We have 800 years of splendid civilization under our feet.
People often say that the above-ground civilization looks at Shanxi and the underground civilization is in Shaanxi. The Chinese civilization on the east and west sides of the Yellow River is a galaxy. China's English translation means ceramics. Shanxi was once a province with many ancient porcelain kilns in the history of China ceramics. I don't know that nature loves this land, giving it plenty of seemingly inexhaustible clay and coal, and giving it various preconditions for producing porcelain; I am also an industrious craftsman, and I am attached to it, writing endless Chinese civilization on the endless yellow land.
Mengjiajing is a village in Haozhuang Town, yingze district, Taiyuan City. This used to be the seat of Mengjiajing township government. Mengjiajing Village is located in the east 15km of Taiyuan City, with Shouyang in the east, Yangqu in the north and Yuci in the south. According to legend, Meng Liang, Yang Jiajiang, was stationed here in the Song Dynasty, digging wells to get water, hence the name Mengjiajing. There are still two ancient wells in the village, and the well water is still sweet and refreshing.
Mengjiajing is undoubtedly an ancient village, not only the site of ancient Yuci kiln, but also the site of Boling Temple, the kiln god. Because Mengjiajing used to belong to Yuci County, the porcelain kiln in Mengjiajing was called Yuci Kiln. Now entering Mengjiajing Village, although the kiln fire has been put out and surrounded by patches of farmland, the road leading to the village is still paved with thick saggers, and porcelain fragments and kiln furniture are scattered everywhere in the village. The pieces of white porcelain and black porcelain in the Jin and Yuan Dynasties and the pieces of glazed tiles in Kong Quelan in the Ming Dynasty, together with the soil, became the courtyard wall of villagers' homes. In a fault on a hillside, you can also clearly see a porcelain layer about two meters wide and more than ten meters long. In the northeast of the village, there is an original stone tablet to rebuild Buling Temple, which records the grand occasion of porcelain burning in that year.
Mengjiajing Porcelain Kiln Site is the first batch of provincial cultural relics.
Mengjiajingyao site was discovered by local cultural relics workers on 1959. After investigation and textual research, it is Yuci kiln recorded in historical books. 1962 During the cultural relics survey, our province organized archaeologists to investigate and excavate the Mengjiajingyao site. The porcelain kilns and tiles preserved in the kiln site not only provide a physical basis for understanding the firing history of porcelain in Mengjiajing kiln, but also are of great value for studying the development history of porcelain in the Northern Jin and Yuan Dynasties. Therefore, when the cultural relics units were first announced in our province in 1965, Mengjiajingyao site was listed as a provincial key cultural relics protection unit.
According to the investigation, the deposits of ceramic tiles are mainly distributed in the terraces in the north of the village and the east side of the village west avenue. Black, white, cyan and purple glazes are mainly burned in the north of the village, and white glaze printers are mainly burned on the east side of the west road of the village. The accumulation area of ceramic tiles is more than 2000 square meters. From the collected specimens, the types of utensils are mostly practical bowls and plates, as well as pots, bowls, lamps, pillows and other utensils. The glaze color is mainly black and white, and there are also a few blue and white glazes. In terms of firing method, the overlapping firing method of scraping glaze on the inner bottom of plates and bowls can increase the loading capacity of each kiln, save fuel and increase output, which is an outstanding creation of ceramic craftsmen in Jin Dynasty. In addition, Zhi Ding, gasket burning and other firing methods are also used. The modeling of white glaze ware is mainly bowls and dishes, among which the white glaze printing bowl is fine. It is characterized in that the shape of the bowl is large and thin, and there is an astringent ring in the bowl. Most of the prints are chrysanthemums, peonies and lotus flowers, and the bowls are decorated with moon brocade. The glaze is soft and milky white. There are bowls, bowls, boxes, cans, lamps, dishes and so on. Bowls and bowls are the most, the glaze color is shiny, and some of them are gray. The number of green glazes is small, but it is quite distinctive, mainly bowls, plates and pillows, with bowls as the most. Glaze has a glass texture, some are yellow-green, some are gray-blue, and some are similar to black glaze. Bowls are mostly printed and scratched, which is obviously influenced by the green glaze of Yaozhou porcelain kiln in Shaanxi Province. The patterns are mainly chrysanthemums, peonies and lotus flowers which are common in Song and Jin Dynasties. The bowl heart also has the same moon brocade and text decoration as the white glaze seal, and the calligraphy symbol, Hua, Hao, Wan, Jin, Giant and Straight.
