In the two to three hundred years after Kangxi, Meirenzui's firing technology was gradually lost and became a historical mystery for a time.
The color of Meirenzui is different from uniform red, Jihong or other copper red glazes. In most cases, it is not deep red, but a light red.
Because it resembles the color of peach blossoms and begonias, it is also called peach blossom or begonia red.
It is also called Beauty Ji and Beauty Festival, but they are actually the same species.
Because firing is extremely difficult, most of the production is in small pieces.
For example, printing boxes, pen washers, pomegranate jars, etc.
Even so, truly good samples are rare, whether in ancient times or modern times.
The Qing Dynasty Kangxi Beauty Drunk willow leaf vase currently stored in the Guizhou Provincial Museum is one of the few "Beauty Drunk" works in the world.
After the founding of New China, with the care and support of superior departments, my country's ceramic industry developed rapidly.
In 1954, my country established the Jingzhen Ceramics Research Institute. After that, teacher Yang Wenxian conducted in-depth research and repeated experiments, and successfully re-fired Meirenzui porcelain.
Only then did this precious and lost glaze color finally see the light of day and become more and more brilliant.
Teacher Yang Wenxian's beauty-intoxicating work "Flower Goblet" is considered one of the classics.
Due to the influence of the firing climate, the color tones of Meirenzui vary greatly.
Some have dense dark red spots among the hazy pink.
Some parts are dark red, and gradually fade into a light red tone around it.
And some are lighter parts besides deep red, and are slightly tinged with yellow or green.
Some are in dark green with different blushes.
It can be said that there is a strange feeling of "covered with moss in the spring waves of peach blossoms".
It can be said to be varied and interesting.
It is said that the name Beauty Zui came from the emperor who named it impromptu during a banquet.
While the emperor and his beautiful concubine were drinking and having fun, someone brought a red-glazed vase that had just been made in Jingzhen.
Its attractive glaze color resembles the beautiful face of a drunken imperial concubine.
Therefore, the emperor immediately ordered this glaze color to be "Yangfei color", which later gradually spread and became "Beauty Drunk".
Meirenzui is different from other red glazes. Just the changes in the process have produced different artistic effects, and it is still very popular today.
With such a good technology, no one wants to lose it.
Therefore, in addition to our country starting research in the 1950s, in 2006, the ceramic technique "Beauty Drunkenness" that had been lost during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty reappeared in the Forbidden City.
The donor is 80-year-old Chen Zuodao from Wanwan.
That exquisite piece of ceramics at that time filled a gap in the collection of modern ceramics in the Forbidden City.
Because the firing conditions are completely opposite, it is difficult to re-fire the ceramic "Beauty Drunk" technique once it is lost.
After decades of painstaking research, Director Chen Zuo finally "reproduced" this "magical" technique.
The donation was a piece of "Beauty Drunk" that he successfully fired at the beginning of 2005.
The Forbidden City also has collections of ancient works of beauties, but there are very few that show a mixture of copper red and copper green like that work, so it is even more famous.
The high-temperature copper red glaze "Beauty Blossom", also known as "Peach Blossom Red", is a type of ceramic firing technology.
The ceramics fired using this technology show green spots due to local unreduced divalent copper ions.
Hong Liangji of the Qing Dynasty once praised the charm of this glaze color by saying, "Green is like the spring water at the beginning of the day, and red is like the rising sunrise."
To burn the ceramic glaze red, a large amount of smoke is required in the kiln.
And when it is burned green, there should be no smoke at all.
Because of the extremely contradictory conditions, it is difficult to successfully bake "Beauty Drunk".
Therefore, this has always been a recognized technical problem in the world ceramics community.
It took Director Chen Zuo nearly thirty years of attempts to "recover" this technique.
As long as any of these technologies are studied carefully, there are many difficulties in them.
Just like Meirenzui, its firing technology is similar to that of blue and white underglaze red.
Beauty is drunk because of the conflict between red glaze and green glaze, while blue and white underglaze red is the conflict between blue and underglaze red.
Furthermore, Meirenzui is a copper-red glaze with two glaze colors, red and green, appearing at the same time, which also has extremely high requirements for temperature control.
Therefore, the number of this kind of porcelain in existence is very small, and even less in China.
In fact, the most famous porcelain for beauty drunk with a peach blossom face is Kangxi cowpea red eight sizes.
Kangxi cowpea red can be said to be the aristocrat among single-color glazes. Anyone who plays with single-color glazes knows how valuable cowpea red is.
There are eight common shapes of cowpea red utensils, commonly known as the "eight major sizes". These eight major sizes are divided into four high and four short;
The four high ones are: willow-leaf vase, Laifu vase, flat-leaf vase, and chrysanthemum-petal vase.
The four dwarfs are: Taibai Zun, Boring Gong Washing, Ink Pad Box and Apple Zun.
The red color of cowpea red can be said to be ever-changing, and there are also light greens in the red.
It is a precious variety of copper red glaze during the Kangxi period, because copper, a very special colorant, will show different colors in the oxidation flame and the reduction flame.
Therefore, cowpea red has the characteristics of alternating red and green, and is constantly changing, and each color is different.
Firing is difficult and the production time is short, so the number handed down is rare and has always been cherished by collectors.
When Kangxi cowpea red is fired, a layer of base glaze is first applied to the blank, then a layer of colored glaze is blown on, and then a layer of top glaze is applied. It is then fired in the kiln with a high-temperature reduction flame, resulting in many color changes.
"Nanyao Notes" from the Qing Dynasty records that the production of cowpea red involves blowing the glaze several times and then firing it at high temperatures.
Due to the different layers of blown glaze, water stains will appear on the glaze after firing.
Moreover, because the glaze contains trace amounts of copper, it is oxidized during the firing process, resulting in green spots, like moss spots.
This kind of red glaze is mixed with green spots, which is full of fun and complements each other.
These porcelains are like red clouds, dotted with dots of green gems, so they are particularly sought after.
The red glaze is very smooth and delicate, containing powder. The red glaze is often dotted with natural green moss spots formed by different oxidation and reduction during firing. The glaze color can be divided into upper and lower.
The superior one is called "Dahongpao" or "Zhenghong". The glaze color is bright and bright, the whole body is the same color, and it is clean and flawless.
Slightly less, the glaze color is like beans, containing spots and green moss of different shades, also known as "Beauty Drunk" or "Beauty Mist";
Those with lighter tones are called "baby face" or "peach blossom face". Although they are not as gorgeous as the darker ones, they are elegant and delicate.
Most of the cowpea reds handed down from ancient times are small items, such as willow-leaf vases, printing boxes, water bowls, apple statues, etc., which are generally the study utensils of the palace.
During the Yongzheng Dynasty, cowpea red was still being made, but the quantity was smaller and the color was not as bright and beautiful as during the Kangxi period. After Yongzheng, cowpea red was hard to see.
Cowpea red is also a famous Chinese imperial porcelain product that is popular all over the world.
Since the 19th century, cowpea red has been favored by Westerners.