kilns and Hunyuan kilns in Shanxi, Pingding kilns, Yaozhou kilns in Shaanxi and Xiaoyao kilns in Anhui. Among them, Yao Xing white porcelain has become a popular "world-wide" famous porcelain. Therefore, people usually use "southern blue and northern white" to summarize the characteristics of Tang porcelain industry. Although it is true that Xing kiln white porcelain and Yue kiln celadon represent the highest achievements of the northern porcelain industry and the southern porcelain industry respectively. But in fact, northern kilns also burn celadon, yellow porcelain, black porcelain and flower porcelain, and there are also kilns specializing in burning black porcelain and flower porcelain. In the northern kilns, many kilns have a short history of firing porcelain, so they dare to make various attempts and explorations. Glaze color does not exclude blue, white, yellow, black, green and flowers. Tires can be painted by overlapping two colors to form a texture, which is not thin and elegant, but rich. This represents a new self-confidence and enterprising style of the times. A considerable amount of white porcelain was also found in the tombs of the Tang Dynasty in the south, but no white porcelain kiln site was found, but this is a sign that white porcelain is attacking conservative celadon.

The poet said that Tang poetry has the so-called prosperity of Tang Dynasty. Ceramic art can best express this prosperous Tang flavor, which is the three colors of Tang Dynasty. In the process of making porcelain, the contribution of Tang people is also considerable. The gift for future generations is that saggers are widely used in the firing process. Sagger may have been invented and used before the Tang Dynasty, but it was widely used as a routine technology after the middle Tang Dynasty. Tang people fired high-quality white porcelain from Xing kiln and celadon from Yue kiln, which also prepared technical conditions for the emergence of famous kilns in Song Dynasty.

During the Five Dynasties, the production of white porcelain was still dominated by the northern region. Most of the kiln sites in the Tang Dynasty are still burning, the largest of which are Quyang Kiln, Hebi Kiln, Huang Baozhen Kiln of Yaozhou Kiln System and Yuhua Palace Kiln. The five generations of white porcelain unearthed at the kiln site of Jianci Village in Quyang include bowls, plates, lamps, plates, boxes, cans, bottles and pillows. Each utensil has a variety of styles, such as bowls with eight styles, which shows that the production was developed at that time. However, it is precisely because of the situation of ethnic separatism that porcelain kilns in different places cannot learn from each other, imitate or even compete in the market, and this progress and development is limited. The new development and prosperity of the porcelain industry in the Northern Song Dynasty have yet to be unified.

Song Dynasty was a prosperous period in the history of China porcelain industry. Since 1949, ancient porcelain kiln sites discovered by ceramic archaeology have been distributed in 19 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions 170 counties in China, among which 130 counties have Song kilns, accounting for 75% of the total, which can be said to be all over the country. On the one hand, the prosperity of porcelain industry in Song Dynasty is the result of the interaction of political, economic and social factors, on the other hand, it is also the reflection of social, economic and cultural prosperity in Song Dynasty.

The formation of porcelain system and kiln system is the result of mutual learning and constant innovation of ancient porcelain craftsmen in China. In the process of the spread and development of porcelain-making technology, it is also influenced by different natural conditions and living customs in different places. Porcelain appeared in Zhejiang in the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and soon spread in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and gradually spread to the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River, as well as Fujian, Guangdong and other places. During the Northern Dynasties in the early 6th century, porcelain made by China himself appeared in the Central Plains. Since then, China's porcelain industry has formed two major porcelain departments: North and South.

The characteristics of southern porcelain products are:

First, the shape is delicate, the tire color is gray, the tire particles are fine, and some are slightly red or yellow; Fine pores, small porosity and few tire black spots.

Second, the chemical composition of the ceramic tire material is: the iron oxide content is generally around 2%, which is higher than that in the north. The contents of titanium dioxide and aluminum trioxide are very low; The content of silicon dioxide is higher than that in the north.

Third, the glaze layer is turquoise, some are slightly dark yellow, and there are sheep wood lights.

Fourthly, the firing temperature of porcelain is relatively low, generally around 1200℃, and even if it does not reach this temperature, it will burn.

The characteristics of northern porcelain products are:

First, the utensils are novel in shape, rough and majestic; The carcass is thick, the tire color is light gray, the particle structure is rough, there are black spots and pores in the tire, and the porosity is large.

