Is a piece of porcelain really worth 700 million?

Ancient Chinese Porcelain

A perennial favorite at auctions

The highest net worth is nearly 700 million

Equivalent to 1/5 of the cost of the Bird's Nest

(The world's top 10 "expensive" porcelains, including the "world's best bottle" and "world's best bowl", map by @杨宁&杜睿/Planet Research Institute)

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Countless glories surround this

The Japanese regard it as a "national treasure"

(There are only 4 Yaobian Jianzhan left in the world, and the 3 intact ones are all in Japan; the picture below shows a broken Yaobian Jianzhan, which is just as the saying goes "the sky is full of stars and smoke", photographer @脉影)

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Westerners call it "God's tableware"

(Please watch in horizontal mode, Chinese porcelain in the British Museum; Westerners use "china" to refer to porcelain, and "porcelain disease" to describe people's obsession with porcelain. French King Louis XIV even built a "Chinese Palace" to collect porcelain, etc. Photographer @张昊煜)

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And its "ancestral homeland" is ancient China

It also monopolized the world's porcelain trade for 1,700 years.

(Two sunken ships were found in Singapore, containing a large number of ancient Chinese porcelains, picture source: @Visual China)

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Such a small porcelain

Is it really worth hundreds of millions?

Why can he represent China to conquer the world?

According to the Planetary Research Institute

How can its value be measured entirely in money?

There are still countless craftsmen

In failure and success

The quest for ultimate craftsmanship

In meditation and enlightenment

The pursuit of ultimate aesthetics

01

Kiln fire starts

Before the birth of porcelain

It was a long pottery age.

The Chinese ancestors used readily available clay to

After molding, it is fired

Make simple daily necessities

(Painted pottery basin with human face and fish pattern from the Neolithic Age, photographer @鞠潇)

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With the upgrading of technology

Firing technology has evolved from open pit firing to flat firing

Evolved into a professional firing place

" kiln "

(Please watch in horizontal mode, Mantou Kiln, tagged @杜睿/星球研究院, image source @汇图网)

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Closed rooms gather more heat

Due to the height difference between the kiln chamber and the chimney

The characteristic of generating suction and thus increasing temperature

Most kilns in the south are built on mountains.

Facilitates the advancement of flue gas from low to high

It is figuratively called

" Dragon Kiln "

The temperature in the kiln can reach over 1300℃

(Dragon Kiln Site in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province. The length of the dragon kilns ranges from a dozen meters to several dozen meters. Annotated by @杜睿/星球研究院, photographer @刘志勇)

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A change in temperature means a change in raw materials

Pottery clay

Generally can only withstand temperatures below 1200℃

Otherwise it is easy to crack and deform

So a kind of

High temperature resistant

"porcelain clay"

Beginning to be used intentionally

Its basic component is silicate with a high melting point

After sintering, the density and hardness are greatly increased

The sound after knocking is as crisp and pleasant as metal

(Kaolin is "porcelain clay", and "porcelain stone" further weathers into "porcelain clay", marked @杨宁/星球研究院, picture source @视觉中国)

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Perhaps it was the plant ashes in the kiln chamber.

Accidentally reacted with high temperature of porcelain clay

The glassy thin layer that emerges brings inspiration

Use the above materials to attach to the object and then fire it

The surface becomes smooth and bright

Later generations called it

" glaze "

The impurity iron oxide [Fe₂O₃] in porcelain clay

In a high temperature and oxygen-deficient environment

Reduced by carbon monoxide [CO] to ferrous oxide [FeO]

It also exudes a light green color

(Comparison before and after glazing, marked @杨宁/星球研究院, photographer @陆雨春)

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This is the representative of China and the world.

The highest level of early porcelain making

" Celadon "

1973

Located in the southern foot of Sifeng Mountain in Shangyu, Zhejiang

A Yue Kiln from the Eastern Han Dynasty was unveiled

The unearthed artifact fragments are scattered over an area of ​​800 square meters.

