Mr. Wen also said hello to everyone one by one, and then took Chen Yi into the porcelain kiln. This porcelain kiln is not just for firing porcelain, but a workshop that integrates production and firing. The type of porcelain kiln is also a wood-fired kiln.
During this period of time, Mr. Wen could be said to have told him a lot about ancient porcelain kilns, which gave him a great understanding of ancient porcelain kilns.
Now the largest and best-preserved wood-fired kiln in Jingdezhen is in that ceramic industrial park. This wood-fired kiln is egg-shaped. Because of its unique shape, it is unique to Jingdezhen, so it is called Jingdezhen Kiln, or simply Town kiln.
Since the Qianlong period, the Zhen Kiln has been in use for more than 200 years. It was not shut down until 1995. In 2009, some antiquities staff restored the Zhen Kiln and restored it in October of that year. It was successfully ignited and refired, and won the Guinness World Record for the largest wood-fired porcelain kiln in the world.
Wood-fired kilns can be said to be very rare in Jingdezhen now. This is because firing porcelain in wood-fired kilns is very difficult and there are many uncontrollable factors. The yield of wood-fired porcelain in each kiln is very low, and each time it consumes The wood is also measured in tons, and it needs to be taken care of by a dedicated master around the clock, constantly adding firewood, and monitoring the temperature.
Therefore, wood-burning kiln is also called a money-burning game, which some small workshops and small businesses cannot afford. Its charm lies in the natural colors, and the temperature when firing pottery can often reach over 1,200 degrees Celsius. , the completely burned ashes drift away with the hot airflow, and the wood ash will interact with the iron element in the ceramic to form a natural fallen ash glaze, which is very durable for taste.
Wen Lao’s current wood-fired kiln can accommodate more than a hundred pieces of porcelain at one time. Moreover, most of the products produced by Wen Lao are fine porcelain. It was not made by his hands. It is made by some master porcelain masters. The production of these porcelain also takes time, so porcelain is not fired every day. Basically, it is only fired in two or three kilns a month.
Everything depends on the production of the porcelain. If the porcelain is made quickly, the interval between kiln firings will naturally be shorter, and the speed at which Wen Lao paints the porcelain will be shorter. Chen Yi has a deep understanding of it and his techniques are extremely skilled. He can draw exquisite pictures on porcelain as easily as drinking water.
Of course, in addition to the speed of painting, it is Master Wen’s kiln-firing technology. Among the current Jingdezhen masters, Master Wen’s wood-fired porcelain has the highest yield. The reason is his great understanding of porcelain firing.
In the previous introduction, Chen Yi heard Mr. Wen say it. He said that he had spent twenty or thirty years studying every piece of porcelain after firing. The position in the kiln was analyzed in detail to achieve the current success rate. Of course, a lot of price was paid.
In addition, through Mr. Wen’s introduction, he also learned that the Jun Kiln, one of the five famous kilns in China, was also firing.
It’s just that the location is Yuzhou in the Central Plains Province, which is also the birthplace of Jun porcelain culture. It is fired several times almost every year, and everything will be carried out in accordance with the firing tradition of the official kilns of the Song Dynasty.
At the kiln opening ceremony, all the staff were dressed in Song Dynasty costumes, which made people feel as if they had traveled back in time. After the kiln was opened, the kiln union took out the hot Jun kiln porcelain pieces one by one. During the process, the porcelain experts on the side would From time to time, if there is a good piece of porcelain, a ribbon will be tied to it to mark it.
According to Mr. Wen, he was once invited to visit the kiln opening ceremony. There were more than 130 pieces of Jun porcelain in one kiln, and only 16 of them were completely flawless. Each of these qualified pieces cost at least 100,000 yuan. above.
Except for the qualified products, the rest will be smashed according to the custom of the official kilns of the Song Dynasty. This very cruel behavior makes many people unable to accept it. Some people are holding on to their favorite porcelain and are reluctant to do so, but the staff do not Without any intention of showing any mercy, he picked up the unqualified Jun Ci next to him and threw it at Jun Hun Pond.
This is to ensure the quality of Jun Kiln. Some staff explained this. This kind of thing has also made many people feel enlightened. Even if there are some flaws, these porcelains are also beautiful works of art and have a certain value. Unfortunately, In other kilns, these porcelains can be kept, but in Jun kilns, the unqualified ones are broken into pieces.
Jun kiln firing is extremely difficult. All one can do is to prepare the blank before entering the kiln, apply glaze, and no one knows what changes will occur before it comes out of the kiln. This is the reason why the kiln has the same color and comes out of the kiln with many colors.
In this Jun kiln, it can also be packaged. Many companies or units usually spend more than 100,000 yuan to package the kiln for customized gifts. However, the production of this Jun kiln is like betting on stones. Nine out of ten kilns will fail.
Someone spent more than 100,000 yuan to pack a kiln, but one piece may not be finished, or it may be one piece that is worth millions, and then he or she will make a profit. This is the difficulty of firing traditional porcelain.
So every time a kiln is fired,For Chen Yi, it is a rare learning opportunity. During this period, not only did he study in Mr. Wen's own porcelain kiln, but also when other wood-fired kilns were about to be fired, Mr. Wen would also take him there. Study, and sometimes jump in line with two or three pieces of porcelain.
