Dazhuang earthenware has a history of more than 400 years. In 2007, it was listed as an intangible cultural heritage and reported by Shandong TV's "Country Monsoon" column. The products are mainly household utensils such as cylinders, pots and cans, as well as handicrafts such as lampstands, pillows, inkstones, paperweights and clay figurines. Among them, the imitation black pottery product "Dalongping" is a typical representative of earthenware, with a big mouth and a small belly, 4 meters high and a belly diameter of 1.4 meters. Two auspicious dragons and clouds are coiled around the bottle, which reflects the superb artistic level. In addition to selling well in Laiwu, earthenware is also sold to Tai 'an, Jinan, Binzhou and Jining.
Dazhuang earthenware, commonly known as "Dazhuang kiln goods", has become the best earthenware industry in our city because of its large quantity, many colors and wide circulation range. In the 1970s, the earthenware industry reached its peak. There were more than 400 people directly engaged in earthenware production in Dazhuang Village, with 99 kiln houses, with an annual output value of 800,000-900,000 yuan. It is the pillar industry of the whole village, and it is also a big taxpayer of Niuquan Commune. This scale and output value were first-class in the province at that time. People rely on this traditional technology to work hard and live a quiet and prosperous life. Therefore, the surrounding area is called "Yin Dazhuang". Pottery products are mainly household utensils such as cylinders, pots and cans, as well as small handicrafts such as lampstands, pillows, garlic mortars, washboards, inkstones, pen holders, paperweights, clay figurines and mud whistles. Among them, the imitation black pottery product "Dalongping" has a small belly, 4 meters high and a belly diameter of 1.4 meters. Two auspicious dragons and clouds are coiled around the bottle, which embodies the superb artistic level and is a typical representative of earthenware. All kinds of earthenware products, especially jars, pots and other complete sets of pottery, are large and small, which can hold both grain and water, and are economical and practical. They are widely favored by people in the era of low production level and lack of materials. Until the early 1980s, earthenware was still one of the main daily necessities for local people, especially rural people.
Because of its economy and practicality, Dazhuang earthenware not only sells well locally, but also sells in large quantities to Tai 'an, Jinan, Binzhou, Jining and other areas in the province, and is exported to Henan, radiating about 300 miles in Fiona Fang. These earthenware products can not only be sold, but also given to relatives and friends, as proved by the local folk song "People in Dazhuang press water, not pots, but jars".
Dazhuang earthenware has a long history, and there is no textual research on when the earthenware industry began. It is generally believed that it was developed and produced in the late Ming Dynasty, with a history of more than 400 years, as evidenced by legends. It is said that Chen Ganyu, the magistrate of Laiwu County in Jiajing period of Ming Dynasty, was knowledgeable and made great achievements. After entering politics, he loved visiting the ancient times and made friends with An Qisheng, a fairy who lived in Lianhua Mountain. On one occasion, An Qisheng came back from visiting friends on a donkey, walked to the boundary of Dazhuang, and met an old farmer pulling a cart of kiln goods to the countryside to sell. An Qisheng pitied his hard work and let the donkey pull the cart. Donkeys pull carts naturally quickly, but unfortunately the road surface is uneven and a lot of kiln goods are smashed. When the old farmer saw it, he regretted it and said, "Your old man asked the donkey to pull the cart for me, and all the kiln goods were broken. How can I live? " You know, I am old and young, and I rely on selling kiln goods to support my family! An Qisheng saw it and said slowly, "Isn't it just a load of kiln goods? Kilns need soil. I only give you two baskets of dirt. There's no need to cry like the sky is falling. "After the donkey cart drove into Chen Ganyu County, An Qisheng asked the chief to carry him two baskets of garbage soil, which were only allowed to be transported away and not allowed to be dumped in the city. People who sell kiln goods are angry and hate each other. If the kiln goods are broken, we have to go a lot of wrong ways and push two baskets of garbage home! Out of the city, I looked around, no one, so I poured the garbage into the ditch by the side of the road. Only then did I find that the bottom of the basket was full of glistening silver dollars, and I realized that the old man was really a living Buddha who saved lives and saved the world, so I kowtowed and bowed to the ground.
