碗窯：一份遺落山間的珍異

丁山

浙江溫州蒼南，玉蒼山南坡玉龍湖河谷中上游處，有一個隱于茂密林木之中的小村落，層層疊疊的老房子依山而筑，大都為穿井式木石架構，稱為吊腳樓，風貌古樸。300多年前，這里曾是民窯生產地，而且至今完整保留著古陶瓷生產線遺存。它便是碗窯村。

遺存仍在，可知當年碗窯盛景

碗窯村《巫氏宗譜》載，清康熙年間，福建連城巫氏因避戰亂，遷居浙江蒼南“蕉灘之東，素業陶瓷傳家”。隨后，其他姓氏也“實業瓷礦，屋宇連亙，人繁若市”，至乾隆年間達到極盛。

碗窯村以龍窯的方式燒制陶瓷品。龍窯又稱階級窯，它依一定的坡度建筑，斜臥似龍，在中國南方被廣泛采用。由于此地的龍窯主要以燒制碗具為主——男子制作碗坯、燒窯成器，女人則為碗具畫如意草或寶相花圖案，“碗窯”的村名由此而來。

據說極盛時，碗窯村共有龍窯18條，吸引了40余姓聚居，4000人口中僅30余人務農，其余皆為窯主窯工。時光如梭，如今那18條龍窯，完整保留下來的僅有一條，為清康熙年間由王氏建造，現在仍可使用，是游客們前來參觀的必到之處。這條龍窯有17級斜臥階梯窯體，還有一座已成標志性建筑物的高大煙囪。遠遠望去，那塔狀的煙囪矗立在一片溪畔民居之上，錐形的外觀、灰黃的色調既敦實又古樸。

由于此地水資源豐富，自古以來，當地鄉民建成多處水碓裝置用于農事，后來主要制作粘土原料。這些水碓多數建于明代，如今其中的一套裝置已經恢復。蒼南玉龍湖碗窯旅游開發有限公司陳爾東經理告訴筆者，由這套水碓裝置搗制的粘土原料，品質與古陶瓷用料并無二致。

游客來到這里，有的也會發出疑問：這里四面環山，似乎缺乏便捷的交通，巨量的陶瓷成品是怎么運出去的？事實上，以往的碗窯村依山傍水，一條自玉龍山發源的大溪就從村前流過，水量充沛，可以行船放排。這條大溪通鰲江，1958年建造橋墩水庫后，才改變了走向。不過，流過村前的那段水道依然在，村里老人告訴筆者，大溪邊古埠頭那些被磨得又光又亮的枕頭石，即是當年商貿物流旺盛的見證。

為何碗窯古村至今名聞遐邇？

以龍窯為燒制方式的古陶瓷產地，在浙江、福建、江西等地分布較廣，遺存也不在少數，但為何碗窯村獨獨聞名遐邇？

這首先是因為碗窯村當年為浙南最大的古陶瓷產地，與普通民眾日常生活的關系更為密切，影響及至現今。一名老窯工告訴筆者，舊時，碗分成細碗、粗碗，碗窯村生產的即為后者，它不大可能成為精致的工藝品，但能極大地滿足生活所需，大圈碗、小圈碗、點心碗、酒盞醋碟、調羹湯盆等，花色品種豐富，裝飾簡單樸實，為普通百姓所深深喜愛。老窯工說，碗窯村旺發時，每月能賣掉162萬只碗。盛況由此可見。

清代青花窯址保存豐富，是碗窯村受人關注的另一大原因。在這里，古陶瓷燒制作坊等原始設施，包括水碓、瓷土漂洗池、沉淀池及制坯工棚、窯床等遺址、遺物均較完整地保存著，不少以隨地取材的木板制成的工具，也都有保留。而其產品的燒制、裝飾等，都體現著鮮明的甌窯特色。

