What are the main contents of ancient porcelain appraisal? Isn’t it just about judging authenticity? In fact, this is only one aspect, and the overall content includes the following aspects.

(1) Determining the authenticity

(2) Determining the age

(3) Determining the good and bad

(4) Determining the kiln口

The identification method of ancient porcelain

includes the following three aspects:

1. The classification method refers to the classification of similar vessels of the same era (including the same vessel shape) , the same decorative theme) into a development sequence, find out their absolute similarities, and then find out their differences to explore their development laws and characteristics of each period.

2. The comparative method mainly uses the artifacts excavated by archeology and have stratigraphic age as standard artifacts, and compares the artifacts that need to be identified and authenticated with them to draw identification conclusions.

3. The identification method is to use the characteristics of the same era or different types of artifacts from the same era to compare and compare the artifacts to be identified, so as to draw a more reasonable conclusion of comprehensive identification.

However, these methods are too abstract for beginners. In fact, when the products of a certain era have not yet obtained a "standard device", the method of "looking at both ends and confirming the middle" can also be used. For example, when identifying Hongwu blue and white porcelain, first look at the Yuan "zhengzheng type" blue and white porcelain, and then look at the Ming Yongle blue and white porcelain. Blue and white porcelain. It is the Hongwu blue and white porcelain of the Ming Dynasty. Because products of any period will inevitably contain many factors that "connect the past with the future". When appraising, you will come to the correct conclusion if you look before and after, and think about things left and right.

When a product that needs to be identified is placed in front of us, how do we analyze its firing age and kiln mouth? In other words, what aspects of the artifact itself can reflect its true firing age and kiln entrance? We collectively refer to the factors that can reflect the age of the artifacts and the kiln entrance as dating factors. It mainly has the following aspects:

1. Shape of the utensil

Mainly look at the physical characteristics of the mouth, neck, shoulders, abdomen, wall, bottom and feet, flow, holding, and ties of the utensil. and the thickness and weight of the carcass. In addition, the characteristics of some unique and famous utensil shapes of each era should be kept in mind, because they are often the objects of imitation by later generations. For example, the hand-pressed cup from Yongle in the Ming Dynasty, the chicken vase from Chenghua, the Phoenix Tail Zun from Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, the Hundred Deer Zun from Qianlong, and the heart-turning vase. Only by memorizing the shape and characteristics of the genuine article can you spot the fake at a glance.

2. Decoration

Including decoration methods (painting, color glaze, engraving, scratching, engraving, engraving, teaming, pinching, printing, pasting, etc.), theme, composition, pattern image , painting, etc. Since decoration changes with changes in shape, craftsmanship, materials, and people's aesthetic requirements, the upgrading of decoration and the various changes it produces are more frequent and active than the changes in other appraisal factors. This factor should be analyzed during appraisal It's more important. Take Jingdezhen's overglaze multicolored porcelain as an example. It appeared in the middle and late Yuan Dynasty. At that time, there were only three colors: red, yellow and green. The painting method was the same as that of Yuan blue and white, using outline, rubbing and stipple painting. The brushwork was rough and bold, vivid and natural. . In addition to inheriting the painting style of the Yuan Dynasty in the early Ming Dynasty, double-sided alum red color appeared during the Hongwu period. During the Yongle and Xuande periods, there were blue and white flowers fighting against alum and red colors. The patterns were majestic and the colors were solemn and gorgeous. There are also various methods of applying color to Chenghua doucai, such as a bit of color, covering color, dyeing color, adding color, filling color, etc. However, they are all flat-painted, "the flowers have no shaded side, and the leaves have no reverse sides", giving it a light and graceful appearance. The colorful styles of Jiajing and Wanli mainly used glaze materials to paint patterns. Blue and white are used to paint part of the pattern, but the proportion is very small. At this time, a new green color was created, and a glue strip was used to hook the line with black material, but the middle part of the black line was slightly brown. The pattern layout is more lush than Chenghua Doucai, and the brushwork is rough and simple. The colorful colors of the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty were deeply influenced by the layout illustrations of the Ming Dynasty and the early Qing Dynasty. The compositions are balanced and plump, the images are summarized and exaggerated, the lines are soft but strong, the colors are bright and clear, bright red and green, and antique.

