Which of the three major porcelain capitals is the best?

Introduction to China’s three major porcelain capitals

Introduction to Jingdezhen Ceramics

Long history of porcelain making

Jingdezhen, the country known as the country of porcelain in China Historically known as the capital of porcelain. Porcelain is China's great invention, porcelain is a symbol of ancient Chinese civilization, and Jingdezhen is the representative of this country of porcelain. The porcelain of foreigners is called China, and it is also called porcelain.

The gleaming white jade porcelain fills the streets of the porcelain capital. As the "Porcelain Capital", Jingdezhen has a long history of porcelain making. Historical records record: "The pottery making in Xinping began in the Han Dynasty (Jingdezhen was called Xinping Town in ancient times). As early as the Han Dynasty, it was possible in this area to produce glazed pottery on the basis of the original porcelain of the Shang and Zhou dynasties." "Celadon ware". In this way, the porcelain production in Jingdezhen area has a history of two thousand years.

Jingdezhen porcelain production in history books

According to relevant historical records, the Jingdezhen area after the Han Dynasty has already Production of various kinds of porcelain. During the Jin Dynasty, there was a man named Zhao Gai who made great contributions to the improvement of the quality of porcelain in the Jingdezhen area at that time. Therefore, he was honored as "Master" by later generations and was worshiped in temples throughout the dynasties. In 583 AD, Emperor Chen Shubao of the Southern Dynasty ordered the kilns here to burn exquisitely carved ceramic columns in order to build luxurious pavilions and pavilions for the royal family. In the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty also ordered them to be built here. Two lions and elephants were dedicated to the imperial palace. This shows that the porcelain industry in Jingdezhen area at that time had a considerable level of skill and porcelain products had a greater impact.

After the establishment of the powerful Tang Empire, During the Wude period of Emperor Li Yuan (AD 618-626), the porcelain industry in Jingdezhen, also known as Changnan Town, developed further, and two famous porcelain-making figures emerged, one named Tao Yu and the other Huo Zhongchu. , the porcelain they made was "as translucent as jade", "the soil is white soil, slightly thinner, and moist in pigment". They were sent to Kyoto for sale and were called "fake jade". They caused a sensation in the market and the emperor ordered tribute. "So Changnan Porcelain is famous all over the world.

Dehua Porcelain, which is famous at home and abroad

Dehua County, Fujian Province is a famous ceramic production area in my country and an important base for exporting porcelain. Dehua Porcelain Industry has With a long history of more than a thousand years, porcelain has a white and hard texture, exquisite craftsmanship, elegant shape, and bright color. "Three Major Porcelain Capitals"

During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Dehua porcelain was sold overseas with the prosperity of Quanzhou Port and the development of overseas trade. More than 30 porcelain kiln sites of the Song and Yuan Dynasties have been discovered. Many relics of Dehua porcelain from that time have also been found in some countries and regions in Southeast Asia and East Africa, which are historical witnesses. In the Northern Song Dynasty, Dehua kilns, represented by Wan Bang Lun Kiln, adopted wheel-making and molding techniques for their porcelain making. And the technology of tire bonding. Use dragon kiln to fire a large number of celadon, blue and white porcelain, and white porcelain bowls, plates, cups, saucers, bottles, cans, pots, boxes, washers, and vases; a small amount of black glazed tea bowls, etc. . Using decorative techniques such as engraving, scratching and printing, the surface of the porcelain is decorated with patterns such as lotus petals, peonies, clouds, banana leaves, twining flowers, as well as stripes, chrysanthemum petals, sunflower patterns, wheat ears, curly grass, etc. Dozens of decorative patterns. These products are found in Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and other places. By the Southern Song Dynasty, the porcelain kiln firing technology had new developments. The white porcelain fired was large in shape and thin in body. , the glaze color is moist, the whiteness is strong, and the light transmittance has reached a high level. At the end of the Song Dynasty and the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, Dehua porcelain kilns made great improvements, and a type between dragon kilns and class kilns (also known as egg-type kilns) appeared. Among the kilns, the "chicken cage kiln" where it is easier to control the firing fire. It began to change from the old technology of reduction firing since the early Song Dynasty to the stage of adopting new technology of oxidation firing. At this time, the production scale of the kilns also expanded greatly. The Song Dynasty kiln ruins of Qudou Palace excavated in 1976 had a slope length of 57.1 meters and 17 kiln rooms. Such a large ancient kiln was actually Rarely seen in the country. During this period, new products with white, flashing yellow or red glazes appeared, and porcelain Buddha statues became very popular. Export porcelain still accounts for the main position in the porcelain trade. In his travel notes, Marco Polo, a famous Italian traveler in the Yuan Dynasty, once highly praised Dehua for its “plentiful porcelain market”, “exquisite production” and “very cheap purchase price”, and brought Dehua porcelain back to Italy. According to the first British Ambassador to Dehua, Etis, who visited Dehua, he confirmed that the Italian Museum still retains a small flower arrangement from the Chunling Kiln of the Dehua family that Ma brought with him.

