浙江青瓷：無與倫比的世界母瓷

文/洪加祥

無論走在世界任何角落，也無論愿不愿意，只要你是中國人，都會天然地被打上瓷器的烙印。這個烙印揭不了、抹不去，因為你血脈里流動著瓷器文化；瓷器是中國，中國就是瓷器，瓷器有著赤子的情懷、火樣的性格、至純至美的外形，這種中國烙印誰也無法將其抹去。

最令浙江人引以為傲的也是瓷器，因為華美瑩澈的浙江青瓷是世界陶瓷的母窯。世界考古史表明，最早的陶瓷是中國人燒造的，其中最早發明瓷器的就是浙江人。傳統觀點認為，公元前8000～2000 年，中國人發明了陶器，但浙江近些年在浦江縣上山文化堆積層中，發掘出一萬年前的陶器制品，使得中國陶器史向前推進了二三千年（最近江西萬年縣仙人洞遺址的考古發掘，更是將中國陶器制作歷史推至兩萬年前）。

但中國原始瓷最早的窯址，位于浙江德清的火燒山窯址，迄今有8000多年歷史。這在世界瓷業生產中是最早的。

故宮陶瓷專家陳萬里生前對浙江青瓷情有獨鐘，認為“一部中國陶瓷史，半部在浙江”；浙江陶瓷史大半部在越窯和龍泉窯青瓷。浙江越窯青瓷是中國和世界瓷器的母窯，其深遠的歷史與現實意義，遠未被完全挖掘和開發利用。

越窯的美，美在青瓷的瑩澈、溫潤如玉。一千多年前，唐代陸龜蒙贊美越窯青瓷說，“九秋風露越窯開，奪得千峰翠色來”。唐代文人雅士喜歡飲茶，越窯青瓷華茲高貴的釉質，青綠略帶閃黃的色澤，烘托出茶湯完美的色澤。

漢唐以后，越窯青瓷在浙江各地遍地開花。到了五代，越窯青瓷達到了中國南北瓷器仰望的巔峰狀態，不僅出現了秘色瓷，而且在工藝、胎質和釉的配方以及再創新等方面都達到了當時世界最高水平，后來的官哥汝定鈞窯瓷器，從胎釉到造型以及燒造工藝，無一不是從五代越窯仿燒演化而來，甚至北宋的八大窯系，也都深深刻著浙江越窯精美工藝的烙印。

五代越窯青瓷釉面光滑，釉層透明溫潤，造型上棱角分明趨于秀美，同時在裝飾上集中了漢唐越窯的優勢并加以創新發展，刻花、剔花、印花技術發展到了高度成熟的階段。五代越窯胎骨細膩、釉薄均勻，使得工藝裝飾題材得到更多的運用，無論是堆塑還是刻畫，花鳥、動物、人物、自然等一應俱全，蟠龍、鶴、鳳、荷花、秋葵、牡丹栩栩如生，江河湖海的波紋水紋既洶涌又靈動飄逸；人物輪廓生動，線條優美。尤其是蓮花瓣裝飾，開一代先河，成為宋元明清各代傳承變化的技法特征，既承襲了唐代金銀器和銅鏡、織繡的特點，又構圖嚴謹，不斷創新各類精美花紋，體現了五代時期浙江青瓷的最高水準。

宋代龍泉五管蓋瓶。浙江省博物館/展出A five-spouted jar made at the Longquan Kilns and dated to the Song period, on display at the Zhejiang Provincial Museum.

宋元龍泉窯青瓷。大英博物館/收藏Celadon wares made at the Longquan Kilns and dated to the Song period, collected at the British Museum.

上林湖越窯博物館內展品。Cultural relics are on display at the Shanglin Lake Yue Kilns Museum in Ningbo city, Zhejiang province.

上林湖越窯博物館內展品。Cultural relics are on display at the Shanglin Lake Yue Kilns Museum in Ningbo city, Zhejiang province.

