China News Service, Wuhan, February 22nd: Question: Why is the blue and white plum vase with four loves in Yuan Dynasty known as the "Giant Panda among Ceramics"?
——Exclusive interview with Wang Ruihua, former director of Wuhan Museum
China News Service reporter Zhang Qin
Porcelain is one of the treasures of ancient Chinese art and literature.
Yuan blue and white is the finest blue and white porcelain in ancient China. The treasure of Wuhan Museum - Yuan blue and white plum vase with four loves is also known as the "Giant Panda among Ceramics".
Recently, Wang Ruihua, the former director of Wuhan Museum, accepted an exclusive interview with China News Service's "East-West Question" to tell the story of the Yuan blue and white plum vase with four loves, allowing the public to have a deeper understanding of the historical value of this plum vase and the traditional Chinese cultural heritage it contains. , and from the perspective of cultural relics, explore the sustainable vitality presented by the blending and mutual learning of civilizations.
The interview transcript is summarized as follows:
China News Service reporter: What is blue and white porcelain? Why can the Yuan blue and white plum vase with the Four Loves painting become the treasure of the Wuhan Museum?
Wang Ruihua:
Blue and white porcelain, also known as white ground blue flower porcelain, is an underglaze colored porcelain.
It uses cobalt ore as raw material, draws decorative patterns on the body, and then applies transparent glaze. After firing at a high temperature of 1300°C, the glaze is fresh and translucent, which is called "blue and white".
Blue and white porcelain was produced in the Tang and Song dynasties. Blue and white porcelain, represented by Jingdezhen in the Yuan Dynasty, had matured and became the mainstream of ceramic art in the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Chinese ceramic firing technology developed into the Yuan Dynasty, and the refining technology of porcelain body and glaze, shape shaping and firing technology have been mastered to a high level. Especially in the firing technology of blue and white porcelain, it is becoming more and more perfect.
Yuan blue and white opened up a new era of transition from monochrome glazed porcelain to colored porcelain, which is a milestone in the development history of Chinese porcelain.
In May 2023, in Beijing, the audience visited the "Ming Wanli Blue and White Cloud-Dragon Pattern Jar" and other blue and white porcelain in the National Library.
Photo by Hou Yu
Blue and white porcelain gives people an elegant, clear and pleasing aesthetic enjoyment. It was an important export commodity along the ancient Chinese Maritime Silk Road.
At the same time, the mysterious blue displayed by the Yuan blue and white porcelain comes from the cobalt material "Suma Liqing" imported from ancient Persia. It is expensive to bake a piece of Yuan blue and white porcelain, and the exquisite products that have been handed down are quite rare.
At present, there are no more than 400 pieces of Yuan blue and white porcelain recognized worldwide, so almost every museum in the world is proud to have a piece of Yuan blue and white porcelain in its collection.
In addition, figure patterns in Yuan blue and white are extremely rare.
On the one hand, it is to better cater to the overseas market; on the other hand, due to the influence of the porcelain making technology at that time, the halo of Sumali cyan cobalt is not suitable for the fine drawing of characters' hair and facial features, so the characters and storylines are painted Yuan blue and white porcelain is even rarer.
In 2005, the Yuan blue and white "Guiguzi Descending the Mountain" jar sold for a sky-high price of 230 million yuan (RMB, the same below) at Christie's auction in London, setting a record for the highest price ever paid for a Chinese porcelain auction at that time.
This Yuan blue and white plum vase with the Four Loves Pictures collected by the Wuhan Museum is also valuable because of its elegant and solemn shape and dense and rich decorations, especially the theme of the "Four Loves Pictures", which reflects the ancient people's use of "plum, orchid and chrysanthemum". "Lotus" refers to the charm of noble character.
Yuan Dynasty blue and white porcelain with exquisite figure decoration and connotation is extremely rare, so it has naturally become the treasure of the museum.
The Yuan blue and white Four Loves plum vase collected by Wuhan Museum.
Photo by Zhang Qin
China News Service reporter: What is a plum vase? What allusions does "Four Loves Picture" contain?
