文顏森 YAN Sen

傳統(tǒng)青花瓷制作技藝巧手 許建華攝Traditional blue-and-white porcelain Craftsmanship.Xu Jianhua/Photo

“千年瓷都”景德鎮(zhèn)群山環(huán)抱，氣候溫和濕潤。這里因有優(yōu)質(zhì)的瓷器制作原料高嶺土，有豐富的瓷器燒造材料松柴，有便利的水路交通和眾多的能工巧匠，是一座擁有2000年冶陶史、1000年御窯史的江南小鎮(zhèn)。景德鎮(zhèn)原名“新平鎮(zhèn)”“昌南鎮(zhèn)”，宋代景德元年（公元1004年）因出產(chǎn)光致茂美的瓷器，深得宋真宗趙恒賞識，一紙敕令被賜名為“景德鎮(zhèn)”。千百年來，景德鎮(zhèn)瓷器以“青花瓷”“玲瓏瓷”“粉彩瓷”“顏色釉瓷”四大名瓷威振四方，以“白如玉、明如鏡、薄如紙、聲如磬”四大特色而聞名天下。

深厚的文化底蘊

追溯陶瓷史，早在新石器時代，景德鎮(zhèn)境內(nèi)的制陶活動即已開始。根據(jù)考古發(fā)現(xiàn)，遠在商周時期，景德鎮(zhèn)浮梁縣區(qū)域，就有商周時期的陶器遺物，陶器的種類也有夾砂陶、紅陶等，裝飾紋樣有麥穗、稻谷、回紋、云紋等，為景德鎮(zhèn)陶瓷文化的發(fā)端之源奠定了夯實的基礎(chǔ)。中晚唐及五代的青白瓷、宋代的影青、元時的青花、明朝的斗彩五彩、大清的琺瑯彩粉彩、民國時期的淺絳彩，以及新中國成立后的陶瓷發(fā)展前所未有的繁榮，書寫了景德鎮(zhèn)的輝煌歷程。蔣祁的《陶記》、朱琰的《陶說》、唐英的《陶冶圖說》、藍浦的《景德鎮(zhèn)陶錄》以及龔鉽的《景德鎮(zhèn)陶歌》等陶瓷名著，都真實記載景德鎮(zhèn)古代陶瓷歷史及其成就，凝聚著景德鎮(zhèn)生態(tài)及陶瓷文化的豐富內(nèi)涵。

景德鎮(zhèn)蘊藏著中華最燦爛輝煌的瓷業(yè)歷史遺存, 20世紀50年代以來，在景德鎮(zhèn)市區(qū)東部方圓30平方公里的范圍內(nèi)，已經(jīng)發(fā)掘出五代至明清的50多處150多個古瓷窯遺址。前幾年又在樂平南窯發(fā)現(xiàn)唐朝中期生產(chǎn)的瓷器。景德鎮(zhèn)古瓷窯遺址規(guī)模之大，范圍之廣，密度之高，時間跨度之長，古瓷文物之豐富，在世界上都是絕無僅有的，具有極高的歷史地位和學(xué)術(shù)價值。它們是景德鎮(zhèn)陶瓷歷史文化的豐厚寶庫，更是景德鎮(zhèn)成為舉世矚目的千年瓷都的堅實基礎(chǔ)。

寶貴的世界惟一

景德鎮(zhèn)作為“千年瓷都”，以一個產(chǎn)業(yè)支撐一座城市達千余年之久，是全世界僅有的。它的文化價值，可概括為兩個“世界獨一無二”：一是景德鎮(zhèn)地面和地下至今保存著的大量的瓷器，其數(shù)量之大與質(zhì)量之精，在全世界獨一無二。歷史上的景德鎮(zhèn)，是官窯瓷和御窯瓷產(chǎn)瓷區(qū)。瓷器是泥做火燒而成，用柴火燒瓷，再好的把樁師傅，出窯成品率也只有20%到50%。因此，為皇帝燒瓷器一次要燒十件甚至更多，希望總會燒成一件送進皇宮。而燒成的次品，是不能流到民間的，只能就地打碎。打碎還有規(guī)矩，先用銳器在底部戳個洞，然后用鈍器敲碎。從明初到清代層層堆起來，這些堆積是和當時的生產(chǎn)場地連在一起的，逐漸埋藏在古鎮(zhèn)的地下，非常壯觀。第二個“獨一無二”則是景德鎮(zhèn)仍保留著完整的瓷器生產(chǎn)工藝體系、原料、燃料供應(yīng)體系和瓷器銷售體系，以及與此相應(yīng)的大量的古窯址、古作坊、古街巷、古建筑、古店鋪、古民居、古衙門、古碼頭等遺存，在全世界也是獨一無二。兩大“獨一無二”，讓景德鎮(zhèn)成為了世界極其寶貴的文化遺產(chǎn)寶庫之一。