四十多年來，我幾乎跑遍福建閩北、河南各窯址以及河北、山西、安徽、江西的南昌、上饒、景德鎮等地古窯址，對浙江青瓷有了更多了解，更深的研究。

浙江青瓷到了宋代，出現了令世界震驚的南宋官窯、哥窯，而龍泉生產的粉青和梅子青，更是令人驚嘆不已。近年來，收藏中國古代瓷器藝術品時，國際藏家必選浙江青瓷作為壓箱底。他們認為，浙江青瓷歷史最悠久，文化藝術價值高，值得永久收藏；而龍泉窯則是繼越窯之后，再次代表浙江登上了中國青瓷藝術的最高峰。明代人評價：“龍泉窯器，土細質厚，色若蔥翠?！薄吨信d禮書》記載：“南宋中興初年，京郊大祭，著臨安府命各府進呈青瓷禮器?！边@其中就有龍泉瓷，而當時龍泉大窯已燒出薄胎厚釉的粉青產品。很顯然，南宋早期，在杭州尚未建置御用官窯時龍泉瓷器已進宮。這一觀點亦說明龍泉窯的歷史地位。

根據杭州老虎洞窯開窯的歷史堆積層分析，此窯當時正處起窯階段，南官瓷器尚未捏成素胎，更沒投入窯內燒制。龍泉窯燒制薄胎厚釉類粉青瓷器的歷史，自然比南宋官窯早。尤其是皇宮遺址發現諸多龍泉青瓷碗盤殘件，后人將其當作“龍泉仿官”，這就顯得非常牽強，缺乏根據。從杭州郊壇下官窯青瓷來看，窯址里的殘器與龍泉青瓷的面目幾近一樣，似有師傅帶徒弟的傳承關系。這更說明，龍泉青瓷大窯產品在南宋早已用于朝廷與王公貴族，如果不是官辦窯址，至少是一種官搭民燒的名窯產品。

黃賓虹常用“渾厚華滋”四字評價中國畫和龍泉青瓷的最高境界。這與黃賓虹早年隨父在金華開古玩店，從小浸潤于龍泉青瓷是分不開的。我認為，賓虹先生對龍泉青瓷的評價是準確的，其中包含造型美和釉色美的特征，而“端莊雜流麗，剛勁含婀娜”，亦是渾厚華滋的具體表現。

那么，又該如何看龍泉大窯青瓷釉色呢？ 南宋趙彥衛的《云麓漫鈔》是最早記載龍泉青瓷呈色的：“青瓷器，皆云出自李王，號秘色，又曰出錢王。今處之龍溪出者色粉青，越乃艾色?！边@是古人對龍泉粉青釉鑒定的說法，也給了今人在判斷龍泉青瓷與其他窯口青瓷之區別時的一些啟示。

講宋代浙江青瓷，其實是講龍泉經典釉色，不外乎粉青、梅子青。從文獻記載來看，粉青是南宋龍泉區別于其他青瓷窯口的第一個特點。但五代越窯的“艾色”也有，即青中帶黃的草綠色，是此前較為普遍的青瓷呈色，而梅子青系多次施釉，施瑪瑙釉而致，像新鮮的梅子那般好看。

1999年3月，我曾經作為參加全國兩會采訪報道的記者，采訪過龍泉青瓷“祖師爺”、全國人大代表徐朝興。他認為，龍泉青瓷生產歷史一千多年，是中國陶瓷史上燒制年代最長、窯址分布最廣、產品質量最高、生產規模和外銷范圍最大的浙江名品青瓷。龍泉窯從清末民初開始逐漸不被重視，與明代未排入五大名窯有關，這也與當時戰亂和歷史資料缺失有關。盡管如此，國內外人士仍對龍泉青瓷相當重視，而龍泉青瓷真正的歷史意義與現實價值，還有待于進一步從考古發現與工藝傳承兩方面來加以認證以及進行文化考量。

前些年，在龍泉溪口瓦窯垟、小梅瓦窯路窯址的考古發掘中，發現了大量黑胎龍泉窯瓷器。從早期窯爐內出土黑胎的青瓷中，又發現了龍泉青瓷官窯的一些蜘蛛馬跡。杭州卷煙廠邊皇城生活遺址，也出土了一些龍泉窯黑胎瓷片標本，當時曾一度以為是官窯遺存，但細究胎質卻不見杭州紫金土成分，最后斷定為龍泉青瓷。

