In Xinhua Town, Acheng District, Harbin City, there is a simple and elegant courtyard. To the east of the center of the small courtyard is a firewood kiln with a volume of 5.5 cubic meters. The old elm wood is engraved with the official script "Shangjing Kiln". Next to the kiln are neatly piled pine trees , and at the top of the chimney is a sculpture symbolizing blessing in Jinyuan culture. The solemn sense of ceremony makes people feel awe.
Wang Renliang
The "one gold and one ice" that emerged from the fire here are a special gift from nature to the cold area. They are simple in style and natural in shape, and you will never tire of them for a long time. Wang Renliang, the 42-year-old kiln owner of Shangjing Kiln, is the creator of Shangjing Gold Porcelain and Shangjing Ice Porcelain. He combined Heilongjiang's kaolin with a cold woodland kiln, using pine wood as fuel, and fired Heilongjiang's characteristic high-temperature porcelain. His works are fired naked without glaze, showing rare golden and ice-colored textures and extremely distinctive regional characteristics. It is reported that since 2015, Shangjing Kiln has fired 54 kilns, and thousands of high-quality Longjiang porcelains have been collected by a large number of ceramic enthusiasts at home and abroad.
Filling the gap: independent research and development and construction of cold wood kiln with a firing temperature of 1320℃
Wang Renliang is a "post-80s generation" and is currently the director and associate professor of the Sculpture Teaching and Research Section of the Academy of Fine Arts of Harbin Normal University. Ten years ago, he came up with the idea of firing local porcelain while conducting theoretical research on firewood burning.
Wang Renliang
Compared with modern electric kilns, gas kilns and coal kilns, wood kilns are very scarce. There is a saying in the industry that "if you are not a master, you can't fire wood", which shows the difficulty of wood burning and the high artistic value. The cost of wood burning is high, the yield is low, and the color of the fired body is more subtle and warm. Someone once compared firewood to a tranquilizer for the ceramic industry, which calms the impetuous world and allows ceramics to truly return to its origins.
Gold Porcelain Kiln Master Cup
If you want to bake local porcelain, you must first build a local kiln. "Kilns fired in cold areas will suffer from frost heaving, so kilns in the south cannot be copied. Improvements must be made in thermal insulation, energy storage, structure and other aspects." In 2015, Wang Renliang led the team to spend two years and undergo many transformations. Later, we finally independently developed and built the first cold-land wood kiln, with a firing temperature of 1320°C, filling the gap in the field of local high-temperature wood kilns. In the following four years, he successively built two cold-land wood kilns. The No. 3 kiln currently in use is currently the largest cold-land down-flame energy-saving wood kiln in the country and can accommodate up to 3,000 utensils.
Ice porcelain kiln main cup
Ice porcelain horizontal handle pot
In addition to wood kilns, Heilongjiang also has two "treasures". First, there are abundant ceramic raw materials. Our province’s kaolin mineral reserves rank first in the country. This kind of sandy kaolin requires repeated washing and blending. Wang Renliang has been experimenting for 2 years; second, there is sufficient supply of pine firewood, and the lumber factory has been eliminated. Xing'an larch wood is an excellent kiln fuel. These seemingly ordinary "waste wood" volatilize rosin during the burning process, and are "reborn" on the mud tires in another way along with the dancing kiln fire.
Gold porcelain sculpture "Ode to the Prosperous Age"
"Xiaguang" fire mark
Excellent works came out: "One gold and one ice" are all Tiancheng Shangjing gold porcelain was compiled into "A Comprehensive Guide to Chinese Tea Ware"
On New Year's Day of 2016, Wang Renliang fired the first A kiln of "Heilongjiang's characteristic high-temperature porcelain" opened the kiln door, and the brilliant golden autumn colors made him so excited that he couldn't sleep all night.
Dehua white porcelain , Jianyang black porcelain , Longquan celadon ... Shangjing gold porcelain is different from traditional porcelain in green, white, black, red and flower colors. The golden color is really rare. This golden texture is not obtained by glazing, but by the beautiful combination of earth and wood. The iron content of local kaolin is relatively high. In Wang Renliang's words, "white porcelain is not white enough, but gold porcelain is just the right color." The enamel layer on the surface of the fired porcelain comes from natural kiln changes. It is the ash from burning pine wood and the mineral components in the mud. It is formed by the fusion and change in the high temperature of 1320℃ in the kiln. The color changes are naturally rich. The firewood kiln "has the same color when entering the kiln, and comes out of the kiln with various colors." Each utensil is natural and unique. The color of Shangjing gold porcelain changes between yellow and orange-red, and the fine products are close to gold, exuding the elegance of natural craftsmanship.
