Chapter 260: Standing on the Shoulders of the Sages

The sky was clear for ten thousand miles with leisurely white clouds, and the shadows of trees outside the car kept receding.

From Jiexiu to Huo Prefecture, it was nearly sixty kilometers, and it took exactly one hour to drive.

Lin Sicheng had already been in contact with Hao Jun four days ago; his phone call just now was merely to confirm.

Hao Jun could not be said to be anything but attentive; the people he arranged arrived even earlier, reaching Huo Prefecture the day before yesterday and waiting for two full days.

Just after turning off the national highway, a Land Cruiser by the side of the road honked its horn, and subsequently, a man and a woman stepped out.

Both were very young; the man was around thirty, and the woman was twenty-six or twenty-seven. Their appearances were quite striking, and the two also looked extremely alike.

Zhao Xiuneng and Shang Yan took a look and both felt these two were very familiar. Recalling carefully: weren't these the siblings who, when the Restoration Center was unveiled last winter, sent a potted landscape of painted enamel porcelain jade magnolia as a congratulatory gift?

The father of these two seemed to be a friend of Hao Jun, surnamed Chen, whose family operated mines in Yulin and was extremely wealthy. At the same time, their father was also a famous collector in Shaanxi Province...

While struggling to recall, Zhao Xiuneng paused abruptly.

He remembered: Chen Yangyan, General Manager Chen.

In the Zhang Anshi Tomb grave robbery case, Chen Yangyan had been set up by Yu Dahai; if not for Lin Sicheng, General Manager Chen would have been in prison long ago, let alone operating mines.

In a flash of thought, the Mercedes-Benz pulled over, and Lin Sicheng got out of the car.

"The two General Managers Chen, apologies for keeping you waiting!"

"Teacher Lin, it is only right!"

Chen Daoqing hurriedly grasped Lin Sicheng's hand, his waist bowing down, "It is currently the mid-year summary, and with the mine's safety inspection during this period, my father truly could not get away, otherwise he would have come in person."

"But when I left, he specifically instructed me to be sure to apologize to Teacher Lin... and he also said if there is any help needed next time, you can just call him directly."

"General Manager Chen is too polite..."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Lin Sicheng made introductions. They were not strangers, so after a brief greeting, the few of them boarded the car one after another.

The kiln site was very close to the county seat; after exiting the national highway, they drove for nearly six kilometers.

Chen Daoqing had been in contact yesterday, and five or six leaders in total from the county Cultural Bureau, Cultural Relics Bureau, and Bailong Town had been waiting at the village entrance for a long time.

After getting out of the car, there was another round of pleasantries.

Having been instructed in advance, Chen Daoqing only introduced Zhao Xiuneng, saying he was a collector friend of his father and also a porcelain restoration Expert from Beijing, who had come to visit out of admiration for the Huo Prefecture Kiln.

As for Lin Sicheng, he was not even mentioned.

Shang Yan clicked her tongue in secret; just for Chen Daoqing, the locals had put on such a big display, what if it had been General Manager Chen Yanyang who came?

In a flash of thought, she gave a wink, and Lin Sicheng nodded slightly.

Yulin not only had coal, but also oil and gas. Shanxi had plenty of coal, but was extremely lacking in oil and gas because they needed it for coking.

Since the two places were so close, besides official business, it was inevitable to deal with mine owners like Chen Yanyang. Naturally, he became an honored guest of the locals.

If it had been Chen Yanyang who came, at least one county leader would have appeared, and it was even possible they would have sent people to the national highway exit to welcome him...

After being polite for a long while, a group of leaders led them into the village.

The ruins were right in the village, with a Stele erected at the village entrance. Except for the different name of the kiln site, the remaining information regarding the protection unit and the date the stele was erected was exactly the same as the one at the Hongshan Kiln in Jiexiu.

After a brief introduction, the group of leaders crowded around Chen Daoqing and Zhao Xiuneng, walking up along the concrete road.