我曾赴倫敦蘇富比考察與講學，當時，中國青花瓷和南宋龍泉的拍賣價首次超越歐美油畫價格。英國收藏大家吉賽曾對我們說：“恐怕再過三十年，中國人才會真正懂得浙江青瓷的無與倫比和宋瓷的財富效應?！?/p>

五代越窯五管蓋瓶。A five-spouted jar made at the Yue Kilns and dated to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.

南宋官窯出戟花觚。故宮博物院/收藏A wintergreen celadon goblet unearthed from the Southern Song Dynasty Guan Kilns, collected at the Palace Museum.

浙江省博物館舉辦的南宋龍泉青瓷展展品。A Longquan celadon pot is on display at the Zhejiang Provincial Museum.

浙江省博物館舉辦的南宋龍泉青瓷展展品。Two Longquan celadon pots are on display at the Zhejiang Provincial Museum.

我笑著回答他說：“先富起來的浙江人，其實在青瓷投資上早有所準備，寧波、紹興、麗水和杭州等地，不僅有保護很好的青瓷古窯址，杭州、寧波、溫州、義烏等地藏家還時常出沒于國內外拍賣市場，掃貨‘雪拉同’的魄力更是震驚世界。我所接觸的眾多藏家，都在發掘、研究和傳播中國古陶瓷文化，尤其是熱衷于收藏保護浙江青瓷和進行母窯文化研究，并且有很多人正在積極開博物館、辦研討會和建青瓷工作室?！?/p>

根據多年研究，我曾在囯家發改委南昌藝術品評估鑒定培訓會議上授課時提出，浙江青瓷是世界工業革命前中國創燒的第一代高端科技產品，并作為藝術品成為交流到世界各地的第一批全球化大樁商品，從夏商周的德清火燒山原始青瓷至漢唐浙東上林湖系列古窯址，再到宋元的龍泉青瓷以及甌窯、婺州窯等，引領世界陶瓷工藝數千年。

浙江經濟30多年高速發展，也是在這種深厚歷史文化、高端工藝設計理念與商業作坊模式的影響下，一步步傳承創新并向前拓展的，這讓我們感受到古代浙江強盛的科技與工業力量，曾引領世界經濟不斷增長與文化交流不斷深化。

正是因為有了這種歷史文化內在的動力，才讓今天的我們越來越清晰地意識到，以人工智能、機器制造、家電更新換代和互聯網電商引領對外貿易持續發展的浙江經濟文化大發展中，亦可通過學習、鑒賞和收藏古代浙江青瓷藝術品深入了解歷史文化發展規律，從而不斷增強浙江經濟與企業財富增長的韌性與軟實力。

浙江青瓷發展到宋元時期，迎來對外出口的黃金時代。在重要港口遺址如寧波港、泉州港等的考古發掘，以及華光礁1號、南海一號等海上考古發掘中，均發現大量的龍泉、甌窯青瓷。歷史終于還原了浙江青瓷大量銷售海內外的真相。

從東南亞及歐美仿造浙江青瓷的歷史看，前500 年屬低仿，科技含量和工藝水平無法達到浙江的高超技藝。后500年中國內亂外患，青瓷發展停滯，西方開始文藝復興運動和工業革命，而我們的青瓷制作水平仍停留在恢復階段。20年來，浙江青瓷在政府與民眾的不懈努力下，重回高光時刻，龍泉青瓷在世博會和G20杭州峰會上又大放異彩。

目前，浙江龍泉青瓷傳統燒制技藝被聯合國教科文組織列入人類非物質文化遺產代表作名錄。浙江青瓷作為世界瓷器無與倫比的母窯，代表中國陶瓷名錄入庫，終于實至名歸，得到世界公認，這是浙江的歷史榮耀與永遠的驕傲。

Zhejiang Celadon:“Mother” of World’s Porcelain

By Hong Jiaxiang

Wherever you go in the world, whether like it or not, as long as you are Chinese, you will be naturally associated with porcelain.This association cannot simply be shaken off or erased, because you have the culture of porcelain flowing in your veins: China is porcelain, and porcelain is China.