碗窯村頗受當代人青睞，還有一個不可忽視的原因，是其簡樸粗糙的材質和造型，與當今所倡導的原生態生活方式相一致。很多城市居民久居高樓大廈，渴望親近大自然，而碗窯村采用原始燒制技術制作的粗瓷碗具，符合簡樸生活方式和生態環保理念，成為人們爭相收藏和使用的器具，前來碗窯村索取古陶瓷碗的人越來越多，這也在一定程度上推動了“碗窯熱”。2013年，住建部、文化部、財政部聯合公布“第一、二批列入中國傳統村落”名單，碗窯村列入其中。這座古村不僅是重要的浙江古陶瓷業和非物質形態文化遺產的遺存點，而且已成為不可多得的鄉村人文旅游景區。

不可錯過的八角樓、古戲臺和三官廟

當年碗窯村的產品頗受浙南和閩贛一帶市場的好評，前來要貨的客商很多，“很多客商為了囤積貨源，干脆就住在這里等貨，一住就是半年。所以，以前這里還開設了不少客棧，遺存至今的木結構八角樓，依稀可見古客棧的格局，很可能就是客商們的下榻處”，陳爾東介紹。

那座在江南古村極少見到的純木結構八角樓，因地制宜地建成了五邊形，后側則另有三面墻體，與屋檐也呈八邊，故被稱為八角樓。八角樓共兩層，形狀復雜，全木質，由卯榫架構，未用一枚鐵釘，且十分牢固，歷經數百年風吹雨打，依然挺立于山坡路旁。游人來到八角樓下，抬頭望去，二樓那個垂柱支撐的向外挑出的陽臺，形制小巧，有一種不無浪漫的韻味。

為了挽留各方來客，清中葉，村里集資興建了兩座戲臺，保留至今的那座是歇山頂木結構建筑，平面呈方形，外觀呈亭臺狀。或許在村民心目中，它是祖宗留下的重要財產，保護得十分完好，屋脊上的仙人走獸都很完整，戲臺頂面藻井上的彩畫極其精致。南戲專家們曾認為，光是這些彩畫，即可認定這座古戲臺的文物價值。

古戲臺對面有建于清初的三官廟，供奉道教天神天官、地官、水官。大殿上方有龍形圖案，由大到小，旋形而上，最大直徑約4米，如同大銅鐘罩，俗稱“田螺鉆”。三官廟各殿有大大小小藻井13個，藻井內所描繪的人物、詩詞、花草等，與古戲臺彩畫有異曲同工之妙。經考證，三官廟中的藻井彩畫為當年流行的12部戲劇故事中的人物和場景，數百年后彩畫依然畫面清晰、色澤鮮艷。

能否重現碗窯制陶業昔時榮光？

碗窯村的老人回憶，碗窯村制陶業漸漸衰落的最后一個時間節點，應是在1936年。是年，村里不少人家無奈地將成品碗具壘放在家中，大多數龍窯也已熄火。新中國成立后，雖然有過重振碗窯村制陶業的努力，生產設備也有所改進，但盛景終究沒有重現。

不再生產碗具的碗窯村，浪費了制作碗具的設備和技藝，當地村民也頗感可惜。直到這幾年以古龍窯、古村落為重點，開發了旅游文化項目，部分村民獲得了為游客表演古老制碗手藝的機會，舊時的景象稍有恢復。endprint

碗窯村黨委書記許明進說，事實上，這里的碗具生產從未消亡，有經驗的窯工還在村里。這幾年，碗窯村的產品也有一定的銷量，主要用于收藏。

然而，從另一角度理解，古法燒制陶瓷產品的弊處，何嘗又不是優點？當龍窯窯體及各個裝置、物件得以搶救性發掘之后，相信碗窯村的制陶業將會來一次嬗變。蒼南縣文聯主席岳盛笑對筆者說，結合碗窯村大力發展文化旅游項目這一契機，引導游客投身制碗體驗，在親手制坯、燒制、上釉、添畫的過程中，享受古法制陶之魅力，同時打響碗窯村原生態制碗品牌，定能為重現碗窯村舊時榮光提供一條可行路徑。筆者已經看到，在碗窯村，由朱氏古居改建的碗窯博物館和由村倉庫改建的碗窯陶藝博物館已經落成開放，古村修繕工程正如火如荼，數處游客體驗點也已推出。碗窯村業態重振的探索之路已經起步。

（本文照片由作者提供）

Wanyao Village Makes Pottery Bowls

By Ding Shan

Wanyao is a village nestled in a wooded valley in Cangnan， a county under the jurisdiction of Wenzhou in southern Zhejiang. The village has houses perched on hillsides. Most of these houses are stilt ones. Over 300 years ago， the village was a major producer of pottery bowls fired in dragon kilns. “Wan” in the name Wanyao suggests bowls and “Yao” in the name points to kilns.