They hadn't walked far when Shang Yan and Zhao Xiuneng were both stunned.

Right on the Taidi on the south side of the village stood a bun-shaped Kiln Furnace.

What the internal structure was like, they didn't know yet, but looking at the chimney next to it, the two could immediately deduce: this kiln was a double-chamber chimney type, the flue should be at the bottom, and it was very long.

Otherwise, the chimney could not have been built separately on the outside, nor could it have been built so large and so high.

From this, it could be concluded that this kiln must have fired high-temperature porcelain.

In a flash of thought, the group of people climbed onto the Taidi, arrived in front of the kiln, and a Section Chief from the Cultural Relics Bureau was responsible for the explanation:

"In 1970, Mr. Feng Xianming, Chairman of the Chinese Ancient Ceramics Research Association, Director of the Chinese Archaeological Society, and Director of the Palace Museum Ancient Ceramics Research Office, and head of the Ceramic Group, came to Huo Prefecture for an inspection and discovered the Chen Village Kiln for the first time."

"Afterwards, Mr. Feng deduced that the Chen Village Kiln was the Huo Prefecture Kiln mentioned repeatedly in ancient literature. Preliminary estimates suggest the area should be tens of thousands of square meters..."

Zhao Xiuneng nodded: "Then why wasn't it excavated?"

"First, the land acquisition work was difficult: the kiln site completely overlapped with the village, the plots were fragmented and small, and just the existing household surveys alone registered over three hundred plots."

"Second, the terrain was complex, and the excavation difficulty was high."

Lin Sicheng nodded secretly: there were indeed these two factors.

It wasn't until 2021 that the Huo Prefecture City Government included the kiln site in the excavation plan and promoted the establishment of a joint Archaeology Team, providing policy support and funding guarantees.

Even so, as soon as the Archaeology Team entered the village, they had several clashes with the villagers.

Secondly, due to technical limitations, the archaeological conditions were not mature: even by 2022, it was only after the Shanxi Archaeological Institute joined forces with Peking University and Fudan University, and sought support from the National Cultural Heritage Administration, that the first excavation was launched.

Besides these two points, the most important reason was the lack of a key driving factor.

To put it bluntly, the locals did not understand, nor were they aware of, the role and influence of the Huo Prefecture Kiln in history:

In the Yuan Dynasty, the Huo Prefecture Kiln was the only production center for Fine White Porcelain in the country. At the same time, it was also a Tribute Kiln for both the Jin and Yuan dynasties.

Therefore, after the excavation was completed in 2023, it was selected as one of the top ten new archaeological discoveries in China that same year...

After the Section Chief finished the introduction, they asked for a few hard hats, and several people went in one by one to take a look.

The others just took a cursory glance, but Lin Sicheng watched for a full half hour.

From the firebox, to the kiln chamber, to the flue, and then to the kiln house.

Even though he had expected it, Lin Sicheng still breathed a sigh of relief: although it belonged to the late Ming Dynasty and the structure had changed, he was exceptionally certain: this Kiln Furnace was of the same lineage as the Guzhen Song Kiln in Hejin.

After finishing the viewing, it was already past five o'clock in the afternoon, and the county hotel had arranged a dinner.

Using the excuse of having to go to other places for inspection the next day, they didn't drink much, and around eight o'clock, the banquet ended.

It wasn't quite dark yet, and Lin Sicheng gathered everyone into Chen Daoqing's suite.

Stepping through the door, Zhao Xiuneng and Shang Yan were stunned again: so many boxes.

Large ones and small ones, square ones and long ones, filled the living room.

"These were all collected by the county cultural department from the Chen Village ruins over these years. Some were picked up directly from the ruins, while others were voluntarily handed over by villagers."

"As for these two boxes of white porcelain, they were collected with compensation from the villagers of Chen Village by the Cultural Relics Bureau and the town government over the past few days. Sorry for the trouble, General Manager Chen!"

