Chinese ceramics have a long history, such as the popular Jingdezhen painted porcelain, Longquan Celadon porcelain, Henan Jun porcelain, Yixing purple sand pottery and other well-known brands, are loved and sought after by people all over the world, buyers flock to it. Not to mention that the thousand-year-old ceramics that have been preserved or unearthed to this day have doubled in value and become rare treasures. Even if a collector throws a thousand dollars, it is still a difficult thing to find. But the calm sandware between pottery and porcelain, which is also a "vessel", has a far less influence than pottery or porcelain, and is little known. It can be said that "people who are raised in the deep palace do not know, loneliness is unbearable and no one asks; there is a beautiful posture in the air, and a piece of ice heart pays for the water!" ”
Founded in Qin
Pingding sand and pottery, like twin babies who fell to the ground, began with the Qin Dynasty, that is, interdependent, and then gradually developed. According to the "Pingding Zhou Chronicle": "Pingding sand ware began in The Tang Dynasty". In fact, this statement is debatable. This statement is based on the "Shanxi Tongzhi" record: "Pingding porcelain kiln, the kiln site in Yangquan City, Shanxi Province, Pingding County Baijing Village, founded in the Tang Dynasty. Flourished in the Song Dynasty. It has played an important role in the rise and development of Shanxi's ceramic industry. It has a unique and important role in the history of Chinese ceramics. According to the "Ceramic Dictionary", "Pingding kiln, ancient porcelain kiln." Pingding in Shanxi. It was first seen in the "Great Ming Unification Chronicle" and "Broad Public Opinion" and other documents. It was formerly known as the 'Western Kiln'. ”
This passage is actually only half right. It is not an exaggeration to say that pingding sandware has played a "unique and important role" in the history of Chinese ceramics. The rise of Jin merchants, famous at home and abroad, Pingding sand ware is one of the thriving. Especially during the Ming and Qing dynasties, it reached its peak. According to legend, the Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty had a problem, and after the Emperor's imperial doctor prescribed the prescription, he specially instructed that the medicine must be decocted with a pingding sand pot. However, at that time, the palace did not have this object. Kangxi hurriedly issued an edict ordering people to hurry up and whip the starry night and come to Pingding to buy a sand pot to fry medicine. After Kangxi took the medicine, his body recovered quickly, and Long Yan was very happy and inscribed a "dragon" on the sand pot. Since then, Pingding has had the legend of "tribute on the dried cucumbers, dragon character sand pot Yue Emperor's heart", and everyone in the world knows that the Pingding sand vessel is a decoction "artifact". People who eat five grains do not have the reason not to get sick, and the pingding sand ware is so famous that it has become a matter of course to enter thousands of households. Although this is only a legend, the fact that Pingding sandware has a long history and has a good reputation in both the superstructure and the ordinary folk is beyond doubt.
Why is it said that the real origin of Pingding sand ware began from the Qin Dynasty? Because in 1972, a number of sand ware fragments were excavated from the collapsed soil of the ancient kiln layer in Dongguan, and they were carefully restored into two sand tools: one was a triangular sand lamp, and the other was a circular sand ding for ancient sacrifices. After the experts compared with the Qin Dynasty pottery lamps and pottery dings published in the "Archaeology and Cultural Relics" published by the Shaanxi Provincial Archaeological Research Institute, the shape and regulation of the two sandware and the Qin Dynasty pottery lamps were almost the same, but the size was slightly different. At that time, combined with the verification of the firing process and other aspects, it was inferred that these two sand tools were produced by the Qin Dynasty. At this point, it can be concluded that the Pingding sand vessel was the founding of the Qin Dynasty, overturning the previous statement that "it began in the Tang Dynasty". Tracing back to the roots, the history of pacifying sandware is more than 800 years ahead of time.
Through vicissitudes
History is history after all, and the splendor of history does not mean the splendor of the present.
Pingding sandware, its development has gone through vicissitudes.
According to historical records, after the Southern and Northern Dynasties, with the emergence of a large number of porcelain, the pottery of Pingding declined, and the sand ware appeared in a longxing situation. The process was improved from unglazed coarse sand to glazed fine sand, which lasted through five generations and ten kingdoms, Tang, Song, and finally gold. Most of the silver glazed ancient sand artifacts such as longgai blue glazed sand pots, sand pots, sand lamps and other silver glazed ancient sand ware products collected by Mr. Xuemei of Pingding County are from Beizhuang Village in Pingding County. After research, these cultural relics are from the Tang and Song dynasties, as well as the Ming and Qing dynasties, and their craftsmanship is quite exquisite and exquisite, and the style is unique and novel, indicating that the production level at that time was not low.