A family surnamed Wu migrated to the village in the early Qing （1644-1911） from Fujian to the south of Zhejiang province. The family started the pottery making in the village. As the family business flourished， other families joined the industry and settled down in the village.

According to history records， the village had 18 dragon kilns in its prime during the 60-year reign of Emperor Qianlong who ruled from 1736 to 1796. With a population of 4，000 of 40 plus clans， the village had only 30 villagers engaged in farming and the rest were all in the pottery making business. Now only one dragon kiln remains and still operates. It was built by the Wang family during the 1654-1722 reign of Emperor Kangxi. The 17-section dragon kiln stretches upward on a hillside. The tall chimney of the kiln serves as a landmark. The kiln attracts tourists from far and wide.

Before the pottery making business flourished， farming was the main business in the region. On a stream that flowed past the village were many water-powered trip-hammers. One water-powered hammer is now restored. When the village flourished in pottery making， these hammers were used to make clay， a key material for pottery making.

The village is now surrounded by mountains. Many might wonder how pottery products were shipped out to the outside in ancient times. There used to be a river passing by the village and emptied into Ao River. A reservoir was built nearby in 1958 and the stream changed its course， leaving the village stranded high on the hillsides. But the dried waterbed is still there and the rocks of the ancient docks still look smooth and shiny， serving as evidence of the flourishing trade of the yesteryears.endprint

Pottery making used to flourish in Zhejiang and neighboring Fujian to the south and Jiangxi to the west. Why is Wanyao village so special？

It is because the village was the biggest pottery maker in the south of Zhejiang. In the past， pottery bowls were classified into two categories： fine-pottery bowls and crude bowls. Wanyao Village made crud-pottery bowls： they were simple in style and the rich variety satisfied the needs of ordinary households. A retired potter at the village recalls that once upon a time the village sold off 1.62 million bowls a month.

Another huge attraction of Wanyao is that the village retains a somewhat relatively complete chain of a blue and white porcelain making system built in the Qing Dynasty （1644-1911）. Many sites and workshops and devices are still around. You can see how the clay was made， how crude pottery pieces were made， how clay was purified.

In 2013， Wanyao was listed by the central government as a Traditional Village of China. The village is now a key legacy of ancient pottery making and intangible cultural heritage of Zhejiang province. Moreover， it is a tourism attraction for people to see how rural culture and industry looked like in the past.

In its heydays， Wanyao was more than a pottery producer. It was a regional trade center. According to local historians， some traders stayed in the village for half a year to build up a stock. The village catered to the traders and offered hospitality， as testified by the existing octagonal house， the village theater stage， and the Taoist temple. The octagonal house is a wood structure， a typical architectural style of the south of the Yangtze River Delta. It is actually a pentagon. It is called an octagon because the three walls on the back side form an octagon with the eaves. The two-story structure stands firm without using a single iron nail， even though it is hundreds of years old. In the middle part of the Qing， the village had two theater stages built to entertain guests from the outside world. Only one stands now. You need just a glance at the ornate decoration of the stage to know that it is a very rare cultural heritage. The Taoist temple is well preserved. In particular， the halls have 13 caisson ceilings with opera tales finely painted on them. The paintings still look vivid and in bright colors even though they are hundreds of years old.

Pottery making in the village stopped abruptly in 1936. The finished products were piled high at homes and the dragon kilns stopped working. After the founding of the Peoples Republic in 1949， an effort was made in vain to restore the pottery making tradition. As tourism booms， traditional bowls are seeing a modest comeback. Some old houses are refurbished for tourism. Visitors can try their hands at making pottery bowls. Whether pottery making as an industry can come back can only be answered by the future.endprint