Chapter 228: Poetry and Prose Porcelain Pillow

The sky was bright and clear, a warm breeze was blowing, and the pine branches swayed slightly.

Four iron ox statues stood tall on the plaza, their entire bodies dark and glossy, gleaming brilliantly.

The four people and four oxen were all cast during the Kaiyuan era of the Great Tang; they were originally iron piles used to stabilize the Pujin Floating Bridge that connected Qin (Shaanxi) and Jin (Shanxi), and they have a history of over 1,200 years to this day.

Each iron ox weighs 1,110 tons; given the technological level of the Tang Dynasty, is it not a miracle that they could be cast and set on the riverbank?

Over these thousand-plus years, they spent six hundred years drenched on the bank and another six hundred years soaked in the water, yet even now, the four people and four oxen remain lifelike—is this not a miracle?

Everyone talks about national treasures, and Lin Sicheng feels that these statues are worthy of the name and truly deserve the title.

It is a pity that later on, some Expert had the idea that because they had been rained on for so long, the acidic substances in the rainwater would corrode the iron oxen. The local government believed it to be true and urgently built four sheds.

As a result, the iron oxen that had not rusted after being exposed to wind and rain for over a thousand years... rusted.

Therefore, sometimes, one cannot listen entirely to what an Expert says.

Wang Qi Zhi had contacted the city in advance; hearing that they were looking for Puzhou Porcelain, the leadership attached great importance to it and specifically dispatched a reception team.

Four people, men and women: two staff members from the Cultural Bureau, one deputy director of the Local History Office, and one Museum Curator of the Municipal Museum.

The latter two were both very professional and spoke eloquently:

"The history of firing porcelain in Puzhou (ancient Yuncheng, governed in present-day Yongji) is quite long; it is recorded in the Yuan Dynasty's *Yuan Unified Records*, the Ming Dynasty's *Yongle Encyclopedia*, the *Essential Criteria of Antiquities*, and the Qing Dynasty's *Discourse on Pottery*..."

"The Qing Dynasty's *Yinliuzhai Discourse on Porcelain* records: 'The variety of Fahua Ware sprouted in the Yuan, flourished in the Ming, and generally all came from northern kilns, with those produced in the Puzhou area being the best...' Zhao Ruzhen's *Guide to Antiques* from the Republic of China also states: 'Fahua Ware sprouted in the Yuan, first fired in Puzhou, Shanxi...'"

"There are quite a few unearthed Cultural Relics; besides our own province, they have been repeatedly discovered in the Guangdong and Hainan areas, and both provincial museums have collections... This shows that during the Song and Yuan periods, Fahua Ware had already spread across the country and was even exported."

Lin Sicheng was noncommittal: it hadn't reached the point of spreading across the country, though during the Southern Song Dynasty, Fahua Ware was indeed exported, but it was not produced in Shanxi; it was from Jingdezhen.

One could figure it out—at that time, Shanxi belonged to the Great Yuan, so how could it possibly be shipped to Guangdong and Guangxi?

Of course, what Jingdezhen imitated at the time was indeed the craftsmanship of Shanxi, and the Museum Curator was not wrong: in all of Shanxi, Puzhou Fahua Ware is the most exquisite.

It is a pity that the kiln site has never been found, and historical documents are few and far between, so there is no way to deduce the craftsmanship.

It was not until the comprehensive excavation of the Xianhai No. 1 shipwreck in 2016, which provided sufficient samples, that the restoration work could proceed in an orderly manner.

But in the end, Gaoping County took the lead, followed closely by Yangquan County, and the Fahua Ware techniques of both counties were listed as Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Whether they have applied for National Level status is unknown, but it is only a matter of time before they are mentioned in the same breath as the "Chengni Inkstone" and "Polishing Ware" and called the Shanxi Three Treasures.

Lin Sicheng remembers that starting from 2020, these two counties have brought Fahua Ware to the state-sponsored World Expo every year, receiving so many orders they couldn't keep up.

On the contrary, Yongji, which had the earliest plan and the largest investment, gained nothing. The reason for this is that the direction was wrong: they only focused on finding the kiln site while neglecting Artifact Research, and in the end, they were beaten to the punch by others.