牢固的習俗傳統(tǒng)

1000多年的發(fā)展歷程中，景德鎮(zhèn)自發(fā)地形成了獨特而豐富的陶瓷產(chǎn)業(yè)習俗文化。它包括著生產(chǎn)習俗、行幫習俗、節(jié)日習俗語言習俗和瓷業(yè)崇拜、勞動組合、工資分配和管理方式。如行幫習俗的放排、打派頭、砍草鞋、掛扁擔、踩廠等；節(jié)日習俗中的臘月二十四小年送灶神、三十大年守歲、元宵鬧花燈、中秋燒太平窯等；語言習俗中的三踩兩響、試照子、收兜腳、射火、分水、伕、淺、件等；瓷業(yè)崇拜中的建廟祭祀瓷業(yè)英雄趙概、童賓、蔣知四、鄭子木……千百年中，一直在古鎮(zhèn)制瓷行業(yè)中流行。這些獨特的習俗根深蒂固、代代相傳、流傳至今，仍在左右著景德鎮(zhèn)市民的生產(chǎn)和生活，深深地影響著古鎮(zhèn)的發(fā)展。

景德鎮(zhèn)作為陶瓷產(chǎn)業(yè)的集散地，制瓷作坊文化，成為最具有景德鎮(zhèn)特色的文化。自古以來，景德鎮(zhèn)瓷器作坊成龍配套、別具一格。作坊一般由廒間、內(nèi)院、泥房、正間組成。其制瓷工藝的布置，也是完全根據(jù)手工瓷業(yè)生產(chǎn)的實際需要而定。作坊設(shè)計非?？茖W(xué)，它把工藝要求和景德鎮(zhèn)氣候特點很好地結(jié)合起來：正間坐北朝南，有較長時間的日照，受惠于東南季風，使曬架塘上木架上的成坯能有最充足的干燥條件。坯架下面是貯存雨水的小池塘，揉和泥料等生產(chǎn)用水就取之塘中。整個作坊充分利用時空和自然能源的最佳組合,這種獨特的坯房結(jié)構(gòu)，可說是中國乃至世界建筑文化中的杰作。

神奇的陶瓷燒煉

自東漢末年開始，景德鎮(zhèn)就開始槎窯、柴窯燒瓷，至今已有近兩千年的歷史。景德鎮(zhèn)瓷是高溫瓷，用浮梁的柴火燒，怎么能燒到1300攝氏度以上？但它偏偏就燒到了1300攝氏度。因為景德鎮(zhèn)的鎮(zhèn)窯窯膛很大，煙囪很高，煙囪在窯膛里拉出了一個火道，在火道上是1300攝氏度，其他地方則是1200攝氏度、1100攝氏度……所以，瓷器放在窯內(nèi)的位置就很有講究了。什么類別的瓷坯，該放在什么位置，沒有任何儀器測控，就全要憑滿窯師傅當時根據(jù)季節(jié)、氣候和自身的經(jīng)驗來決定。而整個龐大窯弄，容納數(shù)千件瓷坯，要讓其成為美麗的瓷器，其鍛燒的火候掌握則是靠“把樁師傅”的經(jīng)驗判斷。這種神奇的技術(shù)，一直延續(xù)至今，它包含著深厚而精彩的陶瓷文化內(nèi)涵。

獨特的陶瓷包裝

景德鎮(zhèn)陶瓷的包裝文化歷史以來彰顯獨特。為防遠途運輸瓷器的破損，最早的包裝方式叫“豆麥發(fā)芽包裝”——在每件瓷器里灌滿沙土并撒上豆種或麥種，再用繩子緊緊地縛成一包，等種子發(fā)芽后，根芽糾纏在一起，形成了一個堅固的整體，就可以裝車起運了。我們先人的聰明智慧，于此可見一斑。之后，隨著瓷業(yè)生產(chǎn)的不斷發(fā)展，包裝方法也在不斷更新，但歷史上延續(xù)千年的傳統(tǒng)包裝，還是用稻草包裝。這種包裝形式，直至現(xiàn)在仍時有所見。鄭廷桂《陶陽竹枝詞》中描繪：“鵝頸灘頭水一灣，駁船禾稈積如山；瓷件茭成船載去，愿郎遲去莫遲還”，真實地反映了古時景德鎮(zhèn)陶瓷包裝的宏大規(guī)模。

