The producing areas of ceramics in Qing Dynasty are relatively extensive, but Jingdezhen still represents the developed degree of the whole era with its status as the porcelain capital.
At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, Jingdezhen's porcelain-making industry was once in a state of stagnation, not only in folk kilns, but also in official kilns. During the Shunzhi period, the court assigned Jingdezhen to burn dragon tanks and railings several times, but none of them were completed. It was not until the 19th year of Kangxi that Jingdezhen's porcelain industry developed by leaps and bounds on the basis of the Ming Dynasty, and Jingdezhen became a prosperous city. Shen Huaiqing, who was born and raised in the early Qing Dynasty, said: "The pottery in Changnan Town is spread in nine regions and applied in foreign countries. There are tens of thousands of people involved in Tao "(Zhu Yan Tao Shuo, Volume I). At the beginning of the Qianlong period, Tang Ying recorded the actual situation at that time in "Illustration of Ye Tao", saying: "Jingdezhen is only more than ten miles long ... pottery is used to sell goods in all directions, and there are hundreds of thousands of craftsmen in the area of 200-300 private kiln, so there are many foods."
On the whole, the firing technology of Jingdezhen porcelain in Qing Dynasty has been further improved on the basis of the previous generation, but the colorful glaze color can best represent and embody the characteristics of Jingdezhen porcelain in Qing Dynasty.
Overglaze color was produced in the Song Dynasty, and in the Ming Dynasty, the monochrome and multicolor production of overglaze color was very developed. However, the glaze color in Ming Dynasty is often combined with underglaze blue and white because of its monotonous color, which is called blue and white multicolor. There were many innovations and rich glaze colors in Qing Dynasty. It can be roughly divided into folk multi-color, enamel color, pastel color, bucket color and plain color.
Kangxi in Qing Dynasty was the polar track of hard blue and white. A great breakthrough of Kangxi's multicolor was the invention of blue and black on glaze. The hue of blue can be stronger than that of blue and white, which sets off the black luster of Kangxi period in colorful pictures and further strengthens the effect of painting. Therefore, Kangxi's colored glaze is more charming than the plain colored glaze in the Ming Dynasty. Basically changed the dominant situation of underglaze color and underglaze color combination in Ming Dynasty. Moreover, all the colorful colors in Kangxi are much more than those in Ming Dynasty, which often play a role in enriching and refining colorful pictures.
Common colorful Kangxi folk kilns include cups, bowls, boxes, cans, phoenix-tailed statues, croquet bottles and large plates. Because their patterns are not as restrictive as those of official kilns, their themes are particularly rich and colorful. In addition to flowers, magpies and ladies in ancient costumes, there are also a large number of people's story paintings with the theme of operas and novels, among which the so-called "Knife and Horse Man" depicting warriors is the most precious. The painting styles of these characters were deeply influenced by the famous painter Chen Hongshou (Lao Lian) in the late Ming Dynasty. The lines are concise and powerful. The face and pleats of the characters are outlined in blue, red or black, and then painted with various bright colors by flat painting, giving people a clear feeling. Later generations compared it with pastel which was popular in Yongzheng, calling it "hard color" and "antique color". Clear and thorough, strong lines, fire prevention, no fading, no peeling, as long as new.
Kangxi multicolored paintings include yellow, green, black, beige and other colors in addition to white background paintings. Among the official kiln wares, there are coral red multicolored wares made by Emperor Kangxi. The commonly used colors of multicolor are red, yellow, green, blue, purple, black and gold. Using these main colors, we can make various colors with different shades and tones, which can generally meet the needs of painting various figures, flowers, birds and animals and natural scenery.
Enamel-colored porcelain was an extremely precious imperial vessel in Qing Dynasty during Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong periods. It used to be commonly known as "Guyuexuan" porcelain, but there was no such name in Qing Dynasty. It was probably a myth.
Enamel-colored porcelain was founded in the reign of Emperor Kangxi. Most of them are small utensils such as plates, pots, bowls, bottles, boxes and cups, which are specially designed for imperial emperors and concubines to enjoy, as well as for religious and sacrificial purposes. During the Kangxi period, due to the use of thick color materials, there was a feeling of piling up and protruding, and the color had a strong three-dimensional sense. After Yongzheng, the production of enamel porcelain became more and more elaborate, which changed the monotonous pattern of painting only flowers and branches, with flowers and no birds during Kangxi period. Instead, enamel porcelain is used to draw pictures of flowers and birds, bamboo stones, mountains and rivers, and matched with corresponding poems with excellent calligraphy, which has become an artistic treasure combining porcelain-making technology with books, poems and paintings.
Pastel porcelain is a new variety of over-glaze color, which was created on the basis of Kangxi multicolor and influenced by enamel color production technology. Began in the Kangxi period. At first, the pastels were thick, and only the carmine seen in enamel was used in the flowers of safflower, and most of the other colors were multicolored. By Yongzheng, modeling, glaze color and painting had an unprecedented development. Yongzheng famille rose is characterized by using white glass powder as the base in some parts of the painted surface, and rendering with boneless painting in China traditional painting, highlighting the three-dimensional sense of yin and yang and shades. At the same time, due to the low firing degree of pastel, it is more delicate than multicolored, and is famous for its elegance and softness.
Pastel has a soft feeling because it is mixed with powder, and because the firing temperature of pastel is lower than that of multicolored porcelain, the fired porcelain is softer than multicolored porcelain, so it is called "soft color". Pastel uses far more colors than multicolored ones, and the diversity of colors must be set off with a white background to show its brilliance. The tire soil of Yongzheng porcelain is clean and thin, the glaze juice is pure, and the processing after leaving the kiln is also very particular, and the bottom is extremely smooth and delicate. Many Yongzheng pastel porcelain tires are white and thin, which is the point of "I am afraid that the wind will blow away, but I am still worried that I can't sell them". The patterns of Yongzheng pastel porcelain are mainly flower paintings, as well as character stories and landscape paintings. On the frosted porcelain surface of Bai Sheng, a few colorful flowers are graceful, especially Malus carmichaeli.
Generally speaking, the pastel porcelain in Qianlong period was not as elegant as that in Yongzheng period, but there were still a lot of exquisite handicrafts. In the process of painting, most rouge flowers are hooked out, not simply rendered as before. The output of brocade and blue and yellow pastels is also increasing gradually. As for carmine ground pastel, gold ground pastel and black lacquer gold and silver wire opening pastel, they are all relatively precious varieties. During this period, porcelain with both pastel and enamel decoration techniques appeared. Judging from the pattern, the pastels in Qianlong period tend to be complicated.
"Plain three colors" means that yellow, green and purple are the main colors, and red is not used. The production of this kind of plain tricolor began in the Ming Dynasty, and by the time of Zhengde, it was extremely exquisite. In the Qing Dynasty, Kangxi Su Sancai porcelain had further development. In addition to yellow, green and ultraviolet, its color also added the unique blue at that time. There are some three-color vases in black, yellow, green or purple, which have been handed down from generation to generation. They often have flowers and birds painted around them. It used to get rave reviews, and most of them were fakes.