Day 14: The throwers have completed enough pots that we will have a full kiln this time. That is good. Even for the Emperor, it pains me when we have to fire a kiln half empty. It is so much effort, I want to use every speck of space.
I have inspected our saggers and I have told Renshu and Delun to throw new ones using the coarser clay. How many times must I explain to Renshu that the saggers are to protect the pots from the flame and ashes; they cannot do that if their lids, floors, or walls are cracked and broken?
Day 16: The painters are now working on the last of the pots for this kiln load. It is good, given our deadline, that all these pots are being decorated with only the cobalt stains, with the transparent glaze over it. This way, they only need to go through the fire once instead of twice.
I am guardedly pleased. Even the apprentices are doing well. Not a one of the new young ones has lost his grip on a pot as he has dipped it into the vat of glaze that Bingwen and Fuhua have mixed under my direction. We must now wait for the pots to dry completely.
Day 23: We have had much sunshine; the pots are now dry and ready to be fired. The apprentices are placing the pots into the saggers, and the journeymen are loading these into our hill-climbing kiln. I have told everyone to take this evening and light joss sticks at our kiln's shrine to supplicate Feng Huo Hsien (and any other kiln gods who may look in on our work) for a good firing. I have laid the beginning tinder and logs in the main firebox and have ensured the firebox and stoke holes running along the sides of the kiln have plenty of wood at hand.
Tonight I will light the tinder and beginning the slow warming period. Too much heat too quickly and the pots will shatter... something the young ones never seem to realize, no matter how often they are told, until it is too late.
