Chapter 244: More Than Enough

"It merely drew upon some of the techniques of the Xing Kiln, but as for the remaining part, what did it draw upon?"

After all, it involved subsequent research directions; from an academic perspective, both sides were in a competitive relationship. Even if asked, Lin Sicheng might not necessarily say.

But what if he did?

Director Yao turned the thought over: "Teacher Lin, may I ask a few more questions?"

Lin Sicheng nodded: "You may!"

Huh, so straightforward?

In an instant, everyone perked up and pricked up their ears.

"Thank you, Teacher Lin!"

Yao Jianxin expressed his thanks solemnly and picked up the several reports in front of Shui Jisheng. "These two are also White Porcelain Glaze. Looking at the glaze surface refractive index, glaze paste, and porcelain body composition, the difference from Xing Kiln White Porcelain does not seem very large. Is it also related to the craftsmanship of Beiwuqin Tang Porcelain?"

"It is not just related; it is exactly that! The first one is a white porcelain shard collected from the public in Yongji, dating to the late Song and early Jin dynasties. The latter is a porcelain shard collected from the ruins of Puzhou Ancient City (Yongji), dating to the late Jin and early Yuan dynasties.

So these two reports are both composition data of Hejin White Porcelain from different periods... If you compare them with Beiwuqin Tang White Porcelain, you will be able to see the differences between the three..."

Lin Sicheng was direct: "Director Yao, look first at the one on the computer, which is the Beiwuqin Tang Porcelain: is the calcium content in the glaze material data extremely high? Now look at the artifact characteristics: thick body, coarse quality, easy to absorb water, and the glaze color is greenish, with a Jade Wall Base at the bottom. In fact, these points are all caused by the same reason: High-Calcium Glaze."

"The cause is not complex: Hejin porcelain clay is inherently high-calcium clay, and it drew upon the firing techniques of the Xing Kiln, adding a considerable amount of Limestone to the glaze material, causing the calcium content in the glaze paste to reach an extremely exaggerated value: 18% and above.

And calcium is inherently a flux, and the Hejin Kiln was a high-temperature kiln; when the two combined, the fluidity of the glaze paste was extremely high. The white porcelain fired was very distinctive: the glaze surface was clear, with strong vitrification, appearing almost transparent, just like that bowl of General Engineer Shui's.

The disadvantage is that it inevitably leads to glaze running; if one thousand are fired in the same kiln, the finished products that are intact upon coming out of the kiln might not even be one percent.

But in the Tang Dynasty, they did not know about any calcium issues. To solve the glaze running phenomenon, the porcelain body inevitably had to be thickened, coarse, and water-absorbent; to facilitate the application of the glaze, they would even thicken the lip of the body... just like that bowl of General Engineer Shui's."

"But once the body is coarse, the iron content is inevitably high, so the glaze color is greenish. The excess glaze inevitably flows to the bottom, which leads to the formation of an extremely thick glaze layer at the base, which is why it is called a Jade Wall Base."

The group nodded incessantly, silently adding a sentence in their hearts: And for example, that bowl of General Engineer Shui's.

Lin Sicheng picked up the second report: "But by the Song and Jin periods, the body of Hejin White Porcelain was already very thin, the body quality was relatively delicate, the glaze color was whiter, and the Jade Wall Base had already vanished.

The reason is not complex: reduce calcium, add alkali. Reduce the Limestone in the glaze paste and add Potassium and Sodium Feldspar, which is the transition from Calcium-based Glaze to Calcium-Alkali Glaze.

The advantage is that the high-temperature viscosity is high, the glaze layer does not easily flow, and it can be applied thickly to form a milky texture. There are also disadvantages: transparency and glass texture are reduced, and the glaze color is white with a yellow tint, presenting a moon-white color..."

