PS: (Nearly 4,000 words. Did you enjoy reading it?) It's okay if you're unhappy. There are still a few more chapters today.）
The acidic soil here was not very strong. The green amphora that was dug out on the first day had been exposed to the air since it was unearthed. The plum green glaze layer did not change at all. He was completely relieved.
On the other hand, there was a question that had been lingering in Brother Long's mind. Who did these burial porcelain originally belong to? Furthermore, there was no coffin, no main tomb, and so on.
Because Qin Shi had said that when they were buried, they were almost all new. Although many of them were practical objects, they were all at the level of official kilns!
And it was very interesting. For example, that lotus-shaped jar was the top grade in the imperial kiln!
The official kiln was the kiln mouth run by the government. It rose in the Southern Song Dynasty. The official kiln was also divided into two types: The imperial kiln was specially used to pay tribute to the emperor. The official kiln was actually run by the government. Not only was it supplied to the government, but a small portion was also sold to the people. For example, after retiring officials returned home, they could go to the official kiln to buy the porcelain they needed. They could even customize a batch.
For example, a large number of porcelain was needed for the construction of a mansion or ancestral hall. However, it could not be too inferior. The retired officials with some ability would go to the official kiln to order a batch of porcelain.
Of course, if an official wanted to do something, he would do the same.
However, the imperial kiln's porcelain was not sold to any government or folk. Now, people generally referred to the two kinds of kilns as official kilns.
Moreover, there were many things that could not be made in civilian kilns: Many of the shapes, patterns, and colors of the porcelain made in the official kiln were used by the royal family. For example, during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, bright yellow, dragon and phoenix patterns, etc. These kinds of porcelain were not allowed to be made in the civilian kiln.
And even if it was a failure, the porcelain from the official kiln with flaws had to be smashed to prevent it from leaking out! (Excerpt from Life in the Southern Song Dynasty)
Brother Long had known about this before, and he even told Qin Shi," Being by the side of an antique expert, she understood what he meant.
When he took out the porcelain, he found that some of the porcelain had dragon and phoenix patterns on it. In the Southern Song Dynasty, this must have been a tribute kiln, which was something from the imperial kiln.
However, Shushan Province didn't seem to have been conferred the title of king during the Southern Song Dynasty. It seemed that even if the emperor had given the imperial kiln to his brothers and nephews, the emperor's son-in-law shouldn't have appeared here!
While waiting in the hotel, the two of them were discussing this problem.
Qin Shi had just finished cleaning an extremely rare blue-glazed porcelain bottle from the Longquan kiln of the Southern Song Dynasty. He had dug out two such porcelain bottles, with a diameter of 8 cm, a foot diameter of 8 cm, and a height of 27 cm.
It has a round mouth, a square body, protruding horizontal stripes on all sides, small round feet, and the size of the mouth and feet is the same.
White body, with plum green glaze on the outside, the glaze color of the raised stripes is slightly lighter, the end of the circle is not glazed, it is light vermilion.
During the Southern Song Dynasty, the Cong style vase was made of porcelain that imitated the ancient jade Cong. People at that time liked antiques.
The Longquan porcelain vase in his hand perfectly combined the dignified and simple shape of the jade cong with the warm and subtle glaze color of Longquan porcelain. It was clear and elegant, and the glaze color was appropriate, with ancient charm.
He also knew that these were the only two cong style vases in the world that had been dug out from cellars. The other authentic Southern Song vases on the market were also extremely rare. They were either handed down from generation to generation or dug out from ancient tombs by chance.
As for the jade cong, it was a kind of jade ware with a round inside and a cylindrical outside. It was a ritual vessel used by ancient people to worship gods. It first appeared in the third period of the Xuejiagang culture in Qianshan, Anhui Province, about 5100 years ago.
In the middle and late Neoliths, jade congs appeared in large numbers in the Liangzhu culture of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, the Shixia culture of Guangdong Province, and the Taosi culture of Jin Province. The jade congs of the Liangzhu culture were the most developed, and many were unearthed and handed down.
