As early as 1970s, Zaozhuang Cultural Relics Management Office investigated the site of Zhongchen porcelain kiln. Now, the site of Zhongchenhao Porcelain Kiln written by Mr. Li Jinshan, the former curator of Zaozhuang Museum (see page P 155 of Zaozhuang Scenic Area) is reproduced as follows for readers' appreciation:
Zaozhuang is rich in products, and there have been hand-made workshops for firing ceramics since ancient times. Archaeological investigation shows that among more than ten ancient porcelain kiln sites in the city, Haogu kiln site has the largest area and the longest duration. Chen Zhong has been cooking oysters for 1400 years, and once paid tribute to Beijing as a local tribute. According to "The Unification of Daming", "Yanzhou Prefecture produces black porcelain, which is produced in yi county." "Gan Long County Records" recorded that "Tugong Black Porcelain in yi county" porcelain clay, refractory clay and sacred clay are important raw materials for firing porcelain, and these minerals are abundant in the northern mountainous area of Zaozhuang. When describing the geographical environment of Zhuoshan Mountain and Diaoyutai Mountain in Jingbei County, Yixian Map wrote: "There is more chalk on the mountain" and "There is more coal on the coffin plate, more chalk, and the chalk is green." There is a more detailed record in the "Yi County Records": "First, the soil genus also breeds black graves (referring to red soil and black soil), among which Diaotaishan soil is particularly famous. The green chalk and chalk produced in Qicun and Xuchiling are hard and sticky, which is a good product for making utensils. ..... In the Yuan Dynasty, there were many potters on the fishing platform. They made a thousand-Li healing device and made a lot of profits. In modern times, people can no longer do it. Shanxi potters steal it, and every year they make giant tools, which are simple and heavy, as solid as stone. Hundreds of hubs, marketing is everywhere, and they all get thick value. ..... In other words, the soil produced in Asaph Xu is the same as Boshan glazed soil, but unfortunately it has never been tried. " Abundant raw materials of coal and porcelain clay provide favorable conditions for the development of ceramic industry in Shao Hao, Chen Zhong.
Zhongchen Porcelain Kiln Site is located at the north of Zaozhuang City 10 km, belonging to Zhongchen Village, Zouwu Town, Xuecheng District. The northern part of the kiln site is the foothills that come down in one continuous line with Diaotai and Zhuoshan, and the southern hills fluctuate from time to time. There are coal mines nearby, which are rich in porcelain clay. Panlong River flows through the village from north to south. The area of the kiln site is quite large, and Fiona Fang is about four or five square kilometers. There are many ancient porcelain tiles scattered in the fields and rivers, and the whole village is built on the ruins of the manual workshop area. The village is more than 3 meters below the surface, all of which are porcelain pieces accumulated in different times. Over the years, villagers have discovered thousands of complete porcelain, utensils used in daily life, and toys with vivid shapes when plowing fields and digging canals.
Chen Zhong Gu Hao porcelain kiln site can be divided into three areas, celadon area is located in the east of Panlonghe Village. A large number of green glazed tiles and kiln furniture are scattered on both sides of the riverbed, extending to the south of Beihao Hao and Zhang Ling Village. There are many kiln sites in the ground, and the soil color is black and red. Ancient porcelain tiles can be seen everywhere on the cultivated soil. Tiles piled up on the shore, and some areas were as high as 3 meters. Porcelain fragments are mostly blue glaze, and yellow glaze, sauce glaze and brown glaze can be seen from time to time.
From 65438 to 0987, the village north celadon area was excavated. Cultural accumulation is divided into six layers, and each layer has different soil colors and relics, which can be divided into four periods. The first period was the late Northern Dynasty; The second period was the Sui Dynasty; The third period is the Tang and Five Dynasties; The fourth period is the Northern Song Dynasty. It can be seen that this site has lasted for years. According to the unearthed cultural relics, it can be divided into kiln furniture, porcelain and bronze ware. Kiln furniture mainly includes three-legged Zhi Ding, cylindrical supports with irregular support columns, brackets, saggers, washers, five-tooth supports, hoof-shaped templates, cushion cakes, cushion nails and cushions. Porcelain includes bowls, heads of Hu people, pots, pots, bowls, cups, pan-mouthed pots, stilts, lids, holding pots, water bowls, lamps, pots and inkstones. Bronzes mainly include five coins in Sui Dynasty, bronze mirrors and copper coins in Northern Song Dynasty.
This archaeological excavation also found an important relic in the celadon area. There are material pools, kilns and ash pits. The plane of the material pool is rectangular, and 3 cm thick porcelain clay is still preserved at the bottom of the pool. There were two kilns in the Sui Dynasty, which were irregular and oval in plane, and consisted of fire channel, kiln door, fire chamber, ash outlet, central column, kiln bed and chimney. There are not many porcelain kilns in the Sui Dynasty in the north of China, but it is the first time in Shandong. This ancient kiln, dating back more than 1,300 years, provides very important data for studying the structure of ancient kiln sites and porcelain firing in China. There were four ash pits in the Tang Dynasty, and a large number of recoverable kiln furniture and porcelain were unearthed.
