Linfen, December 12 (Ren Lina) "Huozhou kiln is the 'last glory' of white porcelain in northern China", "Huozhou kiln site continues to be archaeological excavation, and there is great promise", "National archaeological site park can be actively built", "Let the public immerse themselves in the re-firing skills of Huozhou kiln and feel the charm of traditional Chinese porcelain culture"... From the 4nd to the 2th, the Huozhou kiln site archaeology and planning expert symposium was held in Huozhou City, Linfen, Shanxi, and experts and scholars from the national ceramic archaeology and site planning gathered to find the answer to how to make the Huozhou kiln that has been sleeping for thousands of years "live"?
The site of the expert symposium on archaeology and planning of Huozhou kiln site. Photo by Ren Lina
"Huozhou porcelain kiln, reaching the peak"
Porcelain is the crystallization of earth and fire, and it is a great invention of the Chinese. China has the reputation of "the hometown of ceramics" in the world, a history of Chinese porcelain, containing profound traditional history and culture. After the establishment of the pattern of "green in the south and white in the north" in the Tang Dynasty, the craftsmanship level of white porcelain in northern China reached a considerable height.
The land of the three Jin Dynasty has been blazing for thousands of years, the kiln of Huozhou kiln at the site of the porcelain kiln of the Jin and Yuan dynasties in Chen Village, Huozhou City, is the landmark kiln and outstanding representative of the ceramic handicraft industry in the northern region of the Jin and Yuan dynasties, and the exquisite products and broad sales channels make it the most famous white porcelain kiln in the north of the Yuan Dynasty.
Archaeological excavation site of Huozhou kiln site. Photo by Ren Lina
Huozhou kiln, also known as Chencun kiln, is famous for the record of "Gegu Yao". The kiln site is located on the edge of the platform on the west bank of the Fen River in Chen Village, Bailong Town, Huozhou City, and was announced as a national key cultural relics protection unit in 2006.
Chen Village is the fief site of Huo Guo, the younger brother of King Wu of Zhou in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and the descendants of later generations take the ancestral fief Huo as the surname, and Chen Village is the source of the Huo surname. Chen Village has a long history, there are many historical relics, there are 5 ancient temples such as the Jade Emperor Temple of the Ming Dynasty and more than 20 dwellings in the Ming and Qing dynasties, which pass through the millennium, and are full of ancient meaning.
According to historical records, the utensils produced by Chencun kiln are "delicate and soft, glazed and moist, small and exquisite, delicate and beautiful in shape, thin as cicada wings, crisp as beautiful jade", and have been deeply loved and appreciated by the court in the past dynasties, and are mostly collected in the palace.
In the Yuan Dynasty, Huozhou kiln has reached the point where the northern ceramics are second to none, and people praise "Huozhou porcelain kiln, reaching the peak". At present, the British Museum, the Shanghai Museum, the Shanxi Museum, and the Linfen Museum all have porcelain collections produced in the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties of Huozhou kilns.
Huozhou kiln, which has been sleeping for thousands of years, "lived".
In order to make the Huozhou kiln, a historical relic that has been sleeping for thousands of years, "live" and enter the public eye, so that the cultural heritage truly belongs to the public and benefits the people, in 2021, the Huozhou Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government launched the preparation of the overall protection plan for the Huozhou kiln.
Some of the cultural relics unearthed from Huozhou kiln. Photo by Ren Lina
From 2022 to 2023, under the guidance of the Shanxi Provincial Administration of Cultural Heritage, a joint archaeological team formed by the Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, Peking University, Fudan University and the Huozhou Municipal Department of Cultural Relics carried out a comprehensive and systematic archaeological investigation and exploration of the Huozhou kiln, and with the approval of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the first scientific archaeological excavation of the Huozhou kiln was carried out in history.
Liu Yan, vice president of the Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, said that this archaeological excavation was the first time to scientifically establish a yardstick fragment of the history of Huozhou's pottery industry. The remains of porcelain-making such as kilns and workshops of the Jin, Yuan and Ming dynasties were revealed, and a large number of kiln furniture and porcelain samples were unearthed. In particular, the fine white porcelain in the Jin and Yuan dynasties has various types and rich decorative patterns. It is a scientific and systematic basic data for the study of the firing history, process technology, production scale, economic form, and traditional influence and development of Huozhou kiln.
At the Huozhou kiln site archaeology and planning expert symposium, Huang Xin, vice president of the Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, believes that the Huozhou kiln represents the highest level of white porcelain technology in northern China in the Yuan Dynasty. In the whole development process of porcelain in China, Huozhou kiln is the "last swan song" and "last glory" of white porcelain in northern China.
Chai Xiaoming, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage and dean of the Institute of Cultural Relics Protection Science and Technology of Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, said that the production of porcelain in Chencun in Huozhou has a history of about 1000,<> years, which is rare in the country and is of great value. China is named after porcelain, to understand how China's porcelain industry develops, Huozhou kiln is a very important yardstick, with national and even world significance.
Huozhou ancient porcelain kiln. Photo by Ren Lina
In addition, a number of experts and scholars at the meeting said that the Huozhou kiln site and its symbiosis and growth of Chen Village, ancient villages, ancient kilns, and ancient trees are also important cultural heritage, which is also a rare specimen in the country, and it is necessary to protect and inherit the history and culture in the future, and pass on the cultural heritage to future generations.
Wang Xiaoyi, president of the Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, said that the excavation of several point-like areas on the vast kiln site has only revealed the tip of the iceberg of Huozhou kiln, and the next step is to continue to carry out work to reveal the entire porcelain production history and appearance of Huozhou kiln as completely as possible, and continuously promote the research of Huozhou kiln. It is suggested that the local government should promote the construction of the National Archaeological Site Museum, so that Huozhou kiln products can be re-fired, cultural relics can be activated and utilized, and cultural heritage can enter the lives of the people.
Wang Lu, deputy dean of the Institute of Cultural Relics Protection Science and Technology of Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, made a report on the preparation of the Huozhou kiln protection plan, saying that the Huozhou kiln site will be built into a site museum, and Chen Village will be built into a "traditional Chinese village", connecting the lost cultural relics into a line, using modern technology to "escort" the cultural heritage, and allowing people to immerse themselves in the charm of traditional Chinese culture such as kiln burning and archaeology.
Li Qingyan, secretary of the Huozhou Municipal Party Committee, said that Huozhou kiln is a typical case of heritage revitalization, and the city will actively promote the rebirth of Huozhou kiln, so that the cultural heritage that has been sleeping for thousands of years will be "lived", and "promote tourism with culture and culture", and help Huozhou kiln to become a model project for the integration of culture and tourism, and a demonstration project for rural revitalization, so that cultural heritage can truly benefit the people. (ENDS)