"Comprehensive Guide to Chinese Tea Ware"
"The 'gold' of Shangjing Jin Porcelain refers to the golden porcelain on the one hand, and the Jinyuan culture on the other hand, which is the inheritance of the history and culture of Longjiang ceramics." Wang Renliang introduced Tao, in fact, in addition to gold porcelain, Shangjing ice porcelain also has regional characteristics. The "ice" of ice porcelain also has a dual meaning. It not only refers to the ice-colored glaze formed by natural kiln transformation, but also symbolizes the ice and snow culture of Longjiang.
These "one gold and one ice" come from the same kiln, and they all rely on heaven's workmanship. Even Wang Renliang, who has extensive experience in wood burning, has difficulty predicting accurately where gold and ice will come out. He can only accept the gifts of nature with peace of mind. What is particularly rare is that every time before firing the kiln, he makes the clay by hand, which takes half a year to make.
"Kiln No. 3 can fire 3,000 pieces at a time. According to the appearance, the porcelain can be divided into ordinary products, fine products, top quality and collections. The top quality rate is usually 3%." Wang Renliang said.
In just a few years, the masterpieces produced by Shangjing Kiln have been officially recognized and recommended by famous artists. In 2019, the first-ever large-scale tea utensil reference book "Chinese Tea Utensils" compiled by China Arts and Crafts Association organization was published. Among them, "Famous Utensils of Ancient and Modern Famous Masters" introduced Wang Renliang and Shangjing Jinci, This is also the only ceramic art piece in the province that has been cataloged.
"A Comprehensive Guide to Chinese Tea Ware"
Ice glaze and ice crack
Famous experts recommend: Brand, innovative and tasteful "It is very meaningful for the development and innovation of local ceramics"
"Heilongjiang has unique resources, both high-quality kaolin and There is pine wood as fuel, but only ceramic talents are scarce. "Before this, Yang Yongshan, a famous Chinese arts and crafts master, professor and doctoral supervisor at Tsinghua University Academy of Arts and Design, did not expect that "Wang Renliang, a sculptor, would eventually stand out." .
In recent years, Longjiang Ceramics has been almost absent from large-scale ceramic exhibitions across the country. This expert from Harbin, who is over eighty years old, is worried about this and deeply regrets it. When he saw Wang Renliang's gold porcelain works for the first time, Professor Yang Yongshan's eyes lit up and he was extremely happy. "The beauty of ceramics is not just the shape and decoration, but the good material itself is a kind of beauty. Shangjing gold porcelain is not just something to be squeezed into the palette." The color comes out naturally, but the composite color is naturally produced, which is rare.” Professor Yang has been to Shangjing Kiln three times and has personally thrown firewood into the kiln. In an interview with reporters, Professor Yang spoke highly of Wang Renliang, "He has courage and courage, and the things he comes up with are stylish", and bluntly said that "he sees the hope of Longjiang Ceramics."
Ceramic Sculpture "My Angel"
"There is no way to fail in ceramics. This business is too hard, but Wang Renliang has the courage to try." Professor Yang Yongshan said that he admired the courage and perseverance of this young man, and especially admired Wang Renliang's work. The gold porcelain tea cup is developed based on the innovative shape of the golden generation six-ear iron pot.
"Wang Renliang's works are simple and elegant, and Shangjing Kiln is brand-new, innovative and tasteful." Zhao Yunlong, chairman of the Heilongjiang Artists Association and dean of the Academy of Fine Arts of Harbin Normal University, also highly praised Shangjing Kiln. In his opinion, Shangjing Kiln is of great significance to the development and innovation of local ceramic culture. It is a very good "grafting point" for art to enter the market and get close to the people! It is not difficult to explain why the works of Shangjing Kiln are favored by ceramic enthusiasts in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and other places and are eager to collect them. A financial company in Beijing once customized 80 sets of gold and porcelain tea sets for their major customers.