(Sketch of the location of the Xiaoxiantan kiln site, drawn by @吴昕恬/Planet Research Institute)

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5 years later

By Ceramic Research Frontier Team

"Shanghai Institute of Silicates, Chinese Academy of Sciences"

Among them, the porcelain from the Xiaoxiantan kiln site

Sintered at a high temperature of about 1300°C

Apparent porosity 0.62%, water absorption 0.28%

It has reached some standards of modern daily-use porcelain

This indicates that mature porcelain had already appeared in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

It is also the earliest

(Western Jin Dynasty Yue Kiln green glaze yellow weasel handle porcelain chicken head pot, photographer @杨虎)

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In the eyes of the ancients

Durable and beautiful porcelain

As if it were a masterpiece

It quickly replaced pottery and captured everyone's hearts

(Changsha kiln molded and decaled date pattern porcelain pot, photographer @路客看看)

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But for craftsmen

At this time, the raw material has too many impurities

The outer glaze is easy to fall off

It's not perfect

So the craftsmen who came one after another

With countless practices

Just to hone the ultimate skills

02

Ultimate craftsmanship

Extreme Color

The ultimate raw material is needed

There are more than a dozen processes just to remove impurities

Originally fired in the north

" White Porcelain "

Porcelain clay itself has fewer impurities

Some people pursue the purity of porcelain

White "makeup soil" is also added to the outside of the blank to beautify it.

The surface is covered with an almost transparent glaze

(Ding kiln white glaze peach-shaped box, photographer @脉影)

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The ultimate shape

Requires extreme skills

Small green body

Directly stretch molding with a pottery lathe

(Artisans in Jingdezhen are throwing pottery, photographer @杨小晋)

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(Throwing, photographer @杨小晋)

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Large green body

It can be formed by segmented drawing, splicing and trimming

Complex body

Use the outer mold to stick the material inside the model

After drying, take out each part and paste it

(Schematic diagram of mold printing blank forming, drawing by @Du Rui/Planet Research Institute)

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Ultra-complex blank

Choose a combination of various molding processes

For example, the celadon lotus vase, which is nearly 60 cm tall

The ornate and magnificent

(Northern Dynasty Celadon Lotus Zun, photographer @鞠潇)

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Different types of devices

The glazing methods are also different

Or directly dip into the glaze slurry and take it out after a while

Or apply carefully with a brush

Or pour a lot of glaze and then pour out the excess

Later, glaze blowing was invented

Blow into the blowpipe on the kettle with your mouth

Spray glaze slurry in the form of droplets onto the body

The glaze layer is as thin as a cicada's wing

(Splashing glaze, the towel at the mouth of the bottle is to prevent the glaze from entering the bottle, video source @Visual China)

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(Glaze blowing, video source @Visual China)

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The ultimate glaze

Requires the ultimate arrangement

To prevent sticking

Initially, the glaze on the bottom of the vessel was removed and fired in a single layer.

But the vertical space utilization is low

Some people remove the glaze on the mouth of the vessel and place it in the mouth.

The rim is rough due to the lack of glaze

(Diagram of upward and downward firing methods, drawn by @王天怡&杜睿/Planet Research Institute)

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A way to achieve the best of both worlds

A cushion for support

The commonly used ones are round and have nipples

Can be piled up to more than 1 meter high

There are also ring-shaped ones that can be stacked and burned

This reduces deformation

(Instructions for using the pad and brace, courtesy of @Du Rui/Planet Research Institute)

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But it’s not enough

The ultimate firing

The need for extreme protection

Can pack a whole stack of porcelain

" Sagger "

It can also block pollution

To prevent oxidation of the glaze during cooling

Some saggers are glazed and sealed

Only after breaking can the object be taken out

And cannot be used again

(Putting the glazed semi-finished product into the sagger, photographer @陆雨春)

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In addition to improving quality

With the increasing demand for porcelain

Imminent need to increase production

The most obvious way is to enlarge the kiln chamber.

Some dragon kilns are more than 130 meters long.

