Chapter 27 Chapter Thirteen New Achievements of Yuan, Ming and Qing Porcelain

The Mongols were originally a tribe living in the upper reaches of the Ergun River. From the end of the 12th century to the beginning of the 13th century, Temujin conquered the brother tribes and established the Mongolian Khanate. He called himself the Great Khan, named Genghis Khan, that is, Yuan Taizu.Kublai Khan became the Great Khan in 1260 AD. In the process of going south, the social economy, including the ceramic handicraft industry, was greatly damaged.Famous kilns in various places have been reduced to small workshops for the production of coarse porcelain bowls, losing their former glory.After Kublai Khan came to power, he paid more attention to agriculture, paid attention to the development of transportation facilities, built the Grand Canal from Hangzhou to Dadu, and encouraged overseas trade.Be open about religion.Science and technology, culture and art have been developed, domestic ethnic ties have been strengthened, and Sino-foreign trade and economic and cultural exchanges have been enhanced.Because of this, the destroyed porcelain handicraft industry has been restored and developed like other handicraft industries.Especially in the late Yuan Dynasty, the porcelain industry in Jingdezhen developed rapidly, pushing the traditional Chinese porcelain making technology to a higher level.Driven by the active urban economy and overseas trade, the porcelain handicraft industry in coastal areas developed more vigorously.China's ceramic production has entered a new stage.

In the Yuan Dynasty, the Fuliang Porcelain Bureau was established in Jingdezhen.Jingdezhen has high-quality porcelain clay, abundant firewood, and water sources. Although it is far away from the prosperous economic center and its geographical location is relatively remote, the Changjiang River and Poyang Lake are connected to the Yangtze River. Water transportation is very convenient, and it has unique conditions for the development of porcelain handicrafts.When the war is in full swing, it is relatively peaceful here, and potters from all over the world can come here to perform their skills and make a living, so that the porcelain making technology and experience can be exchanged.This is the reason why Jingdezhen's porcelain making technology developed when many porcelain kilns declined in the Yuan Dynasty.

The greatest success in porcelain craftsmanship in the Yuan Dynasty was that the level of white porcelain was greatly improved. On this basis, the blue and white porcelain was raised to a new level, and blue and white porcelain, underglaze red porcelain, red glaze porcelain, blue glaze and blue glaze painted gold porcelain were developed. . The white porcelain wares in Jingdezhen are mainly living utensils, including bowls, plates, cups, pots, pots and so on.The carcass is dense, the tire wall is very thin, and the molding lines are fine.The white glaze is white and flawless.Many utensils of Qingbai porcelain are printed with the words "Shufu" and "Taixi".The output of Qingbai porcelain is large, and many works are not as dense as Song Dynasty Qingbai porcelain, the light transmittance is also poor, and the glaze is not uniform enough.However, the wall of the utensils is thicker and more practical than that of the Song Dynasty, ancient and plump, and the walls of the utensils pay great attention to the effect of arcs.The blue and white porcelain Guanyin sitting statue unearthed in Yuan Dadu is 67 cm high, which not only shows superb craftsmanship, but also shows outstanding sculpture ability beyond the Song Dynasty.

Porcelain from various places in the Yuan Dynasty followed Jingdezhen as an example and were very particular about decoration.The white-glazed black-flowered porcelain in the northern Cizhou kiln continued to be produced, and a large number of various porcelain pillows were produced, some of which were about half a meter long.Because it is rooted in the folk, it has relatively strong vitality.Many of its decorative compositions and contents are the same as Jingdezhen's blue and white, rigorous and compact, absorbing the patterns and decorative effects of brocade patterns at that time, such as cloud shoulder brocade pattern, wide-headed lotus petal pattern, wreath pattern, etc. Others include flowers and plants. , animal patterns, etc.The underglaze red decoration of the Yuan Dynasty was not found in the white porcelain and blue and white porcelain of the Song Dynasty.

