Chapter 684 There is nothing in the bowl, it is filled with abundant water
The later the time, the better the porcelain fired and the more sophisticated the craftsmanship.
However, the best porcelain fired by Yue kiln is secret color porcelain, so has it ever fired secret color porcelain?
However, Chen Wenzhe had a headache at this time. How could he prove that one of the craftsmanship was secret-color porcelain?
The scene that Chen Wenzhe could see was a silent pantomime, but no one told him what it was doing.
He can't just think that because this is a sagger used by the Yue kiln, and it was made of high-quality porcelain, that after the late Tang Dynasty, it was made of secret-color porcelain, right?
It seems that secret color porcelain has been mysterious since it was spread.
At the very least, since the middle and late Tang Dynasty, secret-color porcelain has been like a beauty covered with a veil, making it difficult for future generations to discern her true face.
It was not until the extremely accidental excavation of the foundation of Famen Temple that the secret truth that had troubled Chinese people for thousands of years was revealed to the world.
However, he was certain that it was Yue kiln celadon, but he was not sure that it was secret color porcelain.
The Yue Kiln of the ancient Yue Kingdom should be the earliest kiln named after the place name, and this is how people in the Tang Dynasty called it.
"The wind and dew of Kyushu blooms over the kilns and captures the green color of thousands of peaks."
The poet Lu Guimeng's words of inspiration have been passed down for thousands of years. This is also the happiness of Yue Kiln.
But the happiness of Yue Kiln does not stop there. Tea Saint Lu Yu also praised it and regarded it as a treasure:
"The Xing kiln is like silver, the Yue kiln is like jade, Xing kiln is not as good as Yue, one thing; if the Xing kiln is like snow, then the Yue kiln is like ice, Xing is not as good as Yue, the other thing is;
, Xing is not as good as Yue, Sanye;”
Such praise is rare in the history of ceramics.
Who is Lu Yu? He is known as the "Tea Fairy", revered as the "Tea Saint", worshiped as the "Tea God", and is known as the "Tea Mountain Censor".
Lu Yu has been fond of tea all his life and is proficient in tea ceremony. He has conducted long-term research on tea, is familiar with tea tree cultivation, breeding and processing technology, and is good at tea tasting.
The Tea Classic he wrote is still widely circulated today!
It can be said that he is the originator of tea tasting and tea art!
To this day, Chen Wenzhe still wants to benefit from him, otherwise who would he sell his tea sets to?
For such a person to praise the Yue kiln celadon, you should know how great the influence is!
With a scholar's keen literary feeling, Lu Yu clearly compares jade to silver and ice to snow, and the wise will understand who is superior or inferior.
The scientific and technological content of white porcelain in the Tang Dynasty was much higher than that of celadon, as evidenced by the selection of the royal treasure treasury with the word "ying" in it.
But from the perspective of a southern literati, Lu Yu's brilliance was based on the principle of using tea and suppressing the white and promoting the green.
Lu Yu's words have been widely circulated. Anyone who has a little knowledge of the history of ceramics cannot possibly not know this sentence.
However, it is still controversial to say that the Yue kiln celadon at the beginning completely suppressed the Xing kiln white porcelain.
However, when secret color porcelain appeared, there was no controversy.
It turns out that the secret-color porcelain has always been a legend. There is no doubt whether it is true or not. However, when the thirteen pieces of secret-color porcelain from Famen Temple appeared, it was no longer a legend.
If we want to talk about the most mysterious porcelain in China, we should also say it is "secret color porcelain".
For many years, this kind of porcelain was only recorded in literature, but there was no real object for comparison.
Even the most magical Ge kiln in the Song Dynasty still has some fragments visible.
People can only know from historical records that secret color porcelain was specially fired by the "Yue Kiln" and was exclusively used by the royal family.
From the formula, blank making, glazing to firing, the entire process is kept secret.
The most mysterious thing is its color? No, it’s actually the firing process and formula.
No one knows what "secret color" is. It is precisely because no one knows that it may be named "secret color".
