Because of the spirit of the earth, there is purple pottery.

Clay is spiritual, so Nuwa used it to create humans. Even though it was just a legend, and the legend was far away, the spirituality of the earth had not changed to this day, and it seemed to be endless.

After millions of human beings lived on the earth, in their infinite closeness to the earth, they finally gradually understood and penetrated part of the spirituality of the earth, and made pottery from it. The appearance of pottery has been 10,000 years old.

The earliest object created by human beings and can continue to this day, pottery is the oldest and the only one. Pottery, however, is such an ancient and ordinary utensil that, once it is formed, is hardly worth the effort of the maker. Therefore, it is rare to see a person who can get rid of the fate of the utensils, and it is even rarer to be able to cultivate the Tao and become a great tool on its own.

Jianshui pottery clay is taken from the Wucai Mountain in the territory, with high iron content, high hardness, high strength, rich metal texture on the surface, and the sound of gold and stone is percussed. After unglazed polishing, fine grinding and polishing, the texture is delicate and bright as a mirror.

It has the reputation of "solid as iron, bright as water, moist as jade, and sound as chime". Jianshui pottery pays attention to fine workmanship, especially pays attention to decoration, it takes calligraphy and painting engraving, color clay inlay as the main means, set calligraphy and painting, gold and stone, engraving, inlay, and other decorative arts in one.

Jianshui pottery set practicality and ornamental in one, there are pots, cups, basins, bowls, plates, cylinders, steam pots, pipes, four treasures of the study and other products.

Jianshui purple pottery clay is taken from the Wucai Mountain in the territory, with high iron content, high hardness, high strength, rich metal texture on the surface, and the sound of gold and stone is percussed. After unglazed polishing, fine grinding and polishing, the texture is delicate and bright as a mirror.

Jianshui County is located at the southern edge of the East Yunnan Plateau, with high terrain in the south and low in the north. The southern Gorro Peak is the highest point, with an altitude of 2,515 meters; The lowest point is from the south of Wulao Peak to Atu Village in the Red River Valley, with an altitude of 230 meters.

There are two basins of Jianshui and Qujiang in the north and south of the territory, with an altitude of 1,300 meters. The east-west mountain range in the territory is divided into two branches, north and south, separating the two dams of Jianshui and Qujiang. The main rivers in the territory belong to the Nanpan River system, such as the Lujiang River, Qujiang River, Tachong River and Nanzhuang River, and the Batou River, Malang River and Longcha River belong to the Red River water system.

As of 2014, the cultivated area of Jianshui area was 453,000 mu. Among them, there are 207,000 mu of paddy fields, 246,000 mu of dry land, and more than 800,000 mu of barren mountains suitable for forest. The soil in Jianshui area is divided into 8 soil types, 10 subcategories, 17 soil genera, and 49 soil species, including yellow-brown soil, yellow soil, red soil, dry laterite, brick red soil, purple soil, alluvial soil, and paddy soil, which are suitable for making ceramics.

In the Neolithic site of Yanzi Cave in Jianshui County, pottery pills and pottery net pendants dating back more than 3,500 years were found, which proves that Jianshui had a primitive pottery making process as early as the Neolithic Age. Jianshui ceramics sprouted in the late Neolithic period.

Jianshui purple pottery through the Han, Tang and Song dynasties, grew up in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, the folk have "the Song Dynasty has celadon, the Yuan Dynasty has blue and white, the Ming Dynasty has stoneware, the late Qing Dynasty has purple pottery" said.

Jianshui pottery, also known as Jianshui purple pottery, is named because it is produced in Yunnan Jianshui is red purple. According to the existing historical data and physical research, Jianshui purple pottery was produced in the Qing Dynasty, began in the Daoguang period, is developed on the basis of the prosperity of stoneware production in the Ming Dynasty, in the history of the development of Jianshui ceramics, there was "Song has celadon, Yuan has blue and white, Ming has stoneware, Qing has purple pottery" said.

In the northern suburbs of Jianshui Ancient City, there is a village burned out of the kiln - Wanyao Village. There is no way to verify when Wanyao Village began, and later generations only know that it has been engaged in ceramics for generations, and the village was born from pottery. Behind the village, the laterite slope stretches from east to west, and for miles there is a large area of well-known ruins of ancient kilns and piles of ceramic fragments.