"Teacher Lin, you are too polite!" Chen Daoqing smiled modestly. "The town leaders said that because the time was rushed, many villagers still didn't know the news, so this is all that has been collected for now.

It's hard to say how many complete pieces there are, but there are definitely more porcelain shards. If you need more later, they will collect them again..."

"We definitely need them, and the more the better. Thank you, General Manager Chen!"

After expressing his thanks, Lin Sicheng opened the boxes one by one.

Zhao Xiuneng and Shang Yan leaned in, though at first, neither paid much attention.

Because the first few boxes were all Coarse White Porcelain.

The body was thick and heavy, the texture relatively hard, and black impurity spots were visible everywhere; one look and it was clear the porcelain clay had not been refined well.

A slip had been applied, but although thin, it was uneven, and the color was either yellowish or tinged with green. The quality and appearance were slightly better than the Jiexiu Kiln they had seen at noon, but only marginally so.

After looking closely, Zhao Xiuneng picked up a bowl base: "The patina isn't thick, and the degree of oxidation is quite shallow. Does it look like the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty?"

Lin Sicheng gave a thumbs up: When it comes to Ceramics Appraisal, Senior Brother Zhao's skill is still quite profound.

Afterward, he opened two more boxes, and Zhao Xiuneng squinted his eyes: Black Flower White Ground, painted with Ochre Red Color?

Looking at the last two pieces: Pearl Ground Carved Flower White Porcelain?

If these were still Ming Porcelain, it wouldn't be strange; slightly larger Folk Kilns could produce them. But looking at the oxidation level of these two pieces, nine times out of ten, they are from the Jin and Yuan periods.

As for Jin Dynasty Pearl Ground Carved Flower White Porcelain, as far as Zhao Xiuneng knew, only the Ding Kiln had fired it before. Now there is one more place: Hejin Kiln.

As for the Yuan Dynasty, they had never fired this stuff at all; there had been no discoveries before, until Lin Sicheng surveyed the Guduo Relic Site.

The key is that whether it's the decoration, the Engraving, or the painting, these two pieces are very similar to those shards found in the ancient city of Yongji.

Just as he was about to ask, Lin Sicheng opened another box. At just one glance, Zhao Xiuneng's eyes bulged out:

Thick rounded lip, slanted straight wall, deep belly, glaze pooling at the bottom of the bowl... isn't this a Jade Wall Bottom Bowl?

Especially the intact one; regardless of the shape, body texture, or body color, it is exactly the same as the bowl belonging to General Engineer Shui.

It's just that the one belonging to General Engineer Shui was fired successfully, while this one in the box was a failed firing.

In shock and suspicion, Lin Sicheng continued to open the boxes, and Zhao Xiuneng followed his gaze, his eyes fixed.

What are these? Luanbai Jade?

White Glazed Covered Bowl, White Glazed Jade Spring Vase, White Glazed Handle Rim Cup, White Glazed Deep Belly Bowl, White Glazed Carved Shallow Plate...

Especially the last two items, the broken bowl and shallow plate that only had the base left, were almost indistinguishable from the Luanbai Jade Bowl that Lin Sicheng bought in Yongji for 800,000.

The same body, the same base, the exact same glaze color, and even the exact same thinness... at least Zhao Xiuneng couldn't tell where the difference was.

Looking from the beginning again: the body is white and firm, the Glaze Layer is thin and bright, the glaze color is clean and clear... aren't these pieces Luanbai Jade?

Hiss, no... the era is wrong.

At first glance, they look very new, but this is because the burial environment lacked oxygen, resulting in a low degree of aging. Having been immersed in this for a lifetime, Zhao Xiuneng at least dared to conclude that these pieces are either Jin or Yuan Dynasty.

The Jin Dynasty is easier to explain; if one were to argue, saying they were transported from the Southern Song side, it wouldn't be impossible.

But in the Yuan Dynasty, where would Hejin Fine White Porcelain come from?

Not to mention the Yuan Dynasty Official Kiln Blue and White Porcelain, the body is almost as thick as a palm...

