Loading and Firing

Loading a kiln is called“filling a kiln”by the residents of Jingdezhen. Due to the special characteristics in the shape and structures of the Jingdezhen Kiln,it requires particular attentions to load the kiln. Particular attentions should not only paid to the different temperatures and atmosphere in the front and rear chambers,but also to the reasonable arrangement of fire channels. In Jingdezhen,the work of“filling a kiln”starts from the Guanyin Chamber in the rear end of the kiln and the kiln is loaded from the rear to the front chambers in proper sequence.First,load the Guanyin Chamber and the lower parts on both sides of the residual chamber with brick bodies and then arrange the bungs in proper lines.The height of the bungs Should be higher than guayaokou,but lower than the observation hole.The valuable experiences that potters of Jingdezhen have accumulated in their practices for hundreds of years have fully proved that the “tight—front—and—loose—rear”method is the most reasonable arrangement of fire channels as large saggers are loaded into the rear chamber of the kiln and smaller saggers into the front chamber.The large belly and small belly should be loaded with the best fine porcelains and there should be a clearance between the saggers.The key to the loading operations resides in the proper arrangement of the fire channels and ensure a smooth airflow through the whole kiln order to bring the firing into full play. Otherwise,the hindered airflow will be quite liable to bring about a nonuniform firing, or even the kiln collapse. When the kiln is loaded,it is necessary to build a temporary fire bed and kiln entrance.When the kiln is to be sealed, the huiliu door(i.e. pit door),slag door(i.e. firing hole),fire eye and kiln eye should be set in turns from bottom to top.The kilns are a pair of round holes in symmetry at the top of the entrance which will be inserted with two saggers in appropriate sizes when firing the kiln.They are very convenient for potters to observe and control the temperature on both sides of the chamber before fixing the amount of fire wood and the direction of feeding.When the kiln is sealed well , coat the entrance with day and fm up the clearance in order to prevent the air from penetrating into the kiln.When all the work concerning loading is finished,it is the time to enter into the course of firing.Get ready to fire the kiln.