Chapter 238 Dongkeng Kiln
A Toyota Coaster with license plate A was followed by several pickup trucks.
Huang Feng leaned back in his chair and opened the red-covered certificate: Huang Zhifeng, Specially Appointed Researcher of the Archaeological Institute of Shanxi Cultural Relics Bureau.
Lin Sicheng brought back the certificate, along with a salary card. He didn't have time, so he asked He Zhigang to pay it for him.
He Zhigang made it clear: whether it was the archaeological team or the experimental group, from the day they arrived in Yuncheng until they returned to Xi'an, they received double salaries: one from Shaanxi and one from Shanxi.
In addition, there are bonuses for publishing papers in journals.
Although it can only be published under the name of "Shanxi Branch of Xida Cultural Relics Restoration Center", the money is real.
All things considered, these two months alone are worth at least half a year's income at the Shaanxi History Museum.
Huang Zhifeng looked puzzled: "How did you do that?"
He Zhigang bluntly stated: "It was replaced!"
Huang Zhifeng paused for a moment, then remained silent.
During the week-long break, rumors circulated within the team that the reason for the long work stoppage was that the departments in Shanxi wanted to personally investigate the Hejin Ancient Kiln. However, Lin Sicheng remained the main figure, and a delegation was even sent to Xi'an to negotiate with Xi'an University and the Cultural Relics Bureau.
Everything else was fine, except for one thing: Lin Sicheng insisted on using the original cast.
As a result, the plan to build a research center in Shanxi, centered around Lin Sicheng and with an investment of several million yuan, fell through. The million-yuan research grant specifically for Lin Sicheng, and a Tang Dynasty white-glazed bowl reportedly worth six or seven million yuan, etc., are naturally no longer worth discussing.
In this way, how much did Lin Sicheng lose in order to help them get an extra salary and the right to be listed as an author in papers and reports?
If I do a rough calculation, it's at least several million, if not tens of millions.
Of course, some things can't be calculated like that, but to borrow a phrase from Wang Qizhi, that bowl and that million-dollar bonus, they can't be fake, right?
Huang Zhifeng recalled that two months ago, He Zhigang came to the provincial hospital and said he wanted to transfer two teams to Shanxi to help Lin Sicheng.
While others avoided the issue like the plague, Tian Jie and Gao Zhangyi eagerly signed up.
No wonder, after the Zhang Anshi tomb robbery case, these two inexplicably appeared on the promotion list.
Looking back now, I suspect Lin Sicheng did something similar that time, and those two definitely profited handsomely from it...
Huang Zhifeng sighed: This time, it's his turn?
In a flash, the convoy left the highway and entered the country road.
Not long after we left, we could vaguely see a memorial archway with four gilded characters carved on the gate tower: Beiwuqin Village.
The newly paved cement road is lined with brand-new houses on both sides, and a three-story Kui Xing Tower stands in the center of the village.
The convoy continued forward, passing Kui Xing Tower, and stopped just before reaching the foot of the mountain.
The scenery is beautiful: the mountains are lush and green, with two canyons on the left and right, carving out a steep peak.
Two rivers flow down the valley, sandwiching the village between them.
These are Guayu and Shenyu, two of the three valleys in Hejin.
"Wuqin Peak is named after the wild celery that grows abundantly at the foot of the mountain. In 2005, Yuncheng planned to build well-off villages, and Beiwuqin Village was among the first batch of pilot villages."
Shui Jisheng pointed north, "That's where the white-glazed bowl and porcelain shards were discovered back then."
Lin Sicheng looked around and saw a large pine forest at the foot of the mountain.
It's not tall, only about one person high. It must have been built after the centralized well-off area was constructed, the old houses were demolished and trees were planted.
Lin Sicheng glanced at it: "Secretary-General Tan, when the old houses were demolished back then, were any pieces of porcelain found?"
"Probably not!" Tan Wu shook his head. "After the houses were leveled, a layer of topsoil was placed on the old foundation before the trees were planted. They basically didn't dig any deeper!"
So, there might still be relics remaining underground?