In 1980, the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts and Jianshui Arts and Crafts Pottery Factory conducted the first visit to the Jianshui ancient kiln site and ceramic fragments, they were pleasantly surprised to find a large number of fragments of Song Dynasty celadon, Yuan Dynasty blue and white, Ming Dynasty stoneware and Qing Dynasty purple pottery.

In 1953, at the National Folk Arts and Crafts Exhibition held in Beijing, Jianshui Purple Pottery was named "China's Four Famous Pottery" by the Ministry of Light Industry together with its extraordinary ceramic products with its profound cultural connotation, and Jiangsu Yixing Pottery, Guangxi Qinzhou Xiaoxing Pottery, and Sichuan Rongchang Pottery.

The mud of Jianshui purple pottery is taken from the territory of Jianshui. The traditional mud-making method is: different pottery clay is pounded into powder respectively, after sieving away the coarse sand, according to the requirements of pottery, the different powder raw soil is proportioned, and then put into the tank to add water to make a slurry stirring and washing, and when the mortar mud sinks to the bottom of the cylinder, then use a spoon to take the above bleaching slurry and pour it into another cylinder for washing again.

After repeating this five or six times, let it naturally dry into mud in a closed state, and the mud is already greasy as cream, without the slightest sand particles. Due to the delicate nature of the mud, the plasticity in the wet state is relatively weak.

Therefore, Jianshui purple pottery generally does not take the way of grouting injection mold to make the vessel type, nor is it suitable for the production of large-scale devices, but also because of this characteristic, it has also achieved the special process of Jianshui purple pottery can do fine carving and mud filling and unglazed polishing on the surface of the utensils. This is the most essential difference between Jianshui purple pottery and other sand-containing pottery.

The clay of Jianshui purple pottery is the red clay with iron oxide as the main color element, and the mud material filled with color is white clay containing silicon, and some gray-green, light, orange-yellow natural colored clay is wonderfully coated with purple pottery.

"Residual paste" is the artistic interpretation of the clay on the clay blank. The practice of residual paste is: the calligraphy and painting on the blank are carved out in two kinds of Yin and Yang carving methods respectively, and the carved mold is filled with colored clay alternately, no more than five or six pieces, less than two or three pastes, so that the viewer's heart moves with the mind, and the imagination is connected.

At the beginning of the production of Jianshui purple pottery, it mainly produced pipes, tea sets, vases, pen holders, printing boxes, candlesticks and other objects, and the shapes were mostly simple and elegant, with unique style.

To the Qing Dynasty Guangxu began to produce a kind of stewed chicken shape unique shape "Yang Lin pot", that is, after the founding of New China has a large number of production of steam pot purple pottery pot, also known as "Yang pinch", for the fist products, especially in the 30s Jianshui artist Xiang Fengchun made the pottery pot is unique, the appearance is decorated with flowers, birds, insects, fish, grass, wood, mountains, water pictures, poetry inscriptions, exquisite, with the reputation of "pottery show".

To this day, Jianshui pottery still stubbornly follows the pottery tools invented thousands of years ago, and completes the shape of the pottery by hand-drawing on a simple pottery car. Drawing blanks is a part of the master-level status of the whole pottery-making process, because the elegance and kitsch, majesty and stinginess of the same type of utensils are all derived from the difference between the subtleties when drawing the blanks.

The calligraphy and painting of the literati were moved to the purple pottery, which was to turn the ancient Jianshui pottery into a classic. With pottery as paper, it is necessary to retain the method of pen and ink, but also to take into account the soft waxy characteristics of the pottery blank in different arcs and wet states.

The calligraphy and painting on the purple pottery do not win with the impact of colorful perspectives, but communicate with the viewer with a pure and serene elegance, which conveys a beautiful and simple tranquility.

The charm of Jianshui purple pottery also lies in the contrast between the pottery slices (lele) marks and the delicate roundness composed of its carving and mud-filling process. After the ink is dropped on the pottery, the carver immediately carves the ink on the wet clay into a mold, the notch incision is smooth and angular, and there is no rough thorn edge that naturally cracks the carved stone-like lines.

However, the beauty lies in the fact that after the mold is filled, repaired, dried, roasted, and polished in stages, the lines actually show a mottled texture change as if it has been rusted and weathered for thousands of years, so there is a natural clumsiness. Most of the carvers are women, and most of them are not familiar with calligraphy and painting, but they are very familiar with clay and knife skills.