The black in Kangxi's five colors was dark and bright, no longer slightly brown, and oil was used to mix black materials and alum red, and principal was also mostly used in five colors. Kangxi's colorful paintings deeply influenced later generations. Qingjia and Daohou imitated many of them, but none of them were as vivid, natural, simple and beautiful as Kangxi's colorful paintings.

3. Fetal glaze

When identifying the quality of the fetus, you can start from the unglazed area of ??the feet and pay attention to the purity of the fetus clay and the meticulousness of the sintering. Due to the different pottery making methods of the times, before the Ming Dynasty, compared with the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, the fetal soil contained relatively more metal impurities. For example, on the famous Yongxuan fine sand base ware, dark brown stars or flint red formed by the natural oxidation of the metal can be seen in the exposed parts; later imitations of the Qing Dynasty and Republic of China carcasses, but because the pottery is too fine, there are no such oxidation spots. Become a fatal flaw in fakes. In addition, the Ming Dynasty carcass mostly appears fleshy red when exposed to light; the Chenghua carcass of the Ming Dynasty shows tooth white and pinkish white when exposed to light. The imitations from the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China are bluish white. The Qing Kangxi porcelain body is pure, delicate and hard, which cannot be matched by the imitations of the late Qing Dynasty. As for identifying the glaze, we should mainly pay attention to the thickness of the enamel, the new and old luster, the thickness of the glaze layer, and the size and density of the bubbles. For example, the glazes of Ming Dynasty porcelain all show varying degrees of blue and white, and the glazes on the feet and bodies are mostly inconsistent; in the early Ming Dynasty, the glazes often had colorless natural flakes and glaze shrinkage; the orange peel glaze of Xuande in the Ming Dynasty, and There are subtle differences between the small ripples of Yongzheng porcelain in the Qing Dynasty and those imitated in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. The glaze of Kangxi porcelain in the Qing Dynasty has a tight feeling, with hard bright celadon glaze, pulpy white glaze, and bubble breaking. . . . All of these, each with typical characteristics of the times, are the most convincing for spotting counterfeits. In addition, from the perspective of the new and old luster of the glaze, many imitators have resorted to tricks to make the glaze of the imitation old: buried in soil, polished, smoothed with medicine, boiled in tea, soaked in pulp, and even slightly damaged to show the appearance of earth. Of course, these unnatural old lusters are definitely not the "crisp" phenomenon that occurs naturally over time like ancient porcelain.

4. Production technology and decoration methods

With the advancement of science and technology, porcelain making technology and decoration and firing methods are also constantly improved and improved. For example, in the Fifth Dynasty of Jingdezhen, "support" was often used. The boxless firing method of "nail stack burning" left traces of about 7-18 nails on the ring feet and the inner bottom of the vessel. In the early Northern Song Dynasty, three or four support nails were padded on the bottom of the artifact, then put into a box (one box containing one vessel) and fired in the kiln. Three or four support nails were left on the bottom of the product. Then the supporting pins were no longer needed, and a washer-type cushion cake smaller than the inner diameter of the ring foot and approximately higher than the ring foot was installed on the inner bottom of the ring foot of the utensil, and then put into the sagger, leaving a washer on the inner bottom of the product's ring foot. Or traces of padding. In the late Northern Song Dynasty, Mangkou porcelain was produced due to the emergence of over-firing. Another example is that from the Yuan Dynasty to Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, the bottoms of large bottles and jars were connected separately. This method was no longer used after Hongwu. The stems of the Yuan and Ming Hongwu cups were made of clay and the upper cup. After the Hongwu period, glaze joints were used for the joints; in the Ming Dynasty, the joints produced during the molding of bottles and jars were numerous and obvious. These small features caused by craftsmanship and decoration cannot be ignored during identification.

5. Identification

Jingdezhen porcelain has officially had imperial year designations since the Yongle official kiln porcelain in the Ming Dynasty. Xuande is very common. Since then, the form and content of styles have become more and more abundant. , common ones include the emperor's year number, sustenance money, fake money, Ganzhi year money, Zhai, Tang, Xuan, residence name money, personal name money, auspicious words money, monogram money, window lattice money, etc., because the imperial kilns of the Ming and Qing Dynasties had Specialized inscription potters have strict standards for fonts, brushstrokes, arrangement forms, inscription positions and color materials, etc., making it difficult for later imitators to successfully imitate. The characteristics of the Ming and Qing Dynasty titles will be explained in another chapter later. The inscriptions on the products of private kilns in the Ming and Qing dynasties were all written according to their own purposes and in a random manner, which was secondary to the style of the imperial kiln porcelain during appraisal. At the same time, we should pay attention to the rule that "official kilns must be young, but young and wide ones are not necessarily official kilns" (except for very few official kiln wares, such as early Kangxi official kiln wares).