"Look at the third one, which is the sample data from Puzhou Ancient City: the Potassium and Sodium content exceeds the calcium, forming an Alkali-Calcium Glaze. In this way, the glaze application effect is better, and the glaze color is whiter. But the disadvantages are more obvious: it forms an opaque effect, the glassiness is weak to the point of being non-existent, and the light transmission is extremely poor..."

"This kind of glaze quality is closer to the early 'Dry White Porcelain' of Dehua White Porcelain, rather than Luanbai Jade... If I follow my own understanding, in fact, these three have nothing to do with Luanbai Jade; at most, they are similar to the Luanbai Jade Craft..."

"Then Teacher Lin, what counts as Luanbai Jade?"

"Half-moist and half-translucent, like frozen fat!" Lin Sicheng moved the mouse to find the picture of the White Glazed Bowl received from Yongji. "To put it bluntly: Song Porcelain!"

Yao Jianxin suddenly realized: So, the level of the Beiwuqin Site could not be said to be low, but Lin Sicheng only hung his name there. Because his ultimate goal was to find the Song Kiln.

The two asked and answered; the questions pointed straight to the Center, and the answers were concise and to the point.

The others remained silent.

At first listen, so simple?

Just one calcium, plus one alkali, and with the three reports compared, it was clear at a glance.

But one must understand one point: from the discovery of the Beiwuqin Site until now, it has only been a little over a week. How much effort must Lin Sicheng's research team have put in to be able to research it so clearly?

To give another analogy: the calcium and alkali content in these three reports—do they come from natural porcelain clay, or were they added later? What was the source of the addition: was it Limestone, Wood Ash, or Porcelain Stone (Potassium, Sodium Feldspar)?

To figure it out, one can only test them one by one and eliminate them one by one. Each one must go through hundreds or even thousands of experiments, and then go through summarization, analysis, etc., to reach the final conclusion.

It is secondary that it is hard to determine the source; the key is the balance value within it: if the raw materials are different, the other trace elements contained within them are different, and the influence on glaze formation and coloring is different. If one is missing or one is added, or if it is off by one percentage point, the result will be worlds apart.

So no one expected that Lin Sicheng would research it so quickly?

And even less expected that when Yao Jianxin asked, he did not hesitate at all, nor did he hide anything?

It is equivalent to the Ceramics Research Institute and the Cultural Heritage Institute being able to model on this basis, rather than starting the research from scratch. To put it conservatively, it is worth at least three to four months of progress.

Yao Jianxin's face was piled with smiles, and he kept saying thank you. Shui Jisheng's eyes flickered, and his heart was filled with mixed feelings:

Before entering the laboratory, he only wanted to discuss the Xing Kiln with Lin Sicheng; he really never thought he would say so much and explain it so thoroughly.

After being polite for a long while, the group crowded around Shui Jisheng and left. As soon as the door closed, several pairs of eyes stared over.

They just couldn't figure it out: since both sides were in a competitive relationship, why did Lin Sicheng say so much?

Seeing the expressions of these people, Wang Qi Zhi and Zhao Xiuneng sighed secretly: Why are you all looking at Lin Sicheng?

If you have the energy for this, you might as well look at Professor Huang Zhifeng.

He has always been in charge of the laboratory. If these data were truly that important, could Huang Zhifeng just put them on the table and let outsiders see them so easily?

It is estimated that it counts as skin-deep at most, and might not even count as skin-deep. And there is a high probability that Huang Zhifeng deliberately put them there for outsiders to see...

Seeing that they had clearly thought wrong, Lin Sicheng shook his head: "It is not to the point of deliberate misleading. What I said is indeed an indispensable part of the research process. Regardless of which period of Hejin White Porcelain craftsmanship is being studied, whether it is Tang, Song, or even the later Jin and Yuan, it is inevitably unavoidable."

But to say how important it is, it is just like that.

Because the core of the Luanbai Jade craft does not lie in how much calcium or alkali there is, or how high the furnace temperature needs to be.