More than dozens of tons of porcelain can be loaded at a time

(Please watch in horizontal mode, Jianshuilong Kiln is spread out in the mountains, photographer @蒋晨明)

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Because the kiln body is too long, the flame flows too fast

New problems arise

Uneven temperature in different parts

For this purpose, the kiln chamber was rebuilt into a stepped type

Multiple fireboxes

(Schematic diagram of the structure of the "Class Kiln", drawn by @Du Rui/Planet Research Institute)

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The ultimate space

Requires extreme utilization

Place high-grade fine porcelain in areas with strong firepower

Ordinary porcelain for slightly lower temperatures

The worst ones can be fired into coarse porcelain or kiln bricks

Every kiln worker can be called

" Space Management Master "

In the plains of the north

The ordinary-looking "mantou kiln" has become the mainstream

It heats up and keeps warm easily

Suitable for firing large porcelain with thick body

The creative craftsmen

Combining the two kilns to create a new

“ Egg-Shaped Kiln ”

(Schematic diagram of the "egg-shaped kiln" structure, drawn by @Du Rui/Planet Research Institute)

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This kiln combines two advantages

Resembling half a duck egg lying flat

It has a large extraction chimney as long as the kiln body.

The burning material is generally pine wood

In Jingdezhen, Jiangxi

Covered with dense pine forests

Kiln workers put thousands of kilograms of pine wood into the kiln every time they fire the kiln.

It has created a masterpiece that combines the best of all the famous kilns of all dynasties.

" Town Kiln "

(The firing process takes dozens of hours and someone needs to be on duty. Image source: Visual China)

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The ultimate heat

Requires extreme control

How high is the kiln fire?

It is inevitable that there will be deviations if we only rely on the experience of old kiln workers

So the temperature reference

" Fire "

This is a glazed tile.

Inserted into the palm-sized clay

During firing, check the color of the single piece regularly

Global changes are under your control

(“Fire Photo” in Ru Kiln, photographer @柳叶氘, tagged @杨宁/Planet Research Institute)

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certainly

Craftsmen are never satisfied with boring work

Don't settle for boring products

Try to find fun in unique decorations

Some play with patterns

Use a knife to carve the outline on the semi-dry body

The skilled person cuts with a knife

Natural

(Artisans in Jingdezhen are carving patterns on pottery pots, video source: @Visual China)

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Some people play with plastic

Hand-kneaded animals, rivers, lakes and seas

The works of skilled craftsmen are lifelike

Like a living thing

(Longquan kiln green glaze double fish washbasin, photographer @肖怡宁)

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Some play with glaze colors

Experimenting with different metal oxides as colorants

Use different ratios and kiln positions

Even different climates, pressures

Transformed into thousands of colors

(Illustration of the main colorants, drawn by @杨宁/Planetary Research Institute, photographer @肖怡宁, Artery Shadow)

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The most popular one is the painting

Pure white porcelain is the best canvas

According to the draft prepared in advance

The craftsman first outlines and paints on the fired porcelain body.

Re-glazing and firing is for

" Underglaze Color "

(Use a pen to outline the contours, video source @Visual China)

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(Water division means filling in the outline, video source: Visual China)

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As the country opened up

A blue pigment flowed in from West Asia

Less than 1% content can produce bright colors

Thus was born the famous

" Blue and White Porcelain "

(Yuan Dynasty blue and white peony pattern plum vase, photographer @Makara·杉)

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If you paint on already fired porcelain

Then low temperature firing is for

" Overglaze "

(Turquoise green pastel vine rose flower and bird pattern lidded jar, photographer @Makara·杉)

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Extreme Color

Need extreme collision

If we combine the above two

Elegantly called

" Fighting Color "

The most famous period was during the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty.

(Ming Chenghua Doucai Chicken Cup, photographer @柳叶氘)

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besides

Pastel also appeared in the Qing Dynasty

The arsenic [As] it contains has an emulsifying effect

The color is soft and powdery

(Famous-colored hollow rotating bottle, the inner bottle can be rotated for viewing, photographer @袁欢欢)

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And enamel colors imitating European enamel materials

It looks three-dimensional

Popular among the royal family

For firing, the best clay is often used

Calling the best painters

(Painted enamel flower incense box with lid, photographer @袁欢欢)

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So far

Porcelain is the culmination of Chinese firing techniques

Famous kilns of all dynasties blossomed everywhere

(Sketch of the locations of famous kilns in Chinese history, drawn by @吴昕恬/Planet Research Institute)

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Evolved

More than 70 porcelain-making processes

They are all incredibly delicate and demanding.