Second, the chemical composition of tire materials is close to that of inferior clay materials, and the alumina content is relatively high, generally above 26%, up to 32%; The content of titanium dioxide exceeds 1%, and the content of silicon dioxide is generally lower than that in the south, so the tire color is darker than that in the south.

Third, the glaze layer is thin, the glass texture is strong and the color is grayish yellow.

Fourth, the firing temperature of porcelain is high. For example, celadon unearthed from Feng's tomb in Jingxian County, Hebei Province, is still raw at the firing temperature of 1200℃.

Before Sui Dynasty, the main kiln sites of southern porcelain system were Shangyu kiln, Yixing Junshan kiln, Xiaoshan East kiln, Chengdu Qingyang Palace kiln and Fujian Tianshan Maling kiln. Many kiln sites before Sui Dynasty were not made of northern porcelain, only Anyang kiln in Henan, Gabi kiln in Hebei and Zibo kiln in Shandong had northern porcelain. In the Song Dynasty, a variety of porcelain kiln systems were formed. The distinction of porcelain kiln system in Song Dynasty is mainly based on the similarities and differences of kiln products in technology, glaze color, modeling and decoration. According to their similarities and differences, it can be seen that six porcelain kiln systems were formed in the Song Dynasty: Dingyuan kiln system, Yaozhou kiln system, Jun kiln system and Cizhou kiln system in the northern region; Longquan celadon in southern China and Jingdezhen celadon.

Ding kiln system is represented by Ding kiln. Ding kiln was first burned in the Tang Dynasty, and its white porcelain was influenced by the nearby Xing kiln, which was famous all over the world at that time. But later, it was doomed to its prosperity and decline. In the Song Dynasty, people knew it was meant to be, but they didn't know it was. Ding Yao porcelain kilns did form their own set of porcelain making techniques and styles in the Northern Song Dynasty, which were imitated by all porcelain kilns. Ding kiln products are mainly white porcelain, and also burn black glaze, sauce glaze, blue glaze and white glaze. Glaze juice is more shiny, the glaze color is white and yellow, and there are often tears. The tire material is finished, the tire quality is hard and the tire color is white. The utensils are stable in shape and neatly decorated. Early products were mainly carved; In the late Northern Song Dynasty, printing was dominant. The pattern layout is rigorous and the theme is rich and colorful. All kinds of flowers are the most common, among which peony and lotus are the most, followed by chrysanthemum. There are also a certain number of other animals, birds and swimming fish patterns, but the baby play pattern is relatively rare. In the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a burning method, that is, the dishes and bowls were burned backwards. The advantage of this method is that it uses the same kiln, consumes the same fuel, and the output of one-time kiln is higher than that of ordinary sagger. The disadvantage is that it has a canopy, that is, it has no glaze. Porcelain kilns producing Ding Yao porcelain are distributed in the vast areas of Zhanghe River and Fenhe River basins. In addition to Ding Yang kiln in Hebei, representative kilns include Pingding kiln in Sichuan, Mengxian kiln, Yangcheng kiln, Jiexiu kiln and Pengxian kiln.

Cizhou kiln system is the largest folk kiln system in the north. The kiln sites of this kiln system are distributed in Henan, Hebei and Shanxi provinces, and Guantai Town, Handan City, Hebei Province is a typical representative. The history of Cizhou kiln system can be traced back to the folk kiln that fired white porcelain in the north of Tang Dynasty.

Cizhou kiln inherited the characteristics of the northern and southern folk kilns in the Tang Dynasty, and there were many kinds of porcelain. The product line and variety of Guantai kiln can be said to be the best among all the kilns in this kiln system. The porcelain fired here is mainly white porcelain and black porcelain. The decoration is rich and colorful, with black flowers on a white background, in sharp contrast. The theme of decorative patterns is mostly taken from the content of folk life. The Dangyangyu Kiln in Xiuwu County, Henan Province has also made great achievements. The uniqueness of its porcelain-making process lies in coating a layer of extremely white protective glaze under the glaze, and then drawing black flowers on it, or picking flowers by scratching the ground. Decoration with black and white or ochre white contrast, very strong; The pattern making technique is vivid and rigorous.

