Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 102 A Craftsman's Feelings
September 1628, 9, Guangfeng Fort (now the town of Saanich north of Victoria Harbour).

Li Liang held a newly fired pottery jar in his hands and looked at it carefully from top to bottom and left to right. The whole body was relatively loose, rough and porous. When he tapped it lightly with his fingers, it made a dull sound, which was far less crisp and transparent than porcelain.

Shi Baosan stood nervously behind the commissioner, looking at him carefully, fearing that he would be dissatisfied with his pottery making skills.

"Can I boil some water?" Li Liang put the pottery jar on the table, turned around and asked with a smile.

"Sure." Shi Baosan nodded hurriedly. "When it was out of the oven, I put water in it. For three days, not a drop leaked out. I think it can be used to boil water. It might even be used to simmer soup for a long time."

"You only made this one?"

"Twelve pieces were burned in this furnace, four of which were rotten, and eight are intact." Shi Baosan quickly responded, "Well, I'll bring them to you right away, sir."

"Well, bring them all over for me to examine later." Li Liang nodded and said, "How long did it take to fire these pieces of pottery?"

"Three days."

"Three days?" Li Liang was stunned. "Does it take that long?"

I remember that in those hobby pottery shops in later generations, it only took one day to fire a piece of pottery, and some even only took four or five hours.

It would probably take a bit of time for Shi Baosan to fire pottery in this way.

"Master Li, it does take that long," Shi Baosan replied carefully. "Because these pottery jars are made of high-temperature pottery, they need to be fired in a high fire for about seven or eight hours before they can be formed. Plus, I'm the one who makes the molds, shapes them, and beats them, so it took a while. However, if we were to fire low-temperature pottery, it would take less time."

"High-temperature pottery? Low-temperature pottery?... Uh, is there any difference?" Li Liang asked curiously.

"In reply to Master Li..." Shi Baosan considered his words carefully. "The firing temperature of high-temperature pottery is very high, almost the same as the temperature required for iron smelting. The firing temperature of low-temperature pottery is much lower, requiring less carbon fire. After firing, the body and glaze of high-temperature pottery are highly dense, making it extremely hard, not easily broken, wear-resistant, and rarely leaking."

"After firing, the body and glaze of low-temperature pottery are not as dense and hard as high-temperature pottery. Moreover, after holding water for a long time, it will leak. Pottery such as flower pots and earthenware are all low-temperature pottery."

"Oh, one more thing. The surface of high-temperature pottery is slightly smoother and more delicate, while the surface of low-temperature pottery is relatively rough."

"I didn't expect that you know so much about firing pottery!" Li Liang couldn't help but look at the potter with admiration.

"I don't deserve Master Li's praise." Shi Baosan smiled and replied, "My ancestors were potters, so I know all these tricks."

"Oh, so this pottery-making skill has been passed down from generation to generation by your ancestors. It can be considered an intangible cultural heritage."

"Ah, inheritance?" Shi Baosan looked at the committee member in astonishment, somewhat confused.

My generation of craftsmen has nothing to inherit from our ancestors except the craftsman label that we can never get rid of!
To put it bluntly, I am just a small potter, an ordinary craftsman. My brothers and I have been learning pottery making from our father since we were young and have barely made a living.

For hundreds of years, craftsmen like me have worked so hard for the emperor, government officials, and their official workshops, without any material rewards. Just because of our identity as craftsmen, we have used our skills to make one exquisite handicraft after another for them from generation to generation.

As for what their ancestors left behind, apart from their skills and the permanent craftsman status they could not get rid of, there was not even a few taels of extra silver, and they lived a tight life.

If life had not been so unbearable, he would not have secretly accepted the invitation of the master of Shixing Fort, boarded a big ship, and sailed across the ocean to this unknown place.

The Hongwu Emperor of our Ming Dynasty divided all people into three types of household registration: civilians, soldiers, and craftsmen. We, the craftsmen, are all craftsmen like me.

There were also some military households who, for some special reasons, helped to cast weapons in the military equipment bureaus under the jurisdiction of various dusi guards, doing work similar to ours. We called them military craftsmen.

We, the craftsmen who are part of the crafts family, are even lower in status than those craftsmen who work hard in the fields.

After thinking about it, I feel that this view is ridiculous and sad. We all make a living with our own hands, and we don’t steal or rob, so where does the distinction between high and low come from?

The household registration of our artisan family is to be passed down from generation to generation. My ancestors were all pottery craftsmen.

Moreover, in order to facilitate their household registration, the court asked us not to separate the households.

We don’t care whether the household registration is divided or not. What people like us care about is whether we can get rid of our household registration.