It is the reduction process of the glaze surface crystallization in a high-temperature environment.

How much oxygen to supply at what temperature, or whether to provide no oxygen, how long to sustain it, how much carbon monoxide and hydrogen need to be produced. And how many free elements need to be produced, and which of them cause the chemical reduction.

Look at those three reports: dozens of trace elements such as Nitrogen, Silicon, Chromium, and Manganese, each with different contents. Heaven knows which ones played a role and what the standard dosage is.

It is like buying a lottery ticket; there are only thirty-some numbers, but they can produce tens of millions of combinations. Only by finding the most accurate set can one understand why Luanbai Jade is half-moist and half-translucent. Why, after a thousand years, it is still like new.

To put it bluntly: those reports are just the inevitable products of the research process; if one wants to finally restore the craft, they are basically useless.

That is why Huang Zhifeng was so casual.

Once Lin Sicheng explained, everyone understood. Thinking back to just now: it was equivalent to Lin Sicheng doing a hollow favor, yet moving a group of researchers from the Ceramics Institute and the Cultural Heritage Institute to tears.

Sighing secretly, Wang Qi Zhi looked left and right. Seeing no outsiders, he glanced at Huang Zhifeng and Lin Sicheng: "Then, what stage have we reached in our research now?"

Just as Lin Sicheng was about to speak, Huang Zhifeng coughed: "It has only just begun; there is basically no progress!"

Impossible.

If I don't understand you, Professor Huang, don't I understand Lin Sicheng?

If there really were no progress, Lin Sicheng would have buried his head in the laboratory long ago, instead of straining himself to find the Song Kiln.

It is precisely because the laboratory's progress is extremely fast, and it has very likely reached a critical stage, that there is an urgent need for experimental samples and assay comparisons...

Wang Qi Zhi stared at Lin Sicheng, but Lin Sicheng only smiled and said nothing.

The progress is indeed quite fast.

If one were to compare it to buying a lottery ticket: the difficulty of researching from scratch is no less than winning five million twice in a row.

But as it happens, he has studied the evolutionary craft of Luanbai Jade at the Forbidden City: Dehua White Porcelain, Chenghua Eggshell Cup, and the famous Chenghua Doucai.

This means the probability has been reduced from one in over ten million to one in over one hundred thousand, making the difficulty more than a hundred times lower.

After another two-plus months of experimental analysis and the excavation of the Tang Kiln, the probability has dropped by about another ten times. At the current stage, it is roughly equivalent to a "Pick 5" lottery, finding one in ten thousand.

If the Song Kiln can be found, it could at least be reduced to a "Pick 3".

With a one-in-a-thousand probability, Craft Restoration is only a matter of time. The prerequisite is finding the Song Kiln and excavating enough experimental samples.

Therefore, there was no need at all to hide what he just said; Lin Sicheng never thought about moving anyone, he was just stating the facts.

Furthermore, when it comes to territory and honor, even if someone were truly moved, at most they would be a bit more polite and respectful next time they meet.

What should be snatched will still be snatched, and what should be fought for will still be fought for.

A week or so is just enough time to transport the equipment over. The technicians are calibrating the machines, and several Interns are organizing samples and Reagent.

Seven or eight Researcher looked at one another.

It was indeed quite unexpected, and quite moving.

First, they did not expect Lin Sicheng's team to research so quickly: Calcium-based Glaze—Calcium-Alkali Glaze—Alkali-Calcium Glaze... At a glance, just nine characters?

If researching from scratch, even with enough samples and even with incredible luck, and without any deviation in experimental data, it would take at least three to four months to reach the conclusion of these nine characters.

What was even more unexpected was that Lin Sicheng was open and aboveboard, without any reservations: it was like the college entrance exam; Lin Sicheng scored full marks and then wrote all the answers and the problem-solving process on the blackboard in the exam room.

But being moved is one thing, the work still has to be done.