His heart couldn't stop jumping, and Zhao Xiuneng suddenly raised his head.

Shang Yan was even more exaggerated; she stared with wide eyes and an open mouth, fixedly watching Lin Sicheng, as if frozen.

No wonder when the Guzhen kiln site was surveyed and it was discovered that there were very few experimental samples, Lin Sicheng wasn't panicked at all?

Even more so, no wonder he clearly anticipated that the competent department would discard him after using him, yet he let Professor Wang go with the flow and terminate the Technology Authorization Agreement.

And that sentence Lin Sicheng said with a smile in the car: "Don't be angry, we can take revenge soon..."

Thinking about it now: he had long known that there were enough experimental samples here.

But that is only secondary; the key lies in these Hejin Fine White Porcelain pieces before them, which indicate that Shanxi not only fired Luanbai Jade in the Song Dynasty, but also fired it in the Jin and Yuan Dynasties?

Doesn't this mean that history has once again been rewritten by Lin Sicheng?

"It's not that exaggerated! Strictly speaking, these are not Luanbai Jade; they can only be considered imitation firings after the craftsmanship degraded, just like the Celadon-White Porcelain of Beiwuqin, the Yellow-White Porcelain of Shangbamu..."

As he spoke, Lin Sicheng flicked his finger, a crisp "Zheng" sound rang out, followed by a "Crack!" sound.

Looking closely: the Jade Spring Vase that was mostly intact was flicked into seven or eight pieces by Lin Sicheng's finger.

The two were stunned: "Why is it so brittle?"

"The porcelain clay composition of Huo Prefecture Fine White Porcelain is exactly the same as Hejin Fine White Porcelain: high-aluminum, low-calcium clay, with an aluminum content of over 38%. The firing temperature is extremely high, requiring over 1,300 degrees to fully sinter the porcelain body."

"But by the Jin Dynasty, because the coking technology was lost, they could only use coal for firing, and the kiln temperature was at most 1,200 degrees. Secondly, due to the lack of fluxing agents like calcium, a large amount of unmelted aluminum crystal particles remained in the body, forming a loose structure..."

"Furthermore, the Huo Prefecture Kiln Fine White Porcelain inherited the craftsmanship of Luanbai Jade, pursuing a visual effect of 'thin as a cicada's wing.' The thin body is usually less than or equal to 1mm, lacking the physical support to resist bending. It looks very complete from the surface, but there are already stress cracks inside that are invisible to the naked eye, so it cracks as soon as it is flicked..."

Lin Sicheng explained patiently, while Zhao Xiuneng and Shang Yan remained silent, their four eyes rolling around.

No need to ask, the two of them must be thinking: You've never been here, and you've never studied it, so how do you know so clearly?

"It's written in books. Records of Things (Ming Dynasty): Huo Kiln is extremely brittle, it can shatter when flicked! There are also relevant records in the Records of Things (Ming Dynasty)."

"Besides that, there is even more recorded in modern treatises: Chen Wanli (Chinese ancient ceramics scholar, Researcher at the Forbidden City) wrote, 'Report on the Investigation of Ancient Kiln Sites in the Three Provinces of Plains, Hebei, and Shanxi', and 'Xing and Ding Kilns and Northern Kilns'."

There is also Sun Yingzhou (Chinese ancient ceramics scholar, Researcher at the Forbidden City) who wrote, 'Talks on Nine Northern Kilns' (1965).

As well as Feng Xianming's 'History of Chinese Ceramics: Song Porcelain' (1975), 'Porcelain of Song, Yuan, and Qing' (1968), 'Six Kilns of Jin and Yuan' (1963), and so on.

Especially the 'Shanxi Volume' (Porcelain Kiln Investigation) written by Mr. Feng Xianming, which clearly mentions: Huo Prefecture Chen Village Kiln was founded at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty; it was initially suspected to be fired with coke, but later the technique was lost, and it was changed to coal firing. Because the kiln temperature was insufficient, it was extremely brittle..."