Lin Sicheng thought for a moment, then pointed to the mountain north of the village: "Tian Suo, Team Leader Gao, go up and take a look!"
The two nodded.
With nothing else to do, He Zhigang, Wang Qizhi, and Huang Zhifeng also went along. Even more people from the local support units went, and apart from a few older people, almost everyone went.
Several photographers were the fastest, carrying their equipment and shooting as they chased after the enemy.
About half a kilometer from the village, the mountain is not high, and white porcelain clay mineral deposits are exposed between the cliffs. Stone steps and bunkers built during the Republic of China era still remain on the mountainside and summit.
Upon reaching the summit, Lin Sicheng surveyed the surroundings and exclaimed, "Remember this!"
Fang Jin quickly took out paper and pen.
“Site 1 is located on the northern edge of Beiwuqin Village. The surface is covered by artificial pine forest, and the nature of the site is unclear.”
"It is about 600 meters from Wuqin Peak on the southern slope of the Lüliang Mountains in the north. The front slope is relatively gentle, and the mountainside is a cliff with exposed clay. It should be weathered high-alumina and high-calcium soil..."
Director Ren paused for a moment and looked at the cliff on the mountainside: it was indeed clay, and it was indeed quite white, but how could Lin Sicheng be so sure that it was high-alumina and high-calcium porcelain clay?
What if it's just limestone (high in calcium)?
Just as he was wondering, Lin Sicheng pointed to the beacon tower on the mountaintop: "It's made of stone blocks and lime bricks, and also coal ash bricks... There should have been a brick factory built around here during the Republic of China era. We should focus on investigating this..."
After a slight pause, he pointed to several factories outside the village: "Secretary-General Tan, besides the coal mine and coking plant, are there also cement plants and refractory brick factories there?"
"That's right!" Tan Wu had done his homework before coming, and answered fluently: "Two coking plants, two cement plants, and one high-alumina coking plant..."
Director Ren was taken aback: "High-alumina, coke-resistant clay, doesn't that mean we need to use high-alumina, high-calcium clay?"
In a flash, Lin Sicheng descended the mountain and went to the edge of the Guayu Valley cliff to take another look.
It's quite deep here, a true ravine, but after going down only a hundred meters or so, the terrain suddenly changes and becomes flat and level.
About 300 meters ahead is the place where Mr. Shui found the bowl and the porcelain shards.
Lin Sicheng looked at it carefully, then walked downstairs.
A large group of people followed behind.
Shui Jisheng stood by the car, leaning on his cane, and looked at him with a smile: "How is it?"
"It's alright. The site shouldn't be very large, maybe twenty or thirty acres at most!"
"What's the exact location?"
"It should be at the foot of the mountain, slightly northeast of the village, on a gentle slope!" Lin Sicheng pointed behind him, then pointed to the pine forest by the roadside, the place where Shui Jisheng found the white porcelain bowl and shards. "There should be a temple there!"
Shui Jisheng paused, then asked, "What temple?"
"A Laozi Temple from the Tang Dynasty!"
After thinking for a moment, Shui Jisheng's eyes lit up instantly.
Others, however, were less convinced: "You've only gone around once, how can you be so sure that the ancient kiln is on the gentle slope at the foot of the northeast mountain?"
They even deduced the area's range?
The key point is: they also found a temple, and it's even from the Tang Dynasty? They even named it: Laozi Temple?
There's definitely no record of it in historical documents, otherwise it would have been mentioned in the materials distributed at yesterday's meeting. As for whether it actually existed, who knows?
After all, it's been over a thousand years, and even if it existed, it would have long been lost to the annals of history.
So I can't understand how Lin Sicheng determined that there was a temple there, and that it was from the Tang Dynasty.
With a hint of doubt, Lin Sicheng walked into the pine forest, gave a thumbs-up, and compared the location of the mountain peak.
He circled around again, then pointed to the ground: "Captain Gao, let's search this area first, within a 30-meter radius of here. If we find the temple, the kiln won't be far off..."