濃郁的瓷器交易文化

銷售是陶瓷產(chǎn)業(yè)的重要組成部分，景德鎮(zhèn)陶瓷交易文化由此而誕生。古、近代，景德鎮(zhèn)瓷器向來用肩挑、手提和船運三種方式對外交易和傳播。作為母親河的昌江，繞城而過，直奔長江。它承擔了幾乎全部的運輸任務(wù)。古代“陶舍重重倚岸開，舟帆日日蔽江來”的壯觀景象，催生了“昌南鎮(zhèn)陶器行于九域，施及外洋”，陸上“絲瓷之路”和海上“陶瓷之路”，也就逐步形成。為促進瓷器自由交易，在景德鎮(zhèn)當?shù)卦O(shè)有著名的瓷器街。該街由青石鋪就，瓷器店鱗次櫛比地排列與街面兩側(cè)，店內(nèi)外人頭攢動，促銷吆喝聲、討價還價聲不絕于耳。瓷器街遍設(shè)瓷行、瓷莊，古時景德鎮(zhèn)的瓷器交易，絕大部分就在這里進行。此外還有所謂的“提籃小賣”式，即開洲店。景德鎮(zhèn)陶瓷的交易文化，隨瓷業(yè)生產(chǎn)的發(fā)展而發(fā)展，具有濃郁的景德鎮(zhèn)氣息。

千百年來，景德鎮(zhèn)一直用瓷器獨特的語言，講述中國故事，陶瓷文化的本身也在不斷進化與發(fā)展。新中國成立以后，特別是改革開放以來，景德鎮(zhèn)陶瓷藝術(shù)進入了一個前所未有的繁榮時期。今天的景德鎮(zhèn)，仍然保存著最完整的傳統(tǒng)手工制瓷技藝，深厚的陶瓷文化底蘊和精湛的彩瓷技藝，吸引了無數(shù)的藝術(shù)家來到景德鎮(zhèn),他們以瓷器為載體，弘揚“中國價值、中國民俗、中國藝術(shù)、中國元素、中國符號”，創(chuàng)作了許多具有中國陶瓷文化基因和中國美學(xué)精神的瓷器繪畫作品，用獨特陶瓷工藝語言和陶瓷彩繪技法表達出文藝家的氣質(zhì)與追求，形成了新時代中國瓷器繪畫藝術(shù)的新面貌。

Surrounded by mountains with a mild humid climate,Jingdezhen, the Millennium Porcelain Capital is a small town in southern China with 2000-year history of smelting pottery and 1000-year history as the imperial kilns due to its abundance of high-quality raw material for making porcelain "kaolin", "songchai" for porcelain burning materials,convenient waterway traffic and many "craftsmen". Formerly known as "Xinping Town"” and "Changnan Town", this little town was named as Jingdezhen by a paper order issued and praised by ZHAO Heng, Emperor Zhenzong of Song Dynasty due to its production of fine-quality porcelain. For thousands of years, Jingdezhen porcelain has been decorated with four major names: "blue and white porcelain", "exquisite porcelain", "famile-rose porcelain," and "color-glazed porcelain," and was renowned due to four unique features,"four whites, one as a mirror, one as thin as paper, and the other as sound." It is famous for its unique features, "white as jade, bright as mirror, thin as paper, sound as loud as boulder".

Profound cultural heritage

Recalling the history of ceramics, the pottery activities in Jingdezhen has already begun as early as the Neolithic Age.According to archaeological findings, pottery relics of the Shang and Zhou period have been discovered in the Fuliang County area of Jingdezhen far from the Shang and Zhou dynasties. The types of pottery also include pottery mixed with sand, red pottery and etc. with decorative patterns as wheat ears, rice, meander, ombre patterns, laying a solid foundation for the origin of the Jingdezhen ceramic culture. The green and white porcelain of the Middle and Late Tang and Five Dynasties, the shadowy blue ware of the Song Dynasty, the blue and white porcelain of the Yuan Dynasty, the multicolored porcelain of the Ming dynasty, the light colorful porcelain of the Qing Dynasty and the unprecedented development of ceramics after the founding of New China have recorded the brilliant history of Jingdezhen. A number of famous masterpieces all truly recorded the history and achievements of ancient ceramics in Jingdezhen, embodying the rich content of town’s ecology and ceramic culture, including Record of Ceramics by JIANG Qi, Story of Ceramics by ZHU Yan,Illustration of Ceramics by TANG Ying, Ceramic Archives of Jingdezhen by LAN Pu, Ceramic Songs of Jingdezhen by GONG Shi and etc.