In the Ming Dynasty, Dehua porcelain industry entered a new period of development. Whether it is the shape of objects, firing technology, product quality, production varieties, craftsmanship, decorative arts, etc., the comprehensive development level is far higher than that of the Song and Yuan Dynasties. The porcelain sculptures represented by He Chaozong are world-famous and are known as treasures of "Oriental art" and "the most precious treasure in the world". The unique "Ivory White" (Jianbai) porcelain has a milky white glaze, as fat as jade, and a simple and elegant tone. It is called the representative of Chinese white porcelain and enjoys the reputation of "Chinese White" and "Pearl of the International Porcelain Circle". Especially Taoist figures. Porcelain carvings, with lifelike shapes, elegant styles and unique artistic charm, reached the peak of the ancient craftsmanship and technology of Dehua kilns. In the Ming Dynasty, Dehua kilns made new creations in masonry technology, and installed firing appeared for the first time in the country. This type of semi-downflame kiln has a large capacity, saves fuel, and is easy to control the firing flame. This type of kiln has spread abroad and has had a huge impact on the design of international porcelain kilns.

The book "Kiln" published by Japan in 1970 once recorded: "The class kiln first appeared in Dehua, Fujian, and is also the most famous. Japanese kilns were deeply influenced by Dehua and designed, so Japan used Dehua The kiln is estimated to be the ancestor of the Chuan kiln. "In the middle of the era, new glaze production techniques were created, and the blue and white under the kiln gradually entered the decorative field of Dehua porcelain.

In the Qing Dynasty, Dehua's underglaze blue and white porcelain was highly prized. More than 120 blue and white porcelain kiln sites have been discovered in the county. Blue and white porcelain replaced white porcelain and took the main position. The patterns of blue and white are rich, and the content of the paintings is based on a wide range of materials, including historical stories, figures and ladies, production activities, social customs, animals, flowers and fruits, landscapes and religious decorations. The picture is clear and elegant, the brushwork is simple and rough, the composition is simple and stretched, and full of life. It shows the new style of folk kiln colors, whether they are quiet and elegant or rich and gorgeous, and ushered in a new era of Dehua kiln color. It is as popular abroad as the colorful porcelain daily utensils and furnishings that emerged in the Qing Dynasty. At present, the ancient Dehua kiln porcelain fragments unearthed in the United Kingdom, France, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, India, Syria, Tanya and many other countries or the Dehua ancient porcelain treasured in museums are the basis for studying the ancient times of Dehua. Important cultural relics that bear witness to the development history of porcelain and the history of technological and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries.