In the Qing Dynasty, Pingding sand ware was once very popular, and once became a sought-after commodity in the Beijing-Jin-Ji-Jin area. Shi Zaiping Sand Pot is as famous as Yixing Purple Sand Pottery and Guangdong Sand Pot, and is known as "Three Ding Jia" in history, which was known to almost everyone at that time. The formation of such a climate, in addition to the entrepreneurs of Pingding dedicated to improving product quality, and the efforts of Pingding distributors to promote products, is not unrelated to the advertising style of the superstructure, such as the Legend of the Kangxi "Dragon" character, regardless of whether the emperor's old children are true or false, the excavation of the Pingding "Dragon Character Kettle" shows that it was indeed borrowed from the East Wind at that time. During that period, the name of Pingding sand ware was not a lie, which showed that under the condition that all information dissemination at that time relied on word of mouth, its propaganda results were indeed effective!
As we all know, Chinese ceramics have a long history, because of its set of practicality and aesthetics in one, long-term marketing throughout the country, at home and abroad is also popular. Compared with its two brothers, "pottery" and "porcelain", although the sandware of Pingding has also been brilliant, it is also inferior to the "instrument", what is the problem? Throughout the history of the development of flat sand ware, ups and downs, remote one place, has never become a climate. The reasons for this were mainly due to the loss of technical personnel, poor management, and the lack of attention of those in power at that time.
In the early republic of China, Ji Tingyan, the governor of Pingding, attached great importance to the pingding sandware industry and was officially initiated to build a civilian factory. Four people, including Li Baozhen, a pottery craftsman in Yixing, were hired to teach art in Pingding. After several masters arrived in Pingding, they "personally went to the four townships, made field investigations, adopted the gangue mine, and built a furnace for smelting." After three trials of improvement, the products produced are almost perfect. Pingding sand ware was recognized by the government, and Ji Tingyan was awarded the "First Class Gold Medal" for his meritorious service in running the factory.
In the late Republic of China, warlords were fighting, the people were not happy, factories were closed, artists were looking for other careers, and the sandware industry was decaying and depressed, and this technology was almost lost.
After liberation, New China was in ruins, the people struggled on the line of food and clothing, after co-operation, communalization, three years of difficulties, ten years of "Cultural Revolution", the pacifying sandware industry is almost in a stagnant stage.
This ancient skill really arose and developed after the reform and opening up of the Third Plenum. Under the care of the party and the government, township and town enterprises have mushroomed like mushrooms and are full of vitality. Many sandware artists have returned to the bank, and with the old to bring the new, the government also strongly supports, trying to raise funds to build a factory transformation, send people to the field to learn from the experience, at great expense to invite foreign masters to teach skills, for a time, the pingding sandware industry ushered in a unique spring in history! The rebirth of pingding sand ware has become the fist product of township enterprises and village-run enterprises.
With the deepening of reform and opening up, especially after the implementation of joint-stock enterprises, Pingding sandware has prospered more than at any time in history, and rich merchants in Pingding have invested in shares, and even some enterprise employees have also participated in investment and dividends. In 2014, Pingding sand ware was successfully selected as the fourth batch of national intangible cultural heritage representative projects. In the following few years, the flat sand ware developed rapidly and received more and more attention.
Pingding sand ware has the four advantages of "cooking rice does not change color, decoction does not change, stew meat does not change taste, boiling water does not scale" and acid resistance and alkali resistance and good performance of good air permeability, plus sand can be directly boiled on an open fire, not only the local people love to use, urban residents are more and more aware of its excellent material properties and unique texture. Pingding sandware has ushered in the opportunity to rejuvenate and show its own style, and has returned to the historical stage after experiencing vicissitudes.
Continuous development
As early as the 1980s, singer Guo Lanying sang melodiously in the song "Kwa Local Products": "Pingyao's beef Taigu cake, Pingding casserole is shiny and crystalline.". This song sang the north and south of the great river, so that pingding's special sand ware has long enjoyed a high reputation in the three Jin Dynasty, Beijing, Hebei, Shanghai, Tianjin and other places, as well as at home and abroad. However, due to various reasons, the Pingding sand ware is still partial to the silence of a corner of the Pingding mainland, and it is not as red as the song all over the land of Shenzhou, the reason is the reason:
First, the advanced consciousness of calming sand tools cannot catch up with the social development situation, that is, the momentum is not enough. As the saying goes, "good wine is also afraid of deep alleys", that is, this is the truth. It is the best way to let people know that there is a sparkling treasure here, and when the heavens are destined, the pie will not fall from the sky. The same is true for enterprises, no matter how good the product is, if you do not vigorously publicize it to let the world know, no matter how good the product is, it cannot occupy the market, which is the modern advertising effect! It is reasonable to learn from "take" and use it for my own use. How to use the media or other ways and methods to publicize the pingding sandware, so that it can truly "go out of the deep boudoir everyone loves, the world's face and style", it is worth our pingding people to ponder deeply.
