Riding the wind of rebirth

Le Bernadin is a French restaurant with very traditional decoration. The hall is decorated with acacia carvings, blue and purple velvet, and hanging crystal chandeliers everywhere, which is quite antique.

At the end of the hall, there is an oak cabinet in the European medieval style, which is quite old. On it is a huge blue and white general jar with a lid, which seems to be intended to restore the admiration of Chinese porcelain by European aristocrats in the 18th century.

Zhou Zhi and his friends asked for a seat near the window at the end of the hall. After they sat down, Zhou Zhi faced the jar. He sat for a while and then stood up again: "Xiao Miao, you guys order the food. I'll go over and take a look."

"What's wrong?" McGeve asked.

"Oh, Elbow is an expert in identifying ancient Chinese art." Mai Xiaomiao opened the menu: "When he sees Chinese porcelain, he wants to see what it is. We don't need to care about him."

McGeve couldn't help but wonder, didn't this person know too many things?

Coming to the cabinet, Zhou Zhi looked at the large blue and white jar.

The jar is more than 50 centimeters high, 25 centimeters in diameter, and about 30 centimeters in bottom diameter. It has a round mouth, square lip, sloping shoulders, and a flat bottom.

This jar also has a lid with a raised surface and a button on the top. Judging from its shape, it is a pearl top.

The outside of the jar is decorated with blue and white, which is soft and elegant, with a gray tint in the blue. The color is very stable and calm, quite in the style of ink painting, and combined with the delicate brushstrokes, it is very elegant.

The shoulder of the jar is painted with a lotus pattern. The lid and the belly are painted with two dragons, a coiled "Shou" character, and cloud patterns. The lower part of the belly is also lined with sea water and river cliff patterns. There is a hook cloud pattern near the bottom.

There are six characters written in regular script under the rim of the jar: "Made in the Longqing Period of the Ming Dynasty".

The overall shape of the jar is thick, the composition is complex and rigorous, the layers are clear, and the theme is prominent.

This is an object with a large door, but it was displayed in public as an ornament without any protection around it. It was obvious that the people in the restaurant did not realize the value of this porcelain.

But then again, the blue and white porcelain from the Ming Dynasty blank period, that is, the period after it, has not yet gained the status they deserve in the collecting world. The cultural relics circle only admires the Yongle and Xuande blue and white porcelain.

However, Zhou Zhi felt itchy when he saw this piece of blue and white porcelain, because the blue pigment used in this piece of porcelain was very special, called Pingdengqing.

Pingdengqing is a domestic blue pigment. It comes from Leping, Jiangxi Province. It is one of the blue and white pigments used in making underglaze porcelain, also known as "Pitangqing".

Volume 3 of Tao Shuo clearly states that the Jingde and Xuande kilns were at their peak during the Ming dynasty. The selection of materials, sample making, painting, and inscriptions were all done with great care. The blue and white porcelain used Su Ni and Bo Qing.

However, by the Chenghua period, all the blue had been used up, and only the equal blue material was used.

This material was used in the official kilns of Jingdezhen in the late Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty. The blue and white porcelain produced no longer had the black spots of Xuande blue and white porcelain. At the appropriate temperature, it could be fired into a soft, elegant, transparent, clear and distinct blue.

This kind of blue and white color is completely different from the rich and green Sumaliqing of Yongle and Xuande in the early Ming Dynasty.

Originally, Pingdengqing was widely used in Ming Dynasty porcelain, concentrated in the late Chenghua, Hongzhi and early Zhengde periods, which was not surprising.

It was even widely used in folk kilns, and later became the main material of folk kilns.

However, this kind of blue material became rare during the Jiajing period.