Jingdezhen is home to China’s most glorious historical relics of the porcelain industry. Since the 1950s, more than 150 ancient porcelain kilns at over 50 sites from the Five Dynasties to the Ming and Qing Dynasties have been uncovered in the urban area of Jingdezhen, a radius of 30 square kilometers in the east. The previous years have witnessed the discovery of the porcelain produced in the mid-Tang Dynasty in the southern kiln of Leping. The exclusive Jingdezhen ancient porcelain kiln site has a high historical position and academic value in terms of large scale, wide scope, high density, long period and rich ancient porcelain relics. They are the treasure of the history and culture of Jingdezhen ceramics, and more importantly,laying a solid foundation for Jingdezhen to become a worldrenowned porcelain capital.

畫青花 石衛(wèi)明攝Painting blue and white SHI Weimingphoto

Valuable Uniqueness of the Globe

As the Millennium Porcelain Capital, Jingdezhen remains most unique globally as an industry supporting a city for about 1,000 years. Its cultural value can be summed up in two "worldwide uniqueness": First, there are a large number of porcelains that have been preserved on the ground and underground in Jingdezhen, the quantity and quality of which are unique throughout the globe. Historically, Jingdezhen is a ceramic district of Guanyao porcelain and imperial kiln. Porcelain is made of mud and burned with firewood. The finished product rate is merely 20% to 50% even if it is by a great master of Bazhuang. Hence, it had to burn 10 or more at a time to make porcelain for the emperors, hoping that at least one piece was qualified for the palace. However, the defective products,which could not be taken to the private sector, were required to be broken on the spot immediately. There were rules to break the porcelain, first use a sharp subject to poke a hole at the bottom, then use a blunt instrument to break the body.Piled up from the early Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty,these spectacular piles were connected to the production site at the time and gradually buried underground in the ancient town. The second “uniqueness” is that Jingdezhen still retains a complete porcelain production process system, raw materials, systems of fuel supply and porcelain sales, as well as a large number of ancient kiln sites, workshops, street alleys,buildings, stores, folk houses, government offices, wharfs and other remains. The two "“uniqueness" make Jingdezhen one of the world’s most valuable treasures of cultural heritage.

Strong Customs and Traditions

Over 1000 years of development, Jingdezhen has spontaneously formed a unique and rich ceramic industry custom culture. It includes production practices, industrial customs, language customs, and porcelain worship, labor combinations, wage distribution and management methods,such as the Fangpai, Datoupai, Kancaoxie, Guabiandan,Caichuang and etc. of industrial customs, Sending God of Food on 24thof lunar month, stay-up on Chinese new year’s eve, Lantern Festival, Taiping Kiln of Mid-Autumn Festival and others of festival customs, Sancai Liangxiang, Zhaojingzi,Shoudoujiao, Shehuo, Fenshui, Fu, Qian, Jian and others of language customs, Building temples to worship heroes of porcelain, ZHAO Gai, TONG Bin, JIANG Zhisi, ZHENG Zimu of porcelain worshipping…… such customs have been prevailing in the porcelain-making industry of the ancient town. These unique customs are deeply ingrained, handed down from generation to generation and circulating until now. They still affect the production and life of the citizens of Jingdezhen,with a profound influence on the development of the ancient town.

拉坯 石衛(wèi)明攝Lapi SHI Weiming/photo

As the distribution center for the ceramic industry,Jingdezhen’s porcelain workshop culture has become the most characteristic culture of the ancient town. Since ancient times, the Jingdezhen porcelain workshops have showcased special uniqueness with integrated equipment. The workshop is normally composed of granary, inner courtyard, mud room and central room. The layout of its porcelain making process is also entirely based on the actual needs of hand-made porcelain production. The design of the workshop is very scientific,combining the technological requirements with the climate characteristics of Jingdezhen: facing south provides a long period of sunshine. It benefited from the southeast monsoon and made it possible to make billets on the wooden shelves of the drying racks with the most adequate drying conditions.Below the billet lies a small pond for storing rainwater, and the production water for kneading and muddy materials is taken from the pond. The entire workshop makes full use of the best combination of time and space and natural energy.This unique structure of the blank house could be considered a masterpiece in the architectural culture of China and the world at large.