The soil near the river is too wet; the radar might not be able to detect it. Hmm, try using a metal detector first; see if you can find any metal objects…”
"Okay, Teacher Lin..."
After replying, Gao Zhangyi assigned tasks to the team members.
Each of the four people carried a portable metal detector.
It was only a little over an acre in size. We conducted a thorough search, going back and forth twice, but found nothing.
Lin Sicheng thought for a moment: "Let's drill a bit, starting from here, and take several samples!"
Gao Zhangyi made the arrangements again.
Two vertical-mounted surveying machines were quickly assembled.
They didn't notice it the first two times, but after crawling through the third time, Gao Zhangyi exclaimed, "Teacher Lin, come and see!"
Lin Sicheng walked over, followed by a large group of people.
The hollow shovel was connected to three pipes, and the soil layers were very obvious.
The top layer is about 50 centimeters high, where you can see grass roots, tree pits, and not-fully-decomposed sheep manure.
The second layer is thicker, about one meter in diameter, and contains fragments of red bricks and tiles. It is clearly the foundation layer left after the house was demolished.
The third layer is a bit thicker, about 1.5 meters, half intermittent layer and half subsoil layer.
But further down, there were suddenly a few pieces of broken porcelain.
Lin Sicheng rummaged around for a bit, picked it out, looked at it, and then handed it forward.
Shui Jisheng put on his reading glasses and took it. After just one glance, he nodded vigorously: "This is it!"
The person behind paused for a moment: Yesterday, there were meetings all day, and the white porcelain samples provided by Chief Engineer Shui had all been handled. Even a layman who didn't know much about porcelain could tell that these few fragments were exactly the same as the white porcelain that had been seen in the meetings.
This confirms that Chief Engineer Shui's memory is correct; the porcelain shards were indeed discovered here.
But what about the temple? Didn't Lin Sicheng say it was the Laozi Temple?
While he was pondering this, Lin Sicheng rummaged through the stones again and picked out a few more.
Upon closer inspection, it appears to be fragments of ancient blue bricks.
Wipe away the wet mud, and the bottom reveals a "田" (field) character, with lotus patterns faintly visible below it.
Shui Jisheng paused for a moment, then sighed: "A 'Fu' character brick?"
“Yes, undoubtedly Laozi Temple!” Lin Sicheng nodded and stood up. “Senior Brother Fang, pen!”
Fang Jin quickly handed over a pen and notebook.
"Team Leader, from here, about 100 meters due north should be the raw material area. Focus your investigation on kaolin piles, limestone piles, washing pits, wood ash piles, grinding and filtration equipment..."
"Continue north for about 30 to 50 meters, covering an area of 100 meters from east to west. The survey will be conducted in three sections from east to west: the southeast section will be the workshop area, where we will examine the potter's wheel (for throwing), drying racks, glaze vats, molds…"
The firing area is located slightly north of the center. About 20 meters south of the gentle slope should be the fuel area. There must be a kiln on the gentle slope directly north, which should be a semi-downdraft pit kiln. Focus on investigating the firing remains and saggars... 30 meters to the west, there must be a waste pit. Look for waste porcelain and unfinished pieces..."
Lin Sicheng drew and explained as he went, and in the blink of an eye, he had drawn a sketch.
Everyone crowded forward.
The drawing is simple, but it's easy to understand at a glance:
……………………………………Raw Material Area……………………………………
↓………………………………↓………………………………↓
Workshop area (including glaze vats)……………… Fuel pile (pine firewood)……………… … Waste pit
……………………………………↓……………………………………
……………………………………Kiln……………………………………
After receiving the map, Tian Jie and Gao Zhangyi led their team to survey the site. Lin Sicheng then instructed Shang Yan and Huang Zhifeng: "The site is not large and may not be excavated, but it is, after all, a kiln site from the Tang Dynasty. Try to make the survey as detailed as possible."
"There are probably quite a few remains. Since Professor Huang is here as well, could you please arrange for the teachers to collect specimens... In addition to porcelain shards and unglazed pieces, some soil samples should also be collected..."