After the late Qing Dynasty, with the economic aggression of imperialism, my country's urban and rural areas suffered serious damage, and the Dehua porcelain industry declined. However, a few folk artists, such as Su Xuejin and Xu Youyi, persisted in the porcelain making business, inherited the tradition, and were innovative in the difficult years, and their works still received high praise. In 1915, Su Xuejin pioneered the practice of kneading porcelain plum blossoms, which won an honorable mention at the Panama International Exposition. Later, Xu Youyi pioneered movable porcelain training and other techniques to produce porcelain sculptures such as "Mulan Joins the Army", "Guan Gong" and "Guanyin", which won gold medals at international and national expositions held in the UK, Japan and Nanjing respectively. In 1930, he specially made the porcelain sculpture "Five Hundred Arhats" for Xianyou Longji Temple. It has various shapes and is vivid and lifelike. It is also the first treasure in the Chinese porcelain world. During the Republic of China, underglaze blue and white was gradually replaced by overglaze color. In 1934, the Fujian Provincial Department of Construction established an improved porcelain field in Dehua, introducing mechanical equipment such as ball mills, clay smelting, and windlass wheels, and developing overglaze paints, electrical porcelain, ceramic tiles, and chemical porcelain such as tongs and funnels. A new process of plaster model grouting and machine pressing was used instead. However, during this period, as far as the entire porcelain industry was concerned, traditional manual processes were basically followed.

After liberation, the production of Dehua porcelain industry gained new life. Especially since the reform and opening up, the county's porcelain industry has entered a new period of development. In 1988, there were 229 porcelain manufacturers registered by the county industrial and commercial administration department, with 11,615 registered employees at the end of the year, accounting for 11.16% of the total number of employees in the county. Ceramic research institutes, ceramic schools, ceramic machinery factories, packaging carton factories, flower paper workshops and other scientific research and production supporting institutions have been established one after another. The backward manual operations in the past have gradually been replaced by advanced production. The scale of production continues to expand. In 1988, the annual output value of the porcelain industry was more than 54 million yuan, accounting for 40% of the county's total industrial output value and 19.82% of the county's total industrial and agricultural output value. The output of daily-use porcelain accounts for 40% of the province's total porcelain output, and the exported porcelain accounts for two-thirds of the province's total exported porcelain. The products sell well in more than 20 provinces and cities in China and more than 80 countries and regions on five continents in the world. It is an important commodity in the province's foreign trade. It also occupies an important position in China's ceramic industry.

The famous Dehua traditional porcelain carvings at home and abroad inherit the style of He Chaozong of the Ming Dynasty and regain their splendor. Using techniques that combine kneading, carving, engraving and engraving, it integrates high-quality raw materials and superb skills, giving it a unique style. Now Dehua produces more than 390 kinds of products with historical and traditional themes, in various postures and specifications. There are more than 100 kinds of porcelain Guanyin. The large porcelain sculpture "Dripping Water Guanyin" is 1.90 meters high, dignified and elegant; the smallest "Sitting Guanyin" is only 5 centimeters high, elegant and graceful. These images with different expressions inherit and develop the traditional technique of "expressive and freehand brushwork", making the porcelain figures have both form and spirit, with bright and clean colors, containing beautiful and healthy artistic conception, giving people a feeling of beauty. Artists are good at using different materials of mud glaze to make the color of porcelain sculptures extremely varied. Porcelain carvings with modern themes and various animals, flowers and birds, bonsais, and flower baskets are made from a wide range of materials and varieties. These porcelain sculptures have been exhibited abroad many times and are highly appreciated by international friends. Ivory white porcelain, known as "the pearl of the international porcelain world" in the Ming Dynasty, was restored and developed after the founding of the People's Republic of China and was renamed "Jian white porcelain". Jianbai Porcelain successfully resumed production. Porcelain is delicate and moist, its color is soft and white, slightly milky yellow, like ivory. It has been well received at all export commodity fairs and overseas exhibitions and won the state-owned quality product certificate. Dehua high whiteness porcelain is one of the new achievements of Dehua porcelain scientific research after the founding of the People's Republic of China. It is rated as the best white porcelain by the national ceramic industry with a high whiteness of 88.1 degrees. Tea sets, wine sets, tableware, vases, table lamps and other handicrafts made of high whiteness are loved by people for their frosty color, crystal clear glaze and thin texture. The high-whiteness plum blossom wine sets, narcissus flower arrangements, and bud wine sets won the first, second, and third prizes in the National Ceramic Art Design Awards in 1982 respectively. Dragon and Phoenix vases, peacock double-eared vases and other products have been praised as porcelain treasures in foreign exhibitions. At present, the "Jianbai" high-end porcelain production line of Dehua Porcelain Factory and the white high-end porcelain production line of Dehua No. 2 Porcelain Factory are about to be put into operation, which will make the two golden flowers of Dehua porcelain bloom more brightly and dazzlingly.

