Detailed characteristics and firing technology of porcelain in Cizhou kiln

Cizhou kiln system was the largest folk kiln system in the North during the Song and Jin Dynasties, with Cizhou kiln in Cixian County, Hebei Province as the center and kiln sites widely distributed in Hebei, Henan and Shanxi provinces. Jiangxi Jizhou Kiln also fired porcelain in the style of Cizhou Kiln in the Southern Song Dynasty. Cizhou kilns are mostly comprehensive porcelain kilns, firing white porcelain, black porcelain, colored porcelain, tricolor and other varieties.

White porcelain is the main product of Cizhou Kiln. The most common shapes are plates and bowls, as well as bottles, jars, pitchers, mirror boxes and toys. White porcelain can be divided into two categories according to the different glaze bottoms: first, imitation kiln products are fine after washing, with white or yellow-white tire color, thin glaze layer and bright glaze color, all of which are glazed except the bottom foot, and there is little difference between fine products and fixed porcelain; The other is coarse white porcelain with thick carcass, rough tread, khaki or reddish brown, and obvious impurities. There is a layer of cosmetic soil on the tire, mostly with full glaze on the inner wall and half glaze on the outer wall. The outer walls of some objects can clearly see three levels: porcelain tire, makeup soil and white glaze.

Black porcelain is also the bulk of Cizhou kiln products. The shapes of these products are mainly cans, bowls and bottles, as well as plates, pots and toys. The tire quality is rough, the tire color is yellow and brown, the carcass is thick, the glaze layer is thick, and the black is pure. Most of the vessels are glazed inside and half outside, some are glazed inside and outside, and some cans are glazed only at the mouth edge. In addition to pure black, the black glazed bowl also has some kiln decoration such as oil drops, rabbit hair and tortoise shell spots. The output of celadon is not large, and most of them are products of Jin Dynasty. The main shapes are pots, plates, vases, wine bottles and so on.

Underglaze color is a unique decorative technique of Cizhou kiln. There are white glaze and green glaze in color, while there are black glaze and brown glaze in pattern. Most of them are floral patterns, such as peony and lotus, and some animal patterns, such as fish, butterflies, herons, egrets, and a few dragons and phoenixes. There are few people, mainly babies on pillows. The decorative patterns of Cizhou kiln in Song Dynasty are vivid and interesting. The most noteworthy thing is the decorative pattern on the pillow surface of porcelain pillow. In addition to the common lotus pond scenery, bagpipes singing birds, bamboo chrysanthemums and peonies, the most wonderful decorative patterns are doll play, circus and animals. In addition, there are a large number of poems, songs and aphorisms. Cizhou Kiln in Song and Jin Dynasties also produced tricolor, especially in Jin Dynasty.

During the Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, Pengcheng and Linshui were located in the most economically and culturally developed areas in the Central Plains and became the scenic spots in the western suburbs of Yecheng, the capital of Beijing. The molding technology also tends to be mature, firing celadon and white porcelain for cosmetics, and completing the leap from pottery to porcelain. In previous archaeological investigations, more than 100 celadon bowls were found in the kiln site of Linshui kiln. More than half of these utensils began to be coated with white makeup soil and blue-yellow transparent glaze on their mouths, and the makeup part was yellow and white. This is the initial stage of the transition from glazed pottery in Cizhou kiln to cosmetic white porcelain. 1975, an ancient kiln site in the Tang Dynasty and several pieces of white porcelain for cosmetics were discovered in Linshui. It shows that the firing of cosmetic white porcelain in Cizhou kiln has entered a mature stage at this time, and the kiln type has also changed from supporting firing to cage (sagger) bowl firing.