Behind every tribute porcelain

Countless porcelain bottles were smashed to pieces.

After a long time

The kiln workers have reached perfection after repeated refinement.

They may no longer be obsessed with the most advanced techniques

And immerse in the emotion of porcelain itself

When the night was still they pondered

Next we will incorporate

Ultimate aesthetics

03

Ultimate Aesthetics

This is a piece

An incredible world of beauty

Watch from afar

Beauty is curves

The outline of the body is connected with the energy channels

Echoing the beginning and the end

(Sketch of various types of porcelain curves, drawn by @杨宁/星球研究院, photographers @包浩霖, 王朝,袁欢欢,苏李欢,李文博)

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Or like a willow with a slender waist

Or like holding the moon with both arms

Or like a phoenix spreading its tail

Or like tender lotus with dew

(Imitation of Ru kiln pomegranate vase, photographer @脉影)

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A closer look

Beauty is color

Ivory white, moon white, sweet white, blue white, fish belly white

Like silver and snow

It is dust-free

(Blue-white glazed high-footed bowl with lotus pattern, photographer @一只饭包)

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Jihong, cowpea red, Langyao red, rouge red

It is bright red

It is a dazzling light

(Qing Yongzheng red-glazed gall-shaped vase, photographer @柳叶氘)

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Sky blue, powder blue, bean blue, shadow blue, plum blue

It's Leng Yue Gu Fan

It is a distant mountain and cold forest

(Ru kiln celadon glaze convex string pattern tripod jar, photographer @柳叶氘)

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It is as light as a cloud

It's a spring water

(Imitation of Ru kiln dove ear vase, photographer @脉影)

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Among them, azure

It is also the color that artist Song Huizong loves the most.

According to legend, only special weather conditions can

That is, it can only appear when "a storm is about to come"

Unfortunately

This color became a mystery with the fall of the Song Dynasty.

No matter how the future generations imitate

Only waves of lamentations remain

(Approved by Emperor Qianlong in the 41st year of Qianlong's reign)

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"Like you but not like you"

(The "blue sky" in "Blue and White Porcelain" sung by Jay Chou actually refers to the color of Ru porcelain; the picture below is a Ru kiln blue sky glaze lotus-shaped warm bowl, just as the saying goes "after the rain, the sky is blue and the clouds are broken", photographer @脉影)

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Made for the imperial court during the Southern Song Dynasty

" Official Porcelain "

In pursuit of the beauty of the warm and rich objects

Usually several glazes

The glaze at the mouth of the vessel droops under high temperature

The brown fetus was revealed

(The "purple mouth and iron feet" on the official kiln green glaze sunflower-shaped washbasin, photographer @风沉郁)

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But so what

Beauty is more than just "perfection"

Beauty is broken

There is a kind of burnt porcelain

Due to the large shrinkage of the glaze layer during cooling

Ice cracks all over the body after leaving the kiln

Is for

" Opening "

The patterns of different shades are intertwined and overlapped

Like fish scales or snowflakes

Craftsmen elevate this defect to an aesthetic

Burned the best of the world

" Cracked Ru Porcelain "

(Official kiln porcelain, with a small amount of bubbles in the glaze that appear from time to time, "sparse as morning stars", photographer @苏李欢)

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The film did not end with the extinguishing of the fire

Maybe one afternoon

Maybe one night

It will suddenly make a sound like wind chimes

Like the sound of nature

Also famous for its opening

" Brother Porcelain "

Artificial pigments will also seep into the cracks

Fine lines with light brown color

Coarse grain, deep black color

(Ge kiln porcelain, please slide to see the detailed texture, photographer @苏李欢/肖怡宁)

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The lines are like rivers interweaving

The opening is like a cloud and the secret of heaven

The glaze is as oily as tea leaves

It is a well-deserved rare treasure

certainly

Glaze is not only beautiful in light colors

Jun kiln craftsmen in Henan

Dedicated to firing colorful objects

Different colored glazes

Flow, penetrate, and diffuse in high temperatures

Wonderful colors

This one

Clear skies and bright sunshine

(During the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song, only 36 pieces of fine Jun porcelain were kept each year, and the rest were all smashed; the picture below is a Jun kiln sky blue glaze purple spot bowl, photographer @脉影)