"Yongle Dadian" has "the magnetic kiln is located in Mengjiajing, 60 miles north of Yuci County. According to Yang Jinzhi, there are 50 kiln sites here. According to Yiling Temple in the Ming Dynasty, "Sixty miles north of Yuci County, there is a township named Mengjiajing with a population of about 300, which is the land of ancient pottery". It can be seen that in the Ming Dynasty, the kiln industry in Mengjiajing area was still relatively prosperous. About 300 local families have inherited the skills handed down by their ancestors, and more than 50 porcelain kilns are steaming.
As a folk kiln in the north, Mengjiajing is not as famous as Cizhou kiln, but it is also a famous kiln in Shanxi, which has a lot to do with its geographical location and natural resources. Yuci kiln is located in the middle of our province, where the culture is profound, the population is prosperous and the demand for porcelain is great. According to textual research, Mengjiajing porcelain kiln was fired at least in the late Jin Dynasty, and reached its peak in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, and its scale was also large. At that time, Mengjiajing Porcelain Kiln became the production place of glass in important places such as gold, and it was gradually abandoned in the late Qing Dynasty. Therefore, it is not too much to call Mengjiajing Porcelain Kiln Shanxi "Porcelain Capital".
The ancient kiln site in Shanxi, the "porcelain capital", is facing a serious crisis.
Nearly 40 minutes' drive from Taiyuan, the reporter came to Mengjiajing Village, Dongshan, which is 0/5 km away from the city. Looking at this very ordinary village in front of us, it is hard to imagine that this is the origin of porcelain that was once famous throughout the country in history.
An enthusiastic villager told reporters that the only person in the village who can still know the history of porcelain kilns is an old porcelain-burning artist who is nearly 80 years old and named Song. After several searches, I finally met the old man. Uncle Song said that since he could remember, he followed his parents to Mengjiajing and began to burn porcelain. "It is not bad for a farmer to bring business for ten years." It can be said that the old man Song has been dealing with porcelain all his life in Mengjiajing. Although he doesn't burn porcelain now, he is still very excited about Meng Jiajing's past. According to Uncle Song's memory, as far as he knows, there were 50 or 60 porcelain kilns, large and small, but only two or three could be seen after the storm.
The few remaining ancient porcelain kilns failed to become bricks on the people's wall, either because of the cover of weeds or because of the fetters of surrounding stone piles. In a surviving ancient porcelain kiln, there is a big hole with a diameter of about 70 cm at the top, and there are cracks in the kiln wall and traces of being washed away by rain. The bottom of the kiln is full of hay and garbage, and the coal ash tunnel of the kiln has become a vegetable cellar for villagers to store wintering vegetables.
In the late 1950s, Mengjiajing porcelain industry gradually declined. Due to the lack of care and management of ancient sites, coupled with years of wind and rain erosion and a large number of human factors, we can hardly see the face of any ancient porcelain kiln site now. So why are provincial-level protected cultural relics with such high value not effectively protected? It is understood that over the years, due to the serious damage to the ancient porcelain kiln site in Mengjiajing, it is difficult to develop and protect it, resulting in little interest from local governments and relevant units. The ancient porcelain kiln site bearing heavy history and culture is slowly fading out of people's sight and disappearing into people's memory. As early as 2006, yingze district Municipal Government put forward in its government work report that it is necessary to tap and develop excellent cultural relics such as Mengjiajing Song Dynasty ancient porcelain kiln, build a number of tourism brand projects, and enhance the vitality of regional economic development. But today, due to the huge funds needed for protection, the relevant units and departments in the area have called for many years, but they are still unattended, and the porcelain kiln sites are getting more and more dilapidated.
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The site of the Song Dynasty porcelain kiln in Mengjiajing Village is in jeopardy.
Who would have thought that these two dilapidated huge buildings would be the remains of the Ming Dynasty among garbage dumps, rocky piles and weeds? And the land where these pieces of broken porcelain are buried at the foot is actually the famous Mengjiajing Song Dynasty porcelain kiln site? As time goes by, kiln waste porcelain is broken. Standing on this once prosperous ancient kiln site, who can imagine that hundreds of years ago, it was still a bustling scene of smoking and driving? A few days ago, after receiving feedback from readers, the reporter went to Mengjiajing to explore this site that has faded out of people's sight.
