(Question about things) Zhang Jingjing: Why did porcelain set off the "Chinese fever" in European history?
China News Service, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi, December 5th. Title: Zhang Jingjing: Why did porcelain cause "China fever" in European history?
China News Agency reporter Li Yunhan
Porcelain, the English name "china", is one of China's earliest foreign trade products.
More than 1,000 years ago, Chinese porcelain flowed to the world via the Silk Road on the land and the Ceramic Road on the Sea.
Since then, porcelain has been loved by the European market and is called "white gold".
What is the charm of porcelain that has caused "China fever" in Europe?
How to become a bridge and link for dialogue with the world?
Zhang Jingjing, Dean of the International College of Jingdezhen Ceramics University, who has been engaged in the creation and research of modern ceramic art for more than 20 years, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency "Question about East and West" to explain ceramic culture.
In May 2018, Beijing Palace Museum held the "Ming Dynasty Orthodox, Jingtai, and Tianshun Imperial Porcelain Exhibition".
Photo by China News Agency reporter Du Yang
Excerpts from the interview are as follows:
China News Service: In the process of foreign trade of ancient Chinese porcelain, how can ceramic art realize exchanges and mutual learning between Eastern and Western civilizations? Today, can ceramic culture continue to be the bridge and link of world dialogue?
Zhang Jingjing:
Ceramics is the collective term for pottery and porcelain.
Both pottery and porcelain are symbols of human civilization.
The meaning of "porcelain" in "Shu Wen Jie Zi" is: "tile, pottery. Second, the next stage. Porcelain, the next stage of pottery".
The emergence of porcelain was developed on the basis of advances in ceramic technology.
Pottery and porcelain come in the same line.
Porcelain is the transformation and upgrading of pottery.
The two-way exchange of porcelain-making skills between China and foreign countries has a long history.
Historically, Chinese blue and white materials evolved from Su Ma Liqing in West Asia, and the firing of enamel porcelain combined with Western painting methods.
Abroad, German Mersenne porcelain constantly absorbs Chinese porcelain-making skills, looking for creative inspiration from patterns, coloring, shapes, etc.; Delft "Blue Porcelain" in the Netherlands has made localized changes on the basis of learning Jingdezhen's blue and white skills... …The porcelain-making skills of the East and the West have merged to varying degrees, creating a rich and diverse porcelain culture.
In January 2021, the "White Gold·East and West Porcelain Capitals-From Jingdezhen to Mason Porcelain Exhibition" was held in the new building of the Jiangxi Provincial Museum.
The picture shows German Mason porcelain works.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Liu Zhankun
As a cultural symbol, ceramics itself is the embodiment of national culture. Its artistic style and design style reflect the connotation of culture itself.
International ceramic exchange is an intuitive cross-cultural exchange. Even if the country is different and the language is not communicated, ceramic works can speak and ceramic culture can communicate.
Ceramics exchanges can cross the national gap and geographical boundaries, realize "the beauty of each one", and ultimately achieve the "beauty of beauty, beauty of the same."
In October 2013, Delft, the Netherlands, held the "Blue Revolution-Four Hundred Years, the Love of Two Cities" exhibition in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi. Porcelain specimens and other precious cultural relics unearthed in Jingdezhen and Jingdezhen.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Fan Wenjuan
Reporter from China News Service: Porcelain was once known as "white gold" in Europe. Porcelain was also named "china" in English. Why did porcelain cause "China fever" in Europe?
Zhang Jingjing:
As early as more than 1,000 years before Europe mastered the craftsmanship of porcelain, China had fired exquisite porcelain, and its varieties, patterns, glaze colors, etc. were well-known all over the world.
At that time, China was a mysterious country to Europeans, and the upper class mainly used gold, silver and pottery in their daily lives.
When Chinese porcelain came to Europe in large quantities for the first time, Europeans were deeply shocked by its unique artistic form, expression form, exquisite degree, and different styles different from gold and silverware; the paintings on porcelain have different styles and appearances. , Can be customized according to requirements, more in line with the needs of nobles.
As a result, porcelain became a luxury product sought after by European princes and nobles and the upper class.
Transporting high-quality porcelain from faraway China to Europe can make a huge profit of tens or hundreds of times.
Eight countries including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, and Denmark have established the East India Company, which specializes in Eastern trade.
In Europe, the degree of rarity and the family glory embodied in porcelain painting have made porcelain very precious. In addition, Europe has never been able to master the production techniques, so porcelain is expensive and is known as "white gold".
Chinese culture and aesthetics have spread to the world through porcelain, which has set off a "China fever" in Europe.
In September 2021, a piece of Chinese porcelain from the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty was displayed in the exhibition "From Afar" at the Louvre in France.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Li Yang
China News Agency reporter: What are the similarities and differences between contemporary Eastern and Western ceramic art culture? How should we seek common ground while reserving differences?
Zhang Jingjing: In
common, first of all, contemporary Eastern and Western ceramic art cultures have developed based on their respective countries, regions, aesthetics and other factors.
Secondly, they all reflect the artist's unique and free artistic emotions, which are the creator's feelings for life, humanistic care and concern for society.
Finally, both Eastern and Western ceramic art cultures are developing in inheritance and innovation, maintaining diversity in cross-border and integration.