Lin Sicheng gave instructions one by one, and they all took it very seriously, immediately assigning personnel to handle the tasks.
On the other side, the people who came to help looked at each other.
It's just a trial survey, and the area isn't large, so it can't be of much help for now.
What puzzled them was: how could Lin Sicheng be so confident in determining the exact location of the site based solely on a single soil sample?
They even dared to pinpoint the distribution of the kilns and the exact locations of each supporting area.
The key question is: what is the relationship between this temple and the kiln site, and how did Lin Sicheng determine this?
With a hint of suspicion, Ren Xinbo looked at Shui Jisheng and asked, "Teacher, Lin Sicheng..."
He subconsciously called out "Lin Sicheng," and Ren Xinbo immediately rolled his eyes at him after being splashed with water. He quickly corrected himself: "Teacher, what's the deal with this temple that Engineer Lin mentioned?"
Shui Jisheng thought for a moment: "Since the Han Dynasty, whenever pottery or porcelain was fired, people would worship the kiln god. In addition to sacrificial animals, they would also offer sacrifices to the finest pieces, hoping that the porcelain coming out of the kiln would reach the level of the one offered..."
"Because the bowl and porcelain shards were found here, Kobayashi concluded that this must be a temple dedicated to the kiln god... People in the south worship Emperor Shun, while people in the north worship Laozi, so this must be a temple dedicated to Laozi..."
"Teacher, how were the extent of the site and the layout of each area determined?"
“There were many types of kilns in the Tang Dynasty, one of which was the downdraft pit kiln built on a slope. This place happens to be near a mountain, so Xiaolin judged that the kiln was on a gentle slope. And since the Kiln God Temple is so close to the mountain, the distance from the southernmost point to the northernmost point of the kiln is only this far. Based on this, the area couldn't be that large…”
"Although it's not a large area, it must include the selection of porcelain clay, the kiln preparation and shaping, the glaze preparation, the glazing and firing, as well as raw materials and fuel... Xiaolin probably determined the location of each area based on the layout of the kilns in the northern cave kilns during the Tang Dynasty..."
The group of people suddenly realized.
Suddenly, someone exclaimed, "That's it?"
Simple?
Shui Jisheng was so angry he laughed: If it's simple, I found it fifty years ago!
Putting everything else aside, let's just say this: he never even considered that the place where he buried that bowl was not a porcelain kiln (a storage area for finished products), not a saggar pit (for finished products that haven't come out of the kiln), not an abandoned kiln (a kiln that collapsed during firing), and certainly not an abandoned porcelain pit, but rather a kiln god temple.
It's not that we didn't think of it, nor is it that we're blind to what's right under our noses; it's just that there's too little evidence.
Just to point out: Tang Dynasty kilns were fired upside down (as opposed to Song Dynasty kilns fired upside down), so there were many types of kilns: straight-flame bun kilns, semi-down-flame and down-flame semi-buns, long sloping tunnel-type dragon kilns, small wood-fired hemp-shaped kilns, horizontal kilns, sloping pit kilns... more than ten in total. Does anyone know which one is being used here?
Only by determining which type it is can we pinpoint the location of the core kiln on the mountain, as well as the distribution of other supporting facilities. Only then can we determine which section of the kiln complex the piece where we found the bowl belongs to.
Of course, it's just difficult to determine, not that it can't be found. If someone were thirty or forty years younger, and given a few more days, they should be able to analyze it.
It's definitely not as fast as Lin Sicheng's, but that doesn't mean it's not difficult...
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Shui Jisheng sneered, "Next time you need to find a kiln site, you come and do it!"
The person who said "simple" shuddered and shrank back.
It's his own fault; he got so engrossed in listening that his mouth moved faster than his brain...
Just as he was secretly regretting it, Lin Sicheng's voice came through the walkie-talkie: "Teacher Shui, Teacher Shui, we've discovered the cave kiln!"
The water immediately and vigorously raised its head.
About 300 meters to the due north, Lin Sicheng stood on a gentle slope, with a probe standing next to him.
Everyone was stunned for a moment, their minds buzzing:
That's it, we found it?
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