Other representative kiln sites of Cizhou kiln system include Hebi kiln in Henan, Bacun kiln in Yuxian, Quhe kiln in Dengfeng, Jiexiu kiln in Shanxi and Jizhou kiln in Ji 'an, Jiangxi, etc.

Yaozhou kiln system is a huge kiln system for firing celadon in the north. Yaozhou kiln system is represented by Huangbao Town, Tongchuan City, Shaanxi Province, including Chen Lu Town, Lidipo, Shangdian and Yuhua Palace. Tongchuan, formerly known as Tongguan, belonged to Yaozhou in Song Dynasty, so it was called Yaozhou Kiln. Huangbao Town is located in a long and narrow basin on the west bank of Qishui, with the northeast of Tongchuan City15km and the south of Yaoxian County13km. Lacquer water passes through the town, flows through Yao County and flows into the river. There are avenues in the east and west of the town, with convenient land and water transportation. Coal and crucible soil are produced nearby, and there are good conditions for burning porcelain. The early history of Yaozhou kiln system can also be traced back to the Tang Dynasty, and it continued to emerge before Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty. Product categories include celadon, white porcelain and black porcelain; During the Northern Song Dynasty, celadon was mainly fired. The celadon of Yaozhou kiln is dark in color, and the edge part is brown, so people call it "turmeric".

The most outstanding achievement of Yaozhou kiln system is decorative pattern. In the Song and Yuan Dynasties, there were peony broken branches, chrysanthemum bound branches, three fish in water waves, Yuanyang playing with lotus, two ducks playing in water, seaweed patterns, gold and silver patterns, palindromes, pine playing with babies, dragon and phoenix patterns and so on. Decoration techniques are mainly printing and carving; Carved flowers are vigorous and lively, and they are outstanding in the kiln system of Song Dynasty.

Yaozhou kiln system has a wide range, from Linru kiln in Henan in the east to Xunyi kiln at the junction of Shaanxi and Gansu in the west. Representative kiln sites are Yiyang Kiln, Baofeng Kiln, Xin 'an Chengguan Kiln, Yuxian Juntai Kiln, Neixiang Dayaodian Kiln, Guangdong Xicun Kiln and Guangxi Yongfu Kiln.

The Jun kiln system, represented by Jun kiln in Yuxian County, Henan Province, was first burned in the Northern Song Dynasty and continued to burn in the Jin and Yuan Dynasties. Its outstanding achievement is that copper oxide is mixed into the glaze, and colorful kiln glaze is burned with reducing flame. The main feature of Jun glaze is that sky blue and rose purple glaze are intertwined, and the glaze juice is rich and beautiful. In addition, there are moon white, sky blue and begonia red.

Jun kiln porcelain is widely burned in Yuxian, Jiaxian, Dengfeng, Xin 'an, Tangyin, Anyang and Cixian in Hebei.

Longquan celadon kiln belongs to the southern celadon system. In the Southern Song Dynasty, in order to cope with the imperial court. In order to meet the needs of the government, a kind of porcelain characterized by thick calcium-alkali glaze was produced. After the mid-Southern Song Dynasty, Longquan celadon with its own characteristics and style was finally formed.

The rapid development of Longquan celadon kiln system not only benefited from the superior natural conditions in Longquan area, but also benefited from the decline of northern porcelain industry after it entered the gold industry and the development of water transportation in the Southern Song Dynasty, which was conducive to the development of commercial trade. The government of the Southern Song Dynasty took the development of overseas trade as a national policy. In the twelfth year of Jiading, Song Ningzong (12 19), in order to prevent the outflow of gold and silver, "silk cloth, brocade and porcelain were ordered to be returned to Boyi" (Shi Shi Shi Shi Shi Huo Zhi). This further stimulated the export of porcelain. Longquan celadon is a very popular commodity in East Asia, Southeast Asia, East Africa and Arab countries, and this situation still prevailed in the Yuan Dynasty. In China, Longquan celadon, like Jingdezhen celadon, has a great market in China. The discovery of celadon and Longquan celadon in southern Shaanxi and Sichuan in recent years is a good evidence.