Of course, the jade Cong that had been passed down for generations had not been passed down for four or five thousand years. It had been dug out hundreds or thousands of years ago and was regarded as a good thing at that time.
"A person who can use this level of porcelain is definitely not simple!”
"Oh right, when Brother Han arrives, we'll pack up and leave immediately.”
Qin Shi said as he fiddled with the bottle.
Upon hearing this, Brother Long, who was washing a green glazed lotus petal lid cup, said,
"Alright, do you think that person is the original owner of these things?”
"It's hard to say unless he's a relative of the royal family.”
"It was buried when they were fleeing. This should not be wrong. According to common sense, the cellars in the Song Dynasty were usually built with bricks or stones. These things were obviously directly buried in a pit. Make a fake tomb.
Although the items were placed in an orderly manner, it was still possible to determine that their owners did not have much time left. They must have had no choice but to end the matter in a hurry and then escape in a hurry, setting off on a path of no return.
Combined with the time and location of the Song and Meng wars, these things should have been buried during the Duanping period of the Southern Song Dynasty, around 1200 years ago.”
"How did you calculate it?"
"History! In 1234 AD, the Mongol Empire launched a war to destroy the Southern Song Dynasty. In the 45 years until the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty in 1279, Shushan and Chengdu were occupied by the Mongol army three times.
I remember that the Yuan army attacked Mount Shu and said that they were using the path, but didn't they massacre the residents of Chengdu? Not to mention other places, the thousand-year-old city of Chengdu had only been reduced to a state of desolation. The number of corpses in the city had reached an astonishing 1.4 million! The Han people have all been killed!"
According to the statistics provided by scholars in the history of the Song, Yuan, and Ming Dynasties, after the massacre of Mount Shu by the Mongolians, the population of Mount Shu decreased from 13 million to between 600,000 to 800,000!
Especially the Chengdu Plain of Mount Shu. After this attack, the thousand-year-old prosperity and ancient civilization were almost gone!
I can't remember how many years that war lasted, but C City is not far from Chengdu. I reckon that this batch of porcelain should have been buried at that time, and everyone died!
As he said that, he picked up a Ding kiln white glazed flower pattern sunflower petal bowl on the bed and said,
"It's very interesting to add this!
For the time being, we can see that this porcelain owner might have opened a bank and also run a porcelain business. He must have a very strong official background.
Moreover, he must be a rich man. The fact that he had so many expensive porcelain was proof. Porcelains of this grade were even more expensive than gold of the same weight!”
"It's probably more expensive than gold now."
"Yes, most of them! How many do you want?"
Brother Long's face was filled with disdain. He couldn't be bothered with Zhang Nan and said,
"Take it back as a rice bowl? I'm afraid of having nightmares in the middle of the night. I'm afraid of falling!”
"Hehe, this is a Kong Mo. These 985 pieces of porcelain should not have been used.”
"Don't stray off topic.”
If he hadn't interrupted him, Qin Shi would have continued to ramble on.
"These things are all new, and there are many similar items. They should be his own collection.
In his era, the wealthy merchants from Chengdu, Shancheng, and other places, as well as the local wealthy families, might have been the buyers of these porcelain.
However, at this time, the political situation in the Southern Song Dynasty changed drastically!
He had gone through a lot of trouble to buy the good stuff, but to his surprise, his new product did not cause too much of a sensation.
Due to the chaos of war, the owner of the tomb had no chance to sell the porcelain anymore. The Mongolians were here!
Before he fled, he was worried about those precious porcelain. It was impossible to take them away, and it was even more impossible to leave them with the Meng army. Destroying them would be like taking his life!
After thinking about it, there was only one way: bury them and let them see the light of day when the situation improved.
Hence, Youli's empty tomb appeared.”
Qin Shi was telling a story, and Long Zhixi was listening to it as well.
The story is not bad."
After telling the story, he sat down on the chair and said to Long Zhixi,""You're underestimating me with just this one story. Actually, this story is more suitable for the common people's tastes. For 'professionals' like us, the following story is more suitable.”
"Tell me."