Second, the flat sand vessel is not large-scale, and the production range is narrow, resulting in a not far extension of the tentacles. The so-called scale, that is, the modern group effect. Try to see the modern helmsman who controls the popular products, all of them have set up group companies and merged similar manufacturers, "leisurely everything, only I am the only one." Everywhere, you can see its subsidiaries and chain stores everywhere, which is the marketing strategy of modern people. It's a mystery worth pondering!
In fact, the development conditions for flat sand are unique. Because Pingding has an inexhaustible supply of sandware main raw material - clay. According to the late Ming Dynasty scientist Song Yingxing's "Tiangong Kaiwu Tao Qi" recorded: "Where white soil and chalk soil are used for the pottery family's exquisite utensils, there are only five or six places in China: The north is true Dingzhou, Pingliang Huating, Taiyuan Pingding, Kaifeng Yuzhou." Dehua, Nanzequan County, Wuyuan, Hui County, Qimen. The clay pottery elsewhere is not sticky, or sweeps the wall as a mound." Pingding clay is mostly produced in the north mountains, the sand color is white, commonly known as dry seeds, these clays provide a prerequisite for the development of enterprises.
Third, the flat sand device still needs to be improved in terms of process technology. This is the root of any enterprise that wants to survive, there is no best, only better, improve their own ability, in order to shake their arms, respond to the flow. In recent years, Pingding sand ware artists have brought the old to the new, many young people have engaged in this industry, and the blue is better than the blue, and the technology of sand ware craft has been inherited. As long as the management of enterprises is strengthened, they are better at technology, and these enterprises are sustainable.
Go global
The production of flat sand ware, mainly based on the yang mold printing blank as a forming method, after a high temperature of about 1280 degrees Celsius sintering, the industry has always been circulating "a crucible, two pressures, three sieving soil, four steps five pinch six into the furnace, seven incitement eight branches nine smoking, very high quality kiln head transmission" colloquial recipe. Pingding sand ware has products in agricultural tools, lamps, cooking utensils, etc., which can be described as involving all aspects of people's lives, and is particularly "environmentally friendly", without lead and cadmium and other heavy metal dissolutions, no pollution. Its special practical features are among the best in its class. In addition, in recent years, manufacturers have made a lot of hard work in the variety of colors, and the products are dazzling, varied, and varied, showing its unique charm. Pingding sandware now has both ordinary daily utensils and high-end luxury furnishings for viewing and gifting to relatives and friends.
In recent years, the manufacturer of flat sand ware has seized the opportunity to make bold innovations in the process. First of all, we should strive to be good in the choice of raw materials. For example, the use of clay, the main raw material of sandware, must be used 20 meters from the coal seam of alum, bauxite and 15 meters of clay, and then weathered and aged, can be used. The sieve soil must be removed from iron, and the soil must be stepped on barefoot. If the local raw materials do not meet the standards, they will give up the near and far, buy high-quality raw materials from other places, and spend a lot of money. Secondly, we strive for excellence in technology. Send people out to study and visit, invite the master to teach and preach, and everything revolves around the excellence of product quality. In the process of combining the actual situation, bold reform, the courage to innovate, and strive to modernize the production line to produce products. For example, in the important sintering process, the original coal process, through many tests, successfully converted into the use of natural gas sintering; after the original coal sintering product, and then the product is picked to the smoke pit to complete the smoking method "vertical cave kiln", improved into a more advanced and scientific "prismatic kiln", that is, after the product is calcined, it is transmitted by a semi-mechanized track, and the kiln car is pulled into a special smokehouse. This reform not only improves work efficiency, reduces the labor intensity of workers, but also reduces individual costs, saves expenses, reduces defective products, and improves product quality. In particular, the restructuring of the smoke kiln, also known as "carburizing reduction", its trick is that the action is precise and precise, and the waste product is reduced and the finished product is increased, which does play a key role in the development of the enterprise.
In recent years, Pingding entrepreneurs have not forgotten their original intentions, tasted their guts at a low salary, seized the opportunity to reform and forge ahead, and made Pingding sandware full of vitality and formed a thriving and gratifying situation. In addition to local marketing, Pingding sandware products are exported to many provinces, cities and counties across the country, and even Southeast Asia and other places have initially opened up the market. Pingding sand ware has once again become the topic of street discussion among Pingding people.
Today's flat sand sand ware has initially formed a scale, can spread its wings and fly high. Pingding people are happy to meet the prosperous world, and Pingding sand ware will surely become the eternal pride of Pingding people. Pingding sand ware will surely enter thousands of households and become the messenger of communication between Pingding and the world; pacifying sand ware, the prospect is immeasurable!
Zhao Hong Zhang Weiliang
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