Longquan celadon rose late in the kiln system of folk kilns in Song Dynasty, but with the support of overseas markets, it eventually developed rapidly into a huge kiln system with many kiln systems. In the late Southern Song Dynasty, there were many porcelain kilns in Longquan County and surrounding counties such as Qingyuan, Suichang and Yunhe. Jizhou Kiln in Ji 'an, Jiangxi Province, and Wanyao Township Kiln in Quanzhou, Fujian Province are also fired. After entering the Yuan Dynasty, the scope of Longquan kiln-style celadon kiln sites expanded, and more than 150 kiln sites were found on both sides of Oujiang River in southern Zhejiang.

Jingdezhen celadon kiln belongs to the southern porcelain system. Blue-and-white porcelain, also known as Yingqing, is a unique style porcelain fired in Jingdezhen kiln in Song Dynasty. Its glaze color is between blue and white, with white in green and blue in white, so it is called blue and white porcelain. The hardness, thinness and transparency of celadon glaze color and the development of mullite crystals in porcelain have reached the standards of modern hard porcelain, which represents the firing level of porcelain in Song Dynasty. Especially, after the method of covering and burning was adopted, the output doubled, which had a great impact on the southeast coastal areas. From Song Dynasty to Yuan Dynasty, celadon flourished, forming a famous celadon kiln system.

Jingdezhen kilns for firing celadon are Hutian, Hu Xiang, Shengmeiting, Shinan Street, Huangnitou and Liujiawan. Jiangxi Nanfeng Bai Sheyao, Anhui Fanchang Kejiachong Kiln, Fujian Minqing Kiln and Hubei Wuchang Jinkou Kiln all burn celadon. Also belonging to this kiln system are Ji 'an Jizhou Kiln in Jiangxi, Juan Kiln in Guangdong, Dehua Kiln in Fujian, Wanyao Township Kiln in Quanzhou, Tongan Kiln and Nan 'an Kiln.

The formation of the above-mentioned porcelain kiln system is of course the logical development of the layout and development trend of porcelain industry in Tang Dynasty. On the other hand, it is the result of the market competition of porcelain industry under the historical conditions of Song Dynasty. They can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty in terms of historical origin and some technological characteristics, but they are quite different from Tang porcelain. Their progress and development not only left Tang porcelain behind, but also made Xing Kiln, Yue Kiln and other famous kilns disappear into obscurity and become historical relics.

It is because of competition that a kind of porcelain is popular in the market. First, the adjacent porcelain kilns were copied one after another, then the number of porcelain kilns increased and the kiln field expanded, forming a porcelain kiln system. At the same time, in the sales place of this kind of porcelain, it also caused imitation burning of local porcelain kilns and extended to other places. The place of sale and the main place of production can be far apart. For example, the celadon in the Yaozhou kiln style in Shaanxi Province was fired in the Song kiln in the West Village of Guangzhou and exported. At the same time, due to the need to maintain the traditional market and compete for new markets, there were many innovations and creations in the porcelain-making process in the Song Dynasty. On the one hand, it is to increase output, on the other hand, it is to reduce costs. For example, fire photos were widely used in Song Dynasty porcelain kilns to check the temperature and atmosphere in the kiln during firing, so as to ensure the highest yield as much as possible. The overburning process, which was first invented by Ding Yao in the middle of Northern Song Dynasty, is a kind of washer combined with sagger, which can burn many bowls of porcelain at one time, make full use of kiln space, expand production batch and reduce cost. This over-burning process was later adopted by other porcelain kilns.

There is competition between porcelain kilns, whether inside or outside the porcelain kiln system, the result of competition is the emergence of famous kilns. The official kilns in the famous kilns in the Song Dynasty were specially produced for the court. Its products are not commodities for exchange, which seems to have nothing to do with the market competition of porcelain industry. However, the craftsmen of the official kiln came from the folk kiln. As for Ru kiln, it may have been originally a folk kiln, but it was later burned for the imperial court under the official supervision. These products are exclusively used by court officials. Later, like Bianjing Kiln, the Northern Song Dynasty was overthrown and collapsed due to the change of Jingkang.

