One Belt One Road International Day | In those years, Chinese "domestic products" shone on the "Maritime Silk Road"

Today is the International Day of the Belt and Road Initiative. This festival was initiated by scholars from countries along the Belt and Road. The Maritime Silk Road was once a maritime passage for my country's ancient transportation, trade and cultural exchanges with foreign countries. It is also the oldest known maritime route. On this Maritime Silk Road, many "domestic products" that condensed my country's science and technology, craftsmanship and culture once shone. They are well-known and sold well overseas. Now, let us get to know them through the rich collections of the China (Hainan) Nanhai Museum!

【Yuan Blue and White Porcelain】

Blue and white porcelain refers specifically to a type of white-ground blue-flowered porcelain, a new variety formed by integrating various porcelain-making techniques from past dynasties. The practice of using cobalt blue pigment as a colorant to paint patterns on the surface of porcelain can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty. The peak production period of Yuan Dynasty blue and white porcelain with typical white-ground blue flowers was from the 1340s to the 1360s. While meeting the needs of the domestic dignitaries, it was also exported in large quantities. With the support of porcelain-making technology, coloring materials, and trade policies, Yuan blue and white porcelain has spread to Southeast Asia, West Asia, and even Africa.

The blue and white porcelains of the Yuan Dynasty discovered overseas are represented by the collections of Topkapi Palace in Turkey and Ardebil Shrine in Iran. Among them, Topkapi Palace in Turkey is the museum with the largest number and the best quality of Yuan blue and white porcelains in the world . The rulers of the Ottoman Empire collected tens of thousands of Chinese porcelains, most of which were large and inlaid with metal, making them particularly magnificent.

Yuan Dynasty blue and white porcelain exported through trade has also been found in archaeological discoveries in Africa, Southeast Asia, etc. Hundreds of Yuan blue and white porcelain fragments have been found in the Fustat site in Egypt and the Gedi Ruin site in Kenya. The shapes and patterns are similar to those of Yuan blue and white porcelain unearthed in China, and the time is continuous, indicating that China has maintained trade with Africa from the mid-14th century to the end of the Yuan Dynasty .

The Yuan blue and white porcelain fragments discovered in Southeast Asia include both small objects with simple floral patterns and domestic blue pigment, as well as large objects painted with imported blue pigment. This shows that the blue and white porcelain sold to Southeast Asia in the Yuan Dynasty not only met the needs of different social classes, but also adapted to local living customs. It is a microcosm of the grand trade of the Maritime Silk Road in the Yuan Dynasty .

【Lingnan Ivory Carving】

Lingnan ivory carving has a long history. Ivory from Africa was unearthed in the tomb of the Nanyue King in the Western Han Dynasty. Ivory seals with the head of a foreigner were also unearthed in the Tang Dynasty strata of the Nanyue Palace site. After thousands of years of accumulation, Guangdong ivory carving reached its peak in the Qing Dynasty and became the representative of southern ivory carving.

After Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty implemented a maritime ban, Guangzhou became the only port for foreign trade. Ivory raw materials were imported in large quantities from Africa and Southeast Asia, providing sufficient guarantee for ivory carving. The scale of Guangzhou ivory carving jumped to the top of the country. The archives of the Qing Palace Workshop recorded that many Guangzhou ivory craftsmen were transferred to the palace from the Yongzheng to the Xianfeng period.

During the reign of Emperor Daoguang, the first ivory handicraft guild in China, the Ivory Association, was born in Guangzhou's ivory carving industry . After the Opium War, the guild was divided into tribute companies and foreign companies. The tribute companies were responsible for paying tribute to the imperial court, such as making extremely fine ivory balls and ivory boats, while the products of foreign companies were mainly exported, with various types, such as business card boxes, chess, seals, ivory fans, etc., with obvious characteristics of a combination of Chinese and Western styles.

【Paper painting】

Tongcao painting mainly refers to a type of watercolor painting on tongcao paper. Tongcao paper is not "paper" in the traditional sense, but is made from the stem pith of a plant called tongtu wood. Tongtu wood is also known as tongcao, and its scientific name is Tetrapanax papyrifer . It grows in Guangdong, Hubei, Jiangxi, Yunnan, Sichuan, Fujian, Hunan, Shaanxi, Guangxi, Guizhou and other places. After the stem pith of tongtu wood is cut, it has a velvety surface. It can not only be processed into paper for painting, but also made into tongcao pile flowers, which is a traditional folk craft in the north.

Tongcao paper is very suitable for showing the colors of watercolors. Under sunlight, it can present a colorful effect. Therefore , it has become the most common "paper" in Guangzhou export paintings since the 19th century. Westerners call it "rice paper" . Due to the limited size of the stem pith, the format of Tongcao paintings is usually small.

