Mystery of Wucheng

Zheng Yunyun

Zheng Yunyun， graduating from the Department of Chinese language and literature at Jiangxi Normal University， has been engaged in journalism for many years. She is a master of arts and crafts in Jiangxi Province， a member of the Chinese Artists Association， director of the Chinese Painting Society in Jiangxi Province， and vice-chairman of the Artists Association in Nanchang. She is also a famous prose writer in China and has won the first Bing Xin Prose Award in China and the first Outstanding Literary Award in Jiangxi Province.

Ceramic culture is an important part of Jiangxi culture. This volume is divided into eight chapters， which present the long and profound ceramic culture of Jiangxi Province from prehistoric ceramics， Hongzhou wares， Jizhou wares， bluish white porcelain， Jingdezhen， export porcelain， and other aspects. It aims to help readers deeply understand the great influence and contribution of ceramics to Chinese culture and humankind.

Culture Symbols of Jiangxi Series · Ceramic Culture

Zheng Yunyun

Jiangxi Fine Arts Publishing House

April 2021

68.00 (CNY)

Wucheng Village， Zhangshu City， Jiangxi Province， has been a fertile land of fish and rice since history can remember. Around the village， there was a circle of earth built up during some unknown age. Local villagers called it “Wucheng”， or “Tongcheng” (Bronze City). In front of the ancient village is a river named Xiaojiang and behind it there are mountains and ridges， as well as lush forests. Although it seemed that no one knew of this buried place for three or four thousand years， there are some related city names nearby， such as Chengzuinao， Chengzuikou， Menlouqiu， Chengshan， Chengshang， Chengnao， etc.

For thousands of years， villagers here would occasionally dig out one or two ancient bronze artifacts from the soil when farming or fishing; perhaps this is how the name “Tongcheng” came into being. However， the story about it has already been washed away by the long stream of history.

In the early 1970s， the country-wide trend of building infrastructure on farmland and starting water conservancy projects had reached its climax. In 1973， Zhangshu City decided to build a reservoir in Wucheng in order to control and prevent floods in Xiaojiang. Professionals from the county museum also carried out several archaeological investigations， leading to a collection of pottery pieces with geometric patterns being found on the construction site.

In 1973， the Wucheng site became the first large-scale Shang Dynasty cultural site discovered south of the Yangtze River in China， which attracted great attention from historians.

Among the many Shang and Zhou dynasties sites later excavated in Jiangxi， the Wucheng site was the largest and richest. The city enjoyed greater water conservancy and transportation on the Ganpo Plain， with the Yangtze River to its north， Nanling Mountain to the south， the towering Luoxiao Mountain to the west， and Wuyi Mountain to the east. Especially the Yangtze River acted as a natural barrier obstructing potential invasion from powerful northern forces. Coupled with the surrounding advanced agricultural areas， its unique conditions made Wucheng culture a civilization that developed parallel with the Shang culture of the Central Plains.

To facilitate safe transportation， the roads in this city were paved with broken pottery， pebbles， and sand to adapt to the damp， rainy weather and sticky soil in southern China. Long corridor-style buildings covered both sides of the road; there were places for grand religious rituals in the city， and of course many handicraft workshops for casting bronze for the royal family and army. Unlike the ones on the Central Plains， these workshops not only cast weapons， but also produced bronze agricultural tools. In this extraordinary city， many pottery workshops existed as well. With the roads of the city being paved with broken pottery， the large number of pottery workshops was no surprise to anyone. The pottery was rich in variety and came in many exquisite shapes. The various patterns on the pottery with geometric shapes looked incredibly smooth， free， and unrestrained， as if the craftsmen had instilled the lifelike and flourishing Jiangnan spring scenery into their wares. The water ripples were perfectly reflected on the pottery， and the “S-shaped” patterns reminded people of the snakes that were commonly seen in the south slithering through the grass. Like the well-made pottery， primitive porcelain wares were decorated with a green-brown glaze. Wares such as folded shoulder pots， large-mouth urns， basins and bowls， also became fashionable utensils in people’s lives， and gradually developed from being everyday containers to production tools.

The use of bronze agricultural tools contributed greatly to the steady and bountiful harvests in the region. People needed utensils such as cylinders， urns， and pots to store food; due to the surplus of food， people began to brew mellow wine， which gave birth to wine vessels such as flagons and goblets， all of which promoted the rapid development of ceramics in Wucheng culture. Some ancient characters and symbols were engraved on the bottoms， surfaces， shoulders， and edges of this pottery.

The large amount of primitive celadon and the dozen or more kilns which were unearthed along with the bronze wares made historians ecstatic. The ancestors in the south， using high-quality clay and high-temperature bronze firing technology， took the lead in firing primitive celadon here. On the Wucheng site， one of the earliest Long kilns (later known as dragon kilns) in the country was discovered. The largest dragon kiln was as long as eight meters， with eight firewood holes and one smoke exhaust hole on the north wall of the kiln. When people ignited the kiln in the front， smoke would travel along the flue to preheat the back kiln. Even today， its ingenious and rational design fascinates people.

The earliest pottery in human history was flat fired on riverbanks， and later shaft kilns were invented to raise the temperature and exhaust smoke. Back then， dragon kilns were the most advanced kilns based on shaft kilns. The bottom of the kilns were inclined， with the lowest end a fire chamber and the highest end smoke exhaust holes. Being built upon terrain， they looked like fire dragons winding down mountains， hence the name dragon kiln. The highest temperature in the kiln could reach over 1，300 degrees centigrade. The invention of the dragon kilns laid an excellent foundation for the vigorous development of celadon firing after the Han and Tang dynasties in Jiangxi.

Therefore， dragon kilns were acknowledged as the cradle of celadon.