Every time Lin Sicheng mentioned a book, the eyes of the two widened a bit. When they heard the end, besides staring blankly, they really didn't know what else to say.

You must know that these are all massive specialized research works, each one easily containing hundreds of thousands of words. Like the 'History of Chinese Ceramics', it is a full 1.1 million words.

It couldn't be that Lin Sicheng memorized them all?

Memorizing them all is impossible, but he had indeed studied them, and when he needed to use them, he could certainly recall them.

Lin Sicheng could even recall the specific day.

He remembered it was also summer; he was repairing a Blue and White Porcelain Jar at the west wall of the Forbidden City, and Old Lady Wang walked in with her hands behind her back. Following behind her were two Assistants, each holding a thick stack of books in their arms.

"Thump—" With a sound, two stacks of books were dropped in front of Lin Sicheng. The old lady leaned back into her recliner:

"These are the systematic treatises compiled only after the three teachers spent their lives investigating ancient kiln sites all over the country, reading through local chronicles from every region, and traveling to over twenty provinces, three hundred counties and cities, and fourteen hundred ancient kiln sites across the nation. Study them well, and ask if you don't understand..."

Looking at the table full of treatises, Lin Sicheng's eyes went wide: there must be millions of characters here, right?

But before he could speak, the old lady nimbly rolled up a book and tapped him on the head: "The three teachers traveled all over the country, pouring their life's work into this, and they didn't feel it was bitter.

I, this old lady, followed the three teachers up mountains and down rivers, wearing through hundreds of pairs of shoes, and I didn't feel it was bitter. Here you are, with the air conditioning blowing and good tea to drink, and you're asked to read some books, and you think it's bitter?"

"Not bitter, not bitter!" Lin Sicheng hurriedly offered a smile, "I'm just afraid I won't learn it well!"

"Learn as much as you can, learn it first and then we'll talk!"

The old lady spoke slowly and methodically, "If you only learn appraisal, no matter how high your achievements are, you'll just be a wealthy man in the private sector. Even if you learn restoration perfectly, you'll only be at the level of a Craftsman; if you stay in the Forbidden City, at best you'll reach the level of an Associate Researcher."

"But archaeology is different: protecting cultural heritage, constructing national history, boosting cultural confidence, preserving the sparks of civilization, reshaping the national spirit... The former two are just Craftsmen, while the latter is a Master. Which do you choose?"

"Lin Sicheng, your talent is so good, you must not be impatient. You must choose the right path, settle your heart, and be able to endure... Given time, it is not impossible for you to reach the height of Mr. Feng."

Feng Xianming, the pioneer of Chinese ancient ceramic research, the number one scholar?

Heh heh... Old lady, do you really think that highly of me?

Just as he curled his lip, he got tapped on the head again: "No ambition, are you going to learn or not?"

Lin Sicheng nodded honestly: "I'll learn!"

He studied for four years straight. He wouldn't dare say he knew every ancient kiln site in the country like the back of his hand, but as long as he had studied it, he had an impression of it.

For example, the Jiexiu Kiln, for example, the Huo Prefecture Kiln.

In 1970, Mr. Feng Xianming went to Shanxi for an inspection and discovered the Chen Village Kiln for the first time. Afterward, he preliminarily demonstrated that the Chen Village Kiln in Bailong Town was the Peng Kiln and Huo Kiln mentioned many times in historical records.

"Records of Things" (written by Cao Zhao in the early Ming Dynasty): The Yuan Dynasty Engraved Gold Craftsman Peng Junbao imitated ancient Ding ware, hence it is called Peng Kiln... The clay is fine and white, similar to Ding ware...

Feng Xianming's note: The two are far apart.

Ding Kiln uses high-silica clay, while Huo Kiln uses high-aluminum, low-calcium clay. The former's glaze color is ivory white, flashing yellow in the white, while the latter is as white as snow, occasionally shifting from yellow-white to blue-white.