6. Overall style

Porcelain is the same as other works of art. Local style and personal style are also integrated into the style of the times, and therefore they are also components of the style of the times. Therefore, it is also very beneficial for identification to have a good grasp of the overall artistic style of my country's porcelain in various eras.

For example, my country's Song Dynasty porcelain has tall and delicate shapes, exquisite and elegant patterns, and has a light, pretty, calm, and elegant style. The Yingqing products of Jingdezhen's Song Dynasty are also integrated into the style of this era. my country's Yuan Dynasty porcelain has a thick body, The shape is majestic and dignified, and the decoration is bold and powerful. The Yuan blue and white flowers in Jingdezhen fully reflect the atmosphere of this era. Grasping the overall style of an era is of great benefit to us in appraising ancient porcelain. With the continuous development of science and technology, various advanced instruments have come out one after another, which has led to more and more ways to identify porcelain. It is generally believed that there are mainly three advanced methods.

First, the accelerator C14 determination method is mainly suitable for determining the age of certain types of pottery in prehistoric sites. This method is considered to be more accurate and is used by many archaeologists.

Second, the "thermoluminescence" technology is used to determine the age of porcelain. The basic principle of this method is to obtain the firing age of porcelain by measuring the amount of thermoluminescence of mineral crystals in the porcelain matrix. Because mineral crystals such as quartz and feldspar are present in porcelain, these crystals play a role in dating for thermoluminescence dating technology. During the high-temperature firing process of porcelain, its original age data is burned away, but when it is fired from the kiln, its dating begins again. Therefore, scientists have used this principle to identify porcelain. It should be said that this is a scientific method. However, this method has two fatal weaknesses: one is that sampling is required during identification, that is, damage sampling of the cultural relics to be identified, that is, destructive testing; second, it can be artificially forged, that is, using radioactive flux to irradiate imitations and fakes. Increasing the thermoluminescence age of its porcelain and causing errors. Therefore, the "thermoluminescence" detection method is currently mainly used in the identification of pottery.

Third, a "non-destructive" testing method is adopted to address the shortcomings of the above-mentioned destructive testing. That is to use high-tech direct measurement. A method of clustering and ranking the raw materials of porcelain bodies and glazes and their chemical compositions. Due to different eras, the kilns and the raw materials and chemical compositions of various types of ceramics are different, while the contents of porcelains of the same era, the same kiln mouth, and the same type are roughly the same. Non-destructive identification uses "cluster comparison" to digitally analyze and compare various contents in the body and glaze of ceramics, so as to achieve the purpose of distinguishing authenticity from counterfeit. Establish a database of cultural relics. The richer the database, the greater the accuracy of comparison research, and the more scientific the results of comparison between true and false. Even so, fluorescence energy spectrum analysis is now applied to the detection of ceramics and plays an important role in assisting the identification of ceramics.

This non-destructive testing method is feasible and scientific under the current situation, because there is almost no damage to cultural relics, and even for large artifacts, the sampling is extremely fine. Just as a doctor first diagnoses tuberculosis manually, then it will be more reliable with the help of modern scientific instruments. The same goes for the identification of cultural relics. In addition to using manual and traditional identification methods, scientific instruments must also be used to assist identification. It can be said that this is an inevitable trend for the correct identification of cultural relics in the future.

In short, when appraising ancient Chinese porcelain, we must focus on several aspects such as body quality, shape, glaze, decoration, firing process, style identification, etc., and we can definitely identify the quality and authenticity. Authentic products of any era are products of a specific era. Although there are many counterfeit products, they are after all imitation products of another era. As long as we consider various factors together, the so-called "authentic" fakes cannot escape identification. the eyes of the person.