The greatest contribution of porcelain-making technology in Song Dynasty in the history of China ceramics was to open up a new realm for ceramic aesthetics. Jun porcelain's begonia red and rose purple are as bright as sunset glow and change as flowing kiln color-changing glaze; Ru kiln juice is as smooth as fat; Jingdezhen celadon is jade in color; Longquan celadon is green and crystal clear, and Mei Qing is the ultimate beauty of celadon glaze color. There are also broken lines all over the floor on the Ge kiln, which are deliberately flawed. Black porcelain seems powerless except black, but Song people burned out crystalline glaze and opaque glazes such as oil drops, rabbit hair, turtledove spots and tortoiseshell. The white glaze underglaze black flower ware of Cizhou Kiln is another realm, which inherits the tradition of underglaze color of Changsha Kiln in Tang Dynasty and directly provides an example for the appearance of white porcelain underglaze color ware in Yuan Dynasty. The neat and rigorous printing of fixed porcelain patterns and the sharp and unique carving of Yao porcelain are new manners that only the Tang and Five Dynasties knew that Xing kiln white porcelain and Yue kiln were colorful and ice-like, but they could not see, know and imagine.

The aesthetic style of Song porcelain is close to that of Shen Jing Su Ya. Jun porcelain is as beautiful as sunset glow, but it doesn't belong to the warm luster of Tang tricolor. The new aesthetic realm initiated by Song porcelain mainly lies in that Song porcelain not only attaches importance to the beauty of glaze color, but also pursues the beauty of enamel feeling. The oil drops, rabbit hair and tortoise shell of Jun porcelain, Ge porcelain, Longquan porcelain and black porcelain are not ordinary superficial and smooth transparent glass glazes, but beautiful milky white glazes and crystalline glaze that can reveal the texture. Ru Ci in the Northern Song Dynasty, celadon in the official kiln and Longquan kiln in the Southern Song Dynasty are all glass glazes, but the formula is no longer thin lime glaze, but thick lime alkali glaze. Therefore, Ru Ci's "glaze juice is as thick as fat", and the celadon of official kiln and Longquan kiln has been glazed many times, and the refraction and scattering caused by tiny bubbles in the glaze form a dignified and profound texture, which makes people feel endless. Tang people praised Yue kiln celadon as "as ice as jade", which is only a rhetorical metaphor and ideal, but Longquan celadon and celadon made by Song people are actually ingenious. These Song porcelain works are masterpieces and treasures in China Ceramic History Gallery. Their manners and manners are also a long-term example for future generations of ceramics. After thousands of years, we still admire and love them.

Liao Dynasty was a local regime established by the Khitan nationality in China in the north at the beginning of 10 century. The Khitan nationality is a descendant of Xianbei nationality, an ancient northern nationality, which was called Khitan in the late Jin Dynasty. Since the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Khitan has been nomadic in the Xilamulun River basin in the upper reaches of Liaohe River, and its relationship with the Central Plains has gradually become close. In the Tang Dynasty, the county at the end of the Song Dynasty was established, and the leader of Qidan was appointed governor. In the late Tang Dynasty, the Khitan had become the most powerful nation in northern China. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, Lu Ye Abaoji, the leader of the Khitan nationality, unified the Khitan and its surrounding ministries, and established the Liao Dynasty in the second year of Liang Dynasty (9 16) after the Five Dynasties, and then stood side by side with the Five Dynasties and the Northern Song Dynasty. With the transformation of the Khitan people from animal husbandry, fishing and hunting production to farming and animal husbandry production, and from nomadic life to settled life, the handicraft industry has also developed. Porcelain industry is an important part in handicraft industry.

Since the Tang and Five Dynasties, porcelain industry appeared in Xing (now Xingtai City, Hebei Province), Ci (now Cixian County, Hebei Province), Ding and other places in northern China. Dingzhou is in the northernmost part, close to Liao country. The handicraft industry in Liao Dynasty was mainly developed by Han Chinese and Bohai people captured in the war, and the porcelain industry in Liao Dynasty was no exception. According to Liao history, from Taizu to Sejong, Liao plundered Dingzhou many times. Quyang County, to which Dingzhou belongs, is the site of Ding Yao kiln. Therefore, the craftsmen who made porcelain in Liao Dynasty mostly came from magnetic kiln town in the Central Plains and Ding Kiln in Dingzhou. There are 7 known porcelain kilns in Liao Dynasty, which are distributed as follows: in Shangjing area, there are Lindong Liao Shangjing Kiln, Lindong Nanshan Kiln and Lindong Baiyingele Kiln; Zhongjing area has Chifeng cylinder tile kiln; In Tokyo, Liaoyang has an official kiln (Ganggang); Nanjing has Longquan kiln in Beijing; The kiln site was also found in the village of Celadon Kiln in the western suburb of Datong City, Xijing District, and the burned object was a black glazed chicken leg altar. From this point of view, before the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Khitans were mainly engaged in nomadism, raising pigs and fishing, and the porcelain industry had no foundation. The achievement of Liao porcelain industry is mainly the contribution of Han porcelain-burning workers in the north. Liao porcelain is famous for its shapes of leather cans (also known as cockscomb cans) and chicken leg bottles with nomadic characteristics, and is cherished by collectors. Liao porcelain is similar to other folk kilns in the white porcelain system in North China, but some objects have special shapes.