Longquan celadon in Chuzhou, Zhejiang Province has also achieved extraordinary development.According to the statistics of porcelain kilns discovered by archaeology, the number of kiln sites discovered is four to five times that of the Song Dynasty.More than 200 kiln sites have been found on the banks of the Oujiang River and the upper reaches of the Songxi River.Longquan celadon products are almost sold all over Asia, the east and north coasts of Africa, and even reached Europe.More than 10,000 pieces of various types of porcelain were salvaged from the shipwreck in Xin'an, South Korea, of which Longquan celadon products accounted for about half.Among the kiln sites found in the whole country, only Jingdezhen's blue and white porcelain can be compared with it in terms of export volume.The reasons for its development are as follows: First, the porcelain handicraft industry in Longquan area has a long history, and most residents can burn porcelain.There are extremely rich porcelain clay and firewood here. In the south of the Yangtze River, a dragon kiln is dug along the slope, and the investment in setting up a workshop is not large. Therefore, it is easier to produce porcelain in this remote place than other handicrafts.Second, there is a huge demand both at home and abroad.Among the cultural relics unearthed in urban ruins, cellars and tombs all over the country, Longquan celadon is very common.Longquan celadon is thick and strong, with beautiful appearance and jade-like texture, so it has strong competitiveness.The development of overseas trade also promotes its development.It has convenient water and land transportation links with Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong and other sea ports, and the transportation is not difficult.A large number of Longquan celadon have been found in some important port cities such as Ningbo, Wenzhou, Yangzhou, Guangzhou, Quanzhou, etc., and near these port cities, kiln sites imitating Longquan celadon have also been found.Many Longquan celadons were also found on the main traffic lines in the north and northwest, such as Gansu, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Datong, Shanxi and other foreign trade transportation cities.

Longquan celadon has made great achievements in molding, roasting and other techniques. There are many magnificent products, such as large vases and supply bottles, which are nearly three feet high, and large porcelain plates with a diameter of more than two feet.The production is regular, the green glaze is smooth and bright, pleasing to the eye, the shape of the vessel is not deformed at all, and the glaze is clean and flawless.The same type of large utensils in Jingdezhen, such as blue and white underglaze red works, often have the disadvantages of warped water chestnuts, slight deformation, and glaze shrinkage.At this time, Longquan celadon was popularly decorated with scratches, printing, decals and piles of flowers.Some also make holes and point colors.

In order to adapt to the development of overseas trade, some porcelain kilns along the coast have not only not declined but also developed since the Song Dynasty.For example, the Dehua kiln in Fujian formed a large-scale porcelain kiln with a wide range of firing in the Yuan Dynasty. The celadon with patterned grate and dot pattern in Tong'an kiln developed rapidly and was produced in many counties along the coast of Fujian.The production scale of Xicun kiln in Guangdong, including the recently discovered Shabian kiln, Zengcheng kiln, and Chaozhou kiln, is also expanding, which is very beneficial to the development of coastal port cities and the development of overseas trade.

Yuan Dynasty porcelain, including glazed pottery works, has the same characteristics of the times, with majestic and vigorous shapes. In addition to inheriting the traditional painting, engraving, printing, and sculpture, the decorative arts also surpass the Song Dynasty in the art of overglaze color and underglaze color.As far as painted porcelain is concerned, the content is extremely rich. On a piece of work, curly grass, vines, banana leaves, chrysanthemums, lotus, sunflowers, flowing water, sea waves, etc. are used as border decorations, and flowing clouds, miscellaneous treasures, and peonies are used to adorn or fill it. blank.The theme decoration mostly uses peonies, plantains, melons and fruits, fish and algae, cloud dragons, cloud phoenixes, mandarin ducks in lotus ponds, zaju banhua, sword and horse characters, residual lotus and birds, ancient pines and green bamboos, three friends of Sui Han, wild geese flying high, and groups of birds. Playing in the water, stories of famous officials, mythological themes, etc.As a cultural phenomenon, porcelain decoration has been connected with literati painting art.These achievements have opened up broad prospects for the application of painting art in Ming Dynasty to porcelain decoration.