The steam pot is an important item in purple pottery products. The well-known "Yunnan steam pot chicken" is a delicacy cooked in a purple pottery steam pot, stewed meat dishes are cooked in a steam pot, not only the meat is delicate, the taste is delicious, and the steam pot has the characteristics of acid resistance, alkali resistance, heat preservation and durability, etc., and it is also a beautiful art and craft, which makes people look pleasing to the eye.

In 1979, the Ministry of Light Industry of the Central Committee approved the Jianshui Purple Pottery Steam Pot as a high-quality product, and in the same year, the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing specially selected the Jianshui Purple Pottery Steam Pot to present to the wife of U.S. Vice President Mondale. In 1983, the purple pottery steam pot was rated as the winning product in the same industry competition.

Yunnan steam-pot chicken is built and steamed steam-pot chicken is recorded in the book "Chinese Famous Recipes". The Great Hall of the People also listed steam-pot chicken as a state banquet delicacy to entertain foreign guests, which was praised.

The traditional Jianshui pottery kiln is called the dragon kiln, which is generally built vertically in the form of a vertical mountain from low to high, with the fire door at the bottom, and the cut surface is a horseshoe shape under the upper circle. The sintering temperature of Jianshui purple pottery is generally above 1000 degrees Celsius, due to the different content of color elements in the pottery blank, the change of kiln gas at high temperature makes the pottery appear unexpected colors and patterns in the roasting process, forming an unavoidable "kiln change".

Because of the sand-free and delicate mud, it can be finely polished to obtain the "unglazed polishing" effect of Tao Ming like a mirror. The high temperature of roasting makes the pottery as hard as iron, and a good purple pottery can only be completed through seven or eight processes and using different abrasives.

Burning skin is the first grinding process, with coarse sand and stone to grind, should not be too heavy, too heavy strain the pottery surface is incorrigible. Subsequently, fine sand is used to evenly remove the drawing left by the coarse sand.

In the third process, the surface of the blank is polished with oil stones, and then the pebbles found in the local area are polished many times until they are polished and carefully ground with the light stones treasured by the grinders. Finally, the pottery is wiped all over the body with grease. After such a meticulous and elaborate process, the rough and godless pottery will show its alluring brilliance.

"Unglazed polishing" is the feature of Jianshui purple pottery that can be most distinguished from other pottery, and a good work needs to go through seven or eight processes. It can only be done with a coarse and then fine grinding tool, which is used to polish the fire skin with coarse sandstone, then to polish the brushed wire left by fine sandstone, and finally polish it with pebbles.

After the delicate and complex process, the original dull and rough pottery body is polished out of the mirror, and its delicate texture and luster changes will make you fall in love with repeated play.

Pan Jinhuai in the production of white pottery pipes, found that there is a small piece of red on the burned pipe, unique, inspired by it, then the use of local red, white, yellow, purple, blue five color clay, the test developed into red clay, made into mud, after roasting into purple pottery pipes, produced the first generation of purple pottery products, and developed into calligraphy and painting seal carving, polishing process. Later, he made vases, pen holders and other products, and was the founder of Jianshui purple pottery production.

Jianshui purple pottery was produced in the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty and was developed on the basis of the production of stoneware in the Ming Dynasty. In the history of the development of Jianshui ceramics, there was a saying that "the Song has celadon, the Yuan has blue and white, the Ming has stoneware, and the Qing has purple pottery".

Purple pottery is made of five different colors of clay in Jianshui, red, yellow, green, white and purple, which is made into purple-red clay after soaking in water and filtering, and is used to make utensils and embryos.

During the Qing Daoguang period, the number of opium smokers increased. In order to cater to the needs of opium smokers, the potters of Jianshui made a pottery pipe for smoking large tobacco based on the "Wadler", a stoneware mouthpiece used by the local Yi people on a daily basis.

This kind of pipe was first stoneware, and then it was processed and improved and then turned into fine white pottery. During the Guangxu period, the potter Pan Jinhuai soaked the clay in water and filtered it into crimson clay, and fired the embryo into a purple or red pipe, which was not glazed and polished with stone, thus creating a new process of purple pottery production unique to Jianshui.

The pipe is a deformed handicraft product produced with the imperialist economic aggression, and is known as the "Eight Buckets". "Eight buckets" refers to the eight processes of making pipes, such as taking clay and making embryos, writing and painting, engraving and carving, firing and polishing, etc., which are completed by eight potters, and are exquisitely made, expensive, far away from Hong Kong and other places.