4) Wuzhou kiln is located in what is now the Jinhua area in central Zhejiang. Wuzhou kiln celadon from the Three Kingdoms period is generally bluish-grey in color, has a rough cross-section, the clay is not finely processed, is not completely sintered, and has a poor degree of vitrification. The thickness of the glaze layer is uneven, often condensing into sesame dots, usually light cyan, and sometimes blue-grey or medium-green to yellow, with dense cracks. Where the glaze is not tightly bonded and the glaze surface is cracked, milky-yellow crystals often precipitate. , this is a phenomenon unique to Ouzhou kiln celadon. Since the soil in this area is siltstone, the china clay minerals are scattered and the mineral layers are very small and thin, making it difficult to mine.

Therefore, in the late Jin Dynasty, Ouzhou kiln craftsmen creatively used red clay, which was widely available in the local area, was easy to mine and crush, and had good plasticity, to make blanks. However, due to the high content of iron oxide and titanium oxide in the clay, the tire turned dark purple after firing, which affected the color of the celadon glaze. Therefore, a layer of fine white cosmetic clay was applied to the surface of the tire to cover up the color. . Because there is makeup clay on the outside of the body, the glaze layer is moist and soft, and the glaze color is a little brown in blue-gray or blue-yellow. However, the cracking and crystallization of the glaze are more serious than those of porcelain with porcelain clay as the body. During the Southern Dynasties, the glaze layer of Ouzhou kiln porcelain was generally yellow, and the glaze bond was poor and easy to peel off.

5) Deqing Kiln is located at the western end of the Hangjiahu Plain, adjacent to Yuhang County to the south and Wuxing County to the north. During the period when the Tianmu Mountains lie across it, the Dongming River flows through the county from south to north and then merges into Taihu Lake. With convenient transportation, Deqing Kiln is a porcelain kiln that fires both black porcelain and celadon, mainly producing black porcelain. The body of black porcelain is mostly brick red, purple or light brown. The chemical composition of the porcelain body is very consistent with that of the Eastern Jin Dynasty porcelain body of the Ouzhou kiln. The content of iron oxide in the vessel is three percent and titanium oxide is about one percent. It is possible that red clay was used as the blank or an appropriate amount of porcelain clay was introduced into the porcelain clay. of purple gold soil. The body of celadon is generally dark or light gray, and a few of the porcelain clay bodies with higher iron content are purple. Because the tire color is darker, which is very detrimental to the color of the celadon glaze, it is common to apply a layer of milky white cosmetic soil on the outside of the tire to improve the color of the celadon glaze, make the tread smooth, and improve the appearance of the finished product. The glaze color of Deqing kiln celadon is relatively deep, usually green, pea green or green yellow. The glaze layer is uniform and has good luster. Black porcelain glaze layer, the most outstanding product among them, has a moist glaze, as black as lacquer, and a shiny glaze that is comparable to lacquerware. The main colorant of this jet-black and shiny glaze is iron oxide, with a content of up to about 8%. The history of Deqing kiln firing is not long, starting from the Eastern Jin Dynasty and ending in the early Southern Dynasties, lasting more than a hundred years. However, because the black-glazed porcelain is deeply loved by people, the products are sold to many places in Zhejiang and Jiangsu, and even as far away as Reaches Sichuan and other places.

6) Others: Sichuan, Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi and other places located in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River. Judging from the data that have been discovered, porcelain was fired later than the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. It was probably not until the Jin Dynasty that kilns were set up to make porcelain.

The Jingchu area had already produced high-quality original porcelain and a small amount of celadon during the Wu Dynasty of the Three Kingdoms. The body is purple-red or light gray, and is covered with yellow-brown glaze or green glaze. The thickness of the glaze layer is uneven and easy to fall off. In the Western Jin Dynasty, porcelain clay was used to make the body. The texture of the body was fine and green-gray or off-white. The surface of the body was covered with yellow-green glaze. Some of the glaze colors were almost yellow, some were almost green, some were yellow with bluish tint, and a small amount were brown. There are ice cracks on the glaze surface, the glaze is not well bonded, and deglazing is common, and some may even be completely stripped off. After entering the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the porcelain body was gray-white, and a few were gray or purple, with cyan, turquoise, and turquoise glaze on the outside. Due to the inconsistent firing temperature of the tire glaze, the expansion coefficient does not match. The glaze layer generally has ice cracks and falls off easily, and the quality of the porcelain is not high.