But, it's difficult!
It’s harder than climbing to the sky!
If craftsmen like us want to get rid of our household registration, the only way is to get the emperor's special approval. Moreover, we craftsmen have no chance of taking the imperial examinations, and the law strictly prohibits us from becoming officials.

Most of us are “shift workers”, and all our work as shift workers is not paid at all.

The government stipulated that shift workers had to take turns providing labor in government-run workshops for one or five years.

On average, each team of craftsmen had to provide three months of unpaid labor to the government.

In addition, there are "resident craftsmen", which means that we craftsmen must serve in their official workshops for ten days every month.

If you really don't have time to go to their workshops, you must pay silver to the government, and the government will use the silver you pay to hire other craftsmen.

Apart from the two types of labor, "shift worker" and "resident worker", we can freely dispose of the rest of the time.

Although there are still times when we are not free, compared to our ancestors, we are already much happier. In terms of our status, the father dies and the son takes over.

When I was young, I was conscripted into the Imperial Palace Porcelain Bureau to learn craftsmanship (hard labor), and they called us "young craftsmen."

In the eyes of others, we craftsmen are exempt from menial tasks, which is very enviable.

But what does a little bit of chores count for?

We still have to do our regular duties and pay our grain taxes as required.

What makes us most infuriated is that the foremen who manage us still exploit us.

Of course, we are not lambs to be slaughtered.

Countless of my predecessors expressed our dissatisfaction as craftsmen through passive resistance, deliberately wasting more materials, poor quality, and running away.

It was not until the Jiajing period that the government began to employ us "shift workers" with silver, which gave us a little income.

We strongly support the reform of the artisan household system.

Because many educated people say that this reform is inevitable and is to adapt to the development needs of the new era.

In fact, everyone knows that the artisan household system is a disgusting system and a very backward mode of production. Whether we are artisans or government officials, we all know it well.

The market is becoming more and more prosperous. Whether in the territory of the Ming Dynasty or overseas, the demand for silk, cloth, porcelain, jewelry and other handicrafts is increasing. These products that people are enthusiastically demanding are all made by our craftsmen.

If we still follow the original artisan household system stipulated by Emperor Hongwu, everyone will have no enthusiasm for production, and of course the output and quality will be very low, affecting the income of the government and handicraft workshops.

The emperor and the government will only take action if their own interests are harmed.

During the Jiajing period, civil officials came up with a system of "using silver instead of craftsmen".

Although this reform reduced our workload, it also gave us a certain amount of free time.

But this does not fundamentally liberate us.

We are still craftsmen, just craftsmen with more free time.

We still need to contribute our labor to the government.

When we craftsmen honestly abided by the "craftsman's silver" system, we found that corrupt officials were embezzling the silver we paid.

The money was not used to purchase raw materials or renovate workshops, but went into the pockets of corrupt officials.

The government has no money to hire others to produce, so it can only recall us craftsmen to fill the gaps in their labor force.

In my opinion, this is a somewhat unnecessary reform policy that is purely tormenting us craftsmen and extorting and squeezing our money.

Alas, perhaps the drawbacks of the artisan household system have not yet truly affected the core interests of the imperial court.

Craftsmen like me at the lowest level can only abide by the regulations. It seems that I will not be able to witness the day when the craftsman system is completely reformed.

It's funny to say that after living for more than 30 years, it was only when he came to this place called Qiming Island that he received the respect and attention that a craftsman deserved for the first time.

The manager here not only paid a high salary of six taels of silver a month, but also provided food and accommodation. He never beat or scolded people, and never treated them harshly. He spoke to people in a friendly and kind manner, which made people feel inexplicably comfortable.

Before coming, they paid one year's salary in one lump sum.

With this money, not only was the family's daily expenses guaranteed, but even when his old father and brother were called up as "shift craftsmen" or "resident craftsmen", they could use the "craftsman silver" to dispel the government's call.

Well, as long as you pay the money, the government doesn’t care whether you, the craftsman, come or not.

Besides, he is just a potter, how could he be favored by the government? They would be happy to take the "craftsman's salary" you paid and put it in their pockets, no matter where you go.

If life here is good, I might as well secretly bring my family here.

We all make a living, so we will naturally follow whoever treats us well, pays us more, and gives us enough food to eat.

Moreover, it seems that the masters in charge of the island are quite organized in their work, cultivating crops and running workshops and handicrafts, as if they are setting up their own independent regime.

If so, if we follow them early on, can we not only receive generous treatment but also gain the credit of "following the dragon"?
Well, just like Zheng Yiguan on Dongfan Island (now Taiwan Island), it is said that he was very compassionate to the immigrants and craftsmen under his rule, attracting tens of thousands of Fujian villagers to cross the sea to join him and live a good life like in a paradise.

Perhaps, the only way for us craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty to live with dignity is to go overseas.

(End of this chapter)