In the 19th century, the export volume of Tongcao paintings was huge, and it was also a local specialty that Westerners must buy when they came to Guangdong. There were many studios in the Thirteen Hongs of Guangzhou, and many painters gathered. Many well-known painters emerged, such as Lin Gua, Ting Gua, Yu Gua, Shun Gua, etc. Why do most of them end with the word "Gua"? One theory is that it is related to the Wu family of "Yihehang", one of the Thirteen Hongs at that time. Two generations of the Wu family were active in the business world under the name "Haoguan", and foreign businessmen were also familiar with their name. The "Gua" in the painter's name imitated the "Guan" in "Haoguan", and the two have similar Cantonese pronunciations.

Tongcao paintings are mainly watercolor paintings, but also include some line drawings. The themes are rich, including figures, house scenes, maritime affairs, production, customs and beliefs, market trades, theatrical performances, punishments, flowers, birds, fish and insects, etc. It is a precious pictorial record reflecting the customs of Guangzhou port and the history of modern Sino-Western exchanges.

【Longquan Kiln】

During the Northern Song Dynasty, the four major kiln systems in Zhejiang - Yue Kiln, Ou Kiln, Wuzhou Kiln and Deqing Kiln - declined one after another and were replaced by Longquan Kiln in southwestern Zhejiang. It was first fired in the Five Dynasties, flourished in the Song and Yuan Dynasties, and declined after the late Ming Dynasty. It is the famous celadon kiln with the longest firing period, the widest distribution of kiln sites, the largest production scale and the largest export range in the history of Chinese porcelain making .

Longquan celadon began to be exported in large quantities during the Southern Song Dynasty . The Song court encouraged overseas trade and actively promoted the export of goods. Even the head of the Shibo Gang could be promoted to an official position if he could attract a certain amount of goods. Under the policy support, the export of Longquan celadon was greatly stimulated. Countless Southern Song Longquan celadon porcelains have been unearthed in Japan, the Korean Peninsula, India, Iraq, Syria, Sri Lanka and other places .

The Yuan Dynasty was more prosperous than the previous dynasties in terms of maritime trade. The Yuan court attached great importance to foreign trade. The Yuan Dynasty had a vast territory, spanning Europe and Asia, which provided more favorable conditions for foreign trade. The production scale of Longquan kiln in the Yuan Dynasty surpassed that of the Southern Song Dynasty. Among the more than 500 Longquan kiln sites of various periods that have been discovered so far, more than 300 belong to the Yuan Dynasty. These kiln sites are densely distributed on both sides of the Oujiang River system. Merchant ships can go down the Oujiang River to Wenzhou Maritime Customs. After Wenzhou Maritime Customs was merged into Qingyuan Maritime Customs, merchant ships that arrived in Wenzhou went north from Wenzhou to Qingyuan or south to Quanzhou and other ports, and went overseas.

Take Qingyuan Port as an example. As one of the three major trading ports in the Yuan Dynasty, its trade scope was mainly with Japan and Goryeo. The Xin'an shipwreck discovered in South Korea in 1976 was destined for Hakata, Japan. Among the 20,681 pieces of porcelain salvaged from the shipwreck, Longquan kiln accounted for about half . In addition, Qingyuan Port also had trade exchanges with countries and regions in Southeast Asia and Africa.

【Blue and white porcelain】

Qingbai porcelain is a kind of monochrome porcelain created by Jingdezhen kiln in the Song Dynasty based on the production of celadon and white porcelain of previous generations. The glaze color is between blue and white, with white in blue and blue in white, and is known as "Raoyu". Qingbai porcelain began to be fired in the early Northern Song Dynasty, forming the southern Qingbai kiln system with Jingdezhen Hutian kiln as the center, including Anhui, Zhejiang, Hubei, Fujian, Sichuan, Guangdong and Guangxi porcelain kilns.

The production of blue-and-white porcelain increased greatly in the Southern Song Dynasty. In the works of the Song people such as "Ducheng Jisheng", "Wulin Jiushi" and "Menglianglu", there are records of shops selling blue-and-white porcelain. It is not only a star product in the domestic market, but also exported overseas. "Zhufanzhi" has repeatedly mentioned that the porcelain sold abroad includes "blue-and-white porcelain" and "blue-and-white flower porcelain". In the Yuan Dynasty, due to the large-scale appearance of Shufu porcelain and blue-and-white porcelain, blue-and-white porcelain declined rapidly. In the Ming Dynasty, it had withdrawn from the ranks of bulk commodities and became an elegant ware for a few people to enjoy. Most people in the Qing Dynasty were not familiar with this kind of porcelain with thin body, smooth glaze, and transparent light and shadows, and called it "shadow blue".

Author: Zheng Ruiyu, curator of China (Hainan) Nanhai Museum

Reviewer: Qi Hao, Associate Researcher, China (Hainan) Nanhai Museum

Photo courtesy: China (Hainan) Nanhai Museum

Planning: Zhai Guoqing

Produced by: Science Popularization China, China (Hainan) Nanhai Museum

Produced by: China Science and Technology Press Co., Ltd., China Science and Technology Publishing House (Beijing) Digital Media Co., Ltd.