Ling Xi was stunned: "During the Tang and Five Dynasties period, the work of craftsmen under the command of Emperor Chai Shizong of the Later Zhou Dynasty?
Is there something special about things from this period?"
Ran Wennian said: "There is nothing special about the things from this period, but the porcelain from this period is the best among porcelains."
"Is the porcelain of this period the best among all porcelains? But I remember that the most famous blue and white porcelain seems to be Yuan blue and white."
Ran Wennian shook his head: "Yuan blue and white porcelain is indeed very famous, but it and the blue and white porcelain of the Later Zhou Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Chai Shizong are two completely different concepts.
Blue and white porcelain was born in the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Yuan Dynasty.
The reason why Yuan blue and white porcelain is famous is that it changed the implicit and restrained style of traditional porcelain, and used vivid visual effects, magnificent and heroic spirit and artistic originality.
It brought the art of blue and white painting to its peak and established the prosperity and longevity of blue and white porcelain in later generations.
It can be said that the production process of Yuan blue and white porcelain is the top technique that culminates the historical blue and white porcelain art.
By the Ming and Qing dynasties, although there were some minor innovations in some aspects, it was still unable to break free from the shackles of Yuan blue and white porcelain art.
The fame of blue and white porcelain during the reign of Emperor Chai Shizong of Later Zhou is attributed to an anecdote.
According to legend, at that time, Emperor Chai Shizong ordered craftsmen to make a batch of porcelain.
The official in charge asked the emperor what color would be best for firing.
Chai Shizong thought for a moment and replied, "After the rain the sky is blue and the clouds are bright. This color will be the future."
What I mean is that you should make porcelain for me in the color of the sky after a heavy rain.
This really put the craftsman in a difficult position.
It burned to the azure color of the sky after rain, which was simply deadly.
But the emperor's order had to be obeyed, so these craftsmen began to think of various methods, but no one could succeed.
Chai Shizong waited for half a year, and when he learned that these guys who were just sitting there doing nothing had not achieved any results, he became furious.
He gave these people a death order:
It will take at most seven days. If the desired sky-blue color cannot be achieved, everyone will be beheaded.
The craftsmen were also anxious.
I don’t know if it was because of the strong desire to survive, but a light drizzle fell from the sky that night.
One of the apprentices suddenly had an inspiration and jumped out of bed to start firing porcelain in the kiln overnight.
This move immediately aroused great doubts, but there was no other way, so everyone just let it go.
Who knew that when the kiln was opened seven days later, everyone was stunned.
It happened that the heavy rain had just stopped, and the sky was clear and blue.
Everyone compared the colors in the kiln with it, and could not tell which was the sky and which was the porcelain.
After this incident, the craftsmen in the palace had to wait for rainy days before firing porcelain.
Because only in this kind of weather can the purest azure color be produced.
Don't think I'm talking nonsense.
From a scientific point of view, a higher humidity is required to produce pure celadon glaze.
However, the ancients were unable to control the environment and were unable to create the temperature and humidity conditions required for misty and rainy weather.
So we can only open the kiln after the rainy days."
Bang bang bang!
There was another round of applause.
An ancient secret letter related to blue and white porcelain was told by Ran Wennian in a simple and easy-to-understand way that was vivid, interesting and full of philosophy.
He is worthy of being a top scholar of Yanda University.
Ling Xi's face was full of doubts: "Professor Ran, although the firing method of Tianqing glaze was discovered during the reign of Emperor Chai Shizong of the Later Zhou Dynasty.
But it doesn’t mean that the blue and white porcelain of this period is the most precious, right?
After all, you also said that in terms of art and craftsmanship, Yuan blue and white porcelain is the true culmination of porcelain art."
Ran Wennian shook his head: "No, although future generations can also produce beautiful sky blue glaze according to the apprentice's method.
However, due to differences in temperature and humidity on different rainy days, the color of the celadon glaze also has slight deviations.
Later craftsmen were surprised to find that no matter how hard they tried, the celadon glaze they produced was not as beautiful as the first kiln fired by the apprentice.
Even the apprentice himself couldn't produce such a color."
Everyone was stunned again. They never expected that the well-known blue and white porcelain had such an ancient secret.
Ling Wei's eyes suddenly lit up:
"I understand now. The last sentence of Mr. Lu Xun's "Theatrical Performance in the Village" is:
"Really, until now, I have never eaten beans as good as that night, nor have I seen a play as good as that night."
The "good beans" and "good show" here refer more to the state of mind.
The apprentice had a knife at his neck, and the powerful pressure stimulated his endless potential.
In this absolute state, the time he chose to open the kiln and the effort he put into the kiln firing process reached an unprecedented level.
Because of this, he was able to produce the purest sky blue color in a kiln.
And there is no one before and no one after.
After all, after knowing the firing method, even if the emperor raised his butcher knife to threaten, the craftsmen would not fire the kiln with the mentality of risking their lives.
Am I right?
Ran Wennian fell silent now: "It's probably true, but this kind of thing involves too much metaphysics, who can say for sure?
But look at this blue and white porcelain, the sky blue color on it is really unique.
I have seen thousands of blue and white porcelain ornaments, including in modern times when technology is very advanced, and I have not found even one with a color purer than this one."
Ling Xi: "Thank you Professor Ran for the wonderful story. Thank you!"
After Ran Wennian returned to his seat, Ling Xi began to direct people to follow the procedures.
But because of Ran Wennian's disturbance, some procedures became a little awkward.
For example, in the lucky audience guessing session, everyone guessed that it was the authentic product.
The guest commentary session was also a bit watery. Whether it was Ran Xingyue, Wang Cheng, or Fu Song, they just said a few words and ended the session.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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