During the Xuantong period, the "Yutangji" pottery factory opened by Zhang Guisheng of Wanyao Village was very large-scale and had many technicians, specializing in firing pipes. In the second year of Xuantong (1910 AD), the county governor Zheng Guangguang implemented a ban on smoking, and ordered Pan Jinhuai and Zhang Guisheng to remake vases, pen holders and other utensils.

However, until the period of the Republic of China, opium smoking was banned, and pipe production was still endless, and Ye Zixiang and others were famous for supervising the production of pipes.

In addition to pipes, the production of other Jianshui purple pottery products has also been enriched and developed this ancient skill. In the third year of the Republic of China (1914), Jianshui sent a handful of clay pots to the provincial capital to prepare to participate in the Panama Games.

Later, due to the cancellation of the competition, it could not be made, which made the Jianshui purple pottery, which should have been famous all over the world, silent for many years. However, during this period, famous craftsmen of pottery still emerged, such as Zhang Hao, Xiang Fengchun, Gu Run and others.

In addition to pipes, the purple pottery products they make include flower pots, vases, tea sets, wine utensils, study utensils and steam pots, etc., and the varieties and styles are much richer than before.

On the basis of the original stoneware steamer, the potter Xiang Fengchun has carefully developed and improved the purple pottery steampot produced by the potter Xiang Fengchun, who is famous for its novel shape, elegant decoration and delicious meat.

In the 22nd year of the Republic of China (1933), a steam pot was selected to be exhibited at the Centennial Progress Exposition in Chicago, USA, which received wide attention and praise, and Jianshui purple pottery finally became famous.

In the 27th year of the Republic of China (1938), the private Yongxing porcelain factory was opened outside the east gate of Jianshui County. A number of technicians were hired from Qujing, Yunnan, and more than 30,000 blue and white porcelain bowls were fired every year. The scale of Jianshui ceramics industry has expanded a lot compared to before.

In 1950, the Yongxing Porcelain Factory ran out of funds and the workers were dismissed. In 1951, the employer applied for the takeover by the people's government, invested part of the funds, hand-painted dismissed workers, and changed to a local state-owned water porcelain factory. In 1952, 160,000 pieces of daily-use porcelain were produced, with an output value of 260,000 yuan.

In 1953, the Jianshui ceramics industry completed the transition from a private workshop to a state-run operation. The big river is full of water and the small river is full, because the entire Jianshui ceramic industry continues to grow and develop, so that the Jianshui purple pottery industry has also made more prominent progress.

In 1954, in the socialist transformation of the handicraft industry, 37 pottery handicraft households in Wanyao Village organized the establishment of pottery production cooperatives. In that year, more than 80 pieces of purple pottery handicrafts such as steam pots, vases, tea sets, etc., were fired to Fengchun and sent to the Beijing National Folk Arts and Crafts Exhibition for exhibition.

In 1956, there were 236 members in 110 households, with a total output value of more than 200,000 yuan. The products are mostly stoneware products, and a fine art pottery workshop was set up to specialize in making purple pottery products. Since then, Jianshui purple pottery has a fixed production location, fixed technicians and workers, forming a production mode with a certain scale.

In the way forward, Jianshui purple pottery has also encountered various unfavorable factors, hindering normal development. At one time, the purple pottery steam pot was regarded as a "black commodity for the enjoyment of the bourgeoisie" and was forced to stop production, and it was not until many years later that it was able to correct its name and continue to be burned.

In 1972, when U.S. President Richard Nixon visited China, a dish called "steaming pot chicken" was cooked in a steaming pot with Jianshui purple pottery. When Premier Zhou visited abroad, he also brought Jianshui purple pottery steam pot as a gift to foreign friends. Because of the state banquet and because of being "hand-picked" by the national leaders, the Jianshui purple pottery steam pot was "corrected".

After that, there was a "steam pot fever" at home and abroad, and people were vying to buy it. In order to meet the needs of domestic and foreign merchants ordering purple pottery steam pots, a tunnel kiln with a length of 93 meters and an annual output of 2 million pieces of pottery was built in Jianshui Pottery Society, and the production of purple pottery steam pots was resumed, and the pottery society was also renamed Jianshui County Arts and Crafts Pottery Factory. So far, Jianshui purple pottery, as a daily daily necessities, has become a beautiful scenery in the life of people. Take a look at the latest chapters of "Dream Claw Book House in the Great Era" and read it for free for the first time.