After pondering for a while, Yao Jianxin began to arrange: "Engineer Zheng, start modeling first, do it now..."

"He, you all prepare the materials and start the experiment. The conclusion should be accurate; since Teacher Lin dared to say it, he wouldn't mislead us, but for the sake of safety, let's perform a reverse verification first..."

"Dong, Cultural Relics must be collected as soon as possible, especially white porcelain from the Song and Jin periods. If it really doesn't work, go to Yongji and offer a high price..."

"In addition, keep a close watch on Teacher Lin and the institute. Once the Song Kiln is discovered, report it immediately. Then, ask Division Chief Ren to coordinate with Teacher Lin to get as many experimental samples as possible..."

Yao Jianxin gave instructions one by one. Engineer He, who was in charge of the experiment, looked suspicious: "Director, analyzing the glaze type is definitely a major breakthrough. Should we publish a few Thesis first to test the waters?"

Yao Jianxin was stunned for a moment and glared at him.

Competition is competition, but you can't have such an ugly way of eating: someone just shared their hard-won research results of several months with you for free, and you turn around and raid their nest?

Even if you don't care about morality, you should at least have some shame, right?

Even if you don't want your face anymore, can you say that in private or when there are fewer people around?

Not to mention the teacher is still sitting right here...

Just as he was about to lecture him, Shui Jisheng let out a "Heh."

Yao Jianxin glared at Engineer He again and hurriedly apologized with a smile: "Teacher, don't worry, we definitely won't snatch the top journals. Even if we publish, we will definitely communicate with Teacher Lin in advance."

Shui Jisheng let out another cold laugh.

A bunch of useless things that can't be molded: they don't have much skill, but they are more active than anyone else when it comes to snatching credit and picking fruit.

More than half a month ago, when he first learned that his Bowl was dug out from Beiwuqin, Lin Sicheng had already sent people to Beiwuqin to collect raw ore, including porcelain clay, Porcelain Stone, and Limestone. This shows that at that time, they had already begun trying to formulate the Fetal Clay and glaze recipes.

This further indicates that Lin Sicheng has already mastered the basic proportions of Luanbai Jade Fetal Clay and Glaze Paste. The rest is nothing more than refinement and precision.

In terms of difficulty: if analyzing the glaze type—the so-called calcium glaze and alkali glaze—is compared to Longmen Mountain north of Beiwuqin, then the basic proportions of the Glaze Paste are the Luliang Mountains; the difficulty of the former doesn't even reach one-tenth of the latter.

These idiots don't even understand: why is Lin Sicheng in such a hurry, leaving the Beiwuqin Tang Kiln, which could at least be a National Level protected site, unexcavated, and instead running off to find the Song Kiln?

Because the kiln reconstruction and process verification after mastering the Glaze Paste and body proportions are the key and core of the entire Craft Restoration. To achieve this step, one must have a massive amount of experimental samples.

Compared to that, this step is like climbing the Kunlun Mountains; the difficulty of analyzing the glaze type is as small as a grain of sand in comparison.

Still want to snatch the lead in journals?

If you can snatch a few general journals, I would wake up laughing in my dreams. To put it bluntly, you wouldn't even be able to get a hot meal if you tried...

Shui Jisheng sighed again: asking himself, Lin Sicheng has already done enough, completely worthy of the appointment letters issued to him by the Cultural Relics Bureau and the extra salary he received.

Just the Beiwuqin Tang Kiln, the Five Dynasties Coke Site, and the three lost crafts that Yuncheng gave him are more than enough.

If he has to find the Song Kiln, as well as the Jin Kiln and Yuan Kiln later, what else can be used as payment?

In a flash, he paused his cane: "Call Ren Xinbo, submit a report to the bureau, and make a copy of the materials on Pingding Sandware and Black and White Glaze Carving..."

Yao Jianxin was stunned for a moment and nodded hurriedly: "Alright, Teacher..."