Sighing inwardly and listening to the Museum Curator and the director of the Local History Office for a while longer, Lin Sicheng pointed to the embankment by the riverbank:

"Teachers, when the embankment was being repaired back then, was it here that the Jin Dynasty tombs were discovered?"

"Yes, five tombs of various sizes. They dug up several boxes of Dadong Tongbao (Wanyan Yong, the fifth emperor of the Jin Dynasty) and Yuanfeng Tongbao (Emperor Shenzong Zhao Xu, the sixth emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty), and even more porcelain. I heard they were all Song Porcelain... It's a pity that there was no awareness of protection back then; by the time it was reported to the county, the items had long been snatched up by the migrant workers..."

The old factory manager said that in order to snatch the copper coins and silver ingots, the porcelain was smashed or trampled. Later, it was snatched again by those who hadn't gotten any copper coins, and in the end, only a pile of broken porcelain shards remained.

After asking someone to look at them, they were deemed to have no value, and in the end, they were just pushed aside and forgotten.

"Is there a lot in private collections?"

"I don't know if there's a lot, but there certainly is some; I even saw some two years ago."

The Museum Curator pointed not far away, "Two years ago, when the flood hit, half the wall of the old county government office collapsed, and some were washed out too... I brought people to look, and while no complete pieces were found, there were quite a few porcelain shards."

"Also Song Porcelain?"

"I haven't done any in-depth research, so I'm not sure yet! Looking at the craftsmanship, it looks like Cizhou Kiln..."

Those two porcelain shards the old factory manager gave him—weren't they Cizhou Kiln craftsmanship?

Lin Sicheng was stunned for a moment, following the direction of the Museum Curator's finger.

Not far away, just a bit to the east of the iron oxen,

The city gate was wide open, and the top of the city wall was overgrown with wild grass.

"Museum Curator, are the porcelain shards still there?"

"Usually no one picks up porcelain shards, so they should be!"

That's good.

Lin Sicheng nodded: "Curator Feng, shall we go over and take a look?"

"Alright!"

The group got into the car, and after about a kilometer, they arrived in an instant.

The stone walls were mottled, and white alkali bloomed at the base of the walls, as if they had psoriasis.

Fearing a collapse would hit someone, the doorway was supported by a steel frame. The wild grass was taller than one's ankles, and the stone path was covered with a thick layer of dried mud.

The Museum Curator led the way into the doorway. Inside, there were basically no intact buildings left, only a few stone walls standing sporadically.

Recalling the way, the Museum Curator led them north for about two or three hundred meters when Lin Sicheng suddenly stopped.

A few broken porcelain shards were scattered in the wild grass, the glaze smooth and clean, the body material delicate. They were no different from the pieces he had bought from the Pangzi boss.

He picked them up and continued walking, but after only a few steps, Lin Sicheng squatted down again.

Three or four porcelain shards looked like the lower part of a basin or jar. The body color was slightly darker and the glaze slightly dimmer, but the white-ground black-flower patterns were particularly striking.

Lin Sicheng picked them up and narrowed his eyes slightly.

It is no wonder the Museum Curator concluded that this was Cizhou porcelain. Because these pieces were imitations of the white-ground black-flower technique of Cizhou porcelain.

The exact same decorative technique, the exact same firing process.

The only difference lay in the different porcelain clay, which led to a different body quality, subsequently affecting the glaze color: Cizhou Kaolin is high in silica and rich in aluminum, with a high iron content, so the glaze color appears gray and has a milky, turbid feel.

The piece in his hand used high-aluminum, calcium-rich clay from Hejin; it was slightly greenish-white, and the glaze had a higher degree of vitrification, making it more transparent.

If one had to make a comparison, in terms of exquisiteness and level of craftsmanship, the Cizhou Kiln of the same period seemed to be slightly inferior?

But that was just a guess; whether it was or wasn't would require chemical analysis, and it would be best to find a few complete pieces to make a comparison.

Lin Sicheng didn't say a word and continued forward.

Having already stepped past, he paused slightly and then stepped back.

