Bulletin Number Three 1983

we trained graduates sent to the Palace Museum to study and practise from provincial museums and secondary schools about a decade ago. The Administrative Bureau o f Museums and Archaeological Data has been conducting train­ ing classes regularly for the young people assigned to provincial museums. The idea is to impart to them some basic knowledge on archaeology, art and crafts, which w ill facilitate them in their work. They are expected to build up their knowledge through experience. Besides, the Bureau also set up a formal school, offering two- year courses on the history o f Chinese ceramics, painting and bronze, and introductory courses on various a rts and crafts, such as jade and lacquer ware. The first batch o f students, mainly secondary school graduates o f Beijing, w ill graduate this Autumn, and the best students w ill be considered for positions in the PalaceMuseum. Universities have also taken an active part in training new blood in the field o f Archaeology. Right now, there are already thirteen univer­ sities offering Archaeology courses in their History Departments. Q. China has achieved much in the study o f ceramics in recent years. Has a better understanding o f ancient ceramics helped to improve the ceramic industry? A. Surely it has. In fact, many ceramic factories are situated at the famous kiln sites o f the past- Ding, Jun, Yaozhou and Cizhou in the north; Longquan, Guan o f Southern Song ， Jingdezhen and Dehua in the south. These kilns are produc­ ing new ceramic ware for daily use in modern life as well as making replicas. Their products are usually sent to Beijing for appraisal and comments. Furthermore, Ceramics Research Insti­ tutes under the Provincial Industrial Bureaux often conduct research on ancient ceramics w ith a view to serving the modern ceramic industry. Therefore, they have often established close ties w ith the factories. Q. Would the integration o f modem technology and traditional methodology result in the production o f replicas almost indistinguishable from the original? A. Yes, this should be the logical development. In the past, the Ceramics Research Institute, after analysing the body and glaze o f some ceramics from certain ancient kilns, used the same pro­ portion o f material to make replicas, but the end results were usually ware completely different from the originals. Such attempts had been made in the Longquan and Yaozhou kilns. Finally we realized that the root o f the problem might be that the material used was not from the same mine. Now specialists at Yaozhou, having found the material used in the past and using ancient moulds to make the body, have succeeded in producing ware close to the original Song ware in shape, colour and decoration. Theonly difference is the very glossy surface o f present-day product­ ions. Finding ancient material is not easy, and it w ill take some time before we can successfully imitate ancient ceramic products. Q. What are the criteria fo r determining the authen­ ticity o f the ware? A. We use the following criteria to determine the authenticity o f ceramics. First, shape —Once the form has been identified, the battle is more than half won. Second, decoration —Each era has its own style and characteristics o f decoration. Third, raw material, for body, glaze and colour — Different materials were used in different periods, and once we are able to identify the materials, we are not far from the correct answer. Last but not least, the base mark. Take the Jingdezhen for example, each piece had to undergo a seventy- two-step process, from mining through firing to packing. The division o f labour was so fine that during Ming and Qing even base-mark writing was a profession in itself and was a life-long job for the workers. As a result, base-marks o f a certain period normally came from the same hands. Imitators could only copy the type o f writing but usually failed to master the style. This is what gives them away. Q. Could you please give us some helpful hints in determining authenticity? A. Well, the hints are the four 'mores': see more, compare more, remember more and ask more. Seeing more is not confined to the originals, but also replicas produced in the past dynasties and even fakes o f recent times. In late Ming and Qing, people imitated out o f a love for antiques, but during the Republican days, people imitated for financial gains. Once we have seen more, we can distinguish the authentic from the fakes. Take Chenghua ware for example, once we have seen both the authentic Chenghua and Ming, Qing and Republican copies, we may be able to te ll the differences. Of course, to help us do our job well, we have to jo t down notes every time and be sure to get the answers to all our queries. ACADEMIC/CULTURAL EVENTS 17