Celadon porcelain is commonly found in tombs of the Northern and Southern Dynasties in Zhaohua, Guangyuan, Mianyang, Zhangming, Chengdu and other places in Sichuan Province. These porcelains have a gray-white body color and a bluish-yellow glaze. There are many slices, easy to peel off, and there are wax tear marks. In the Southern Dynasties, Qionglai kiln porcelain had a thin body and was light gray in color. The glaze color was generally green with yellow or yellow. The glaze surface had many ice cracks and was easy to fall off.

In the Jiangxi porcelain of the Western Jin Dynasty, the clay was washed and the texture was fine and green-gray or off-white. The inside and outside of the object are covered with green, beige or yellow-green glaze. The outer wall is not glazed to the bottom, and there seems to be no intermediate layer between the glazes. Therefore, the glaze is easy to peel off and develop ice cracks. In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the porcelain body was fine and gray, and the glaze was mostly green-yellow and a few were bean-colored. In the Southern Dynasties, the porcelain body was mostly gray-white and delicate, but the firing temperature was not high and it was not completely vitrified. The glaze peels off easily. The Western Jin Dynasty green glaze was decorated with a printed pattern on the abdomen and auxiliary heads on both sides, which has obvious characteristics of the Han Dynasty. A large number of this kind of celadon glazes have been unearthed. The celadon three-legged statue is also decorated with printed patterns, with three bear legs at the bottom, running animal patterns on two sides, and auxiliary heads on the other two sides. The shape and decoration also have the characteristics of the Han Dynasty.

In the barns of the Liang Jin Dynasty, the upper center is the main jar, surrounded by four small jars. It inherits the shape of the five-piece jars and five-tube jars of the Eastern Han Dynasty with slight changes. The upper part has reliefs, Buddha statues, birds, and animals, and the lower part is a jar. The barn is a true reflection of the condition of the tomb owner's manor during his lifetime. This is also the reason why they hope to live a wealthy life with a barn full of food after death as they did during their lifetime. Granaries have been unearthed in slightly larger tombs in the Wu and Western Jin Dynasties in the Jiangnan area. There is an inscription calling it "Lin", which is where rice is stored. Those who store grain in the north are called warehouses. From the above objects, we can see the shape, type and decorative characteristics of Western Jin porcelain. Many of the shapes are taken from Han Dynasty bronzes and pottery. The shapes of pots and jars are relatively thick and short, and their decorations are also borrowed from bronze ones. Most pots, jars, washbasins, bowls and other utensils are decorated with a belt-like print on the shoulders and abdomen, and are decorated with title rings, animal patterns, etc.

The types of porcelain in the Eastern Jin Dynasty are similar to those in the Western Jin Dynasty, but the significant change in shape is that the shape of the porcelain has become thinner and taller, and the shoulders are mostly bridge-shaped, which is commonly called the bridge-shaped system. The decoration is mainly made of light elements, and a small number of utensils are dotted with brown spots on the edges, shoulders, abdomen, animal eyes and other parts, forming the decorative characteristics of the utensils of this period. From the most representative chicken head pot (jar) The evolution of porcelain can reveal the characteristics of porcelain shapes and patterns in each period. Western Jin Dynasty chicken head jar, with double lines on the shoulder and chicken heads and tails between the two lines. In the early Western Jin Dynasty, the maximum abdominal diameter of the jar was in the middle. Later, the center of gravity moved upward, and the maximum diameter was at the shoulder. The abdominal diameter is roughly similar to the height of the tank, so it gives people a short and fat feeling. Printed decoration on shoulders. The mouth of the chicken-head pot in the Eastern Jin Dynasty has a longer head and a bridge shape. Some pot mouths are decorated with brown spots. The chicken head has a neck of about one inch, and the chicken tail evolves into the handle of the pot. The height of the pot is obviously greater than the abdominal diameter, so it gives people a slender feeling. In addition to green glaze, there are also black glaze chicken head pots. Black glaze had already appeared in the Han Dynasty, and was still being fired in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. At present, only two kilns in Yuhang and Deqing, Zhejiang, are found to be firing black glaze. Both kilns also fired celadon glaze. By the Southern Dynasties, the body of the chicken head pot was longer, the handle developed upward, and the double-line lotus petal pattern appeared on the decoration. The appearance of the lotus petal pattern is related to the introduction of Buddhism in the Eastern Han Dynasty. During this period, other utensils such as plates, bowls, jars, etc. were also decorated with lotus petal patterns, forming the decorative characteristics of this period. In addition to chicken-head pots, there were also sheep-head pots in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Their number is less than that of chicken-head pots, but the number unearthed is gradually increasing. Incense from the Eastern Jin Dynasty, many of this type of vessel have been unearthed from tombs of the two Jin Dynasties. The shape of the Western Jin Dynasty inherits the characteristics of the Han Dynasty. There are holes on the sphere and there are three legs between the sphere and the supporting plate. In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, pillars were used to connect the sphere and the bearing plate.

