试论越窑的衰落

越窑是中国古代著名的青瓷窑,约创建于东汉晚期,中晚唐逐渐进入辉煌时期,北宋中期开始出现衰落的迹象,北宋晚期全面衰落,约公元13世纪早期以后停烧。从其出现衰落迹象到停烧,历时约150多年,其间并非简单、缓慢地直线下滑,而是经历了一个较为复杂、耐人寻味的过程。衰落的前期即北宋晚期,形势急转直下,经营者们显得极度无奈;南宋早期似有所醒悟,之后,开始改革青釉的配方,调整产品,但终因衰落时间太久,行动太晚,奇迹未能出现。其衰落的根本原因是缺乏创新,盲目将生产的重点转向刻、划花青瓷,放弃了自己的特色,刻、划花青瓷又质量平平,使产品逐渐失去了市场竞争力,丧失了生存的基础。

A Tentative Discussion of the Rise and Decline of the Yue Kilns

The Yue kiln produced China's renowned ancient celadon and it is generally estimated to have commenced production in the late Eastern Han dynasty, entering its heyday in the mid - late Tang period and then commencing to fall into decline in the mid Northern Song. By the late Northern Song the kiln had entered its final period of demise and in the early 13th century completely ceased firing. The kiln had a history of more than 150 years but its decline was not a gradual and sustained process, but rather a complex and fascinating story. The early period of decline took place in the late Northern Song with a sudden downturn and fall in business, a situation that seems to have been appreciated fully only in the early Southern Song when the formulae for producing celadon glaze were reformed and the product range was altered, but the decline was too advanced and the reforms too late, so no miraculous recovery could be effected. The basic reasons for the decline were lack of innovation and a blind faith in switching to an emphasis on carved designs that overlooked what had made celadon unique. The colours and designs tended to lower the quality of the celadon itself, so that it lost its competitive edge in the market and hence the very underpinnings of its survival.