上林湖越窯博物館內的展品。Cultural relics are on display at the Shanglin Lake Yue Kilns Museum in Ningbo city, Zhejiang province.

What has made Zhejiang people most proud is also porcelain,because Zhejiang celadon is the “mother” of the world’s porcelain.Archaeological studies show that the earliest ceramics were made by the Chinese people, and the earliest porcelain was made by the Zhejiang people. Traditional views held that pottery was invented in around 8000 to 2000 BC, but sherds unearthed in Shangshan Archeological Site in Zhejiang’s Pujiang county proved to be over 10,000 years old, pushing the history of Chinese pottery back by 2,000-3,000 years. More recently, archeological finds at the Xianren (or Immortals) Cave in Wannian county, neighboring Jiangxi province have pushed it further back, to 20,000 years ago.

Nevertheless, the earliest kiln site producing China’s protoporcelain, Huoshao Mountain Kiln site, is located in Zhejiang’s Deqing county, with a history of more than 8,000 years.

Chen Wanli (1892-1969), a foremost ceramics expert in the Palace Museum, had a special fondness for Zhejiang celadon.He believed that “of the history of Chinese ceramics, half lies in Zhejiang”, and the celadon from the Yue Kiln and the Longquan Kiln comprises the major part of Zhejiang’s ceramics history. In fact, as the “mother” kiln of porcelain in China and the world, the profound historical and practical significance of Yue Kiln and its celadon products is far from being fully explored.

The beauty of Yue Kiln lies in the bright and clear celadon it produced, which is as gentle as jade. More than 1,000 years ago, Lu Qiumeng, a Tang dynasty (618-907) poet, once declared,“When the Yue Kiln opens in late autumn, the verdant celadon cover a thousand mountain peaks,” describing the spectacular scene of porcelain-making at the Yue Kiln during his time. Tang literati were fond of drinking tea and the Yue celadon happens to show the perfect greenness of the tea.

After the Tang dynasty, Yue celadon blossomed everywhere in Zhejiang. In the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period(907-979), Yue celadon reached its peak. It was when the “Mise Ware” (mise literally means “secret color”), the finest type of Yue celadon, emerged, with the product quality, glaze and innovative production all at the top. Indeed, almost all the famous kilns that later followed, even the “eight great kilns” in the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127), were deeply influenced by the Yue Kiln.

The Yue celadon in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom period was smooth in glaze and transparent in layers, with more appealing shapes. At the same time, the strengths of Yue celadon in decoration from previous dynasties were passed down and further developed, as surface-pattern carving and printing techniques reached a highly mature stage. During that period, the Yue celadon was delicate, and the glaze thin and uniform, making decoration themes more diverse. Whether it is the carving of flowers, birds and figures, or the tide patterns of rivers, lakes and seas, the subjects were varied and vivid. Lotus petal decoration, in particular, was the first of its kind in a generation, and its changes became hallmarks of dynastic transformation in the Song (960-1279), Yuan (1206-1368), Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1616-1911) eras. It not only inherited the characteristics of gold- and silverware, bronze mirrors and embroidery of the Tang dynasty,but also had a rigorous composition, with constantly innovated exquisite patterns, representing the highest level of Zhejiang celadon since the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.

作者在上海博物館參加古瓷鑒定活動。The author attends a porcelain-appraisal event at the Shanghai Museum.

For more than 40 years, I have been to almost all the kiln sites in northern Fujian and Henan, as well as the ancient kiln sites in Hebei, Shanxi, Anhui and Jiangxi, helping identify the Shanglin Lake Yue celadon products unearthed in these places.Some of them are more exquisite than the “Five Famous Song Kiln Sites” in terms of their shapes and glaze, and I found that they have been inherited from the Yue Kiln. In lectures in London, or in training courses with with top domestic appraisal experts in Tsinghua University, Zhejiang University, everyone agreed with my assessment that Zhejiang’s Yue celadon of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms is the “mother” of all the Song dynasty porcelain,and there is a clear relationship of inheritance, absorption and development.