The Southern Dynasties double-tied pot with overturned lotus has a short flow and an upturned handle. Not many of this kind of pot have been unearthed. The whole body is decorated with downward-facing lotus flowers. The flying apsaras in cave art also appear on the lotus statue. There are also group flowers, animal face patterns, leaf patterns, etc. The decoration is extremely rich. Lotus statues have also been unearthed in the south, but they are not as majestic as those in the north. The body of the lotus statue in the north is thick, and the thick glaze is almost black. It is certain that during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, this kind of utensils were fired in both the north and the south, but no kiln sites have been found in the north or the south. Only specimens with characteristics similar to the lotus statue have been found in Hebei. Relief lotus petals were found at the Zibo kiln in Shandong. This is just a clue and needs further investigation. The celadon-glazed lotus jar from the Northern Dynasties has embossed lotus petals on it. The lotus petals were printed and pasted on. The six bridge-shaped ties on the shoulders are still used in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, but they are thicker than those in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. More and more such artifacts are being unearthed. The iron content in the glaze of the late Northern Dynasties was low, and the color of the Hu glaze was light cyan, which is closer to that of the Sui Dynasty. Decal jars from the Northern Dynasties have a high iron content, and the glaze is dark brown and has kiln changes. The yellow-glazed green pots unearthed from the tombs of Beiqi in Henan are generally considered to be the predecessors of Tang Sancai. Tang San is generally yellow, green, and white (blue). Its development process is: from the single-color glaze of the Han Dynasty to the yellow glaze green color of the Northern Dynasty and then to the three-color glaze of the Tang Dynasty. A brown-glazed printed flat bottle from the Northern Dynasties, seven centimeters high, with dancing figures printed on both sides. Its figure shape and beaded pattern are in the style of West Asia. This kind of flat bottle appeared in the late Northern Dynasties and was fired in the Sui and Tang Dynasties.

During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, porcelain continued to develop after the Jin Dynasty. Fortunately, northern porcelain developed, and there were some high-quality utensils. It changed the situation in which porcelain was only fired in the south and laid the foundation for the development of porcelain in the north.

Identification of porcelain during the Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties

(1) Identification of celadon

Although the situation of "green in the south and white in the north" had been formed at that time, the development of porcelain in the Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties There are still more celadon unearthed than white porcelain, and Yue kiln celadon represents the highest level of celadon in the Tang and Five Dynasties. Now they are described below according to the kiln mouth.

The texture of Yue kilns in the early and middle Tang Dynasties was gray and loose, and the glaze layer was easy to peel off. In the late Tang Dynasty, Yue Kiln's raw material processing and production were very sophisticated. The porcelain clay has been well crushed and washed, and the clay has been kneaded before forming, so the texture is fine and dense, with no stratification, few pores, and a color of gray, light gray or lavender. The shape of the vessel is regular, the treads of bowls, plates, pots, etc. are smooth, and the glaze layer is uniform; especially in the late period, the glaze processing and glazing technology has also been greatly improved, the glaze layer is uniform, and the phenomenon of fine cracks and smooth glaze is rare, showing The color is yellow or green with yellowing, moist and opaque, with dewy light, like ice and jade. Yue kiln porcelain was called "secret color porcelain" during the Five Dynasties. People in the Qing Dynasty commented that "the color is like Yue ware, but clearer than it."

Ou kilns are located in Wenzhou, Yongjia, Ruian and other places in southern Zhejiang. The biggest difference between Ou kiln and Yue kiln porcelain is that the porcelain body of Ou kiln is yellow or light yellow, and the glaze is easy to peel off; in the late period, pure cyan or green-yellow appears, moist as jade, the body glaze is tightly bonded, and there is very little glaze removal. , porcelain making technology has been significantly improved.

