If you want to achieve anything in the world, you must study hard. The most fearful thing is to take it for granted.
Just like Gao Pragmatic, he knew nothing about porcelain before today. He only knew that Chinese porcelain was invincible in the world, but what exactly is porcelain, such as the current development of porcelain, popular trends, and even the raw materials required, technical requirements, etc.
I don't know at all.
The three "master craftsmen" Zhang introduced to him today gave him a lot of popular science. In fact, it was still superficial, because he couldn't understand it if he explained it in detail.
There is no need to go into details. In short, Gao Pragmatic has clarified a few key points: the peak period of the porcelain industry in the Ming Dynasty was the Chenghua Dynasty. Since then, although the patterns have gradually changed and new technologies have emerged, compared with the Chenghua period,
In other words, the overall trend is becoming more and more shoddy.
"Roughly made" is what the three master craftsmen said. In fact, even if the three master craftsmen took out some carefully prepared porcelain from past dynasties for Gao Pragmatic to point out, Gao Pragmatic felt that there was not much difference - indeed, according to the master craftsmen
As mentioned, before Hongzhi, attention was paid to tire repair, and the joint marks were not obvious; after Zhengde, Jiajing, Longqing and the recent Wanli Dynasty porcelain, the joint marks were obvious, the carcass was thicker and rougher, and the porcelain produced by the official kiln was slightly better.
This situation is becoming more and more serious in the products produced in private kilns, which often have a "flint red" phenomenon, which the master craftsmen call "yellow overflow".
However, Gao Pragmatic felt that the requirements of the master craftsmen seemed to be too high, and even a bit picky. However, he is a person who believes in professionalism, so he still holds a positive attitude towards this statement.
Among the three master craftsmen, one was surnamed Yu and the other was surnamed Chen. The two master craftsmen surnamed Chen came from Yuzhou, and they were a pair of brothers. They were considered the successors of Jun kiln technology in the Song Dynasty. However, according to the two of them, due to
The Jun kiln has been in decline for a long time. They can only master the general technology, and some unique skills may have been lost. They have only heard about the manufacturing method from the elders of the clan. Whether they can successfully imitate it is still uncertain.
However, Mrs. Zhang admired their craftsmanship very much. She was afraid that Gao Pingshi would be disappointed after hearing the words of these two honest masters, so she quickly told her son that she had asked them to make two batches of trial production, although it was indeed not up to the level of Jun Kiln.
It is at its peak level, but it can basically reach the common standard of Jun kilns back then - Jun kilns were originally rare and specialized in producing high-quality products, so this "common standard" is actually already a very high level.
Gao Pragmatic expressed his approval but did not comment too much.
The master craftsman named Xu came from Jingdezhen. Unlike the full bloom of the porcelain industry in the Song Dynasty, the porcelain capital of the Ming Dynasty has firmly settled in Jingdezhen. Although other famous porcelains in other places also have their own strengths, no matter
In terms of scale, comprehensiveness and mastery of unique skills, Jingdezhen is the undisputed overlord.
And this great craftsman Xu, even in Jingdezhen, is one with extremely outstanding skills. However, this great craftsman has two tragedies: First, he is only good at technology, but not good at management, which leads to the poor quality of the private kiln passed down by his family.
It was excellent, but his profits were dwindling due to being squeezed by his competitors, and he saw that he could no longer even hold on to his ancestral property; secondly, he only had an only son, but this only son was addicted to eating, drinking, whoring, gambling, and was not doing his job properly, so he was set up outside.
, owed a lot of usury money, and bankrupted Mr. Xu.
Usury is usury. In theory, it is strictly prohibited by Ming law, but in fact... this is the Wanli Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty has already entered the middle and late stages. How many laws can be taken seriously? Not to mention usury.
What are the identities of these people, and how can the Xu family cope with them?
Fortunately, Gao Jingshi's mother Zhang happened to send someone to look for capable craftsmen in Jingdezhen. After learning about this situation, she immediately took care of the matter in the name of Xinzheng Gao's family. What a coincidence, then
Li Chunpu, the Chief Secretary of Jiangxi Province and a disciple of Gao Gong, came forward to negotiate peace. The Zhang family paid off all the principal and interest of the money owed by Xu Dajiang's family, and Xu Dajiang took several clansmen and disciples from his private kiln and joined the Gao family.
