Chapter 26 Chapter 12 Xiajin Ceramics of Liaoxi with National Style

Among the ethnic minorities in Chinese history, the Liao, Xixia, and Jin were the powerful ethnic groups that established a relatively stable regime, developed the economy in their ruled areas, and had their own ceramic handicraft industry. The Liao Dynasty was dominated by the Khitan people.Yelu Abaoji was elected Khan in 907 AD. He destroyed the electoral system and occupied the Khan throne all the time.In 916 AD, he took the throne as the emperor and established the Khitan Kingdom, known as the Taizu of the Liao Dynasty. To a certain extent, Abaoji accepted the feudal production mode of the Han people. He did not treat the captive Han people as slaves, but learned farming, iron smelting and ceramic production techniques from them, and his ceramic production developed rapidly.According to the current archaeological data, Liao porcelain kiln sites have been found in the three northeastern provinces, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Shanxi Hunyuan, and the production areas are very extensive.

Liao porcelain is mainly white porcelain, and its body quality is a bit like that of Cizhou kiln, but it is looser and looser than Cizhou kiln porcelain, and its whiteness is not high. .In the late period, the number of white-glazed black-flower porcelain and stippling porcelain from Cizhou kiln increased significantly.Liao porcelain also produces high-temperature cylinder-tired tea-colored, black, ocher or variegated glazed porcelain, such as cylinders and pots.The yield is also great. There are two forms of Liao porcelain, one is the utensils commonly used by the Han people in the Central Plains, such as bowls, plates, bottles, cans, boxes, dishes, warming plates, pots, urns, pillows, etc.; the other is full of Khitan national characteristics. Porcelain, such as leather pouch pots, tied flat pots, etc.Their shape resembles a leather-sewn leather bag, and even the needle marks of the stitches are produced.This kind of utensils are obviously produced to meet the needs of the life of nomadic peoples in the grasslands, and it is also a manifestation of the national characteristics of Liao porcelain.

In addition, there is also a kind of low-temperature glazed pottery, mostly single-color yellow-glazed, green-glazed, and white-glazed vessels.There are relatively few two-color glazes and three-color glazes, and this type of glazed pottery is called "Liao Sancai".Liao Sancai was developed directly under the influence of Tang Sancai craftsmanship.There is fine sand in the tire material, the raw material is rarely processed, the texture is soft, the glaze is uneven, and the quality is not as good as Tang Sancai. The rulers of the Liao Dynasty learned from the Song Dynasty government's practice of setting up official kilns, and set up official kilns in Linhuangfu, Shangjing (now Poluo City, Balin Zuo Banner, Inner Mongolia), and the white porcelain produced was also imitated by Xing Kiln and Ding Kiln.The words "Official" and "Xinguan" appear on Ding porcelain, and the words "Official" and "Xinguan" also appear on Liao porcelain.

Xixia, a political power established by the Dangxiang aristocrats in Northwest my country in the early 11th century, is called Daxia. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, the scope of activities of party members expanded to "thousands of miles".During the Song Dynasty, the power of party members further strengthened.Especially during Song Zhenzong's time, the Xixia rulers adopted a friendly policy with the Song and Liao capitals, conducted trade, and moved the capital to Xingzhou (Yinchuan). Li Yuanhao came to power in 1032, proclaimed himself emperor in 1038, the country was named Daxia, and the capital was Xingqingzhou.During this period, politics, economy, and culture all made progress, and the Xixia ceramic handicraft industry developed during this period.

The Xixia kiln site is located in Ciyaobao, Lingwu, with a relatively large scale.According to the information obtained from the investigation and excavation of the kiln site, and the porcelain unearthed from the tombs and ruins, there are black porcelain, white porcelain, celadon porcelain, and yellow-brown glazed porcelain.Among them, the number of black porcelain and white porcelain is the largest, and the number of other varieties is not large.There are two kinds of white porcelain, one is more delicate, the glaze is whiter, and the production quantity is less, and the other is thicker, the glaze is not smooth enough, astringent, and the glaze is white and gray.Some of the same glaze may have different colors due to different firing atmospheres.The common feature of Xixia porcelain is that the carcass is relatively thick, more or less contains a certain amount of fine sand, and the color of the carcass is not pure enough, some are yellow, some are brown, and some are gray. A layer of makeup soil.Because the fine sand contained in the raw material plays a strong role in forging in the carcass, the carcass is very hard and strong, and the formation stability is good.Many works, especially some fine white porcelain carcasses are relatively thin.

The largest number and types of Xixia porcelain are living utensils, such as bottles, jars, bowls, high-footed bowls, pots, kettles, etc.; , tent hooks used indoors by Xixia nomads, etc.Sculpture works of art include human figures, such as supporters and human heads; animal images include camels and so on.Building materials include white porcelain tiles, plain porcelain (unglazed) tiles, tube tiles, black porcelain tiles, lotus-shaped dripping water, and tiles with animal-face patterns.Xixia's white porcelain tiles are white and delicate, just like high-grade white porcelain living utensils.

