Chapter 1,153 The Thousand Years of Royal Kiln History, the First Person of Tang Ying
This large porcelain vase with various glazes from the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty is undoubtedly the pinnacle of Qing Dynasty porcelain.
It confirms the demeanor and mentality of Qianlong's prosperous period more than 200 years ago.
In other words, this porcelain was created precisely because the craftsmen had mastered the glaze firing techniques of the past dynasties.
Emperor Qianlong used his unique conditions to make porcelain that was unprecedented and unprecedented.
This style reflects the splendor and cultural prosperity of the Qianlong period.
This mentality is self-confidence. It is the power of our dynasty to surpass the ancients and reach unprecedented new heights. It shows the ambition of the Qianlong Dynasty as a great country that embraces all rivers.
The idea of advocating the firing of such a porcelain must have come from Qianlong.
He loved calligraphy, painting and porcelain all his life.
He wanted to make a porcelain that combined the achievements of past dynasties, and his purpose was to show off the great Qing Dynasty and its heyday, which was inclusive of all rivers.
Therefore, during the Qianlong period, the craftsmen of the jdz imperial kiln factory became busy, and then the "porcelain mother" was born.
So why burn it?
The direct purpose is for display, that is, to put it on a table in the palace for viewing.
During the Qianlong Dynasty, national power was at its peak and the country was at peace.
Qianlong was also a monarch with high artistic attainments and a fondness for great achievements.
In addition, Jingzhen's porcelain making technology had reached a very high level at this time, so Xu Zhiheng's evaluation of Qianlong's porcelain in "Yin Liu Zhai Talks about Porcelain": "By the time of Qianlong, the porcelain was extremely beautiful and exquisite.
In the miraculous craftsmanship."
When it comes to the firing process of this porcelain mother, it is equally complex.
This large vase with various glazes combines various high-temperature and low-temperature colored glazes into one. As you can imagine, the difficulty is high.
Because the firing temperatures of various types of glazes are different, they cannot be fired at once.
Among them, blue and white, imitation Ge glaze, imitation Ru glaze, imitation official glaze, imitation Jun glaze, and pink celadon glaze are all high-temperature glazes and need to be fired first.
Those pastel, enamel, gold, and color glazes are low-temperature glazes and need to be fired later.
This is just like when we steam seafood, you can't steam crabs, shells, shrimps, and geoducks all in one pot.
If the order, time, and heat of the porcelain mother are fired are not properly controlled, the color will be burned out.
According to records, this large porcelain mother vase with various glazes had to be repeatedly fired in the kiln up to 17 times.
The final success rate was only 0.23%.
Let's put it this way, according to probability calculation, 435 identical large bottles need to be fired to get such a perfect porcelain mother.
So who made such an exquisite large porcelain mother vase with various glazes?
This is really important to Chen Wenzhe, because there is so much worth learning from such a character.
Therefore, a famous figure from the Qing Dynasty must be mentioned here.
He was Tang Ying, the famous pottery supervisor of the imperial kiln factory at that time. Tang Ying lived in the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong dynasties.
He was ordered to go to the royal kiln in Jingzhen for 21 years.
It can be said that the imperial kiln has a thousand-year history, and Tang Ying is the first person.
We all know that the three dynasties of Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong are what we commonly call the Three Dynasties of the Qing Dynasty.
Why is there such a saying as the Three Qing Dynasties?
In recent years, porcelain from the third and third dynasties of the Qing Dynasty has become one of the most popular objects in the Chinese art market. It often appears in the art auction market, and its transaction prices have repeatedly reached new highs.
It is understood that at the 2002 Fubi Spring Auction in Jiangsu, a Yongzheng pastel bat peach pattern olive vase was sold for more than 40 million Hong Kong dollars, setting the highest auction price for Qing Dynasty porcelain at that time;
At the Fubi auction in Hong Kong in October 2005, a "Qianlong enamel 'Gu Yuexuan' amphorae with poems, flowers, stones, golden pheasants and pictures" made by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty was finally sold for HK$120 million, setting a record The highest auction price for Qing Dynasty porcelain in the world.
We often refer to the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong as the heyday of the Qing Dynasty.
The "Three Qing Dynasties" here refer specifically to the porcelain produced during the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong periods of the Qing Dynasty.
The development of porcelain in the Kang, Yong and Qian dynasties of the Qing Dynasty reached its peak.
The blue and white wares fired during the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong reigns, whether in shape or glaze color, are all highly modeled after the Yongle, Xuande, and Chenghua dynasties of the Ming Dynasty.
Especially Kangxi blue and white, the color is green and gorgeous, with clear layers, and the rich and bland brushwork can be divided into five colors, which is subtle and vivid.
Of course, not only blue and white porcelain, but also Langyao red and other fine porcelains are from the third dynasty of the Qing Dynasty.
Just say that the snuff bottles collected by Chen Wenzhe also reached their peak during the third dynasty of the Qing Dynasty.
During the Kangxi period, there were two important institutional arrangements for the development of porcelain.
The first is to restore the Jingzhen Royal Kiln Factory.
Second, a special pottery supervisor was established.
Among them, Lang Tingji was the governor of Xijiang.
"Lang Kiln Red", which represents the pinnacle of Kangxi porcelain art, was successfully fired under his supervision.
In 1696, the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, the Qing Palace Manufacturing Office established a glass factory and began to manufacture various glassware for the royal family.
As for the manufacturing process of glass snuff bottles, there are many, and they can be divided into one-color snuff bottles, set-color snuff bottles, stirred glass snuff bottles, gold-sprinkled glass snuff bottles, enamel colored glass snuff bottles and interior-painted glass snuff bottles.
Its colors also include red, white, black, purple and green, etc., which are colorful.
One of the most important techniques is definitely the internal painting technique.
It is the various craftsmanship that created the prestige of the three dynasties of the Qing Dynasty.
The porcelain mother-piece that Chen Wenzhe is currently studying is a masterpiece made by Tang Ying of the third generation of the Qing Dynasty.
Tang Ying did not say whether the exploration process of making porcelain mother was difficult, but judging from the current literature records, Qianlong was very satisfied with the firing results.
And Tang Ying is obviously more than just a porcelain mother-in-law.
Also, since porcelain like porcelain mother can be made, how can the production level of other porcelain be said to be inferior?
This point really needs to be said, because before becoming the pottery supervisor, Tang Ying was actually a layman who did not know how to make porcelain.
Generally speaking, when talking about "porcelain mother", one must mention Tang Ying, the first person in the history of ceramics.
Why is he said to be the first person in the history of ceramics? It’s because Tang Ying was the pottery supervisor for a long time.
Tang Ying was the pottery supervisor sent by the emperor to Jingzhen during the Yongzheng period.
After arriving at JDZ, he discovered that he was an outsider and could not lead an expert.
Therefore, he worked hard to learn ceramic production techniques, including some ceramic painting and craftsmanship.
He worked hard with the craftsmen, mastered some porcelain firing techniques, and soon became expert at it.
During this period, he fired, invented and restored various colored glazes on ceramics of all ages, including 57 single-color glazes.
In this way, the best glaze colors and varieties from all periods of Chinese history have been fully mastered, as well as the color of the glaze and the richness and quality of the enamel.
And he was able to do it with ease and reached the pinnacle of success.
At the same time, his research on various color materials and various colored ink paintings at that time also reached its highest peak.