In the grass by their feet, several porcelain shards were covered by mud, long since dried, making their original appearance unrecognizable.

Several people crouched down in unison, their division of labor quite clear:

Lin Sicheng picked them up, Fang Jin scraped off the mud, Wang Qi Zhi wiped them with a wet towel, and Ye Anning was responsible for placing them into specimen bags.

After packing two pieces, Ye Anning paused slightly.

It was white porcelain, and it was white-ground carving technique, but there were three characters on it: "Da Ru Xu" (Great as Mount Sumeru).

There should have been characters before and after, but Ye Anning thought for a moment and could not recall them.

"Uncle, what is 'Da Ru Xu'?"

"No impression?" Wang Qi Zhi shook his head. "Lin Sicheng, what is 'Da Ru Xu'?"

"'The Buddha observes a grain of rice, as great as Mount Sumeru...' It originates from the Lesser Vehicle Buddhist scripture, the Sutra of the Agama."

Lin Sicheng replied, took it into his hand to examine it: "The original vessel should have been a poetry-inscribed Plum Vase, imitating the white-ground carving technique and black decoration of Cizhou Kiln... It counts as a decorative piece, but the impurities weren't removed cleanly, there are too many black spots, the craftsmanship can only be considered average... Hmm, Ming Dynasty."

"Buddhist scripture?"

"Buddhist scripture!"

Ye Anning pursed her lips and continued packing them inside. But immediately, she froze again.

It was also black-flowered white porcelain, with a relatively flat arc; it should have been a fragment of some large object.

Compared to the "Da Ru Xu" piece, this one clearly lacked any black spots or stains formed by impurities.

Seeing the others not moving, Lin Sicheng turned his head and squinted his eyes. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the two pieces the old factory manager had given him.

The necks of the few people all stretched forward in unison: Isn't this exactly what Lin Sicheng called white-ground carved porcelain with added black color?

At first glance, it sounded exactly like Cizhou Kiln, but in fact, there was an essential difference between the two: Cizhou Kiln involves covering a white body with black glaze, then carving away the excess black glaze to reveal the white base, forming a black-and-white contrasting pattern.

This type, however, involves carving flowers directly onto the white body, then filling the carved grooves with black glaze or black mud.

But that was not the point; the point was the body quality and the glaze color. Even Fang Jin, Wang Qi Zhi, and even Ye Anning, who was basically a layman, could distinguish it:

The piece just picked up was thinner than the two pieces the old factory manager had given him, the body quality was finer, the glaze surface was brighter, and it was even whiter.

It felt as if even the craftsmanship of the carved flowers with added color was a cut above.

More importantly, hidden faintly beneath the white glaze was a trace of pale blue: Lin Sicheng was very certain that neither the Ding Kiln, the Cizhou Kiln, nor the Southern Song Official Kiln of the same period had ever produced this color of white porcelain.

This absolutely belonged to a Yuncheng specialty. As long as this point was verified, there would be no need to look for any kiln at all...

Lin Sicheng let out a breath: "Fang Guan Glaze Square Washer, Song Porcelain!"

As he spoke, he reached in again and took out the few pieces he had bought from the Pangzi boss: "They should have come from the same kiln, the time difference shouldn't exceed twenty years!"

Being able to pick up this piece meant today's trip wasn't in vain, let alone that there were so many here?

The other three people were invigorated and crouched down on the spot.

But before they had scraped many pieces, the phone buzzed, and Lin Sicheng answered it smoothly: "Boheng!"

"Master, my father wants you to come back for a moment, saying that General Manager Zhuang has received a few complete vessels here. They are all white porcelain, and they are all white-ground carved with black color; they should be the kind we are looking for..."

Lin Sicheng's eyes brightened slightly: He had thought there must be collections among the people, but he hadn't expected it to be so fast?

They arrived at the county yesterday and then split into two groups. Lin Sicheng and Wang Qi Zhi were responsible for finding clues, while Zhao Xiuneng and Zhuang Zijing were responsible for collection.

Only one day had passed...

He hung up the phone and looked at the two accompanying leaders: "Museum Curator Feng, a friend has received two complete vessels, we need to go back for a moment. Can we hire a few people here to help pick them up? For this kind of white porcelain, try to pick up as much as possible."

