Exploring the Jingdezhen Ancient Ceramic Gene Bank: Listening to the "Civilization Echo" Specimens of Ancient Porcelain Pieces | Porcelain Pieces | Jingdezhen

Jingdezhen, July 8th, China News Agency (Xinhua) - Question: Visiting the Jingdezhen Ancient Ceramic Gene Bank: Listening to the "Civilized Echo" of Ancient Porcelain Pieces

China News Agency reporter Li Yunhan

A piece of broken porcelain, either buried in soil or submerged in water... However, in the gene bank of ancient ceramics in Jingdezhen, it can be detected and analyzed to analyze the origin, development, and changes of ancient ceramic civilization, and listen to the "civilization echo" from ancient porcelain.

Jingdezhen, located in the northeast of Jiangxi, has a history of over 2000 years of pottery smelting, over 1000 years of official kiln history, and over 600 years of imperial kiln history. As a royal kiln in ancient China, the Imperial Kiln Factory buried millions of broken porcelain pieces underground that were unable to enter the palace due to defects. Over the years, the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum has collaborated with multiple archaeological units to successfully excavate over 30 ancient kiln sites from different dynasties, collecting nearly 20 million pieces of broken porcelain.

In June 2022, China's first gene bank for ancient ceramics was unveiled at the Jingdezhen Yuyao Museum, with nearly 20 million pieces of ancient porcelain finding new uses. What are the latest research achievements of this gene bank, which has been established for over a year? What kind of "genetic code" did it tell? With these questions in mind, reporters from China News Agency went to visit the gene bank of ancient ceramics in Jingdezhen.

In the gene bank, the collected ancient porcelain pieces are made into specimen shapes and placed in small boxes, which are stored in cabinets according to their age. Photo by Liu Lixin, journalist from China News Agency

"We can make porcelain pieces into specimens in four forms: fragments, cross-sections, thin sections, and powders, which can meet the analysis needs of various instruments. The analyzed data will play an important role in restoring the ancient society of Jingdezhen, constructing a framework system for ceramic archaeology, and developing methods for identifying ancient ceramics." Weng Yanjun, the director of the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum, said that currently, the Jingdezhen Ancient Ceramics Gene Bank has collected hundreds of thousands of data from 1372 sets and 2412 specimens. Researchers can share their research results by applying for samples and using data.

The reporter saw in the gene bank that professional analysis and testing instruments such as Raman spectroscopy, electron microscopy, and X-ray fluorescence analyzer were placed on the workbench in sequence. The collected ancient porcelain pieces were made into specimen shapes and placed in small boxes, which were stored in cabinets according to age. Electronic versions of all specimen data can also be displayed on display screens.

The picture shows porcelain pieces from the wooden sunken ship "Changjiang Estuary No. 2" in the late Qing Dynasty. Photo by Liu Lixin, journalist from China News Agency

Among the specimens that have not yet been recorded on the workbench, there are blue and white Sanskrit folded belly bowl pieces from the Jingdezhen kiln in Tongzhi, Qing Dynasty, pink four season flower patterned plates, and blue and white colored knot Xi shaped jar cover pieces. These are porcelain pieces from the wooden sunken ship "Changjiang Estuary No. 2" in the late Qing Dynasty.

"We have successfully received porcelain specimens from 'Yangtze River Mouth No. 2' and will produce corresponding gene specimens for testing and data analysis, striving to restore the story of these porcelain pieces from production to sinking." Weng Yanjun said that all the ancient ceramic gene specimens previously stored in the warehouse were collected from Ming Dynasty official kiln porcelain pieces excavated from the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Factory. Accepting the specimens from 'Yangtze River Mouth No. 2' signifies that the gene bank is no longer limited to collecting local porcelain specimens in Jingdezhen.

In Weng Yanjun's view, although a small piece of broken porcelain can restore a historical scene, and the accumulation of millions of broken porcelain pieces together is not only a testament to the long history of Chinese ceramic culture, but also a way to piece together the firing process, raw material formula, etc. of that time, and decipher the civilization code hidden in the peak era of ancient human porcelain industry.

"Through testing, we can see what components are present in the body material of porcelain pieces, including common elements such as silicon, aluminum, and iron. We can also see the proportions of these elements to form corresponding reports. Xiong Zhe, the head of the Science and Technology Laboratory of the Jingdezhen Yuyao Museum, told reporters that gene fragments such as" archaeological information fragments "," body material technology fragments "," forming technology fragments "," glaze technology fragments "," firing technology fragments ", and" painted decoration fragments "of porcelain will be presented one by one.".

"The specimen data in the gene bank of ancient ceramics is open and shared. The information restored through broken porcelain pieces can not only provide theoretical data for contemporary ceramic archaeological identification, but also provide scientific technical support for ceramic cultural and creative products." Weng Yanjun said that in the future, he looks forward to more institutions and individuals at home and abroad participating in exploring ceramic civilization together.

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