Wang Ruihua:
Regarding the characteristics of the plum vase, Xu Zhiheng, a modern ancient ceramics researcher, described it in "Yin Liu Zhai Shuo Porcelain": the mouth is thin and the neck is short, the shoulders are extremely broad, the shin is slightly narrow, the foot is slightly full, and the caliber is The small size is only proportional to the thin bones of the plum, hence the name plum bottle.
Plum vase was originally used as a wine container. It was also used for flower arrangement in the murals of the Liao Dynasty, and later evolved into a display device.
Plum vases from the Song Dynasty are generally taller and thinner, with downward-sloping shoulders and often sharp angular turns.
Plum vases from the Ming and Qing dynasties have low proportions, round and thick mouths, and no obvious line and angle turns.
The blue and white four-love plum vase from the Yuan Dynasty collected by the Wuhan Museum has a small mouth, short neck and plump shoulders. The whole body is covered with white glaze, the glaze surface is bluish, and there is no glaze inside. It is beautiful and elegant in shape, with rich blue and white colors and complicated and smooth patterns.
The plum vase alternates between ribbon-shaped curly grass patterns and brocade ribbon patterns, and is divided into three groups of decorations from top to bottom: the shoulders are painted with phoenixes intertwined with peonies, and the top is decorated with brocade ground money patterns.
The abdomen is a themed decoration with the "Four Loves" painted on it.
The lower part of the abdomen is painted with a wide circle of lotus patterns, the lotus petals are decorated with hanging leaf-shaped auspicious cloud patterns, and the bottom is painted with three string patterns.
The whole device is beautiful in shape, exquisite in decoration and carving, smooth in lines and rich in blue and white color.
Plum vase has a small mouth and short neck.
Photo courtesy of Wuhan Museum
The so-called "Four Love Pictures" are: "Wang Xizhi Loves Orchid Picture", "Zhou Dunyi Loves Lotus Picture", "Tao Yuanming Loves Chrysanthemum Picture" and "Lin Bu Loves Plum and Crane Picture".
The painting on the bottle depicts Wang Xizhi, a gentle and elegant man, with long willow branches hanging behind him, and a pot of orchid with slender green leaves in front of him, looking forward to it; Zhou Dunyi, wearing a plain white gown, stands in front of the lotus pond, with graceful lotus flowers in the pond; Tao Yuanming, holding a staff in his right hand, stands Under the sycamore tree, a child holds a vase with a bouquet of chrysanthemums in the vase; Lin Bu sits under the plum tree, with the plum blossoms blooming and the fragrance blowing on his face, and the white crane dancing beside him... The whole picture is painted with freehand brushwork in ink painting, and has a charming charm. Vivid, lifelike characterization.
The "Four Loves Pictures" focus on depicting the scenes of ancient Chinese celebrities expressing their love for mountains and rivers, embodying their indifferent and clear pursuit.
Close-up of Yuan blue and white plum vase with four loves.
Photo courtesy of Wuhan Museum
Reporter from China News Service: The only two Yuan blue and white plum vases with four loves in the world are currently in Wuhan, and are collected in Wuhan Museum and Hubei Provincial Museum respectively. What is the story of the discovery and collection of the two plum vases? What are the similarities and differences between the two plum vases?
Wang Ruihua:
One of the two plum vases is an unearthed cultural relic; the other is a treasure handed down from ancient times. Their origins also have a touch of legend.
This Yuan blue and white four-love plum vase in the Wuhan Museum actually has something to do with me.
One day in October 1987, a couple came to Wuhan Cultural Relics Store holding a plum vase.
At that time, as the director of the acquisition department, I studied cultural relic appraisal from my master Wang Xiechen.
Master Wang Xiechen carefully identified the plum vase and determined it to be genuine, and decided to purchase it for 500 yuan.
After some haggling, the couple left the store holding the plum vase.
I saw a look of regret in the master's eyes, so I hurriedly chased him out, tried my best to negotiate with the couple, and finally left the plum vase in the cultural relics store for 500 yuan.
In 2010, the Wuhan Cultural Relics Store merged with the Wuhan Museum, and this plum vase became a cultural relic in the collection of the Wuhan Museum (Wuhan Cultural Relics Exchange Center). It was later identified by experts from the National Cultural Relics Appraisal Committee as "one of the few surviving figures with human patterns as the theme". "Blue and White Treasures of the Yuan Dynasty" has become a national treasure-level cultural relic.
