sign in sign up
<<
Home , Jin dynasty (266–420), Li (surname 厲), Tribute, Zhongdu

the dynasty 77

CHAPTER TWO

THE (1115–1234 AD)

During the early decades of the 20th Century, pre-Ming blue and white porcelain was retrieved from Xi cultural sites in the Ejina River Oasis region along ’s ancient Silk Road. To establish recognition that these finds are official-kiln productions of the from southern China, the role played by the Jin dynasty (1115–1234 AD) in the dispersion of Song cultural products to north China must be brought from obscurity and illuminated in the light of contemporary information. Like the Xi Xia, the Jin treasured Song official-kiln porcelain. Over 300 Northern Song Yaozhou-kiln shards with impressed and incised dragon and phoenix designs have been uncovered in the immediate vicinity of the former location of the imperial city of the Jin capital, Zhongdu at . Furthermore, like their contemporaries the Southern Song (1127–1279 AD) the Jin were connoisseurs of Northern Song Ru-kiln porcelain. In his poem “Ruci Jiuzun,” the famous Jin poet Zhao Bing­ wen praises the qualities of a Northern Song Ru-kiln Zun-shaped wine vessel. In his Wulin Jiushi, (Song) Zhou Mi mentions Ru-kiln porcelain vases, basins, incense-burners, etc. that were offered in tribute to the Song Gaozong in 1151 AD.1 Traditional Chinese scholarship has always respected records describing the despoliation of the imperial repositories at the Northern Song capital Bianjing (modern-day ) and their removal to the Beijing area (i.e., the Jin “Yanshan” region). The Jin shipped thousands of cartloads from those repositories (cf. II.14, n. 458). Good evidence for the dispersion of Northern Song relics is the bronze Lei ritual vessel with the Xuanhe reign-year date of 1122 AD uncovered during excavations of Jin Zhongdu. Regarding it, Jinpeng comments: “The Song replicated ancient bronzes and jades because of the rise of its ‘Antiquarian Studies.’ This vessel was made by order of the Northern Song Huizong Emperor to copy the shape of the bronze Lei ritual jar and was bestowed upon a certain ‘Taiwei’ official. Quite likely it was part of the treasures the Jin seized as booty from the Northern Song.” Another example is the famous “Stone-drum Inscriptions” recovered during the late North- ern Song, transported by the Jin to Beijing. As the stone temple tablet retrieved from the Beijing Houtaoyuan site illustrates, these kinds of things became part of the Jin imperial collections (cf. II.14, n. 448).2

1 Xianming (1958), p. 56 (fig. 1). (Jin) Zhao Bingwen, Xianxian Laoren Fushui Wenji, Juan 6, p. 84. (Qing) Guo Yuanyu (ed.), Quan Jinshi Zengbu Zhongzhouji, Juan 12, p. [1445-]192 (folio, p. 18a), the “Zhao Bingwen—Si” chapter. Xue Ruizhao and Guo Mingzhi (ed.), Quan Jinshi (1995), Vol. 2, Juan 70, p. 453 (the “Zhao Bingwen—Si” chapter). (Song) Zhou Mi, Wulin Jiushi, Juan 9, p. [590-]279 (folio, p. 15b), the section titled “Gaozong Xing Zhang Fujie Cilue.” Also cf. Gang (1996), pp. 107–108, 112 (n. 20–21). Chen Wanli (1951[b]), p. 55, remarks: “By the time the Southern Song Emperor Gaozong went to Zhang Jun’s mansion, Ru-kiln porcelain was already extremely rare and prized.” 2 Zhang Ning (1972), p. 31. Du Jinpeng (1996), p. 191. Concerning the “Stone-drum Inscriptions,” cf. II.14, n. 449. Additional confirmation of the Jin’s shipment of Song cultural relics from the former Song Bianjing 78 chapter two

II.1. Regarding the Baotou Yanjialiang Site Finds, Inner Autonomous Region

Turning attention from the Xi Xia finds in the Gobi Desert to discoveries south of Baotou, , Gai Shanlin locates the Baotou Yanjialiang site “approximately 1km south- west of Machi Village.” Liu Huanzhen (1981) says that Machi Village is approximately 1km east of the Yanjialiang site.3 Liu Huanzhen presented his findings at the Third International Conference on Ancient Pottery and Porcelain held in in November of 1989 in “Blue and White Porcelain Artifacts Unearthed from the Baotou Yanjialiang Site, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China”: “The Yanjialiang site is located in the southwestern suburbs of Baotou city, and the Yanjialiang Village is 1km from the eastern side of the Madi Reservoir at the county govern- ment’s Machi Village. There are some ten peasant families residing at Yanjialiang Village with the Yan surname, hence the appelation ‘Yanjialiang.’ The original bridge in the south of the village is no longer extant, [the whole area] having been converted into terraced pad- dies for cultivation. Proceeding south 600m from the entrance to the village, there is ancient cultural site in an area that extends 300m east to west. Surface collection at the site yielded various Jin and -era porcelain shards, many with commercial marks written in ink on the bottom, such as ‘Wanliguan, Renji,’ and ‘Qinji.’ Moreover, the stratigraphic super- position apparent on the exposed face of the slope of the terraced paddies demonstrates a long history of occupation. In 1979, when I surveyed the Yanjialiang site, there was among the various intact ceramic pieces which had been retrieved from the site and subsequently collected at a local’s home, one which is a precious, intact blue and white large jar made of superior quality. In 1983, I collected seven such blue and white porcelain shards from the surface of the site. Among these were the lower portions of two separate large jars. From the point of view of design arrangement of these two shards and the hue of the blue under- glaze, these two are identical to that which was retrieved in 1979. In June of 1989, I once again returned to the Yanjialiang site to carry out archaeological exploration. In the north- western corner of the site, in the broken ridge along the water ditch, I uncovered a blue and white large jar porcelain shard. The cross-section of the broken ridge clearly indicates that this shard was preserved beneath the house-foundation in Stratum 2, and thus it belongs to Stratum 3. The partly visible design of the upturned lotus, the fine and white consistency of the body of this shard conforms exactly with the blue and white pieces collected so far from this site. Although the color of the underglaze pigment of this shard is darker than previous ones, everything else about it is identical. It is particularly comparable to the blue and white pieces retrieved from the Heicheng site in recent excavations. My 1983 excavation

capital can be found in the well-known “Jiashan” stones that remain today atop Qionghuadao Island. The stones were taken from the famous Northern Song Langyue pleasure garden (nearby their capital Bianjing) and removed to the Jin Guanghandian Palace at the summit of Qionghuadao Island. Chen Zongfan (1991), p. 114: “It can be determined that the stones on today’s Qionghuadao Island all came from the Langyue garden.” For details, cf. Beihai Jingshan Gongyuanzhi (2000), pp. 144–146 (fig. 1–63–64). Concerning the - dian Palace, cf. II.14, n. 425. 3 Gai Shanlin (1984[a]), p. 241. Liu Huanzhen (1981[a]), p. 115.