Records in the literature have been mentioned many times. The most famous one is in the poem "Secret Color Yueqi" written by the late Tang Dynasty poet Lu Guimeng: "The wind and dew in the nine autumns bloom over the kilns, capturing the green color of thousands of peaks. It's good to be in the middle of the night."
, a total of Ji Zhong scattered the remaining cups."
After reading this, people are more confused, what does the secret color porcelain have to do with the Yue kiln porcelain? What is the Qianfeng green color?
As an unsolved case in the ceramic and archaeological circles, the secret of secret-color porcelain was fortunately solved in 1987.
The discovery and excavation of the underground palace of Famen Temple where the secret is located is also full of legends.
Famen Temple in Fufeng is said to have been built in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Famen Temple actually got its name from Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty. It is famous for housing the relics of the Buddha and has always been a holy place for Buddhism.
Ancient temples that have lasted for thousands of years are inevitably exposed to weapons and robbery.
During the Republic of China, the temple was in dilapidated condition.
In 1939, the then president of the North China Charity Association used funds raised from various parties to begin large-scale repairs to the temple.
It is said that during the reconstruction, some participants discovered a corner of the underground palace.
In the era of war and chaos, this simply means a disaster for the treasures in the underground palace.
Fortunately, after the president learned about it, he swore an oath with the insider not to reveal any secrets, and then sealed the underground palace again. Fortunately, after many years, the treasures were recovered as before.
In 1976, the Famen Temple tower tilted seriously.
In 1981, the top of the tower fell and only half of the tower remained.
In 1987, the tower completely collapsed and the underground palace at the bottom of the tower was rediscovered.
During the subsequent archeology, a large-scale underground palace was excavated, and a total of more than 2,000 Tang Dynasty treasures were cleared out, including a number of exquisite porcelains.
If we had not seen the inscription recording the list of items enshrined in the underground palace, we might have missed another opportunity to solve an eternal mystery this time.
Fortunately, we were lucky enough. In the inscription "When the real body is delivered by the supervisor, it is accompanied by props, gold and silver treasures, clothing and clothing" found in the underground palace. It is recorded that: "Porcelain secret color bowl (bowl) with seven mouths and two silver ribs inside.
"Secret porcelain plates, six in total."
By comparison with the actual objects, the 13 porcelain bowls, porcelain plates, and porcelain dishes in the underground palace were finally confirmed to be the long-lost secret color porcelain.
These 13 pieces of palace-specific porcelain have also become the earliest and most exquisite palace porcelain found in the world confirmed by inscriptions.
Although it was confirmed to be from the Yue kiln, expert research showed that the secret color porcelain is indeed completely different from celadon in terms of its base, glaze and firing process.
The beauty of secret-color porcelain cannot be described in words. An ancient poem said: There is nothing in the bowl, but it seems to be filled with spring water.
Only after seeing one of the secret-color porcelain dishes with a "concave bottom" can you realize that what the ancients said is true.
The bottom of the dish is concave from the outside to the inside, forming a slight arc. When illuminated by light, the bottom of the bowl reflects a gleaming white light, like water or clouds.
There is also an elegant and luxurious five-petal sunflower mouth, gilt and silver-rimmed secret-color porcelain bowl with a flat bird-like pattern. The inner wall of the bowl is covered with green and yellow glaze, and the outer wall is painted with dark blue paint, with five gilt flat-flutter bird patterns on it.
The mouth of the bowl and the base are covered with silver ribs.
This bowl is decorated with the "gold and silver flat stripping" method popular in the Tang Dynasty. The craftsmanship is complex and it is full of luxury.
Before that excavation, due to various documentary evidence, the ceramics community had no doubts about the theory that "the firing of secret-color porcelain began in the Five Dynasties."
People who believe in the late Tang Dynasty can only rely on late Tang poets Lu Guimeng and Xu Yin to mention "secret color" in their poems and articles to justify their theory.
Fortunately, archaeological discoveries solved this case.