Wang Ruihua introduces the Yuan blue and white four loves picture plum vase.
Photo by Zhang Qin
The plum vase collected by the Hubei Provincial Museum contains a poignant love story.
In the twenty-fourth year of Hongwu (AD 1391), Zhu Dong was canonized as King Ying, and then married the fifth daughter of Wu Dinghou Guo Ying, the founding father of the Ming Dynasty, as Princess Ying. In the sixth year of Yongle (AD 1408), he went to Anlu Prefecture (today's Zhongxiang City, Hubei Province) became a vassal.
In the twelfth year of Yongle (AD 1414), King Zhu Dong of Ying passed away.
After Zhu Dong's death, the princess was so sad that she hanged herself more than a month later.
From November 2005 to January 2006, the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology, the Jingmen Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, and the Zhongxiang Municipal Museum jointly formed a working team to conduct rescue excavations at the tomb of Prince Ying Jing of the Ming Dynasty. Among the funerary objects of Princess Ying were There is a Yuan blue and white plum vase with four loves.
The two plum vases are similar in shape and texture, but have slightly different glaze colors.
The blue and white ones in the Hubei Provincial Museum are light and green, while those in the Wuhan Museum are bluer and darker.
In terms of ornamentation, the ornamental layout of the two is consistent. The theme and content of the four loves pictures are the same, but there are differences in the details of the characters.
In May 2022, citizens and tourists visited the Wuhan Museum to view the Yuan blue and white "Four Loves Pictures" plum vase collected by the Hubei Provincial Museum and the Wuhan Museum.
Photo by Li Changlin
Reporter from China News Service: From the production, discovery and research of the blue and white four-love plum vase of the Yuan Dynasty, how does it reflect the exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese and foreign civilizations?
Wang Ruihua:
The sumaliqing used to make Yuan blue and white is an imported raw material.
Therefore, the birth of Yuan blue and white bears the mark of ethnic and cultural exchange and integration.
Not only is it reflected in the color, but the decoration is also full of rich and exotic colors.
The composition of Yuan blue and white pursues the beauty of complexity. The several layers of decoration are complex but not chaotic, with clear layers, integrating the boldness of Mongolia, the freehand brushwork of the Han people, the realism of Europe, and the decorative style of Persia.
Although Yuan blue and white is more than 700 years old, it first entered the world's attention in 1929. Hobson, a scholar of ancient Chinese ceramics at the British Museum, published the article "Blue and White Porcelain Before the Ming Dynasty", which introduced the Zhizheng ten-year-old blue and white porcelain. The blue and white elephant ear vase with cloud and dragon pattern is inscribed in one year (1351 AD), and is called the Yuan blue and white "Zhizheng Year".
2012年1月，北京紫禁万象国际拍卖有限公司举行迎新春艺术品拍卖会，一件元青花龙纹大罐最终以4800万元落槌。刘震 摄
20世纪50年代，美国学者波普博士以青花云龙纹象耳瓶为依据，将伊朗、土耳其等国博物馆收藏的青花瓷器进行对比研究，把凡是与之相似的景德镇在14世纪生产的成熟青花器，称作“至正型产品”，从而使元青花研究进入高潮。
20世纪60年代至80年代，河北保定、江西高安相继出土元代窖藏青花瓷，丰富了中国国内元青花瓷的实物研究资料。由此，元青花研究受到学者重视。
我认为，可以以这只梅瓶为契机和引子，向世界各国讲好它的故事，以文化打破封固的思想，突破地域的限制，真正做好不同优秀文化的交流、互鉴与融合。(完)
受访者简介：
武汉博物馆原馆长王瑞华。受访者供图
王瑞华，武汉博物馆原党委书记、馆长，研究馆员，中国著名陶瓷研究专家。从事文物保管、征集、鉴定工作多年。出版学术专著《中国青花瓷器鉴定》《辨识清代民窑青花碗》《武汉民间文物藏品赏析》《中山舰出水文物图说》《百年名舰 风雨历程——中山舰工作实录》；主编出版《江城遗珍》《百馆之城——武汉地区博物馆、纪念馆巡礼》等。