In order to commemorate the sacrifice of Cuilan for the kiln, the kiln worker later built the image of a girl with bricks when sealing the kiln door. This custom has continued to this day. Since then, emperors have spared no expense to burn red, but this crimson porcelain, like a mythical treasure, is very rare.
This is the red sacrifice that has been shrouded in mystery. Among the nearly 10,000 pieces of ceramics museum in Jingdezhen, there are only nine and a half pieces of red offerings, of which only half are left in the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty.
"Red Sacrifice" was the color created by the imperial court at that time to offer sacrifices to the altar supplies in the suburbs. It is also called "Ji Hong", which means its color is "like the morning glow". A "Ji Hong", also known as "Drunken Red" and "Chicken Red", was all because there was no special notebook at that time, which led to the vulgar voice of porcelain merchants. As mentioned above, the "red sacrifice" in Ming dynasty was divided into two parts by porcelain merchants: gem glaze was called "scarlet", while porcelain merchants since Ming and Qing dynasties called this kind of porcelain products "Langyao"; Another bright red glaze is called "accumulated red" by porcelain connoisseurs, such as Xiangzijing's illustrated porcelain.
Jingdezhen has made great achievements in the art of glass, creating precious glass such as "Hong" and "Hong". Hong Jun is the earliest variety of copper-red glaze in China. Since the Ming Dynasty, Jingdezhen has produced a large number of Hong Jun porcelains. During the Yong Xuan period of the Ming Dynasty, Jingdezhen porcelain workers created red sacrifices after Jun Hong. Sacrificing red is charming but not gorgeous, with purple in red and deep and stable color. The ancient royal family used this red glazed porcelain as a sacrificial vessel, hence the name "Red Sacrifice". Because the firing is extremely difficult and the yield is very low, the price is extremely high. When the ancients made red porcelain, precious raw materials such as coral, agate, jade, pearls and gold were spared.
Since the Tang Dynasty, China ceramic artists have invented the red glaze firing technology. During the Northern Song Dynasty, Jun Kiln in Yuxian County, Henan Province perfected this technology and fired world-famous red glaze ceramics. However, the firing technology of Jun kiln is not yet mature, and other colors are often mixed into the red glaze. However, the red sacrifices fired by Jingdezhen people in Xuande period of Ming Dynasty surpassed Jun kiln in color and purity, so people called them Xuande sacrifices. Later, for some reason, this red glaze firing technology was inexplicably lost.
After the Xuande period in the Ming Dynasty, generations of Jingdezhen people tried to burn this kind of red glazed porcelain intermittently for hundreds of years, but no one burned it as a red sacrifice.
Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln in Ming Dynasty was the official kiln of the imperial court. The imperial court ordered the production, and the burnt porcelain was exclusively used by the royal family. Of course, poor quality products are not allowed. Therefore, the porcelain burned out has to be selected by the kiln official. Unsuccessful porcelain emperors don't need it, and of course the people can't use it, so they have to be buried. This is the origin of porcelain in Seyao ruins. However, the imperial kilns of the Ming Dynasty were backed by the powerful financial resources of the country. Perhaps it was because of this strong financial support that red glazed porcelain was fired and Wan Li was able to choose tribute selectively.
Henan Jun porcelain has a saying that ten kilns fail, which shows that red glaze is a very difficult firing technology. It is much more difficult to burn red offerings in Jingdezhen than in Hongjun. According to the folk saying, it is called a thousand kilns and a treasure, that is, you can get one or two red offerings from hundreds of kiln fires. In Jingdezhen pottery songs, the Qing people specifically described the difficulty of burning red: the official ancient kiln became heavy red, and it was the most difficult to fight hard in the United States. First frost, the sunny days are carefully combined, but the same fight is different.
Although Jingdezhen's ceramic industry has a history of thousands of years, it has not yet stepped out of the closed circle of handicraft industry. Porcelain-making technology, especially the formula of glaze, has always been the focus of craftsmen's secrecy, which will never be revealed from generation to generation, and the formula depends entirely on the experience and luck of glaze makers.
Ceramic art is the art of fire. Glazes with different compositions can produce ever-changing colors at different temperatures and different firing atmospheres. Fire changed the chemical composition of ceramic blank, and turned clay into glittering and translucent gem. Jingdezhen people created colorful ceramics such as red and Lang Hong, and also created the myth of ceramics. Now, Jingdezhen people still continue the ancient skills of more than 500 years, and also continue the legend of the integration of earth and fire.
1985, Hunan researchers accepted a task: to develop a high-temperature resistant red ceramic. In March 2002, a sample of ceramic red glaze was put into a high-temperature electric furnace, which greatly excited experts: the very pure red color did not decompose obviously at the high temperature of 1250℃. The big red glaze officially passed the expert group appraisal. This kind of porcelain was meaningfully named China Red.