A large number of porcelains found in the north celadon area of Haoyao Village, Chen Zhong, are simple and dignified in shape, mainly practical, green in glaze and durable. In the past, most scholars who studied the history of porcelain development held the view that "before Sui and Tang Dynasties, celadon was produced in the south and white porcelain was produced in the north". The discovery of a large number of celadon in Chen Hao shows that Zaozhuang started firing celadon before Sui and Tang Dynasties.
The White Porcelain Area is located in the vast area south of Haocun, Chen Zhong. In the archaeological investigation, a lot of complete porcelain was collected in this area, especially in the southeast corner, where there was a wheat field called "Wazhadi", and the porcelain pieces were relatively concentrated. The white porcelain area mainly distributes white porcelain, white glazed black flower porcelain and green dot colored porcelain, belonging to the northern Cizhou kiln system. The main products are daily necessities, in addition to some toys, their shapes are very vivid and lifelike. Several unique and precious cultural relics have been unearthed in the White Porcelain Area. For example, the bed with white glaze and black flowers is large in size, glazed all over, crystal clear and smooth, and there are symmetrical black flowers and leaves on both sides of the altar body, which is extremely smooth and vivid. The white glazed brown color jar is decorated with brown flowers and leaves, and the whole body is covered with raindrop glaze from the edge to the bottom, which is very charming. The tricolor tiger headrest is shaped like a crouching tiger, decorated with green, yellow and brown glazes, and the tiger's head is slightly raised, which is very realistic.
The cultural accumulation of white porcelain area is divided into two layers, both of which belong to Yuan Dynasty. In addition, a house foundation, a material pool and a kiln were found in the Jin Dynasty. The plan is rectangular. The north-south wall foundation is abandoned columns and lime blocks, and the ground is covered with a layer of broken porcelain. Maybe it was a porcelain workshop at that time. The kilns in the Jin Dynasty were east-west, with the kiln doors facing east. It consists of a fire channel, a kiln door, a fire chamber, a kiln bed and a chimney. There is half a meter thick cinder at the bottom of the kiln, which shows that the Jin Dynasty fired porcelain with coal as fuel more than 800 years ago, which provides evidence for studying the coal mining history of Zaozhuang.
The cultural relics excavated in the white porcelain area mainly include kiln furniture and porcelain. Kiln has support, box, round support, hoop support, bowl-shaped kiln furniture, dish-shaped kiln furniture, fire lamp, pestle and so on. There are bowls, cans, pots, plates, chicken leg bottles, cylinder lamps, bottles, figures, riding figurines, dogs, chess pieces and so on. Among them, there is a white porcelain lamp with unique shape and decoration. The outer wall of the lamp is painted with blades of grass, and all three feet under the lamp are made into boys' shapes, and the facial features are very realistic. The figurines on horseback are shaped like warriors, with clouds on one shoulder, narrow sleeves, boots on their feet and reins on their horses. The horse's head has a short neck, a round chest and a vivid posture. There are two kinds of unearthed chess pieces, black and white, which are similar to those used now. This shows that porcelain fired in Jin and Yuan Dynasties is not only used for daily life, but also for entertainment.
In the west of Haocun Village, Chen Zhong, there are a lot of pieces of black porcelain scattered on the ground, mainly for daily use. Solid texture, even and smooth glaze. At that time, during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, some of these porcelains were transported to Beijing as local tributes.
In ancient times, the kiln site in Central Chen Hao was one of the largest firing workshops in Shandong. Besides abundant coal and porcelain clay resources, transportation is also very convenient. The kiln site faces the canal in the south and is located on the North-South Avenue. Panlong River is a muddy river in China, which was navigable in ancient times. All these have created convenient conditions for the production and marketing of porcelain, and are also important reasons for the enduring porcelain industry for thousands of years. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, it became a distribution center for porcelain. There are many brick kilns on both sides of Panlong River, and ships shuttle on the river. The government specially built a mansion in Zhongchenhao and set up a patrol inspection department. Many temples and stone bridges have workshops. Therefore, the legend of "seventy-two pottery kilns, nine temples and ten bridges" has been handed down.
Chen Hao kiln workers created exquisite porcelain with diligence and wisdom, leaving a precious legacy for Zaozhuang people. Although the ancient porcelain town has become a ruin, the ancient porcelain sleeping underground has attracted the attention of scholars and experts, and has become a treasure to study the history of ceramic development, industrial and commercial history and cultural relics display, and also attracted the attention of Japanese archaeologists. 199 1 year, Chen Hao ancient site was announced by Shandong provincial people's government as a provincial key cultural relics protection unit.