Chen Wenzhe's foundation is too solid and his self-confidence is too strong, so he believes that even in trial burning, his success rate is higher than that of the ancients.
Therefore, Chen Wenzhe could not try his hand with defective materials.
If he can succeed in one go, and the success rate in one kiln is still very high, then how worried should he be if he succeeds in using defective materials?
Also, although defective materials and top-quality materials are essentially the same, subtle differences may determine the success or failure of firing.
Therefore, even if it is a trial firing, it must be made with good and suitable materials. Only in this way can the firing be considered a real success.
It is because of these ideas that the raw materials used by Chen Wenzhe are all high-quality raw materials imported from China at high prices.
If the firing fails, the loss will be quite large. Not to mention the time wasted, the raw materials of these porcelains are worth a lot of money.
That is to say, if he has money, he can also get some other windfalls, otherwise, he will lose money by burning the kiln like this.
As for the unexpected harvest, it must be other red-glazed porcelain.
Chen Wenzhe was learning and firing at the same time. During this process, he not only fired Ru kiln porcelain, but also fired plum vases and bile vases with various characteristics.
In the process of learning, especially in the process of learning to make Chinese red porcelain, he can be said to have learned all the red glazed porcelain of all ages!
Especially in his understanding and firing of red glaze, he has reached a peak level.
This kind of red porcelain that uses copper-containing substances as colorants and is fired by reducing flames is called copper red glaze.
However, the firing of red glazed porcelain from different dynasties is really different.
And unlike celadon, which uses iron as a colorant, the firing process of copper as a colorant is more difficult.
If the temperature and firing atmosphere are not properly controlled, the copper will turn black, turn green, or evaporate and lose its color.
Of course, this is a bad thing, but if you master the rules of primary colors, you can make porcelain green when fired. This is kiln transformation.
Through this little bit of information, Chen Wenzhe kept summarizing and learning, and at the same time perfected the manufacturing processes of various porcelains.
Now as long as he makes a glaze color, he must be familiar with it from beginning to end and make it again.
Just like red glaze, there was a lot of controversy in the industry when it first appeared.
Some say it was the Tang Dynasty, some say it was the Song Dynasty. No matter when it first appeared, the truly pure and stable red glaze was not truly created until the early Ming Dynasty.
It was from this time that various red glazes began to appear.
There are many styles of red glaze, such as alum red, rouge water, rouge water, coral red, etc.
These red-glazed porcelains are bright in color and smooth and bright in appearance.
According to the color, they are called ruby red, Ji red, cowpea red and Langyao red.
According to their development status, Yongle bright red, Xuande ruby red, Jiajing alum red, Kangxi Langyao red and cowpea red are more famous.
Red-glazed porcelain of the Ming and Qing Dynasties is divided into two categories:
One is bright red glazed porcelain
This is what we commonly call ruby red glaze.
The bright red glaze porcelain belongs to the underglaze color, and its names are different, including ruby red, xuanshao, drunk red, bright red, Jihong, Jihong, Jihong, Jihong, etc.
Especially in the Ming Dynasty, the red-glazed porcelain was extraordinary.
The characteristics of Yongxuan bright red glaze porcelain are that the glaze layer does not flow or crack, and the color tone is solemn, deep and stable.
Because the glaze layer flows down, the rim and protruding parts of the porcelain are exposed white, which is commonly known as "dengcao mouth".
The body of the Yongle red glaze ware has a relatively thin glaze and a bright and vivid color.
The glaze of Xuande ware is thicker than that of Yongle, and the thickness of the glaze layer is about twice that of Yongle. The gloss of the glaze is weaker than that of Yongle, and the feeling of warmth and moistness is obviously enhanced. There seems to be hair in the red glaze.
In recent years, a Xuande plum vase with bright red glaze and dark flowers has been unearthed in Zhushan, Jingzhen.
The glaze of this kind of plum vase has a slight flow, but not enough, and the edges are neat.
The glaze around the feet and the edge of the pattern are blue-grey in red, which is the unique "back of fresh shrimp" color in Xuande.
As for the Xuande red glaze wares, there are two styles: the blue and white double-circle style under white glaze and the dark-engraved double-circle style.
Among the red-glazed wares of the past dynasties, only the Xuande red-glazed porcelain has the strongest jade texture. If it is well-fired, the red-glazed wares will be as beautiful and charming as rubies.
The formula of red glaze in the Ming Dynasty contained bright red earth. By the time of Jiajing, the fresh red earth had been mined out, so alum red ware could only be fired.
Therefore, Tian Yiheng, a man from the Ming Dynasty, recorded: The value of Xuande is now your enemy, and Yongle and Chenghua will also value it.
The price of porcelain from Xuande official kilns in the late Ming Dynasty was close to that of porcelain from famous kilns in the Song Dynasty.
This shows that the sacrificial red that appeared during the Yongxuan period of Dai Dynasty is delicate but not bright, with purple in the red and deep and stable color.
In ancient times, the royal family used this red-glazed porcelain as sacrificial vessels, hence the name Jihong.
Because firing is extremely difficult and the yield is very low, it is extremely valuable.
The ancients really spared no effort in making red porcelain for sacrifice.
Materials such as coral, agate, cold water stone, beads, and even gold are used, but the firing rate is still very low.
It turns out that the firing of "Jihong" is an "art of fire". That is to say, even if you have a good recipe, if the firing conditions are not good, there are often cases where the entire kiln becomes useless.
Therefore, there is a saying that "one treasure is rare in a thousand kilns, but nine out of ten kilns cannot be found".
This is about bright red glazed porcelain. In addition to this, there is also underglaze red porcelain.
Underglaze red porcelain belongs to underglaze color, and its color is mostly dark red.
It took shape in the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Yuan Dynasty.
Mainly using copper as the coloring agent, patterns are painted on the porcelain body, covered with transparent glaze, and fired in a high-temperature reducing atmosphere.
From the Yuan Dynasty to the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, due to the difficulty in controlling the firing temperature, the red color of the fired glaze was unstable, with moss-green spots and burnt black spots often appearing.
It was not until the Yongzong and Qian dynasties that the kiln temperature could be better controlled, and most of the glaze reds produced were pure red.
Of course, during the Ming Dynasty, the firing technology of underglaze red porcelain was also well mastered and a large number of fine products were produced.
However, in the end, due to the color of underglaze red, the requirements for its firing temperature and atmosphere are very strict. Therefore, underglaze red porcelain in the Ming Dynasty did not develop as quickly as blue and white porcelain, and was limited to small quantities of production. Therefore, it has been handed down from generation to generation.
There are fewer works.
The most accomplished red glazes of the Ming Dynasty were Yongle bright red glaze and Xuande Ji red glaze.
Created and fired during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, the alum red glaze is a low-temperature glaze that uses iron as a colorant and does not fall into the scope of copper red glaze.
The Xuande Dynasty was the most glorious period for the production of red glaze wares in the Ming Dynasty.
If you want to look for the porcelain-making materials used after this, you can still find them now. After all, some porcelain no longer uses macang soil.
The bright red clay used for firing the ruby red glaze has also been replicated with the power of modern technology.
Regardless of whether it is the same as the one used in the Ming Dynasty, at least the effect is very good.
This is also why Chen Wenzhe's influence has become more and more powerful recently. Otherwise, with Yi Niantang and Li Jinli, he would not be able to buy such top-quality materials.
It is also because of this that when Chen Wenzhe imitated Hong-glazed porcelain from past dynasties, he could start from Xuande. After all, he also made Xuande red, the best material of bright red clay.