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Another

Clouds and mist, hazy and blurred

(Jun kiln rose purple glaze bowl, photographer @袁欢欢)

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As the saying goes

(Liu Bingzhong, Yuan Dynasty, "Remembering Old Friends in Taoyuan")

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"Peach blossoms fall like red rain"

As the saying goes

(Tang Dynasty, Li Bai's "Six Poems of Crossing the River")

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"The waves are like snow pouring down from the mountains"

Craftsmen from Jian Kiln in Fujian and Jizhou Kiln in Jiangxi

More indifference to routine

Black glaze fired with extremely high iron content

Mixed with different colors

Beauty is accidental

Brown patches spread

Wild and eccentric

(Cizhou kiln black glaze partridge spot tea cup, photographer @脉影)

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White spots are dotted

Crystal clear and smart

(Oil-drip glaze bowl, photographer @肖怡宁)

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Beauty is natural

Stick the processed leaves in the cup

Generate pattern veins

After the water is full, it seems to be filled with autumn wind

(Song Dynasty Jizhou Kiln wood leaf decal tea cup, photographer @脉影)

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There is also the most bizarre pattern

Crystals precipitated from supersaturated oxides

A natural blue appears in the middle

There is a gradient colored halo flashing around

Like a dream bubble

Like dew and like lightning

Like the vast galaxies in the sky

Beautiful as the dark night

Fill the universe

(Jian Kiln Yaobian Tianmu Teacup, photographer @脉影)

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Beauty is whatever you want

It can also be carefully presented

Yuanshi

An era when opera and drama were popular

From the royal family to the nobles

Down to the common people

They were all attracted by the ups and downs of the exciting story.

Craftsmen are no exception.

They painted it on bottles and jars

Solidified

The tragic heroism

The love between a talented scholar and a beautiful woman

The endless melancholy of a homesick traveler

(Blue and white plum vase with the Four Loves, depicting Wang Xizhi's love for orchids, Tao Yuanming's love for chrysanthemums, Zhou Dunyi's love for lotus, and Lin Hejing's love for plums and cranes, photographer @鞠潇)

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Among them there is only

"Yuan Blue and White Plum Vase with Xiao He Chasing Han Xin Under the Moon"

Xiao He Chasing Horses Under the Moon

Han Xin looked at the surging river and hesitated

It's hard to decide whether to go or stay

The complex inner world is vividly displayed on the bottle

(Blue and white plum vase with the image of "Xiao He chasing Han Xin under the moon", photographer @路客看看)

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In addition to the story

When the pen turns, there are

Pine and bamboo are vigorous

Mountain Moon Canggu

(Underglaze red plum vase with three friends of winter pattern, photographer @包浩霖)

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The most legendary creature

" dragon "

Depicted as ferocious

Fierce situation

Swallowing the mountains and rivers

(Blue and white seawater glaze dragon pattern vase, photographer @脉影)

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but

Beauty can also be without "emotion"

Pure showmanship

"Large jar with various glaze colors from the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty"

It is hard to tell what glaze it is with just one sentence.

In short, it is a variety of glazes

(Various glazed large bottles, photographer @傅鸿超, map @杨宁/Planet Research Institute)

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The whole vessel is covered with intricate patterns

So dense that there is almost no gap

Dazzling

Maybe this is also beauty

It is tolerance and possession

Immerse yourself in the world of porcelain day and night

Even the craftsman's technique

Full of beauty

The brush or knife moves with rhythm

No matter how the situation changes

The world in your heart

(A craftsman who is dedicated to his creation, photographer @张康年)

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So far

Porcelain is the epitome of traditional Chinese aesthetics

Attracted the world's attention

Thousands of exquisite porcelain pieces

Loaded into cargo ship

Sent to all parts of the world by the surging sea

These porcelain

There is a unique oriental romance

(Enamel porcelain Tiger Hill landscape bowl, photographer @一只饭包)

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There are also strange stories that cater to the West

(A vase with figures painted in gold and alum red, image source @Wikimedia Commons)

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Their beauty is obvious to all