Fulu tea set
Ancient pottery teapot with beams
This simple, unique and natural beauty has also attracted foreign famous artists who advocate "less is more". Wang Renliang’s good friend Wang Haorui went to the Royal College of Art to study for postgraduate studies in 2019. He brought Shangjing gold porcelain to the UK, and one of the sets of gold porcelain coffee cups was collected by Mike Rowe, a professor at the school, who praised it as "very beautiful". This famous professor has taught at the Royal College of Art for 40 years and can be called an epoch-making figure in the history of contemporary silverware.
"Professor Mike Rowe's aesthetic vision is quite unique, and many European masters of jewelry and silversmiths are his students." Wang Haorui added.
Industry Vision: "Changing Lanes and Overtaking" to Create a New Category of Firewood and Expand the New Ice and Fire Tourism Industry
Wang Renliang, who is obsessed with the research and development of local ceramics, is by no means a dull craftsman who sticks to the wood kiln. He is constantly improving his skills and is also "waiting for the trend." Come". Not long ago, Heilongjiang released four brand-new industrial blueprints for the "14th Five-Year Plan", including the creative design industry, and issued the "Heilongjiang Province Creative Design Industry Development Special Plan (2022-2030)". In the implementation of "Creative Design + "Strategy, including ceramics among the ten key areas to empower the development of the real economy. This good news undoubtedly strengthened Wang Renliang's confidence in riding the wind and gave him more imagination for the future.
"I want to continue to deeply explore Longjiang's characteristic culture such as Jinyuan culture and ice and snow culture, deepen the innovative research and development of gold porcelain and ice porcelain types, and create more types of ceramics with novel designs and unique features." Wang Renliang said , next, he plans to actively participate in large-scale cultural exhibitions, competitions and exchange activities at home and abroad, and build and improve online promotion and sales platforms and agency and distribution mechanisms, and continue to expand Longjiang through a combination of online and offline promotion and sales methods. The influence of ceramic culture has achieved more social and economic benefits.
Wang Renliang
Wang Renliang also has a "world-class" ambitious goal, which is to combine Heilongjiang kaolin, agate and other high-quality resources to develop and build the world's highest temperature wood kiln and highest temperature wood-fired porcelain. Establish the world's highest firewood burning standard of 1650℃, bring the world record in this field back to Heilongjiang, and create a new high-end category and ultra-high-end positioning in the field of firewood burning. This also means that he wants to expand the influence of Longjiang Ceramics in the world ceramics field by "changing lanes and overtaking".
How to combine cold wood kilns with ice and snow tourism? This is also a question Wang Renliang has been thinking about recently. When firing the kiln in winter, the dancing kiln fire and the magnificent scenery in the ice and snow provided him with inspiration. “We can focus on Heilongjiang ice and snow culture, ultra-high temperature firewood burning and Beijing ice porcelain categories to expand and create a one-stop ice and fire tourism and tourist souvenir industry that includes ceramic DIY experience, special ceramics homestay , ceramic customization, viewing and other projects. Create new highlights of regional cultural tourism," Wang Renliang said. Tourists who go to Heilongjiang for ice and snow tourism in winter cannot take away Longjiang ice and snow after enjoying the ice and playing in the snow, but they can take away Longjiang ice porcelain.
In addition, he also plans to develop a straw firewood kiln based on local characteristics. Using straw as fuel, turning waste into treasure and reducing fuel costs can not only improve the low-end wood-fired porcelain category of Shangjing Kiln, but also open a high value-added channel for straw consumption. Wang Renliang explained that straw kilns can be built in rural areas, combining the region's kaolin clay resources, human resources during the off-farm period, and rich straw resources to form a characteristic ceramic rural cultural industry that integrates characteristic ceramic art, characteristic B&Bs, and ice and fire experiences. . The waste heat from kiln firing can also be used to provide centralized heating for surrounding farmers. "Build a high-quality, sustainable development of characteristic cultural tourism villages that save energy, reduce emissions, control pollution, increase production and income, increase the added value of farmers' products, and integrate production and marketing. Under the 'double carbon' goal, we will promote the countryside with new ways of characteristic ceramic culture and tourism." Revitalization.” (Picture provided by interviewee)
Source: Leading News