The Jin Dynasty was a local regime established by the Jurchen nationality in Northeast China and North China at the beginning of12nd century. Jin Dynasty ceramics is an indispensable part in the history of China ceramics. For a long time, no one has made a systematic study of Jin dynasty ceramics in the past because there are few records and physical materials in historical documents. Some works on the history of ceramics published before 1950s did not say "golden porcelain". Even if people see the ceramics of the Jin Dynasty, they often regard it as something of the Song and Yuan Dynasties.

Since 1950s, with the development of archaeological work of cultural relics in China and the continuous discovery of ceramics in the Jin Dynasty, we know that the production of ceramics in the Jin Dynasty can be roughly divided into two periods, namely, the early period before Yan Liang moved to Wang Hailing and the late period after Yan moved. Judging from the two representatives of Daguantun Kiln in Fushun, Liaoning and Jiangguantun Kiln in Liaoyang, the glaze color of Jin Dynasty porcelain is very monotonous, with simple shape and lack of decoration. The raw materials of porcelain are rough, the fetal bones are thick and colorful, the glaze color is uneven, and there is no moist feeling. The molding process is rough, the shape is irregular and there is no formula. The decoration is simple, only black flowers are painted on a white background, and other techniques such as carving, scratching, engraving and coloring are extremely rare. All these conditions show that the ceramic production level in the early Jin Dynasty was lower than that in Guanzhong area. From 1 127 "Jingkang Revolution" to 1 153, King Jin Hailing moved to the capital. In the past 30 years, every time Jin Bing went south to commit crimes, the main goal was to plunder population, wealth and land. Today, Hebei and Henan provinces are one of the important porcelain production bases in the Northern Song Dynasty, and the ceramic handicraft industry is highly developed, but the long-term war has caused unprecedented damage to it. In the past twenty years, the production of Zhongyuan ceramics in Jin Dynasty was basically in a barren state, probably due to the destruction of war and the southward migration of kiln workers, and it was "repaired in the north and south after five years on the throne" in Wanyan Yong. During his nearly 30 years in power, according to the Records of Emperor Shizong of the Jin Dynasty, "the ministers kept their posts, lived in peace from top to bottom, had no worries about food and clothing, and had more than enough granaries ... the so-called' Xiao Yao Shun'." The recovery and development of Jin Dynasty economy will inevitably stimulate the production of ceramics. At present, Jin dynasty porcelain and tomb porcelain with dating date have been found. There are white glazed black-flowered tiger-shaped pillows from Cizhou Kiln in the second year of Dading (1 162), large white glazed black-lettered jars from Foguang Purdue in Jin Kui (12 10), and celadon pieces from Yaozhou Kiln in Daan (12 10). However, Jin Dading's previous products were rarely found. Obviously, it is a reflection of the recovery and development of the Central Plains ceramics industry in the New Year's Eve.

According to the current excavation and investigation, the ceramic kilns developed in the Central Plains during the Dading period and later include Ding Yang Kiln in Hebei, Yantaishan Kiln in Cixian, Jun Kiln in Yuxian, Henan, Yaozhou Kiln in Tongchuan, Shaanxi and so on. Obviously, the Jin people invaded and destroyed Liao and Song Dynasties in the south, on the one hand, they inherited the porcelain industry foundation of Liao and Song Dynasties, on the other hand, they caused skilled kiln workers in the north to flee to the south. Leading to the decline of the northern porcelain industry. Although several large kiln areas in the north resumed firing shortly after gold was injected, the products were poor and gold porcelain could not be produced.