People are chasing after

As a global commodity, it has flourished for nearly a thousand years

Affectionately known as

" china "

And this word

It also represents China

04

end

1840

A cannon blasted open the door to China

British, German, Russian, French

They flocked to find the legendary porcelain

Smuggled out at night

The lunch that cannot be transported is smashed on the spot

(239,000 pieces of blue and white porcelain were stolen and auctioned abroad, and Chinese people didn't even have the chance to raise their hands; the picture below shows a man admiring a pair of Bodhisattva sculptures from the 13th-14th century before the Christie's fine porcelain and artwork auction began, picture source @Visual China)

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Then

The Westernization Wave Sweeped China

And extinguished the weak kiln fire

The broken porcelain pieces all over the floor are

They are all supreme treasures

(Broken porcelain pieces collected in the museum, photographer @肖怡宁)

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After nearly a hundred years of development

We master advanced technology

Use new materials with lower costs

In electric furnaces, in gas furnaces

A large number of high-quality porcelains were fired

(The process of making porcelain we use today is very different from that in ancient times; the picture below shows the Zibo ceramics used in the state banquet, the picture is from @图虫创意)

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at the same time

The process precision has been qualitatively improved compared with the past

Ceramics as insulating materials

It is also widely used in precision instruments in the aviation field.

Sent into the distant space

It seems that time is really aging slowly

(1800℃ high temperature ceramic sealed insulating coating can be applied to high temperature resistant parts of rockets and spacecraft, photographer @阿毛)

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But if we

Stand in front of ancient porcelain in person

It is so fresh

Right now

Is it just like the craftsman who fired it?

During kiln firing

Praying to the kiln god with such desire

(On August 30, 2022, young tourists at the porcelain exhibition at Changzhou Museum in Jiangsu Province, picture source: @Visual China)

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He held up a burning incense stick

Through the swirling smoke

His solemn and dignified expression can be seen faintly

Even though you have experienced many battles

It is inevitable that a little bit of tension will arise at this time

He kowtowed

Then he walked silently towards the kiln waiting for the fire

As if he were going to burn

It is no longer a silent object.

But a soul with sound

And this

There have been countless encounters

Nothing to do with the world

Nothing to do with romance

It's all about their glory as craftsmen.

This article was created by

- Planet Research Institute -

Written by : Zhou Ci'er

Image : Pan Chenxia

Design : Du Rui & Yang Ning & Wang Tianyi

Proofreading : Ding Ding & Huang Nanqian & Jiang Shangfan & Chen Zhihao

Cover Photographer : Artery Shadow

Expert review

Department of Ceramic Art and Design, Academy of Fine Arts, Tsinghua University

Professor Yang Fan

【References】

[1] Li Qijiang (ed.). Traditional Craftsmanship of Ancient Chinese Famous Porcelain[M]. Jiangsu Phoenix Art Publishing House, 2020.07.

[2] Chen Wanli. Chen Wanli's Collection of Ceramics Archaeology[M]. Beijing: Forbidden City Publishing House, September 1997.

[3] Chen Kelun and Ye Qian. The Creations of Nature: The Making of Ancient Chinese Porcelain by Fire[M]. Beijing: Cultural Relics Publishing House, August 2017.

[4] Cui Mingfang, Zhu Jianhua. Analysis of the structure of ancient porcelain kilns in Anhui Province: Taking Shouzhou Mantou Kiln and Fanchang Long Kiln as examples [J]. Journal of Ceramics, 2014.05.

[5] Chinese Silicate Society, Feng Xianming, An Zhimin, An Jinhuai, Zhu Boqian, Wang Qingzheng (eds.). History of Chinese Ceramics. Beijing: Cultural Relics Publishing House, September 1982.

[6] William Cosmo Monkhouse, written by Bosley; translated by Deng Hongchun. The Lost History of China in the West: The History of Chinese Porcelain[M]. Beijing: Huawen Publishing House, August 2021.

[7] Feng Xianming, ed. Compiled by the Editorial Committee of the Atlas of Ancient Chinese Ceramics. Atlas of Ancient Chinese Ceramics. Beijing: Cultural Relics Publishing House, January 1998.