When it came to the Song dynasty, the Guan Kiln and the Ge Kiln, which would later stun the world, emerged, and the celadon wares with pink blue and plum green colors produced by Longquan appeared. In recent years, when collecting ancient Chinese porcelain artworks, international collectors would invariably choose Zhejiang celadon wares and regard them as the most important. They believe that Zhejiang celadon has the longest history and high cultural and artistic value, worthy of permanent collection. No wonder, as the Longquan Kiln was another peak of Chinese celadon production in Zhejiang after the Yue Kiln.

Ample archeological evidence has shown that the Longquan celadon wares had already been widely used in the imperial court and by nobles in the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279). Even if not government-run, the Longquan Kiln was at least a famous civilian-operated kiln site providing exquisite celadon to officials and the public alike.

Huang Binhong (1865-1955), a well-known painter who hailed from Zhejiang’s Jinhua city, often described the highest level of Chinese painting and Longquan celadon as “Hun Hou Hua Zi”(roughly translated as “profound and gentle”). This is inseparable from the fact that Huang opened an antique shop with his father in Jinhua in his early years and immersed himself in Longquan celadon since childhood. For me, Huang evaluation of Longquan celadon is accurate, which captures the features of its beautiful shape and glaze.

In March 1999, I interviewed Xu Chaoxing, a great master of Longquan celadon and a deputy to the National People’s Congress. He believed that Longquan celadon has a production history of more than 1,000 years, and of Zhejiang’s celadon, it is the celadon with the longest production period, the widest distribution in terms of kiln sites, the highest product quality, the largest production scale and the largest export range in the history of Chinese ceramics. In the late Qing dynasty, Longquan Kiln was somewhat in decline, which was related to the fact that it was not included in the “Five Famous Kilns” in the Ming dynasty.However, great importance has been attached to Longquan celadon, but its real historical significance and value still need to be further discovered.

I once went to Sotheby’s in London to deliver lectures. It so happened at the time that the auction prices of Chinese blue and white porcelain as well as its Southern Song dynasty Longquan celadon surpassed those of European and American oil paintings for the first time. A well-known British collector once said: it will be another thirty years before the Chinese truly understand the incomparable Zhejiang celadon and the wealth that the Song dynasty porcelain could generate.

I answered him with a smile: those Zhejiang people who got rich first were already prepared for celadon investment. In Ningbo, Shaoxing, Lishui and Hangzhou, there are not only wellprotected celadon kiln sites, collectors from these and other places also make frequent appearance in the auction market at home and abroad. Many collectors I know of are opening museums, holding seminars and establishing celadon studios and workshops in order to discover, study and spread ancient Chinese ceramic culture,especially the celadon and master kiln culture of Zhejiang.

Based on years of research, I once gave a lecture during a training session at the National Development and Reform Commission. I proposed that Zhejiang celadon was the first generation of high-end scientific and technological products created and fired in China before the Industrial Revolution, and it eventually became the first batch of bulk commodities for art exchange globally. The craftsmanship of Zhejiang’s celadon-making has led the world for thousands of years.

The rapid economic development of Zhejiang over the past three decades is also steeped in this profound history and culture, and under the background of high-end craft design and commercial workshop model. Step by step, through inheritance,innovation and expansion, the strong scientific, technological and industrial power of ancient Zhejiang, which once led the economic growth and cultural exchange of the ancient world, was made all the more evident.

It is precisely this inherent force of history and culture that continues to power the economic and cultural development of Zhejiang, now led by artificial intelligence, machine manufacturing and e-commerce, among others.

In September 2009, the UNESCO inscribed the traditional firing technology of Longquan celadon on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the only ceramic item on the list. Zhejiang celadon, as the incomparable “mother”porcelain of the world, deserved to be recognized as such. This is the historical glory of Zhejiang and its pride forever.