How could there be any "can or cannot"?

The two people nodded in unison.

Lin Sicheng said his thanks, and the group hurriedly got into the car.

Watching Lin Sicheng's retreating figure, the director of the History and Records Office frowned: "Old Feng, does Fahua Ware also have white porcelain?"

Museum Curator Feng was busy calling to hire people and was slightly stunned: Fahua, Fahua, it must be colored porcelain; it has absolutely nothing to do with white porcelain.

The county's eagerness, he estimated, was offered in vain.

But then again, they didn't eat or live for free, they paid for everything...

Sighing, Museum Curator Feng dialed the phone: "Old Sun, notify those people from the Archaeology Team to come to the ancient city side, bring more specimen bags... Don't worry, they won't be put to work for nothing!"

Riding like the wind, in about half an hour, the group returned to the county hotel.

Zhao Boheng was waiting in the lobby and led Lin Sicheng to the reception room on the side. As soon as they entered, several people stood up in unison.

Zhao Xiuneng, Zhuang Zijing, Zhuang Yi, and two middle-aged men he didn't recognize.

"Teacher Lin, this gentleman's surname is Gao, and this gentleman's surname is Yan; they are both famous local entrepreneurs!"

"Nice to meet you, nice to meet you!"

After shaking hands, Lin Sicheng roughly made an inference: They were probably all quite wealthy.

But seeing that they weren't very warm with Zhuang Zijing, he figured they must have been introduced by his father.

During this time, running around, the brother and sister had truly helped quite a bit...

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Zhao Xiuneng pointed to the side.

On a large tea table, a whole set was laid out. There were bowls and cups, pillows and vases, and even more broken vessels, but after just one glance, Lin Sicheng was suddenly stunned.

What is this?

White Glazed Bowl, black-flowered Plum Vase, Poetry Porcelain Pillow, and even half a piece of three-colored porcelain pillow?

Zhuang Zijing hadn't just helped a little; he had helped in a huge way this time...

He steadied himself and first picked up a white porcelain bowl.

Sunflower-shaped mouth, deep belly, ring foot.

Plain surface without patterns, the glaze color was pure, translucent and moist like jade.

Thin, thin to the extreme: when hit with a flashlight, one could see a complete halo from the back.

White, it was white to the extreme, and presented a refined, elegant Green Jade texture. But it was extremely faint, vague, as if it were there and yet not.

In history, this type of porcelain has a specific name: Luanbai Jade.

The first refers to its thinness, like an eggshell, and the second refers to this pale green jade-like texture.

Without even looking at the degree of aging, Lin Sicheng could determine at a glance: Song Porcelain.

But setting everything else aside, just looking at the thickness: the body wall was less than one millimeter. In the Song Dynasty, the number of kilns with this level of technical skill could be counted on two hands.

Exhaling a breath, Lin Sicheng picked up half of a Porcelain Pillow: half a lotus flower, a few lotus leaves, in yellow, green, and white; the colors were bright and harmonious, with a strong contrast.

Inside was a red pottery body, with a relatively loose texture, but this was not due to poor craftsmanship; it was a pottery body intentionally fired to be breathable and sweat-absorbent.

Looking at the patterns, it was the typical black-ground Carving Out Flowers and filling-in-color technique, exactly the same as those porcelain shards he had picked up today.

There was only one point: the glaze was not applied very well, being too thick and too heavy. The body was also relatively brittle, having been slightly over-fired.

Compared to the White Glazed Bowl, the regression in craftsmanship was obvious; judging by the degree of aging, it was either Jin or Yuan.

Pondering for a moment, Lin Sicheng put it down and picked up that square White Porcelain Poetry Porcelain Pillow.

But the moment he held it in his hands, his pupils constricted, and his heart couldn't help but skip a beat.

Lin Sicheng finally remembered: in his vague memories, where was the porcelain pillow he had seen in the Forbidden City kept?

Qianlong's bedchamber, Yangxin Hall.

Qianlong's inscribed poem, White Glaze Incising Flowers pearl-ground Poetry Porcelain Pillow.

(End of this chapter)