Qin Shi walked to the window and said," I don't remember if there was a Zhao King in the Southern Song Dynasty, but there was one in the Northern Song Dynasty. It was that unlucky Huizong Zhao Ji. He was once the King of C City. Later, he was lucky. His elder brother, Zhao Xu, died of illness at the age of twenty-four, and the throne actually fell to him.”
"This isn't called good luck. It's probably bad luck!”
Brother Long interrupted,"If he had been a good prince, Zhao Ji might not have died in the Five Nations City."”
"Brother Long, you're amazing. You even know about the five kingdoms!”
"Hehe, I was also a good student back then.”
It was rare for her to show off.
"In the history of Song Huizong, he was called Emperor Dao Jun. Back then, there was a famous Guangli Temple in C City that was built in the Tang Dynasty. The temple was named after the fourth year of Dazhong Xiangfu of Song Zhenzong. It was the Guangde Temple on the mountain.”
As he spoke, he pointed at a monastery on Crouching Dragon Mountain in the distance.
I reckon that Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty was once the king of this county. After he ascended the throne, he felt the blessing of Mercy Boathouse and made him the emperor. Oh, it was Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva.
Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty probably ordered the kiln officials to fire a batch of fine porcelain in Longquan in Jiangnan and Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province, and presented it to the Cihang Buddha in Guangde Temple. Moreover, this practice of using imperial kiln porcelain to worship the Cihang Buddha of Guangde Temple was very likely to be later used as a royal practice and inherited by the later emperors of the Song Dynasty.
When Emperor Xiaozong of the Song Dynasty became emperor, he once bestowed the title of Master Yuanjue Huiying Cigan to Zen Master Keyou, the founder of Guangde Temple. He probably also made a batch of exquisite porcelain at that time and bestowed it to Guangde Temple again.
At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, the Mongolian army invaded Xichuan, and the Mongolian and Song armies fought in Xichuan for a long time. In order to avoid the destruction of the war, this batch of porcelain, along with the sacrificial bronzeware, was buried underground by the monks of Guangde Temple, so that these treasures were safe and sound in the war.
The monks would not have buried them in the monastery. They might have buried them in the fields owned by the monastery. However, the monks were also from the Song Dynasty and did not survive in the end.
Just like that, those dragon and phoenix patterns could be explained.”
"This story is more reasonable than the previous one." It was a little amazing that the history was so clear!”
"Haha, of course. Actually, Brother Long had one last story!
There were also many pieces of fine Song Dynasty porcelain used for sacrificial and ceremonial purposes, such as the Gui type furnace, Li type furnace, Ding type furnace, and even the Cong type vase. They were all imitation bronze ritual vessels.
There were also those plates, bowls, and cups that seemed to be daily utensils, but in fact, many of them were engraved with lotus petals on the surface, which had an inexplicable origin with the prosperity of religion at that time.
After the late Northern Song Dynasty, the court advocated Confucianism and the wind of worshipping the ancients prevailed. Among the literati and scholars and the upper class, there was a trend of worshipping antiques.
Following the trend of this era, Longquan Kiln created a lot of antique bronze and jade-like porcelain. From the analysis of this batch of porcelain, most of them were representative works of Longquan celadon, and would not be used by ordinary people.
Moreover, judging from the scale and the number of porcelain of a single variety, it was impossible for rich merchants or officials to own it. It was most likely that the government had purchased it collectively and used it as a ritual vessel during the Spring and Autumn Festival or major festivals.”
"And Brother Guan, these sacrificial items are only used a few times a year.
As for those artifacts with dragon and phoenix patterns, they might have been bestowed by the emperor.
Then, the Mongolians came, and that was it.”
This story was not bad. It was actually from the historical news of the Qin Dynasty (the author read the news as well)…
The two of them waited at the hotel for another day before Brother Han drove a brand new car to Suining. It took more than a day longer than the original plan. They encountered a road collapse halfway and waited for almost two days!
Shu Road was harder than climbing the blue sky. It was normal to encounter such a situation when entering and leaving Mount Shu.
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