The extraordinary existence in porcelain - Yongle and Xuande blue and white porcelain

Blue and white porcelain originated in the Tang Dynasty, flourished in the middle and late Yuan Dynasty, and entered a golden age of blue and white porcelain in the Ming Dynasty. The large number of blue and white porcelains produced during the Yongle and Xuande Dynasties and their unique quality make them rare treasures in the history of blue and white porcelain production. Their exotic shapes, rich and bright colors, and otherworldly patterns have been praised as "unprecedented and unique in history."

The "predecessor" of Yongxuan blue and white porcelain

In 1975, a blue porcelain pillow with scattered leaf and diamond patterns was unearthed at the Tang City Ruins in Yangzhou, marking the first discovery of Tang blue and white porcelain. Subsequently, archaeologists discovered Tang blue and white porcelain and related specimens at the Tang Sancai Kiln in Huangye, Gongyi, the Sui and Tang Canal Ruins in Liuzi, Anhui, and the Black Stone Shipwreck.

The birth of blue and white is closely linked to the development of the two Silk Roads by sea and land in the Tang Dynasty, as well as its open and relaxed trade environment. There are different theories about the origin of blue and white materials among scholars at home and abroad. According to the study of the blue color composition of Tang Sancai, its main component is very similar to the blue and white material "Sumaliqing" of Yuan blue and white in later generations. Both are foreign cobalt materials from West Asia and Persia. It can be seen that blue and white materials were used in Tang Sancai as early as possible. This should be the product of the fusion of Eastern and Western cultures after the spread of Western learning to the East. According to the Tang blue and white decoration techniques unearthed from the Tang Sancai kiln in Huangye, Gongyi and the Tangcheng ruins in Yangzhou, it has obvious Persian decorative characteristics and is the result of the fusion of typical Chinese and Western art theories, indicating that blue and white painting technology was applied as early as the Tang Dynasty. However, due to the mainstream aesthetic trend of the times, Tang blue and white was not taken seriously at this time.

The real rise of blue and white porcelain was in the middle and late Yuan Dynasty. The maturity of high-quality white porcelain firing technology laid a technical foundation for the firing of blue and white porcelain. After the fall of the Yuan Dynasty and the rise of the Ming Dynasty, the firing of blue and white porcelain reached its peak. Since the rise of the official kiln of Emperor Hongwu, blue and white porcelain has become the main product of the imperial kiln. From the Yongle Dynasty to the Chongzhen Dynasty, the artistic style of blue and white porcelain has experienced twists and turns. The Yongle and Xuande Dynasties were the periods when the Ming Dynasty was the most powerful. The blue and white porcelain fired there was the best work, so it is collectively called "Yongxuan Blue and White".

The prosperity is related to overseas cultural exchanges

The prosperity of Yongle and Xuande blue and white porcelain is directly related to the overseas cultural exchanges at that time, the characteristics of blue and white porcelain materials, and the rise of Yongle and Xuande court paintings.

During the Yongle Emperor's reign, Zheng He's voyages to the West brought Eastern and Western civilizations together, not only bringing Chinese porcelain to the world, but also introducing Western painting techniques and blue-and-white raw materials into China, greatly promoting the rapid development of Yongle and Xuande blue-and-white porcelain. At the same time, the court painting academy that was restored in the early Ming Dynasty began to develop. During the Xuanzong period, society was stable, the economy was prosperous, and the painting world gradually became active. Emperor Xuande himself had a deep attainment in landscape, flower and bird paintings. Later generations commented that his paintings "all landscapes, figures, flowers, bamboos, and feathers are all perfect." At this time, the main blue-and-white material for blue-and-white porcelain was imported "Suma Liqing." According to the "Yongle Xuande Kiln" entry in "Shiwu Ganzhu" written by Huang Yizheng in the Ming Dynasty, "Both kilns were fired in the inner court, with brown eyes and sweet white as the common color, and Suma Liqing as the decoration." Because the blue-and-white material contains a certain amount of "cobalt" elements, it can present a deep blue color after firing. However, the characteristics of "Sumaliqing" are that it contains more iron and less manganese. After firing, it will have obvious blurring effects and black spots, as natural as ink paintings. It coincides with the aesthetic style of Emperor Xuanzong's advocacy of court-style fine brushwork flower and bird paintings. Since then, Yongle and Xuande blue and white has become the mainstream of porcelain.

Yongle and Xuande blue and white porcelains were made with great craftsmanship due to the development of the political economy and the maturity of porcelain making technology. In the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, Zhu Yan talked about Xuande kiln in "Tao Shuo": "This was the heyday of the Ming kiln. The selection of materials, sample making, painting, and inscriptions were all exquisite." "Therefore, when it comes to blue and white porcelain, Xuande kiln is the best." It can be seen that Yongle and Xuande blue and white porcelains are superior in both art and craftsmanship. There are not many Yongle and Xuande blue and white porcelains in stock, with only more than 1,000 pieces in the world, and they have extremely high archaeological and artistic value. In 1997, a Xuande blue and white dragon-patterned mouthwash was sold at a sky-high price of HK$16.52 million at Sotheby's Hong Kong; in 1999, a Yongle blue and white peony-patterned large bowl was sold at HK$13.2 million, which shows how precious it is.

Give it a natural "beauty of intimacy"

Blue and white porcelain is the earliest popular underglaze colored porcelain in ancient my country. The so-called underglaze color decoration process is to paint with various colors on the white unglazed body, and then cover it with a layer of transparent glaze and put it into the kiln for high-temperature glaze firing. The finished product decoration is located between the transparent glaze and the body. The decoration technique of Yongle and Xuande blue and white official kilns is similar to the fine brushwork landscape flower and bird painting, using the brush tip dipped in finely ground blue and white material to carefully paint on the white porcelain body.

First, in terms of overall style, Yongle and Xuande blue and white porcelain tends to be elegant and graceful. Second, in terms of decorative patterns, Yongle and Xuande blue and white porcelain inherits and integrates the painting styles of Cizhou kiln and Bacun kiln in the Song Dynasty to Yuan blue and white porcelain, but it is more neat and delicate, and pays attention to fine brushwork. The decoration is mainly plants, such as lotus and peony, etc., and there are also figures, dragons and phoenixes, flowers and birds, auspicious characters, etc. The decorative style has both the characteristics of traditional Chinese art and the integration of Islamic decorative style. For example, the famous Ming Yongle loquat ribbon bird pattern blue and white large plate, with the unique technique of blue and white water separation, the image of the ribbon bird pecking at loquat is painted vividly. Third, in terms of aesthetics, Yongle and Xuande blue and white porcelain has formed a kind of "close" beauty. Because the blue and white porcelain of this period is close to nature, there is a kind of "close beauty" given by nature. According to Mr. Yanagi Soetsu, this is a "warm" or "interesting" world.

The glaze of blue and white porcelain from the Yongle and Xuande periods is pure white and sweet. Its decorative patterns not only show the beauty of natural curves, but also pay attention to leaving appropriate white space so that the texture of the ceramic itself is not hidden. Compared with pure artworks, blue and white porcelain itself is closer to people's lives, and the appropriate decoration increases the value of blue and white porcelain from the Yongle and Xuande periods as an artifact. The blue and white porcelain of the Yongle and Xuande periods presents the beauty of things and the beauty of the heart. It has achieved a nearly perfect harmony in function and form.

(The author Yang Xinghua is a researcher at the Henan Provincial Key Laboratory of Ancient Ceramics Research and a doctor of engineering)