Primitive celadon or porcelain refers to a kind of celadon ware that appeared in the middle of Shang Dynasty. Its firing temperature has reached 1200 degrees Celsius, which is more solid than ordinary pottery, but it has not reached the level of real porcelain. At present, many primitive celadon and its fragments have been unearthed in Shang and Zhou sites and tombs in Zhengzhou, Anyang, Luoyang, Gongxian, Yanshi, Gaocheng, Hebei, Beijing, Xi 'an, Yidu, Shaanxi, Tunxi, Nanjing and Dantu, Jiangsu, mainly in the form of statues, bowls, plates, bottles, cans and beans. After scientific determination, they have basically possessed the characteristics of porcelain, but compared with celadon in the later mature stage, they are still primitive, such as larger pores, more impurities in tire materials and unstable glaze color, so they are called primitive celadon. There are many kinds of primitive celadon unearthed in the Western Zhou Dynasty, far exceeding the Shang Dynasty. By the Spring and Autumn Period, great progress had been made in the production of primitive celadon, and most of the utensils were changed from the original clay board production method to the wheel production method, and the shapes of the utensils were more regular, and the tire walls were thinner and more uniform. During the Warring States period, primitive celadon was widely used. Whether it is household utensils or bronze-like ritual vessels, they are all regular in shape, even glazed and exquisite in craftsmanship, close to real mature porcelain.
The truly mature celadon appeared in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. Celadon from the Eastern Han Dynasty was unearthed in tombs and sites in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Anhui, Hubei, Henan, Gansu and other places. Four sites of Eastern Han porcelain kilns were discovered in Shangyu County, Zhejiang Province, among which Xiaoxiantan kiln site was excavated, and its typical porcelain pieces were scientifically judged. The results show that the iron content is less than that of the original celadon, and the carcass is gray and sintered. The lowest water absorption is only 0. 16%, and the firing temperature is 13 10℃, and it is fired in Longyao. It shows that the firing technology of celadon in the Eastern Han Dynasty has reached a mature stage. Shangyu County, Zhejiang Province used to be the hometown of the ancient Yue people. It was under the jurisdiction of Yue State during the Warring States Period and was called Yue State in the Tang Dynasty, so the porcelain kilns in this area were collectively called Yue Kilns. Glazed celadon in the Eastern Han Dynasty was glazed all over, and the glaze layer was obviously thickened, with strong luster and transparency, and the combination of fetal glaze was tight and firm. Common vessel shapes are bowls, lamps, plates, cans, bowls, basins, washings, pots, clocks, cans and so on. Decorations are mainly string patterns and water ripples, as well as stickers and paving. Celadon in the Three Kingdoms period is harder, grayer, with more uniform glaze layer, denser combination of fetal glaze and richer decorative patterns. Common decorative patterns include chords, water ripples, veins printed on the surface of the head and ears, diagonal squares and so on. From the modeling point of view, at this time, there are such things as a chicken-headed pot, a tiger, a sheep-shaped socket, a frog-shaped water bowl and so on. During the period of the Three Kingdoms, the Jin Dynasty and the Southern and Northern Dynasties, celadon was fired more widely in the north and south, the number of porcelain kilns increased, and the quality was further improved. Celadon burned in the south and the north has its own characteristics. Southern celadon is generally hard and delicate, light gray, and its glaze color is crystal clear and pure, which is often described as ice-like. Northern celadon has heavy matrix, strong glass texture, large fluidity, fine glaze opening and bluish yellow glaze color. The celadon lotus statue unearthed from Feng's tomb in Beiqi County, Hebei Province is a masterpiece of northern celadon.
Although the Western Jin Dynasty was not long, celadon developed rapidly. The performance is as follows: the quality of porcelain is obviously improved, the porcelain tire is slightly thicker than before, and the utensils are stable and generous, short and fat; The tire color is dark, the glaze layer is thick and uniform, and it is generally bluish gray; The decorative patterns tend to be complex, and the common decorative patterns are floor-laying head, string pattern, diagonal checkered pattern, lotus bead pattern or gold and silver pattern, bird and beast pattern, and feet decorated with dragon head, tiger head, bear shape and lion shape.
During the 300-year historical period from the establishment of the Western Jin Dynasty to the demise of the Northern Dynasties, that is, the Wei, Jin and Six Dynasties, the development of ancient celadon in China entered an important period and became a bright pearl of oriental culture. In the production of celadon in this period, it is extremely important to reflect social life and shape various animal images with humanistic totems as the object. As early as the bronze age, animal images were widely used as the modeling of utensils. Later, craftsmen gathered their ancestors' skills in casting animal image vessels, created many beautiful, economical and practical ivory porcelain, and created a generation of celadon animal modeling fashion. In addition to common daily necessities, such as bowls, inkstones, pots, bottles, etc., various animal models, such as tomb animals, chicken cages, dog pens, pig pens and other funerary objects, also choose a variety of animal images such as chickens, dogs, sheep, bears, lions, tigers, birds and toads as the whole or part of the utensils, which is a remarkable feature of the Six Dynasties celadon.
