Who invented pottery?

China is a world-famous pottery bean. Robert Louvre, a British cultural historian, brilliantly pointed out: "Pottery is the index of civilization." As early as 6,000 years ago, during the patriarchal clan commune in primitive society in China, there were extremely rich varieties of painted pottery, red pottery, gray pottery, black pottery, white pottery and printed pottery. These ceramics have reached a high level in raw material selection, molding technology, artistic processing, firing temperature and so on. The invention of pottery is the earliest creative activity of human beings to change one substance into another through chemical changes. It is an epoch-making milestone in the development history of human society and represents the beginning of the Neolithic Age. Therefore, in archaeology, cultural stages are often named after the shapes and patterns of pottery made by artists at that time. There are many different legends about the invention time and inventor of pottery. First, Shennong said. It is said that the Book of Yizhou, compiled by Confucius after deleting the materials left in Shangshu, records the story of "God plowing and making pottery". This statement has been endorsed by many people in later generations. Luo Xin, a native of Yangshan in the Ming Dynasty, wrote in his original work: "Shennong is an urn." During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, Huang Yizheng wrote the Pearl of Things, confirming that the pottery was made by Shennong. In the History of Chinese Ceramics written by Wu and Xin Anchao, it is pointed out that "when Shennong was in Fuxi, ... the earth was burned by fire and became plain-burned pottery". Some scholars believe that the invention of pottery has not only become a necessity for people's life and production, especially for people who have settled down to engage in agricultural production, ceramic spinning wheels, ceramic knives, ceramic files and other tools have played an important role in production. Therefore, the legend of "God makes pottery with agriculture" is precisely the connection between pottery making and farming. However, some scholars believe that Yizhoushu is a work between the Warring States Period and the Qin and Han Dynasties, in which truth and falsehood are mixed. The legendary Shennong was born around 3000 BC, at least 2000 years after Yi Zhou Shu was published. These accounts are obviously not credible. Second, the previous pottery theory of Sui Lian Shi. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Miro wrote a kind of History of Taoism, in which Qian Ji recorded Huang San's deeds in the legendary era, such as Wu Huai, and Postscript recorded the deeds from Tai Hao to Xia Dynasty. According to the book, the inventor of pottery pot is the inventor of drilling wood for fire and knotting, so the invention of pottery seems to be earlier. However, the History of Taoism is based on the words of Tai Ping Jing, Dong Nerve, Ji and others, so it is complicated and impure and unreliable. Third, Yu Shun said. According to the "Left Chapter" recorded in Shi Ben, "Shun Shitao" was the legendary tribal alliance leader in the late patriarchal society and the inventor of pottery. There is also a saying in Zhou Li's Examination of Gong Ji that "You Yu's family went to Tao". This view was also quoted by many later works, such as "Shun Li Gengshan, Lei Yuze and Tao Hebin" in Records of the Five Emperors. In the Tang Dynasty, Zhang Shoujie confirmed that Shun "made pottery along the river" in Justice of Historical Records. Fourth, Kunwu said. At the end of the Warring States Period, Lv Buwei, the prime minister of the Qin Dynasty, collected the opinions of hundreds of guests and wrote "Lu Chunqiu", believing that it was only when the Yellow Emperor created a professional pottery household to manage pottery making. There is a record in Mozi Gengxu that "Tao Zhu is in Kunwu". According to legend, Kunwu is a descendant of Zhuan Xu. According to legend, he "cultivated pottery to make it a tool" and invented the technology of making pottery. Qiao Zhou, a historian in Shu and Han Dynasties, wrote a Textual Research on Ancient History. He thought that when Shennong ate grains, he baked them on a stone before eating them. It was not until the Yellow Emperor had a clay pot. According to the book History of Chinese Ceramics compiled by China Silicate Society, Kunwu is actually a Kunwu ethnic group in Xia Dynasty, which is famous for its good at firing pottery and casting bronzes, equivalent to a large number of black-gray pottery unearthed in the early Erlitou culture in Xia Dynasty. Many scholars have pointed out that the legends about the early invention of pottery by specific figures in ancient literature are not credible. Early legends are not real history, and an invention can be attributed to a fictional celebrity. The creation of pottery is not the invention of one person, but the product of the gradual improvement of countless ancestors from production practice. Morgan's book "Ancient Society" describes that in the19th century, American Indians painted clay in baskets made of branches and dried the contents, from dried clay utensils to fired pottery. This is the progress gained by accumulating production experience. It must be the product of collective wisdom and cannot be attributed to one person. But any legend is based on certain historical facts. Exploring the legends recorded in these ancient documents can completely sort out the historical facts that are of great value to the development of pottery from this complicated and contradictory narrative. (Zou Zhenhuan)