.
Because the Jun kiln has been in decline for a long time, the Chen brothers can only make ordinary porcelain in the countryside to make ends meet. They are so poor that they have long lost the dignity of being a great craftsman. Not to mention the great craftsman Xu, in theory, he now owes the Gao family money.
He won't finish it in three lifetimes.
Zhang was born into a family of wealthy businessmen, and was not very polite when it came to doing business, so he took all three of them as his servants without saying a word.
A servant is actually a servant, or even more bluntly, a slave of the master.
A little explanation is needed here. In the Ming Dynasty, slaves were also called slaves, Zang Huo, house slaves, house boys, boy servants, family members, righteous men, righteous daughters, righteous wives, etc.
In the early Ming Dynasty, real slaves mainly came from prisoners of war and family members of criminals. Their identities were recognized by law, but the number of such slaves was of course very limited. During the Hongwu period, Zhu Yuanzhang repeatedly issued decrees to prohibit the spontaneous enslavement of good people among the people, and opposed
The purchase and sale of persons or private debts must be discounted accurately and the good ones should be replaced by the cheap; and the number of slaves for meritorious officials and officials must be stipulated.
But the regulations are just regulations. Honorable ministers, nobles, relatives and officials can find loopholes to avoid it: for example, if the slave deed does not say that he was sold as a slave, but only says that he was adopted as an adopted son or daughter by someone, the court can only stare at it - Gao Mo
, why are Gao Jue's surname Gao? When they first started, the slave contract was in the hands of Gao Jie, Gao's pragmatic uncle. In name, they were all Gao Jie's adopted sons. Since they were adopted sons, of course they had to follow the "adopted father"
"The last name is given.
The master has great power to deal with this type of servants or servants at will - because they are actually the property of the master.
There is also a slightly different kind of servant who is a hired worker, but the employment period of this hired worker is a bit long - a lifetime employment, and there is no right to change jobs. Previously, Zhang Siwei was transferred to the highly pragmatic San Shenyuan Third Manager, such as
Shen Li'an, Wei Ximin, etc. are all slaves of this type.
The former type of slaves, who are adopted sons and daughters, can be taken away by their masters, but the latter type cannot be taken away by life or death. However, the imperial court has never accurately defined this type of slaves. Generally speaking, the master
As long as the family does not directly kill people, the court basically does not ask about other situations.
In fact, even if the master is really killed, the punishment given by the court or the government will be very light. For a powerful master, this kind of punishment can be ignored.
However, the crimes committed by slaves against their masters in the Ming Dynasty were very clear and strict in the Ming Dynasty Code. For example, "Any slave who assaults his master will be beheaded, and anyone who kills will be put to death in a hurry. Those who kill by negligence will be hanged or injured."
A hundred rods will last three thousand miles." and "Any slave who scolds his parents will be hanged. If a hired worker scolds his parents, his rod will be eighty and his life will last two years."
A domestic slave who is an adopted son or daughter will be hanged if he curses his master; if he dares to beat his master, he will be beheaded; if it is more serious and kills his master, then he will be executed without any discussion.
Domestic slaves who are hired servants are not that strong. If they curse their master, they will be punished with an eighty-point cane and two years in prison...
Why did all the wars in the late Ming Dynasty rely on servants? Of course there is more than one reason, but this one cannot be ignored: the master kills and seizes the servants! If you, a servant, don't listen to the master, you will be killed when others say!
Now these three master craftsmen are hired servants of the Gao family, so Gao's pragmatic decision is equivalent to their imperial edict.
After listening to the three people's stories, Gao pragmatic glanced at his mother, frowned slightly and said: "Mother, please tell your son the truth. Are you letting your son engage in Yu kiln just to make money, or do you have greater expectations?
"
Zhang's eyes flashed, then firmed up. She looked at Gao Jingshi and said: "Pragmatically, the Gao family and the Zhang family are all from the north. We can't just watch Southern porcelain show off its power! You want money now?"
Money means power, so why can’t our Gao family do something to revitalize Bei Porcelain?"