The Ming Shilu records a major event. In June of the 20th year of the Jiajing reign, a bloody struggle broke out between porcelain workers and their employers in Jingde, Jiangxi Leping: "People from Leping County, Jiangxi, used to work as hired laborers in Fuliang. In a year of famine, food was hard to come by. The people from Fuliang were burdened with heavy labor and drove them away, and then robbed them." "The vicious people from the two counties then gathered groups of more than a thousand people each and killed each other."

The impact of this struggle was great, and the porcelain industry of Jingdezhen suffered a brutal blow. The kiln was directly shut down for many years, and the source of the main blue material at that time, Pingdengqing, was completely cut off. Only one record was left in the "Jiangxi Dazhi·Ceramic Book": "Old Pitangqing was produced in Leping, this prefecture. In the middle of Jiajing, Leping was killed and the production was blocked."

The reign after Jiajing was the Longqing reign. By the time the Jingde Kiln was restored, it was no longer on the scale of an official kiln and could only make do with what was available. This marked the beginning of a period of "official cooperation and private kiln production".

At this time, blue and white materials also returned to the "blue era".

Huiqing originated from Yunnan, began to appear during the Zhengde period, and was widely used in folk kilns during the Jiajing and Wanli periods. It needs to be mixed with another blue material, "shiziqing", to produce a steady color.

It was not until the Longqing period that the selection and calcination techniques of Huiqing material became truly sophisticated. The resulting blue material was extremely pure, and the fired blue and white porcelain had a blue-purple color that was rich, bright, pure and stable. It was not until this time that Huiqing material was used to perfection, finally replacing other blue materials and becoming the mainstream.

The blue and white porcelain in front of Zhou Zhi is large in size, with a fine body and exquisite and delicate painting. It is not only a fine product from the official kiln, but also a very rare Longqing Dynasty celadon.

In other words, this piece of porcelain is actually the swan song of Pingdengqing, representing the end of this elegant and noble blue color in the Ming Dynasty, and has very important significance.

But it is not recognized by people and has fallen here to become an ordinary ornament.

"Elbow?" Seeing Zhou Zhi standing here for a long time, Mai Xiaomiao finally came over: "What's wrong? We have already ordered the dishes."

At this time, the lobby manager on duty also came over: "Sir, do you need any help?"

"Can I open the lid and take a look at this jar?" Zhou Zhi asked politely.

"Uh, this..." The lobby manager felt very embarrassed.

"I just need to watch for a minute." Zhou Zhi smiled and said, "One minute, you may bring a big business to your boss. It may also mean that you will participate in a legendary experience in this restaurant."

"Well... sir, you have successfully convinced me." The lobby manager thought about it briefly and felt that this matter would not cause him any loss. It might also be because Zhou Zhi had a pure Asian appearance but spoke with a standard London accent, which made him feel that the person in front of him might have a slightly different background, so he nodded and agreed.

Zhou Zhi was no longer polite. He opened the lid of the jar, carefully checked the rim and lid edge with his fingers, looked at the inner glaze, and finally put the lid aside and looked at the flint red on the bottom of the jar.

"Sir..." The lobby manager felt that Zhou Zhi's behavior was a bit dangerous. They were supposed to open the lid and take a look, so why was he moving things around?

"I've got it." Zhou Zhi had already put the jar back to its original position and put the lid back on: "Thank you, we'll go eat first."

The lobby manager couldn't help but complain in his heart, is that it?

But he still had a smile on his face: "Then I wish you all a pleasant meal. If you need anything, just raise your hand and call me."

Returning to the dining table, Zhou Zhi apologized to the others, "I'm sorry, I saw that the jar was a little special and I was tempted. I'm sorry for delaying you all."

"That jar is very beautiful. Is it the ancient oriental artwork that Xiao Miao mentioned?" McGeve was also very curious.

"Uncle, let me make a phone call first." Zhou Zhi smiled and opened his bag and took out his cell phone: "That is a rather special work of art."

After dialing a number and waiting for the call to be connected, Zhou Zhi whispered, "Mr. An, I have something to trouble you with." (End of this chapter)