With the opening up to the outside world and the increasing development of my country's construction industry in recent years, Dehua Porcelain will continue to improve its decorative arts, add colors and colors, and improve product quality to meet the needs of domestic consumers.

Liling Ceramics

Liling City is located in eastern Hunan, on the west edge of the northern section of the Luoxiao Mountains, in the Lushui River Basin, a tributary of the Xiangjiang River, and close to the "Golden Triangle" economic zone of Changsha, Zhuzhou, and Xiangtan, with a total area of 2,157.2 square kilometers, including 38,000 hectares of cultivated land. The total population is nearly one million people. Among them, the non-agricultural population is 138,700 and the urban population is 169,000. In 2002, the GDP was 6.78 billion yuan, an increase of 66.2% over 1997 based on comparable prices, with an average annual increase of 10.7%; the three industrial structure ratios were adjusted from 29.4:47.2:23.4 in 1997 to 20:51.7:28.3 ; Completed total fiscal revenue of 359.3 million yuan (old caliber: 385 million yuan), with an average annual increase of 10.75%, of which general budget revenue was 188.91 million yuan (old caliber: 219.04 million yuan), with an average annual increase of 9.4%; farmers' per capita net income reached 3,253 yuan, an increase of 724 yuan compared with 1997, with an average annual increase of 5.2%. In 1985, it was removed from the county and established as a city. Because of its rich production of ceramics, fireworks and firecrackers, it enjoys the reputation of "Porcelain City" and "Hometown of Firecrackers". (The picture on the right shows: Liling City, Hunan Province)

Liling has beautiful mountains and meandering waters, pleasant scenery, an annual average temperature of 17.6°C, abundant rainfall, sufficient light and heat, and a frost-free period of 288 days. Mao Zedong, a city's key cultural relics protection unit, inspected Xiannongtan, Dongfu Temple, the memorial site of the Hunan Peasant Movement, Yunyan Temple, the birthplace of Zen Buddhism, Soto Sect, the main school of Japanese Buddhism, Liquan Yingyue, Caiyuan Pagoda Ying, Zhuangyuan Fangzhou, and Hongfu Ancient Tomb. , Lujiang Academy and many other places of interest embellish the rivers and mountains. This heroic land has produced a large number of outstanding generals and people with lofty ideals, including Li Lisan, the outstanding leader of the Chinese labor movement, Zuo Quan, the famous anti-Japanese general, Geng Biao, Song Shilun, Cai Shengxi, Cheng Qian, Chen Mingren, etc.