From the legend, we found that during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, Dazhuang earthenware had a considerable production scale, and the villagers or people in neighboring villages had sold kiln goods as their main source of livelihood, which shows that the production history of Dazhuang earthenware was even longer. The reason why Dazhuang is rich in earthenware is because Dazhuang has Honggang clay suitable for firing earthenware. This kind of clay has high viscosity and high oil content, and is a high-quality raw material for making earthenware. According to historical records and archaeological discoveries, Laiwu developed in ancient mining and metallurgy, and formed a unique mining and metallurgy culture. As far as its history is concerned, the continuation of Laiwu County Records was recorded in the History of Qin Dynasty, and in the Tang Dynasty, Laiwu recorded that "iron officials were set up in the Han Dynasty, and they have been drumming and casting endlessly". Mining and metallurgy are closely related to pottery making. In the process of mining, metallurgy and casting, there is a very important link in making clay molds, and the quality of making clay molds has a great relationship with the soil used. Clay with less impurities, high viscosity and high oil content is needed. After the mold is made, it will be baked in the mold baking kiln to make the mold more firm and pressure-resistant. The whole molding process is similar to pottery making. This kind of Honggangban clay in Dazhuang is just suitable for the requirements of mud.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, Laiwu established an institution specializing in iron affairs-Laiwu Supervisor, which, together with Li Guojian Supervisor in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, was the two major iron smelting centers in JD.COM Road, with jurisdiction over "Three Pits" and "Eighteen Smelters", and its smelting scale ranked first in China. According to the investigation of smelting sites, Luxi Smelter (located in the southeast of Luxi Village in Fangxia Town, on the north bank of Wenhe River) and Wenbei Smelter (located in the southeast of Yehe Village in Fangxia Town, bordering Wenhe River in the south) are adjacent to Dazhuang. Distribution, there is only one warm river in the middle, and communication is convenient. The smelting site can be seen everywhere with frantic ore, burnt earth and other smelting relics, as well as many bricks, tiles, pottery pieces and white glazed porcelain pieces. In particular, the cultivated soil layer and cultural layer of Luxi smelting site were obviously disturbed. According to the collected samples, it is inferred that the smelting site was further developed and expanded on the basis of the former site of the Tang Dynasty smelter. The pottery pieces on the site were found to be clay, while Luxi and Yehe River, located on the north bank of Wenhe River, were clay-free sandy loam, while Dazhuang on the south bank of Wenhe River was extremely rich, which was the most suitable clay for making pottery. Based on this, it can be inferred that Dazhuang was the place where Luxi Smelter and Wenbei Smelter made clay models at that time. The clay in Dazhuang was developed from the clay model of mining and smelting in Tang and Song Dynasties, with a history of 1000 years. During this period, the production of mining and metallurgy was intermittent, and the pottery ware evolved from clay model and pottery model was further developed and passed down because it facilitated people's lives.
The process of making pottery can be roughly divided into three links: making clay strips, making green bodies and firing pottery.
Making clay strips: Dazhuang earthenware pays attention to the quality of clay and the performance of pottery blank, which can be divided into "argillaceous pottery" and "sand-like pottery". The so-called "argillaceous pottery" is made of fine clay from which impurities are removed, while "sandy pottery" is deliberately mixed with sand in order to make the pottery not crack when heated, and at the same time make the ware more durable. The general method of making clay is to put it in a special kiln (where the clay is dried, soaked and cooled), then soak it in water to make mud, and then "sink" it for a period of time before entering the kiln room (where the mud strips are rubbed and the blanks are made). ) to breed microorganisms and enhance the plasticity of mud. After the mud entered the kiln house, the craftsman wore coarse cloth shoes and stepped on them three times. After removing the larger stones and sand grains inside, use a shovel to make the soil into a mud pile with a height of about1.2m and a width of about 0.5m.. After the mud pile is slightly dry, scrape it off layer by layer with a bow (like a bow, with a thin wire as a string) to further remove impurities such as sand grains and grass roots in the mud, which is similar to the treatment of mud by ancient porcelain, except that the latter is more elegant (the general practice in ancient Jingdezhen is to roughly crush, mash and wash the mud, make it into a pier, that is, a mud brick, and then sink the mud into a cylinder and stir it with wood palladium to make it clear. The mud scraped from the bow is then made into a pile with a trowel. After stamping evenly with their feet, the blank workers began to rub repeatedly on the stone bench like steamed bread, and then "skillfully" rub it, which is called "rubbing mud strips" The stone bench is divided into two floors. The blank worker rubs the mud strips on the upper layer, and the "rubbed" mud strips are placed on the lower layer, which is convenient for lathe workers (craftsmen who use wooden wheels to process and shape mud) to use at will. According to the amount of utensils used, the lathe maker, with the cooperation of the lathe maker, made prototypes of utensils with different shapes and sizes on the wooden wheel. All kinds of pots and cans can be molded once because they are small and shallow, while larger urns and vases need to be processed and molded twice or even many times.