Wuzhou kiln ranked third among celadon kilns in the "Book of Tea" written by Lu Yu in the Tang Dynasty. That is to say, "bowl, Yuezhou, Dingzhou, Wuzhou". In fact, Wuzhou The quality of kiln porcelain is not high, and most of it is relatively rough. However, there are many porcelain workshops and the production is developing rapidly. Today, in the vast areas of Jinhua, Lanxi, Yiwu, Dongyang, Yongkang, Wuyi, Jiangshan and other counties, there are Tang and Five Dynasty Wu The state kiln site was discovered. Among them, dozens to two hundred porcelain kiln sites have been found in Dongyang, Jinhua, Wuyi and other counties. They all have dense porcelain concentration areas that stretch for several miles. This shows that the production scale of Wuzhou kilns developed rapidly in the Tang Dynasty, especially in the Five Dynasties. Many of the product types and shapes are similar to those of Ou kiln and Yue kiln. The difference is that the body color is darker, dark gray or purple, the glaze color is green and yellow with gray or purple, the glaze shows dots of milky white, and the glaze color is green. Yellow with gray or purplish color, and dots of milky white appear in the glaze. This milky white also appears in the cracks of the glaze layer. This is a common phenomenon in Wuzhou kiln porcelain since the Six Dynasties. After the middle and late Tang Dynasty, the porcelain of Wuzhou kiln gradually became rough, and its production was far less sophisticated than that of Ou kiln and Zhao kiln.

(2) Identification of white porcelain

The white porcelain kilns of the Tang Dynasty were most famous for their Xing kiln wares. In the mid-9th century, Duan Anjie's "Yuefu Miscellanies" recorded that musician Guo Daoyuan "used Yue Ou and Xing Ou twelve, applied water reduction, and hit it with chopsticks. The sound was better than square sound." This text shows that Xing kiln white The quality of porcelain is the best. The fetal bones are solid and dense. When struck, there is a sound of gold and stone. Therefore, like Yue kiln porcelain, it can be used as a musical instrument to play beautiful music. According to a 1980 survey by the Light Industry Bureau of Lincheng County, Hebei Province, the famous Xing Kiln in the Tang Dynasty should be located in Qicun, which borders Neiqiu. What is recorded in the "National History Supplement" should be in general terms, just as the Ding kiln is not in Dingzhou, but in Quyang, which is adjacent to Dingzhou. The white porcelain bodies of Qicun kilns in the Tang Dynasty were very white, far superior to those of other kilns in Quyang and Mi County. At the same time, the tire thickness is also light aqua green. The Quyang kiln in Hebei has thick bones and a relatively thick cross-section, but the sintering is better; the glaze is thicker, and the glaze color is usually white with green in it. If the quality of the fetus is delicate, the color of the fetus will be white and the glaze will be shiny and moist. If the color of the carcass is slightly yellow, in order to achieve a white effect, first apply a layer of white cosmetic clay on the carcass, and then cover it with a transparent glass glaze.

The Gongxian kiln in Henan has been producing white porcelain since the early Tang Dynasty. Production was relatively prosperous from Wu Zetian to Xuanzong, and then gradually declined. The white porcelain of Gongxian kiln has a relatively thick porcelain body, and the areas where the glaze is thick are greenish-green or white with a bluish tint.

Shengmeiting, Shihuwan and Huangnitou in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi are the earliest kiln sites found to have fired white porcelain in the south. All of them have unearthed specimens of white porcelain from the Five Dynasties, with the ones unearthed from Shengmeiting The richest. The porcelain body is thicker than that of Gongxian kiln, and the porcelain glaze is thicker than that of Gongxian kiln. The glaze color is generally white with blue in it.

(3) Identification of yellow-glazed porcelain

Some black-glazed porcelain often appears in Tang tombs, and has been found in early Tang tombs. Among all types of porcelain in the Tang Dynasty, yellow-glazed porcelain is not as good as the white porcelain from Xing kiln and Ding kiln. The celadon of Yue kiln is famous, but its historical status in Tang porcelain should not be ignored.