The difference is the first aspect of history: the concept of contemporary ceramic art emerged from the United States, Japan and other places; however, China’s oriental ceramic art culture has a long history, and its development has never stopped.
Second, the aesthetic concepts and methods created by different nations and cultures are different: Western ceramic art expresses more bold and abstract, pays more attention to extension and expansion, and tends to identify with "incomplete beauty"; while oriental ceramic art is relatively more restrained and influenced The literati culture, tea culture and the long history of ceramics are influenced by ceramic techniques, and the "elegance" in artistic expression is more prominent.
However, there has never been an absolute boundary between the two, just as the cultural exchanges between the East and the West have never been interrupted, the ceramic culture has always been learning and integrating with each other in the development.
Undoubtedly, it is the mission of international ceramic art and culture exchange to retain one's own cultural perspective and traditional skills, to integrate with the aesthetic laws of modern art, and to explore the mutual coexistence on this basis.
The International Ceramic Art Association (IAC) and the American Ceramic Art Education Association (NCECA) in Geneva, Switzerland, are international organizations that encourage cultural harmony through world ceramic art exchanges, and provide members with a wide range of professional contact and exchange opportunities in ceramic art. Pottery activities promote the development of contemporary ceramic art.
In May 2017, the annual ceramic art exhibition was held in Los Angeles, USA.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Shuo
China News Agency reporter: "Artisans from all directions" was a portrayal of the peak period of Jingdezhen's porcelain industry. Now there are tens of thousands of "foreign sceneries" living, studying, and starting businesses in Jingdezhen. Why Jingdezhen attracts foreign artists to gather Here?
Zhang Jingjing: The
reason for gathering is probably because of fame and finally charm.
Jingdezhen, as the world's porcelain capital with deep accumulation, has accumulated rich ceramic cultural resources.
Here, traditional Chinese ceramic molding techniques such as round ware, cut ware, thin tires, large objects, etc., are all inherited in an orderly manner; various decorative techniques such as blue and white, pastel, new, ancient, and exquisite are kept extremely intact. , With a wide range of development space.
In addition, a complete industrial chain provides guarantee for ceramic creation.
Jingdezhen is a school without walls. Everyone may be a top master in the ceramic industry; here you can find professionals in any process from mud to porcelain, such as mud making, drawing, repairing, painting, glazing, and firing. The system is not a problem, you can create works, create brands, and create value here with creativity.
Today, "from all directions" are not only craftsmen, but also artists, thinking, vision, market, and the mind that gathers all over the world and accommodates hundreds of rivers.
Zhang Jingjing teaches Qinghua courses for international students.
China News Agency issued Zhang Jingjing's picture
China News Agency reporter: How can China build cultural self-confidence internally and tell Chinese stories externally through ceramics?
Zhang Jingjing: To
tell Chinese stories well, we must protect, inherit and carry forward; we must grasp the relationship between ancient and modern, China and foreign countries, and before and after.
Good protection, good inheritance, and promotion of good ceramic culture are important manifestations of firm cultural confidence and a major mission of Jingdezhen.
Jingdezhen has not only a wealth of ceramic material remains, but also a large number of intangible cultural heritages such as traditional hand-made porcelain techniques. The level of porcelain-making craftsmanship has "always been imitated and never surpassed."
This famous cultural city is China's special and precious wealth. The "live" protection and inheritance of outstanding ceramic historical and cultural resources is an important basis for telling Chinese stories well.
Nowadays, Jingdezhen has established a development pattern of "big ceramics", whether it is daily use, art, creativity, architecture, cultural and creative, or high-tech ceramics, it has a complete range, rich craftsmanship, and rapid development.
Jingdezhen ceramics has become an important cultural symbol for China to go to the world and the world to understand China, and an important carrier for carrying forward the spirit of the Silk Road.
The openness and tolerance of Jingdezhen has also attracted ceramic enthusiasts from home and abroad, and ceramics has once again become a carrier of international cultural exchanges.
A joint project between Jingdezhen Ceramic University and the National Academy of Fine Arts in Limoges, France.
China News Agency issued Zhang Jingjing's picture
Ceramics is undoubtedly the best business card for China to enhance its cultural self-confidence internally and tell Chinese stories externally.
Chinese porcelain is on display in major museums all over the world.
But these are history after all, and we should focus on today and tomorrow.
Today and tomorrow are the continuation of the history of our generation.
Ceramic works should stand on the "shoulders" of tradition, inherit traditional materials, crafts, and techniques, while having an international perspective and a global perspective, in line with contemporary aesthetics.
Develop the ceramic industry, cultivate ceramic talents, create good ceramic works, and tell everyone's ceramic stories and Chinese stories down-to-earth.
(over)
About the interviewee:
Zhang Jingjing, Dean of the International College of Jingdezhen Ceramic University, is currently a representative, professor, and PhD supervisor of the 13th National People's Congress. She has been engaged in modern ceramic art creation and international exchanges for more than 20 years.
He has been to the United States, France, Italy, Turkey, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Australia and other countries for academic exchanges and investigations. His works have participated in many domestic and foreign ceramic art exhibitions, and have been collected by the National Art Museum of China, the National Museum of China and other domestic and foreign institutions.