Chapter 1712 Wabi Sabi’s Firewood Kiln
After dinner, Zhou Zhi took Matsui Zao and Jin Chunyi to Jiukou Township to see the firewood kiln.
The kilns in Jiukou Township are all small kilns in the countryside, commonly known as "steamed bun kilns". When many people talk about kiln firing, they think of the Dalong kiln's half-month firing process. , in fact, if the output is not too high, the steamed bun kiln that has been mature since the Northern Song Dynasty is the most cost-effective kiln.
Save fuel, save time, medium output, especially suitable for firing fine products.
Of course, if you want stable performance, it is best to complete the transformation from coal to electricity. If you are pursuing a kiln-style transformation, the electric furnace can also adjust temperature and oxygen, but it is still more controllable than a pure wood kiln.
But the reason why people have pursuits is that they like to dance on the tip of a knife, write while wearing shackles, first create a bunch of rules for themselves, and then struggle to complete it by stepping on the tightrope. Only then can it be called art.
Lao Zhong, the man who made the steamed bun kiln in Jiukou Township, must not be aware of this. He is just limited by conditions and funds and has no choice but to use all manual methods.
“The wood kiln here uses purple earth as its body, and the body is thick and thick. It is exactly the same as the firing method of the kiln built in the Song Dynasty and the Ding kiln.” Zhou Zhi was holding an engraved blue-glazed wine cup. He introduced the two of them: "The characteristics of the purple mouth and iron feet of the Ge kiln in the Song Dynasty are the characteristics of the golden iron wire. The latter refers to the opening due to stress, while the former has a thin glaze at the mouth and exposed bottom feet. Depend on The characteristics of the purple earth tire. "
"In addition to the purple clay pottery without glaze, it was completely replaced by kaolin from the Ming Dynasty, and the craft was lost long ago."
“So do you know how happy I am to have discovered the ‘original’ porcelain with purple clay here?”
Matsui Zukuri looked at this porcelain, which has a thick soil, a white glaze with a bluish tint, and exposed soles. You can even see the glaze gathering and condensation at the bottom, and the glaze skin is slightly open at the joints of the glaze. It feels completely in line with the taste of the island people. The pursuit of the beauty of "Wabi-Sabi".
It should be said that wabi-sabi has reached the extreme.
“This kind of glaze is made from the ‘glazed fruit’ that Lao Zhong searched for in the mountains, heated and smoldered, then ground into powder, and the impurities were removed by flying with water, and the fine materials were selected and aged.” Zhou Zhi Said: "We still don't know the selection of famous porcelain at the kiln entrance in the Song Dynasty. The glaze method, but from the characteristics of the finished product, the unique glaze color characteristics of some Guan Ge Er Kiln porcelain, Hutian Kiln porcelain, and even Tang Dynasty Yue Kiln porcelain can be seen here."
Finished. Then he picked up another small bowl: " This is a wooden leaf lamp. The wooden leaf lamp was first created in the Tang Dynasty and became popular in the Song Dynasty. It is a traditional porcelain making technique of Jizhou Kiln. It is characterized by using black glaze as the base color, soaking the natural leaves in water and corroding them until only the veins are left. Dip the leaf veins in glaze water and stick them on the wall of the cup, then put them into the furnace for firing. "
"Today's imitations of Konoha lamps are too rough, usually using printing or appliqué techniques. The veins of the leaves are too dull, and the glaze color is too bright, losing the true 'ancient style' of the Konoha lamps. .”
"For a truly traditional handmade wooden leaf lamp, the black glaze base color should not be too crystal clear, and the control of the glass material should be fine enough. The traces of the wooden leaves are relatively blurry, but if they penetrate into the soil and base glaze, they will be overly natural and harmonious, and can be imitated. The charm of the Song Zhan is 70%." He held the Konoha Zhan and turned it around: "Things like this are the real masterpieces."
"The Tokyo Museum has a wood leaf lamp from the Jizhou kiln of the Song Dynasty, with tortoiseshell-like spots on the outer shell. It is known as the 'Masterpiece of the World' and has been rated as a national treasure cultural property in the island country."