Blank production: mainly completed by the master. After the lathe operator completes the clay tire, the handyman carries the clay tire to the kiln with a stick (a wooden tool at the end of the clay tire), and the craftsman (a craftsman who shapes utensils by hand) dries the clay tire. If the utensils are large, such as urns, large pots, etc., they should be moved with appropriate rings (iron rings prevent large clay tires from breaking when moving, and some are woven with cloth or hemp). In autumn and winter, due to the short day, in order to extend the sunshine time, a slope is piled outside the south wall of the kiln house to dry the mud tires, commonly known as "kiln LUN". The master shapes, dries and decorates all the clay tires in the kiln or kiln. In order to make the clay tire dry evenly and prevent cracking, it is usually necessary to brush the edges in time according to the wet and dry conditions of the clay tire, that is, coat another layer or even several layers of mud on the surface of the clay tire to prevent "quick drying". All kinds of pots, cans and other once-molded articles are generally decorated with patterns and glazes after being "semi-dry", and the can body is pinched with handles, faucets and buttons. Glaze, also known as glaze, is a transparent or translucent, colorless or colored glassy thin layer covering the ceramic fetal bone. The main component of the glaze is glaze stone (commonly known as qianzi clay), which is made into glaze slurry after being crushed and refined, and is evenly coated on the surface of the molded tire blank by craftsmen with hemp brushes and rinsed clean. Glaze has a lower melting point than fetal bone, and has strong extensibility and fluidity. Even and smooth after sintering. In addition to physical and chemical properties such as wear resistance, corrosion resistance and water seepage, ceramic glaze is equivalent to wearing a beautiful and colorful dress, which is radiant. The second-molded utensils, such as the urn, will be carried into the kiln house after the "cinerary fan" (the prototype of the urn) is half-dried, and then the upper parts will be connected by a lathe worker with wooden wheels, and then decorated by craftsmen. The clay blank is processed and shaped by craftsmen, dried to 80% dryness, and then transferred to a special house (similar to an open shed with good ventilation, which is used to shape the dried clay blank) and fired.
Pottery firing: this is the most critical link in the pottery industry, including kiln making, kiln loading and kiln burning. 1, kiln system, that is, the way to build a kiln. In ancient times, as the supporting facilities of Luxi Smelter and Wenbei Smelter, it was a fan kiln. The firing form was primitive open firing, and its firing temperature could only reach the lower limit of ceramic forming temperature, so the quality of pottery was poor. Since then, the kiln workers have continuously improved the kiln structure, from direct flame kiln to inverted flame kiln, and introduced kiln systems with better performance, such as dragon kiln, steamed bread kiln, step kiln, egg kiln, etc., and further raised the temperature to above 1200℃, so as to "mold" the temperature to almost porcelain (generally speaking, the temperature of pottery is about 700℃-65438) Leave 80 cm long and 25 cm wide flue on both sides of the kiln back flush with the kiln wall, and build a chimney outside the kiln wall, and the height of the chimney is consistent with the kiln shoulder (closed outside). In order to further compact the kiln body and keep the temperature in the kiln, it is necessary to fill a thick layer of dried fine dry soil outside the kiln wall, and build it with stones or bricks outside, and the height is flush with the kiln shoulder. Finally, cover the kiln top and kiln body with grass mixed mud, the thicker the better (for insulation and reinforcement of kiln body), generally about 40-50 cm thick, leaving a passage for the kiln top. In the kiln, sand and mud are mixed and evenly spread on the kiln wall (not very thick, only 1 cm thick). The kiln kang in front of the kiln should be paved with adobe and filled with fine sand. Generally, some fine sand and broken pottery pieces are preset on the kiln kang to pave the way for kiln loading. Dig an oblique angle of about 30 below the kiln door. 0, 40 cm deep pit, above the pit and the bottom of the kiln is flush with the furnace bar. Generally, kiln doors are curved doors made of bricks, and the size of the doors depends on the maximum size of the fired products. Generally, the kiln doors are not large, and only earthenware can enter and exit. 2. Kiln loading: Generally, it is necessary to choose a sunny day (sunny, sunny but not too hot) before kiln loading, and transport the blanks (including pots, jars, cans and other utensils) from the special room to the kiln for drying in the morning, usually around 3-4 pm. There are two ways of kiln loading, one is "cylinder loading" and the other is "flower loading". Barrel belongs to the traditional mode, that is, green bodies are stacked layer by layer from mouth to mouth and from bottom to bottom, and many can be stacked to 5-6 layers; This way of kiln loading puts forward high requirements for green pottery. If the strength of the clay tire is not enough, or the green body is not completely dried, it is very easy to cause "kiln collapse", that is, the green body under it is broken due to excessive load, resulting in the collapse of kiln goods. "Floral decoration" was introduced by Zhangqiu, that is, when the kiln is installed, the crib mouth does not punch or punch the bottom, but is staggered like flower arrangement, so as to increase the bearing area accordingly and prevent the bottom blank from collapsing. Loading the kiln is as hard as "getting out of the kiln". Because the kiln door is small, people don't need much, so they have to bend down and transfer the blank inside, and 2-4 people can put it inside. "Out of the kiln" means taking the burnt earthenware out of the kiln, which is more "bitter" than "into the kiln". Due to the high temperature in the kiln, some ash falls off, so people who leave the kiln need to wear cotton caps and cotton jackets to prevent burns even in hot weather. 