Exploring Longquan celadon: Why is the Millennium kiln fire endless?

  Zhongxin. com, Hangzhou, November 3 rd (Shao Yanfei, Fu Feiyang) A history of Chinese ceramics, half of which is in Zhejiang; A history of Zhejiang ceramics, half in Longquan. The traditional firing technique of Longquan celadon began in the Three Kingdoms and the Jin Dynasty, flourished in the Song and Yuan Dynasties, and reached its peak in the Southern Song Dynasty. It is a "cultural symbol" juxtaposed with Song Ci and Song Painting, and is also the first ceramic project selected in UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

  "Longquan celadon is well deserved ‘ Porcelain sea pearl ’ , exchange and learn from each other ‘ Cultural emissary ’ 。” Dan Jixiang, president of China Cultural Relics Society, commented on Longquan celadon.

  Recently, the 5th World Celadon Conference (hereinafter referred to as Celadon Conference) was held in Hangzhou. The reporter interviewed many experts and scholars, celadon craftsmen and celadon culture lovers from home and abroad to explore the story behind Longquan Celadon — — Since it was passed down more than 1600 years ago, why is the Millennium kiln fire endless?

  The watch relay of generations

  People are the key factor in the inheritance of a skill.

  Weisyun Lo, a master of arts and crafts in China and a celadon craftsman born in 1962, is now training more than 30 apprentices. In his view, it is necessary not only to teach porcelain art, but also to inherit ingenuity. "Let more young people have creative enthusiasm for porcelain art, so as to avoid the talent gap and truly realize the inheritance and development of Longquan celadon."

  In fact, Weisyun Lo himself became famous. His teacher, Xu Chaoxing, has more than 500 skill inheritors, and has trained three China arts and crafts masters, including Weisyun Lo. The reporter from Zhongxin. com learned that the older generation of celadon craftsmen attach great importance to the inheritance of skills. It is precisely because of their generosity that Longquan celadon can be succeeded.

  "In this exhibition, I brought two works, Prosperous Life and Peace. The former conveys an all-inclusive aesthetic feeling with a round and thick shape, and the flower-drawing technology of the flourishing peony symbolizes the prosperity of the motherland; The latter combines the local cinnabar porcelain clay in Longquan with the moist plum green glaze, reflecting the minimalist beauty of Song Yun culture. " At the "Song Porcelain Dreaming of China" held in conjunction with this celadon conference — — At the celadon immersive interactive art exhibition, Xu Xing, a celadon craftsman born in 1988, said.

  Xu Xingxiao said that nowadays, the "post-waves" are endless, and he is no longer the youngest among his peers. A large number of "post-90 s" celadon craftsmen are participating in various competitions and exhibitions with excellent works.

  "I met Longquan celadon and was attracted by its literati temperament at first sight." Liu Hao, a post-90s celadon craftsman, said that Longquan celadon is in line with China’s traditional culture. He hoped to use celadon culture as a carrier to open another window for visitors to understand the cultural and social features of the Song Dynasty and appreciate colorful Chinese culture, and also to use the platform of the World Celadon Congress to let people feel the beauty of celadon and the prosperity of Song Wenhua more intuitively.

  Since the Song Dynasty, Longquan celadon has been exported to more than 50 countries in Asia, Africa and Europe. In the reporter’s opinion, celadon culture crosses mountains and seas and goes to the world from a small town located in southwest Zhejiang, which requires celadon craftsmen and young and energetic celadon culture communicators.

  Wu Aizhu, a celadon enthusiast and self-media blogger who has settled in Hangzhou, is attending the World Celadon Congress for the fifth time. "The color of Longquan celadon is very beautiful, and the exhibition of this celadon conference has made me feel refreshed." Wu Aizhu said that Hangzhou has a profound cultural heritage. Promoting and spreading Longquan celadon here is expected to gather more information flow, technology flow, commodity flow and talent flow in a short time.

  "In the training of Longquan celadon-related industries, we can build a traditional apprenticeship system, social human resources training, and ‘ Three-track system ’ Training mode. At the same time, we can introduce high-end talents and gather scientific research strength by relying on collaborative innovation platform, Industry-University-Research platform, enterprise research institute, local research institute and various research bases. " Zhou Xiaofeng, deputy director and professor of lishui university Scientific Research and Local Cooperation Department, said.

  During the opening ceremony of this year’s celadon conference, many celadon craftsmen from 1980s and 1990s participated in the activity of "Celadon UP" and had a lively discussion on the inheritance and development of Longquan celadon. Among them, some young celadon craftsmen talked to the older generation of celadon artists, exchanged creative experience and talked about future development. The "baton" of celadon culture is quietly passed on in gossip … …

  Password of Common Wealth in Porcelain

  One side’s industry is rich, and the other side’s people. Celadon is to Longquan what shoes and boots are to Wenzhou and private enterprises are to Zhejiang. Thousands of years of inheritance, the kiln fire does not go out. Entering Baoxi Township, Longquan City, 13 Gulong kilns are shining under the local repair and protection.

  In recent years, Longquan has devoted itself to decoding the genes of celadon culture, telling the stories of celadon culture, and relying on the well-preserved Gulong kiln in Baoxi Township in Ming and Qing Dynasties, it has launched the traditional dragon kiln firing activity of "never extinguishing the kiln fire", and integrated it into the special exhibition experience links such as blessing ceremony, blessing ceremony, saggar opening, online auction and dragon kiln banquet, and combined the inheritance of celadon culture with the innovative development of rural tourism.