Cultural relics and historic sites 44 years ago
Along the road leading to Shouyang, turn east and then north, and you will find Mengjiajing village, which was once the seat of the township government, effortlessly. However, it took a lot of effort to find a cultural relic protection monument erected by the 1965 municipal government. After two visits and interrogations to the mountain village, I saw this monument in an obscure corner of the former township government compound under the guidance of the villagers.
The pedestal is missing, and the handwriting on the pedestal is mottled. The contents of "Mengjiajing Porcelain Kiln Site" and "1Promulgated by the Provincial People's Committee on May 24th, 965" are discernible. Where did this stone tablet that can prove the identity of the site stand? The villagers almost forgot its existence.
There are three of the remaining 50 kilns.
This year, in the third national cultural relics survey, cultural relics workers checked the number of porcelain kilns in local history. In the article "Taiyuan County" in Yongle Dadian (volume 520 1) in Ming Dynasty, it was found that "porcelain kilns are located in Mengjiajing, 60 miles north of Yuci County, and according to Jin Yang Zhi, there are 50 kilns".
Today, only 3 out of 50 kilns can distinguish shapes. A house built by villagers was transformed into a cave for storing grain. The other two buildings were abandoned on the roadside, and the collapse and damage were even worse than when they were first seen four years ago.
The old artist has a dream.
The 76-year-old Song He was born in Handan, Hebei. When the ancestors came to Shanxi from Hebei to "hold porcelain bowls", it was Meng Jiajing's reputation as a good porcelain.
The old man said that when he came to Mengjiajing, "farmers have been trading for ten years." He began to learn porcelain from his master at the age of 8, and now he is 16 years old. He witnessed the prosperity of Mengjiajing village. After liberation, a porcelain factory was built at the foot of the mountain, and the porcelain kilns in the village gradually became vacant. In the 1950s, the old man bought one of the old kilns and an abandoned factory building, and he was reluctant to let his children tear down and build a house. The old man said, "Not many people in the village know this craft now, let alone paint and glaze. I only hope that one day this old kiln will be useful for inheriting ceramic crafts. "
Protection is urgent.
Mengjiajing village is an ancient village. In addition to porcelain kilns, there are two ancient wells in the village, and the well water is still sweet and clear. On the mountain, it was built during the Northern Song Dynasty and rebuilt during the Jiaqing period of the Ming Dynasty. The ancient charm of the Boling Temple built by porcelain makers to worship the kiln gods still exists. A few days ago, some entrepreneurs took a fancy to the profound ancient ceramic culture in the village, and planned to rely on the local good natural ecological resources, rich porcelain clay resources and convenient transportation advantages to restore the traditional ceramic production line, develop the tourism industry and show the ancient village through the ceramic production process.
As early as 2006, yingze district Municipal Government put forward in its government work report that it is necessary to tap and develop excellent cultural relics such as Mengjiajing Song Dynasty ancient porcelain kiln, build a number of tourism brand projects, and enhance the vitality of regional economic development. However, today, due to the lack of care and management, the porcelain kiln site has become more and more dilapidated. How to protect this splendid cultural heritage left by the ancients is an urgent problem to be solved. Related links
Mengjiajing Village is located in the east 15km of Taiyuan City, with Shouyang in the east, Yangqu in the north and Yuci in the south. According to legend, Meng Liang, Yang Jiajiang, was stationed here in the Song Dynasty and dug wells to get water, hence the name. Song dynasty is a famous porcelain producing area, known as Mengjiajing kiln, also known as Yuci kiln. Mengjiajing Porcelain Kiln was built in the late Jin Dynasty and fired in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, reaching its peak and its scale was also large. At that time, Mengjiajing Porcelain Kiln became the production place of glass in important places such as gold, and it was gradually abandoned in the late Qing Dynasty. Its white glazed printing bowl has the characteristics of scraping glaze around the center of the bowl, which has a typical style of Jin Dynasty. Because of its high research value on the development history of porcelain in North Jin and Yuan Dynasties, 1965 was announced as a provincial key cultural relics protection unit.