High-aluminum, low-calcium, glaze color pure white, occasionally yellow-white, or shifting to blue-white... Look, isn't it very similar to the fine white porcelain of the Guzhen Kiln?

"Records of Things" (Ming Dynasty, Gu Yingtai): In the Yuan Dynasty, Peng Junbao built a kiln in Huo Prefecture, named Peng Kiln, also known as Huo Kiln. The body is fine and greasy, the glaze surface is lustrous, the thin ones are like de-bodied ware, transparent as cicada wings, and can shatter if flicked.

Feng Xianming's note: Huo Kiln white porcelain has an excessively high aluminum content, and because the kiln temperature was insufficient, the quality is brittle.

Another note: When the Huo Kiln was first established, it was a pit-style, single-fire-chamber, double-smoke-chamber design with an extremely long flue; the fuel is suspected to have been Jiaomei.

Pit-style, double-smoke-chamber, fuel was Jiaomei... Look, isn't it exactly the same as the Tang Kiln discovered in Beiwuqin?

Besides this, Mr. Feng also mentioned: The firing technique and glaze-forming factors of Huo Prefecture white porcelain are extremely similar to Ming Dynasty Dehua white porcelain, Yongle Sweet White Glaze, mid-Ming eggshell cups, and Chenghua doucai.

And he speculated that the Egg-White Jade Cup, uniquely created by the late Ming Jingdezhen ceramic master Hao Shijiu, borrowed from the de-bodied porcelain of Huo Prefecture.

And how great was the influence of the Huo Prefecture Kiln?

In the Yuan Dynasty, it was the only fine white porcelain kiln in China, bar none.

Moreover, it was Tribute Porcelain for both the Jin and Yuan dynasties, and the treasures collected in major museums that were mistaken for coming from other kilns are dozens of times more numerous than Hejin Porcelain.

Therefore, after its excavation in 2023, it was selected as one of the top ten archaeological discoveries in China that year.

Later, it was systematically demonstrated that, contrary to what was recorded in ancient books, the Huo Kiln was not founded in the Yuan Dynasty, but in the late Song Dynasty. It then flourished in the Jin, peaked in the Yuan, and declined in the late Ming.

Coincidentally, by the late Song and early Jin, the Hejin fine white porcelain technique was lost, and they turned to firing black porcelain. From this, Lin Sicheng inferred that the conclusion reached by the National Cultural Heritage Administration after excavating the Jiexiu Kiln in the eighties must be wrong: the Huo Prefecture Kiln firing technique did not originate from the Jiexiu Kiln, but from the Hejin Kiln.

To verify this, he first took a trip to Jiexiu and specifically looked at the Jiexiu white porcelain. The result was no surprise: there was basically no relationship between Huo Prefecture white porcelain and Jiexiu white porcelain.

And because of this, when five kiln sites were found in Hejin but the Luanbai Jade samples were pitifully few, Lin Sicheng was surprisingly generous: the six families split them equally.

Because he knew very well: there were plenty of experimental samples...

Therefore, when he received that white glazed bowl in Yongji, Lin Sicheng knew: there must be a Luanbai Jade kiln in Hejin. If it wasn't found in the end, then he would find a way to excavate the Huo Prefecture Kiln.

Fortunately, hard work pays off.

He didn't have X-ray vision either, standing on the mountaintop of Beiwuqin and scanning around to know the structure of the Kiln Furnace buried several meters deep underground, and being able to draw it without a single error.

It was just because it was written clearly in Mr. Feng's book: pit-style, double-smoke-chamber, long flue.

In 2023, after the Huo Prefecture Kiln fine white porcelain kiln site was excavated, it was exactly the same as Mr. Feng had speculated:

Look, isn't it pit-style, with a double-smoke-chamber, and an extremely long flue?

So from beginning to end, Lin Sicheng never felt he was that amazing or that great.

He knew very well: he was just standing on the shoulders of his predecessors.