Xixia ceramics are mainly to meet the needs of the people's lives in the region, so it shows regional characteristics, that is, its national characteristics.First, in addition to the common utensils in the Central Plains and Guanzhong regions, many utensils have special shapes, such as black-glazed flat pots with two ears and flowers.There is a ring of feet in the center of the flat belly, filled with liquid, such as wine syrup or water, which can be put on ropes on the solid ears, hung in a tent, or used on the back of a moving horse; it can also be used in a quiet place. Place it flat on the table or kang in the environment.Another example is the sauce glaze small double-line pot, the mouth of the pot is made like a mushroom that just popped out of the ground, the neck is also small, the shoulders are sloping, the abdomen is strong and wide, it can hold things well, and the ears on the neck and shoulders are small And strong.This is also a utensil that nomads love to use.

For Xixia porcelain, the black-glazed coarse porcelain that is not covered with makeup soil is the most and the best.These porcelains are often decorated with engraving and picking techniques.The part of the glaze layer that has not been removed is very bright, while the exposed carcass is very rough, and the blade is very sharp.Express deep artistic conception with simple and powerful lines, and describe some natural or social images as things that people can easily understand, understand, and are willing to approach, such as graceful flowers, honest and docile camels, and characters with stories. It shows the life charm of its nation.Some black porcelain is also engraved with Xixia characters.

Jin was a Jurchen-dominated regime, which rose after the Liao Dynasty in the Songhua River Basin.Beginning to be ruled and oppressed by the Liao Dynasty, in 1114 AD, under the leadership of its leader Aguda, the Jurchens launched a struggle against the Liao Dynasty and soon became stronger.In 1115 A.D., Aguda got rid of the rule of Liao, that is, the emperor, and the country was named Jin.The Liao Dynasty was destroyed in 1125 AD.When Jin Taizong succeeded to the throne, he destroyed the Northern Song Dynasty in 1126 AD in a violent storm. Jin's ceramics are actually composed of two parts, one part is the tradition of Liao porcelain inherited in the Northeast region, and it is the continuation of Liao porcelain.After Jin entered the pass, he occupied a large area of ​​the Central Plains and Guanzhong in the Song Dynasty.These places had well-developed ceramic handicraft industries in the Northern Song Dynasty, such as Ding Kiln, Cizhou Kiln, Jun Kiln, Linru Kiln, Yaozhou Kiln, Suzhou Kiln, and Sizhou Kiln.In the excavation of tombs, it is not uncommon to find porcelains from the above-mentioned kilns unearthed from the tombs of Jin people.Of course, the producers of porcelain kilns in the vast areas of the Central Plains and Guanzhong are still Han craftsmen.Some skilled workers in the Northern Song Dynasty continued to produce after entering the Jin Dynasty, and their varieties and artistic styles certainly maintained the artistic style of the Han people.For example, Dingyao white porcelain is almost indistinguishable from the Northern Song Dynasty in terms of production style.It's just that with the evolution of the times, there have been some changes in decorative arts and plastic arts, such as printing techniques are more widely popular.In the Northern Song Dynasty, there were two continuous patterns covering the entire vessel, while in the Jin Dynasty, there were many patterns, each with a bunch of broken branches.In Huoxian kiln in Shanxi, Suzhou kiln in Anhui, and Sizhou kiln in Anhui, porcelain imitating Ding kiln style appeared. The shape, body glaze and decorative pattern content, as well as the covering firing process all have Ding kiln style, although the quality is not as good as Ding kiln products. But it is widely used among the people.

In the Jin Dynasty, a kind of red and green colored porcelain was also popular.It is hung with red and green colors on white glazed porcelain fired at high temperature.Use these colors to paint flowers, insects and birds, patterns and inscriptions, etc., and then enter the kiln for low-temperature firing.This type of porcelain was previously called Song Jiacai, and it was produced in Bayi Kiln in Changzhi, Shanxi, Longci Kiln in Linfen, Cizhou Kiln in Hebei, and it is said that Dezhou Kiln in Shandong is also produced.According to the data unearthed from the tombs, it was rarely found in the Song Dynasty, but a lot of tombs of the Jin people were unearthed.Red and green color is a kind of glaze color process, which is fired at low temperature.Its invention has opened up a new way for the beautification of porcelain, and it is the predecessor of Ming and Qing colorful porcelain, which was developed prominently in Jingdezhen.

The black porcelain, white-glazed black-flowered porcelain, and white-glazed sauced-flowered porcelain of the Cizhou kiln system not only continued to be produced in the Jin Dynasty, but also expanded their production areas and innovated.For example, the Longhua kiln produced white porcelain under the influence of the Ding kiln in the Jin Dynasty, and also produced white glazed black flower porcelain.Ink bamboo is also painted on porcelain, which is rare in other types of porcelain.