  It is understood that the "Guyaoli B&B" in Baoxi Township is the first Longyao Celadon Living Museum B&B.. Here, visitors can see the well-preserved ancient kiln, experience the whole process of firing celadon by the ancients and enjoy the pleasure of making porcelain.

  According to the data, there are more than 60 farmhouses and homestays in Baoxi Township, and a number of fine homestays such as "returning from strangers", "Ancient Kiln", "Fengshutan Farmhouse" and "Bageshu Starry Tent Hotel" have been cultivated successively, effectively promoting the development of regional tourism.

  Take Xitou Village, Baoxi Township as an example. In recent years, the village has continuously amplified the driving role of celadon culture, effectively extended the consumption time of tourists, guided rural sages and villagers to develop cultural tourism formats, expanded the night economy, and created a "white+black" tourism consumption model. It is understood that it has achieved an average annual tourism income of more than 30 million yuan, and many derived formats have enabled villagers to increase their income and get rich at their doorstep.

  Jin Chaojun, a wanderer who has been wandering outside for many years and has been in the shopping mall for a long time, resolutely chose to return to Xitou Village for a second venture in the year of no doubt. He said that the increase in operating income is only a part of rural revitalization. More importantly, the IP of "Never Extinguish Kiln Fire" has improved the cultural consciousness and cultural self-confidence of all villagers.

  According to statistics, by 2021, Longquan celadon has more than 20,000 employees, and there are more than 2,600 celadon manufacturers and workshops, including 5 enterprises above designated size; There are many masters and young talents in celadon industry, and the annual main business income is 1.714 billion yuan. Longquan celadon industry has become one of the local pillar industries and plays an important role in promoting common prosperity.

  "Longquan celadon industrial structure still has room for further optimization and adjustment, which can be subdivided into various fields — — Create more celadon works featuring handcraft, small batch, quality and artistry; Seek breakthroughs in the fields of building ceramics, industrial ceramics, daily-use ceramics, bioceramics and special ceramics, and enhance added value … …” Zhou Xiaofeng said that Longquan celadon should also build a complete industrial chain consisting of raw material production, material research and development, equipment manufacturing, creative design, creative production, product packaging, online marketing and cultural communication.

  Iterative upgrading of porcelain-making technology

  From "looked up to" ritual vessels to "flying into ordinary people’s homes" daily necessities, Longquan celadon’s porcelain-making technology is also constantly upgrading.

  Recently, many experts, scholars and industry professionals from home and abroad enthusiastically discussed the development of Longquan celadon technology in a series of forums, such as the theme forum of "Celadon Rejuvenation and Common Prosperity", and actively offered suggestions.

  "Now the development of Longquan celadon industry is in line with the times, sharing the new achievements of scientific and technological development, and surpassing the ancients in raw material processing, molding methods and kiln firing." Zhou Shaohua, a professor at Zhejiang University and chief expert of Longquan celadon industry, said.

  Zhou Shaohua said that from the dragon kiln to the coal kiln, to the liquefied gas kiln and then to the electric mixing, the kiln and firing technology represented by the "celadon high-temperature kiln controlled by electric mixing computer automation" are enough to envy the ancients; The application of digital machine tool finishing technology to porcelain is not only accurate in modeling, but also low in cost and large in output, which is a typical example of "stones from other mountains can attack jade"

  As it says, Longquan celadon with a long history has not been lost in the long river of time, and the key lies in technology and innovation — — In 2020, Longquan celadon work "Clover Burned Porcelain Fragrance Insertion" traveled around space on the Long March 5 B carrier rocket; In July this year, Longquan celadon screen fan appeared in Hangzhou National Edition Pavilion, and more than 200 layers of celadon screen fans showed the Song Yun Fenghua &hellip that has been flowing for thousands of years; …

  "We have successfully established an innovative service platform for Longquan celadon sword industry in Zhejiang Province, and introduced advanced equipment such as intelligent kiln, four-axis linkage carving machine and glazing machine to solve the problems of mechanization, intelligence and batch production." Hu Xianru, director of Lishui Economic and Information Technology Bureau, said.

  Development is always accompanied by challenges. In the process of iterative upgrading of Longquan celadon technology, there are also problems that need to be solved urgently.

  "In terms of scientific and technological innovation, Longquan celadon scientific research investment ‘ Be short of money ’ The utilization rate of porcelain glaze is low, and the standardized production capacity needs to be improved. It is necessary to increase investment in related fields and continuously promote technological innovation. " Zhou Xiaofeng said.

  In Zhou Xiaofeng’s view, the technological innovation and artistic innovation of Longquan celadon should be inherited, transformed, integrated and innovated with cultural confidence without giving up the celadon cultural genes. "Under the condition of modern technology and diversified aesthetic development, it is inevitable to moderately carry out technological innovation and artistic innovation on traditional techniques, but it is necessary to maintain ‘ Degree ’ And ‘ Special ’ Under the premise of realizing the modern performance of traditional celadon techniques and the intangible bearing of modern cultural and creative products. "

  At present, the digital reform has also brought profound changes to Longquan celadon.

  As one of the highlights of this celadon conference, "Song porcelain dreams of China" — — The immersive interactive art exhibition of celadon attracted many participants to stop and watch. Two large digital screens in the exhibition area reproduced the past lives of Longquan celadon from four sections: Life, Rite and Music, China and World.

  "At present, we are focusing on building ‘ Longquan celadon non-legacy industry online ’ Digital application, build an online platform for celadon exhibition, build a celadon non-legacy resource library, classify, stereo record, graphic, audio and video, VR exhibition and other all-media materials into a unified database, and provide a good display and development platform for celadon craftsmen and their works. " The relevant person in charge of Longquan City said. (End)