"This I asked Lao Zhong to imitate this work. Except for the tortoiseshell shell, it’s almost the same. Let’s take a look.”
Matsui Zuo and Jin Chunyi wanted to get started. After admiring the two pieces of porcelain like treasures, Matsui Zuo was attracted by an incense burner in the room: "The color on this one is also beautiful." "This one is kiln-glazed." Zhou Zhi Said: "The principle of kiln glaze is not complicated. It is to use excessive elements rich in copper, iron, zinc and other elements to make glaze. During the firing process, Artificial force changes the temperature and maintenance of the kiln, allowing metal ions to repeatedly contact the oxidizing flame and reducing flame at different temperatures. This kind of porcelain 'blown' by flames with different oxygen contents will leave various colors on the glaze. Traces are like nature using a pair of magical hands to paint patterns of various colors on porcelain. ”
"Take copper ions as an example. Under different firing flames, they can appear from the coolest dark blue to the warmest vermilion. The most extreme kiln-glazed porcelain can range from the dark blue sky at dawn to the dark blue sky. The morning glow fills the sky with purple, red, orange, and golden colors, and then the sky returns to its original blue. All in one."
"This is the famous Jun kiln."
"Of course, Jun kiln and later kiln-glazed porcelain imitating Jun kiln are not all colorful. "Zhou Zhi turned over the incense burner in his hand: "This kiln is not a glaze, its main kiln is the glaze. It was still done by reducing the flame type, but I made some small additions and subtractions in the oxygen supply concentration and kiln temperature.”
“So the overall color is still light sky blue, only in the thin glaze with prominent outlines. The kiln turned into a metallic yellow-grey, which is another kind of natural beauty. ”< br>
Lao Zhong had always been very nervous, but now he finally relaxed. Xiao Zhou still tried to save face for the old craftsman in front of outsiders. The process of changing the kiln to glaze in the wood kiln was completely dependent on God's luck. Even the craftsmen themselves don’t know what the porcelain will look like after leaving the kiln.
At present, the ultimate that Lao Zhong can control is the kiln transformation of light sky blue and cold gold, or pure warm rose purple and bright red. He simply doesn't dare to bake the best mixture of cold and warm colors. When it reaches the elbow, it actually becomes " Another kind of natural beauty”.
“It’s really exquisite.” Matsui Zuo bowed deeply to the old clock: “I wonder how much Master Zhong is willing to pay to transfer it to me for collection?”
“Elbow him. What are you talking about?" Master Zhong was a little confused, saying that he didn't understand the meaning of this guest with a strange accent.
"He is asking you how much this incense burner will cost you to sell it to him!" Zhou Zhi explained.
"Oh, since I am the friend brought by Jiuzi, I have to give you face no matter what, so five..."
"Five hundred!" Zhou Zhi immediately interrupted Lao Zhong's random offer: "Lao Zhong and I have been friends for a long time. I have ordered three kilns of high-quality products from him. This kiln is more refined than the previous three kilns. Since you like it, Matsui, I’ll give you five hundred.”
After saying that, he looked embarrassed: “We can’t feel too bad, we have to let people go.” Will Mr. Zhong charge the cost price?”
Lao Zhong was dumbfounded. The soil for the porcelain here is dug by himself, the glaze is dug by himself in the mountains, and even the steamed bun kiln is made by himself. It was built with my father in the early years. The cost is the coke and coking coal consumed by each kiln. The consumption of one furnace is averaged over each piece of porcelain, which is only a few dollars.
So what he wanted to say just now was five yuan. He really just wanted to charge the cost price.
"Five hundred?" Jin Chun on the side breathed a sigh of relief: "Then I want this Konoha cup and this Yingqing wine cup too!"
Jin Chunyi had just walked into this kiln that looked like a pure handicraft workshop. Jin Chunyi didn't even dare to express his anger. After a long time, he only got 500 pieces. He suddenly felt that his waist was stiff: "These two pieces, I All of them!”