Magic ceramics smelting

From the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Jingdezhen began to burn kiln and make porcelain with firewood, and it has been nearly 2,000 years to date. Jingdezhen porcelain is categorized as a high-temperature porcelain. How can it be burned above 1300 degrees Celsius? But it did burn to 1300 degrees Celsius.Because Jingdezhen’s township kiln is very large with high chimney, which pulls out a fire path in the kiln, resulting in 1300 degrees Celsius in the fire path. The rest is 1,200 degrees Celsius and 1,100 degrees Celsius….. Hence, the location of porcelain in the kiln is very particular. What kind of porcelain bodies, what position should be placed, all must be decided by the kiln master of loading according to the season, climate and their own experience without any instrument measurement and control. The entire huge kiln contains thousands of pieces of porcelain. Its mastery of burning is determined by the experience of the master of Bazhuang with purpose of make the pieces into beautiful porcelain. This magical technology has continued to this day, containing profound and wonderful ceramic cultural connotations.

Unique ceramic packaging

坯房一景A view of rough housing

The packaging culture of Jingdezhen ceramics has been most unique since its history. In order to prevent the damage from the distant transportation, the earliest packaging method of porcelain was called "bean germination packaging". Each piece of porcelain was filled with sand and sprinkled with bean or wheat seeds, and then tied tightly into a bag with a rope. After the seeds germinate, the root buds are entangled together and a solid body is formed, which is ready for loading and shipping. The wisdom and of our ancestors is most evident.Afterwards, with the continuous development of the porcelain industry, the packaging methods are constantly being updated.However, traditional packaging that has lasted for thousands of years is still performed in straws, which can still be found until now. It was depicted in Bamboo Branch of Taoyang: By the goose-neck water bay, barges full of porcelain as hills,porcelain transported by ships, hope men could come back soon. It truly reflects the magnificent scale of ceramic package in ancient Jingdezhen.

Culture of porcelain trading

Distribution is an important part of the ceramic industry, and Jingdezhen ceramics trading culture has its origin here. In ancient and modern times, Jingdezhen porcelain has been traded and disseminated in three ways: shoulder-picking,carrying and shipping. Changjiang, the mother river, passes around the city and goes straight to the Yangtze River, and it assumes almost all the transportation tasks. The spectacular ancient scene "Ceramic workshops open by shores, attracting merchant ships by river" gave birth to the "Changnan Town pottery prevails across nations and distributed overseas",hence, the "silk and porcelain road" on the land and the"ceramics road" by sea have been formed gradually. A porcelain street with profound popularity has been designated in Jingdezhen to promote the free trade of porcelain. The street is paved with bluestone, porcelain shops lined up on both sides crowded with people bargaining for good prices. Porcelain stores and houses have been set up on the porcelain Street. In ancient times, most of the porcelain trade in Jingdezhen was carried out here. There is also the so-called "carrying on sale" style, namely Kaizhou shop. The trading culture of Jingdezhen ceramics has developed along with the advancement of the porcelain production with a rich flavor of this ancient town.

拉坯 陳和平攝Lapi CHEN Heping/photo

“鬼谷下山”大罐（元青花）"Guigu Down Mountain"large jar (Blue and white of Yuan Dynasty)

For thousands of years, Jingdezhen has been telling stories of China through its unique language of porcelain, with the ceramic culture itself evolving and developing constantly. Since the founding of New China, Jingdezhen ceramic art has entered an unprecedented period of prosperity, especially since the reform and opening up. Today's Jingdezhen still retains the most complete traditional handmade porcelain craftsmanship, profound ceramic culture and exquisite ceramic art have attracted numerous artists, who employ the porcelain as their carrier to promote "Chinese value, Chinese folk customs, Chinese Art, Chinese Elements and Chinese Symbols", and have created many porcelain paintings with Chinese ceramics cultural genes and aesthetics spirit. They expressed the ethos and pursuit of the artists with unique ceramic craft language and ceramic painting techniques and formed a new face of Chinese porcelain painting art the new era.