During the Wei, Jin and Six Dynasties, the Yangtze River produced a series of celadon products with Yue kiln, Ou kiln, Hongzhou kiln and Wuzhou kiln. The tire quality was very compact, and the tire soil was bluish gray with different shades. The density of glaze has adapted to the fetal bone, that is, the adhesion between tire and glaze is strong, so the glaze is not completely pure because of the bad temperature, and the color is slightly different, except cyan, turquoise, yellow-green and so on. There are two kinds of enamels: transparent glass glaze and opaque glaze. The former has a thick glaze with many small open lines, while the latter has no lines. In addition to the goat and lion candlesticks, the chicken-headed pot has also become one of the dating standards of celadon in the Six Dynasties. The unique shape of the chicken head pot symbolizes that era. According to historical data, the chicken head pot has a certain evolution process. The pot shape of the early chicken head was a small pot with a plastic chicken head on its shoulder; On the other side is a triangular chicken tail, and on both sides are small shop heads. By the time the chicken-headed pot in the Eastern Jin Dynasty was basically formed, the pot body became bigger. The head of a chicken on the shoulder is plastic, with a rooster's crown and a hen's crown, with two heads and a single head. The neck is elongated, circular pecking holes and solids. It is usually equipped with a handle. The handle is conical, with small hands and double columns, and one end is a faucet, from the paving to the semi-ring system to the airplane bridge.
After the middle period of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the production of celadon tended to be popular, the shape of porcelain tended to be simple, and the decoration was greatly reduced. Decorative patterns are mainly chords. Lotus petals appeared in the late Eastern Jin Dynasty and quickly prevailed.
In the Tang Dynasty, the production scale of celadon in southern Yueyao was the largest and the quality was the best. Yue kiln celadon is famous for its elegance and warmth, and the poems praising Yue kiln celadon also reflect this beauty. In the Tang Dynasty, Lu Guimeng described it as "Nine autumn winds dew over the kiln, which is better than a thousand blue peaks", and Xu Yin described it as "Cleverly gouging out the bright moon to dye spring water, gently spinning thin ice to fill Lv Yun", which has the same effect. The celadon tire of Yue kiln is delicate and compact, the knocking sound is crisp, and the enamel is smooth and even, like jasper. The glaze color is yellow or blue with yellow, and there are no streaks. Vertical line decoration method on plain ground is widely used. Another way to paste flowers, people, fish and animals on containers. Common utensils are bowls, plates, water pots, cans, boxes and so on. And special utensils, such as porcelain inkstone, holding pot, porcelain poppy, etc. Especially Yue Porcelain Ou, whose lips are not upturned, the bottom is shallow, and the mouth is straight and shallow, has become the object of literati singing. "A hundred flowers blossom and the lotus leaves are empty" (Meng Jiao, Tang Dynasty), "Lotus leaves are cold and autumn water is clear" (Xu Hun), "Shu paper musk deer coal is flourishing with a pen, and Ouzhong rhinoceros wine sends tea fragrance" (Han Wo) are typical examples. No wonder Lu Yu listed Yue kiln as the first kiln in the Tang Dynasty in the Book of Tea. The best celadon in Yue Kiln is used by the royal family and courtiers, and is called "secret color porcelain". The secret color porcelain is exquisite in texture, light green in glaze and crystal clear in luster, which is called the pinnacle of Yue kiln celadon. 1987, among the cultural relics unearthed under the pagoda palace of Famen Temple, a famous temple in the Tang Dynasty in Shaanxi Province, there were 14 pieces of celadon from Yueyao, and an inscription was published saying that these porcelains were "secret colored porcelains". When Song looked at the secret porcelain in Famen Temple Museum, he said: "The Millennium case broke Famen Temple, and the secret color is not secret." The celadon of Yue kiln echoes the white porcelain of Xing kiln from a distance, forming two kiln systems of "southern blue and northern white", which have far-reaching influence on later generations.
The Song Dynasty was the heyday of Yaozhou Kiln. The tire is fine and compact, and the shape is beautiful and generous. The feet of the vessel are high and narrow, and there are turmeric spots peculiar to Yaozhou kiln at the bottom or around the feet. The utensils are complete and varied. In addition to bowls, dishes, pots, pots and other daily necessities. In addition, they also produce display porcelain, such as pear bottles, plum bottles, incense burners and drum nail washing, of which Chu is the most famous. In terms of decoration technology, in addition to cross-cutting, flower picking and decals, a unique new carving and printing process has been created. Its sharp blade, round and vivid lines, liveliness and diversity, and unique surface aesthetic feeling are known as the crown of carved celadon and printed celadon in China Song Dynasty. In the early Jin Dynasty, bean green glaze and moon white celadon were mainly fired. In the later period, it was mainly celadon with ginger glaze. Compared with Song Dynasty, firing has changed a lot. Pottery tires are mostly light gray and light yellow, and porcelain glazes are mostly ginger or yellow-green. The mode of engraving and printing technology tends to be concise.
The Ming and Qing Dynasties were the highest peak in the history of China porcelain development, and the production and decoration techniques of celadon were greatly improved. There are many excellent works in today's handed down products.