Some of these porcelain kilns are friends of Mr. Wen for many years, and there are even some responsible persons. It is simply an honor for Mr. Wen to visit their porcelain kilns. In the field of Chinese porcelain restoration, Mr. Wen is the most famous master. His status is just like that of Gu Jingzhou who was among the Seven Elders of Zisha.
Chen Yi and Wen Lao entered the porcelain kiln factory together. On both sides of the kiln entrance, there were many porcelains waiting to be put into the kiln. This porcelain kiln is a place dedicated to firing underglaze color porcelain, including some overglaze and underglaze mixed color porcelain.
If you are firing overglaze, you must first make white glazed porcelain here, then draw various patterns on the porcelain surface, and then go to the red furnace of the porcelain kiln for low-temperature baking. This kind of furnace generally only Can fire some low-temperature glazed porcelain.
Wen Lao personally entered the kiln, took Chen Yi with him, and took the porcelain they made by hand to explain to Chen Yi some of the benefits of each position in the kiln and what changes would occur.
When firing high-temperature porcelain, you need to put the porcelain into a sagger for firing. This is a kind of utensil for placing the porcelain when it is fired, and it will protect the porcelain blank. Due to its good sealing properties, it will increase the Quality of porcelain.
There is a saying among Jingdezhen kiln workers, "One full, two burning, three flameout." This can be said to summarize the three aspects of wood-fired kiln skills, that is, filling the kiln with code box, adding firewood for burning, and turning off the flame at the right time. In a day-long period, , the kiln worker needs to continuously add firewood for burning, and must use a pair of sharp eyes to observe the temperature of the kiln chamber, and master the heat based on experience.
Under the guidance of Mr. Wen, Chen Yi once again loaded the porcelain pieces into the sagger. After experiencing it for a while and becoming fully proficient, Mr. Wen continued to direct Chen Yi to put some of the porcelain pieces in the sagger into the designated place. Location.
After the entire porcelain kiln was filled, Mr. Wen took Chen Yi and all the kiln workers out of the kiln, and then blocked the kiln entrance with bricks, leaving only an observation port for delivering firewood.
In the porcelain kiln factory of Wen Lao, there is a stake master who he personally trained, who is also the kiln commander-in-chief. He is a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties named Ge Dashan.
He started working as an apprentice in Wen Lao's porcelain kiln when he was more than ten years old. It was not until he was nearly 24 or 5 that he was noticed by Wen Lao and began to learn how to burn wood kilns. In the end, he finally lived up to his expectations and became a very famous porcelain porcelain maker in Jingdezhen. When the masters and other wood-fired kilns are firing porcelain, they have to negotiate with Mr. Wen and ask Ge Daxian to go and hold the stakes.
After sealing the kiln mouth, firing started at about four o'clock in the afternoon. Mr. Wen sat next to him and asked Ge Dashan to take Chen Yi to add firewood and explain to him some key points of adding firewood. He also gave pointers from time to time. Two sentences.
With the continuous addition of firewood, an orange-red fire appeared at the entrance of the kiln, which looked very dazzling. While adding firewood at the entrance of the kiln, Ge Daxian told Chen Yi some of his experiences.
Some of these experiences were taught by Mr. Wen, and some were summed up by himself, but Mr. Wen asked him to hand them over to the young people in front of him without any reservations. He would naturally do it without hesitation, because it was Wen Lao who He is what he is today.
As time went by, the sky gradually became dark, and the flames in the kiln mouth became more eye-catching. Looking at Mr. Wen's still bright eyes, Chen Yi couldn't help but admire him secretly.
For Mr. Wen, making porcelain is probably the most important part of his life, just like when he encounters precious antiques, he can stay up for days and nights without sleeping.
He had already fired a kiln with Mr. Wen once before. At that time, he persuaded Mr. Wen to take a rest, but he was scolded by Mr. Wen. For firing porcelain, the most important thing is to concentrate on it, constantly observe the temperature, and add firewood for firing. You can't be careless or distracted, otherwise the porcelain in this kiln may be destroyed.
Normal firing of porcelain takes about 24 hours a day, but after the firing is completed, it takes another two days to allow the temperature of the kiln to drop evenly.
Chen Yi has been studying with Ge Dashan for some time before, and now, he is also looking at the kiln entrance with concentration, listening to Ge Dashan's explanation, and keeping the content and what he sees in his mind.
In the afternoon of the next day, after looking at the situation at the entrance of the kiln, Ge Dashan shouted to turn off the flames. At this point, the porcelain in this kiln was ready. Mr. Wen smiled, greeted Chen Yi, and prepared to take the Chen Yi went to rest. The porcelain in this kiln was now fired, but if you want to know the result, you still need to wait two days for the temperature to drop down.
Although these two days do not require as much concentration as today, they are still very important.
Chen Yi smiled and said to Mr. Wen:Mr. Wen, please go and rest first, and I will study with Uncle Ge. "
Wen Lao smiled, nodded, and went to rest by himself. He was very satisfied with Chen Yi's enthusiasm for learning, and because of this, he felt that it was worthwhile to help Chen Yi. (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature. The novels will be better and updated faster!