3. Kiln burning: After the kiln is installed, seal the kiln door with bricks, and further cover it with sand mixed mud or grass mixed mud, leaving only a square "continuous fire hole" below the kiln door for fuel replenishment; Leave a rectangular "fire hole" above the kiln door so that the kiln worker can see the temperature in the kiln and the burning degree of kiln goods. Because of the early development of coal in Laiwu, it began to be mined in the Western Han Dynasty, and it was called "Datan Kiln", which was widely used in people's production and life in the Tang and Song Dynasties. Therefore, the fuels used in Dazhuang earthenware are mainly coal, firewood and wood, but the latter is mostly used as "firewood". Kiln firing requires high technology. Experienced and high-tech kilns need 1600 kg-2,500 kg of coal (bituminous coal) to burn a kiln of earthenware well, while some kilns with poor technology can't burn through earthenware by burning 3,000 kg of charcoal. Speaking of ceramic firing, people usually like to say "the baptism of fire". The so-called "baptism of fire" is achieved through the action of climate and flame on soil. Temperature, namely sintering temperature. In the early stage of burning, the fire should be small, and the temperature should be raised slowly and evenly into the kiln. "Moisture" (steam) is constantly coming out from the vent hole left when the kiln roof is closed, so baking with slow fire lasts about 15- 16 hours. If the temperature is not well controlled, the temperature in the kiln will rise in a short time, which will easily cause the ceramic body to "dry quickly" and cause the kiln to collapse. After heating with slow fire, the vent hole at the top of the kiln no longer emits "moisture", so the temperature of the kiln can be increased to about 800℃- 1000℃. In order to further increase the temperature in the kiln, it is necessary to block the exhaust hole at the top of the kiln. The kiln worker adjusts the temperature by adding fuel and blocking the vent hole at the top of the kiln. Flame, that is, the atmosphere of combustion, has two properties: oxidation and reduction. According to modern scientific explanation, the nature of flame is determined by the content of free oxygen and reducing component carbon oxide produced in combustion. Generally speaking, when the free oxygen content is 4%- 10%, it is an oxidation flame, and when the oxygen content is less than 1% and the carbon content is 4%-8%, it is a reducing flame. As far as intuitive experience is concerned, when oxidizing the flame, the fire in the kiln is clean and Ming Che; In the reduction flame, smoke billowed in the kiln. Skilled kiln workers have rich experience and methods to grasp the flame, such as opening exhaust holes and chimneys and blowing air into the kiln through "continuous burners" to make the fire in the kiln flourish and create an oxidizing atmosphere; On the contrary, blocking the exhaust hole, blocking the chimney, and soaking firewood in the kiln can not fully burn the charcoal, which can create a reducing atmosphere. As far as Dazhuang earthenware is concerned, when the fire in the kiln is clean and Ming Che, and the pottery blank is crystal red and seems to melt like a stream, it is necessary to stop the kiln burning, and all the exhaust holes at the top of the kiln, the chimney, the "afterburner", the "flame hole" and the slag hole at the bottom of the kiln are blocked and sealed with mud, commonly known as "being kiln". At this time, the combustion in the kiln is insufficient and the carbon increases, which is a reducing atmosphere. After 2-3 days, the clay will be cooked. When coming out of the kiln, in order to prevent the quenched earthenware from bursting, the kiln should be cooled slowly. One is to open a gap in the exhaust port at the top of the kiln, and at the same time open a small gap (air inlet) at the door of the kiln to speed up the heat removal. After a period of time, it is necessary to gradually increase the gap between the air inlet, the exhaust hole and the chimney, and finally gradually dismantle the kiln door, and the first kiln earthenware is fired. The color of Dazhuang earthenware is cyan (old tile ridge color) as the best, and yellowish brown as the worst. As far as a kiln-changed earthenware is concerned, the top quality is generally the best, from top to bottom, one layer is worse than the other, and the bottom layer is yellow and blue, and the quality is also the worst. Now, with the development of productive forces, Dazhuang earthenware has been mostly replaced by metal products, plastic products and modern tools, and its era of serving production and life has basically ended. At present, there is only a certain market for craft products such as flower pots, which continue to decorate people's lives.