Lu Yu commented on the tea bowls produced by six porcelain kilns in the Tang Dynasty, ranking the products of Shouzhou kiln in Anhui after Yue, Ding, Wu and Yuezhou kilns and before Hongzhou kiln, and pointed out: "Shouzhou porcelain Yellow, brown and purple. "The era of porcelain firing in Shouzhou Kiln began in the Sui Dynasty, and its prosperity lasted for more than 200 years in the Tang Dynasty. Shouzhou kiln porcelain popularly uses cosmetic clay, and the surface layer is a transparent vitreous glaze. The glaze surface is smooth and has small flakes. The glaze color is mainly yellow, including waxy yellow, eel yellow, yellow-green, etc. The makeup earth is smooth and delicate. The glaze is applied using the dipping glaze method. The thickness of the glaze layer is uneven and the glaze color is of varying shades. If the combination of vitreous glaze and cosmetic clay is not good, glaze peeling will occur.

Compared with the white porcelain bowls with regular swirls unearthed at the same time, the yellow-glazed porcelain bowls produced in Quyangbei Town, Hebei Province are obviously a kind of coarse porcelain for civilian use, with a thick body and white glaze on the inside. , with yellow glaze applied on the outside, the color is not as pure as that of Shouzhou kiln, mostly yellowish brown, and the body is thick.

The yellow porcelain fired by the Jiaxian kiln in Henan is mainly bowls, jars, pots and other utensils. The inside is white and the outside is yellow, and the mouth is not glazed; the same is true for the Hunyuan kiln. The burning of yellow glaze in the Tang Dynasty was not a matter of different raw materials, but a change in the firing atmosphere of the kiln. In the Sui Dynasty, reduction flame was used to burn celadon glaze, while in the Tang Dynasty, oxidation flame was used to burn yellow glaze. Therefore, the color of the body also changed from green glaze to celadon glaze. Gray turns to white with yellowish tones.

(4) Identification of black glazed porcelain

The appearance of black porcelain in the north is more than 300 years later than that in the Jiangnan area. Black-glazed porcelain was discovered in tombs of the Northern Qi Dynasty in the 670s, between the glaze color boundary and the black sauce. At present, kiln sites for firing black porcelain in the Tang Dynasty have been found in seven counties in Shanxi, Henan and Shandong provinces, mainly in Henan. Black porcelain has been found in five kilns. The carcass is very thick and the fetus is gray-white.

(5) Identification of flower glaze

Flower glaze porcelain is another new creation in Tang porcelain. It is made of black glaze, yellow glaze, yellow brown glaze, sky blue glaze or tea. The final glaze is decorated with sky blue or moon white spots. Some of the spots are arranged regularly, some are randomly added with a few dots, and some are like waves. They stand out because they are decorated with dark glazes that set off light spots. Flower-glazed porcelain is commonly seen in various forms of jars and pots, most of which are decorated with sky blue or moon-white spots on the abdomen, mostly with black glaze, and rarely with yellow-brown decoration with moon-white spots.

In the late 1960s, flower-glazed porcelain specimens were first discovered at the Huangdao kiln site in Jiaxian County, Henan Province. Since the 1970s, four other origins of flowered porcelain have been discovered in kiln sites such as Lushan, Neixiang, Yuxian in Henan and Jiaocheng in Shanxi. The flower-glazed porcelain found in these five places can be divided into two categories in terms of glaze color and spot characteristics: one is black or dark brown glaze, decorated with moon white or gray-white spots, and the utensils include pots, jars and waist drums; the other is It is black, moon white or Jun blue glaze, decorated with sky blue thin stripes. The utensils include pots and jars. The former has waist drum specimens found in Duandian, Lushan, Henan, Xiabaiyu, Yuxian, and Jiaocheng, Shanxi, while the latter has also been unearthed in Huangdao and Neixiang, Jiaxian, Henan. Different types of specimens unearthed from five kiln sites are of great help in identifying the origin of the handed-down flower-glazed porcelain.

(6) Identification of twisted porcelain The so-called twisted porcelain is made of two tones of white and brown porcelain clay, kneaded together, and then formed into a blank. The tire is decorated with white and brown wood-like grains. texture. This texture is varied and can be glazed and fired to form twisted porcelain. Unearthed in Tang tombs in Shanxi and Henan provinces, utensils include cups, bowls, three-legged small plates, rectangular small pillows, etc. The production process of twisted body porcelain is more complicated and more difficult than that of ordinary color-glazed porcelain. A new craft in Tang Dynasty porcelain. A small amount of twisted-body pottery has also been found in the Tang Dynasty, but it is only as an exposed vessel. The craftsmanship is rough and far less detailed and regular than the twisted-body porcelain.