“The world’s most famous porcelain comes from Liling.” As early as the late Qing Dynasty, Liling ceramics, which are "as white as jade, as bright as a mirror, as thin as paper, and as loud as a chime", were famous at home and abroad. They were considered unique in Liling and were hailed as "the pinnacle of Oriental ceramic art." After centuries of vicissitudes, Liling porcelain has not only entered the Great Hall of the People, Zhongnanhai, and Chairman Mao Memorial Hall in the capital, but has also traveled across the ocean and been exported to five continents in the world, and is deeply loved by people from all over the world. Stoneware, which has emerged in recent years, has become popular all over the world and has become a major factor in the city's export earnings. The city has more than 400 ceramic production enterprises, forming a diversified product system focusing on daily-use porcelain, electric porcelain, artistic porcelain, and special industrial ceramics, and gradually developed into a complete and professional supporting ceramic production base and export base. Liling is also the hometown of Li Tian, ??the founder of fireworks. The production of fireworks has a long history and is spread throughout urban and rural areas. Liling Fireworks has embarked on an entrepreneurial road from decline to glory, realizing the transformation of products from single to diversified, from thousands of years of traditional production technology to the combination of traditional technology and modern scientific and technological achievements, from mainly domestic sales to both export and domestic sales. After a transformation, the output value of fireworks ranks among the top in major production areas and counties (cities) in the country, and is sold to more than 80 countries, regions and all over the country. At major fireworks shows such as the 1999 Kunming World Expo, the 1999 China Pu'er Tea Festival, the 50th anniversary of the Capital's National Day, and Macau's return to China, Liling fireworks shined brightly and won heartfelt admiration from the world with their charming charm. While the two traditional industries are developing, clothing, construction, waterproof building materials, printing and packaging, chemical industry and other industries continue to grow and become emerging industry groups. The annual output value of the clothing and building materials industries exceeds 400 million yuan and 1 billion yuan respectively. (The picture above shows: Porcelain presented to Emperor Hirohito of Japan)

Since the reform and opening up, Liling has entered the fast lane of economic development. Especially since the founding of the city, the people of the city have forged ahead and worked hard, and economic work and various social undertakings have made great progress. In 1990, Liling became the first county (city) in the Yangtze River Basin to produce tons of grain and one of the first counties (cities) in Hunan Province with fiscal revenue of over 100 million yuan. The pace of agricultural structural adjustment continues to accelerate. Food crops are developing in the direction of high yield and high quality. Economic crops are moving towards regional and characteristic directions. A number of characteristic bases have been established for off-season eggplants, early-maturing cucumbers, seedless watermelons, water lotus roots, and water chestnuts. Township enterprises have won the "five consecutive championships" in the province's total output value, supporting "most of the city's economy". The "opening-driven strategy" has been fully implemented, and infrastructure construction such as water, electricity, roads, and communications are improving day by day. The urban and rural landscape is changing with each passing day. The urban built-up area has expanded to 18 square kilometers, and the urban population has reached 180,000, forming an urban-centered, An urban-rural integrated pattern surrounded by organized towns. The level of urban management has been continuously improved, and urban sanitation has leapt to the forefront of the province, and is moving towards becoming a national sanitary city. The city has successively introduced a series of preferential investment policies, attracting a large number of merchants from the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, Japan and other countries as well as Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan to invest and start businesses in Li, driving the vigorous development of foreign-funded enterprises. There are more than 40 enterprises in the city directly engaged in foreign trade, with an annual export total of more than 100 million US dollars. The urban and rural markets continue to prosper, and a ceramic fireworks market with a total investment of 300 million yuan has been built in the "No. 1 City of Sanxiang". In 2002, the "Sichuan Gas into Liling" project will be officially launched, marking Liling officially becoming a city that benefits from the national key project - the "West-East Gas Transmission" project.

(Pictured above: Lujiang Academy)

In 2001, Liling City hired experts from the China Urban Planning and Design Institute to compile the "Urban Development Strategic Concept Plan", which laid out the city's positioning, spatial layout and functional zoning. Clear ideas are presented on major issues. The new city positioning is: a ceramic fireworks production and export base relying on high and new technologies; a modern logistics center in eastern Hunan and western Jiangxi relying on transportation location advantages; and a landscape garden city relying on profound cultural heritage and beautiful natural resources. The urban spatial layout is "one center, three groups": the city center is the commercial, cultural and administrative center; the northwest and southern groups are industrial areas, and the northeast group is the leisure and residential area. It is estimated that by 2010, the urban built-up area will expand from 17 square kilometers to 30 square kilometers; the urban population will grow from 170,000 to 300,000.