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diff --git a/old/68762-0.txt b/old/68762-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index a49df98..0000000 --- a/old/68762-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,17965 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Chinese pottery and porcelain; vol. -II., by Robert L Hobson - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Chinese pottery and porcelain; vol. II. - An account of the potter's art in China from primitive times to - the present day. - -Author: Robert L Hobson - -Release Date: August 16, 2022 [eBook #68762] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Chris Curnow, Joseph Cooper, Karin Spence and the Online - Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHINESE POTTERY AND -PORCELAIN; VOL. II. *** - - - -Transcriber’s Notes: - -1. [chch] = Chinese character. [chch 2] = 2 Chinese Characters, etc. - -2. Items marked wth an asterisk (*): Pieces mentioned here from the -British Museum collection. - -3. The items marked with two asterisks (**) are stated to have been -copied from old specimens in the palace collections.] - - - - - CHINESE POTTERY AND PORCELAIN - - - - - _This Edition is limited to 1500 - copies, of which this is_ - - _No._ 669 - - [Illustration: - - Covered Jar or Potiche, painted with coloured enamels on the - biscuit. Eight petal-shaped panels with flowering plants, birds - and insects on the sides; with a band of smaller petals below - enclosing lotus flowers, and borders of red wave pattern and - floral sprays. Base unglazed. Early part of the K’ang Hsi period - (1662–1722) - - Height 25 inches. _British Museum._] - - - - - CHINESE POTTERY AND PORCELAIN - - AN ACCOUNT OF THE POTTER’S ART IN CHINA - FROM PRIMITIVE TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAY - - BY - - R. L. HOBSON, B.A. - - Assistant in the Department of British and Mediæval Antiquities and - Ethnography, British Museum. Author of the “Catalogne of the - Collection of English Pottery in the Department of British - and Mediæval Antiquities of the British Museum”; - “Porcelain: Oriental, Continental, and British”; - “Worcester Porcelain”; etc; and Joint Author - of “Marks on Pottery.” - - _Forty Plates, in Colour and Ninety-six in Black and White_ - - VOL. II - - Ming and Ch’ing Porcelain - - CASSELL AND COMPANY, LTD - London, New York, Toronto and Melbourne - 1915 - - - - - CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - 1. THE MING [chch] DYNASTY, 1368–1644 A.D. 1 - - 2. HSÜAN TÊ [chch 2] (1426–1435) 7 - - 3. CH’ÊNG HUA [chch 2] (1465–1487) AND OTHER REIGNS 22 - - 4. CHIA CHING [chch 2] (1522–1566) AND LUNG CH’ING [chch 2] - (1567–1572) 34 - - 5. WAN LI [chch 2] (1573–1619) AND OTHER REIGNS 58 - - 6. THE TECHNIQUE OF THE MING PORCELAIN 91 - - 7. MISCELLANEOUS PORCELAIN FACTORIES 107 - - 8. THE CH’ING [chch] DYNASTY, 1644–1910 117 - - 9. K’ANG HSI BLUE AND WHITE 128 - - 10. K’ANG HSI POLYCHROME PORCELAINS 145 - - 11. K’ANG HSI MONOCHROMES 176 - - 12. YUNG CHÊNG [chch 2] PERIOD (1723–1735) 200 - - 13. CH’IEN LUNG [chch 2] (1736–1795) 227 - - 14. EUROPEAN INFLUENCES IN THE CH’ING DYNASTY 250 - - 15. NINETEENTH CENTURY PORCELAINS 262 - - 16. PORCELAIN SHAPES IN THE CH’ING DYNASTY 272 - - 17. MOTIVES OF THE DECORATION 280 - - 18. FORGERIES AND IMITATIONS 304 - - - - - LIST OF PLATES - - - COVERED JAR OR POTICHE _(Colour) Frontispiece_ - - Painted with coloured enamels on the biscuit. Eight petal-shaped - panels with flowering plants, birds and insects on the sides; - with a band of smaller petals below enclosing lotus flowers, and - borders of red wave pattern and floral sprays. Base unglazed. - Early part of the K’ang Hsi period (1662–1722). _British Museum._ - - PLATE FACING PAGE - - - 59. WHITE EGGSHELL PORCELAIN BOWL WITH IMPERIAL DRAGONS FAINTLY - TRACED IN WHITE SLIP UNDER THE GLAZE 4 - - Mark of the Yung Lo period (1403–1424), incised in the - centre in archaic characters. - - Fig. 1.--Exterior. Fig. 2.--Interior view. _British - Museum._ - - - 60. REPUTED HSÜAN TÊ PORCELAIN 8 - - Fig. 1.--Flask with blue decoration, reputed to be Hsüan - Tê period. _British Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Brush rest. (?) Chang Ch’ien on a log raft; - partly biscuit. Inscribed with a stanza of verse and - the Hsüan Tê mark. _Grandidier Collection._ - - - 61. PORCELAIN WITH _san ts’ai_ GLAZES ON THE BISCUIT 8 - - Fig. 1.--Wine jar with pierced casing, the Taoist - Immortals paying court to the God of Longevity, - turquoise blue ground. Fifteenth century._Eumorfopoulos - Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Screen with design in relief, horsemen on a - mountain path, dark blue ground. About 1500. _Benson - Collection._ - - - 62. BARREL-SHAPED GARDEN SEAT (_Colour_) 16 - - Porcelain with coloured glazes on the biscuit, the - designs outlined in slender fillets of clay. A lotus - scroll between an upper band of clouds and a lower - band of horses in flying gallop and sea waves. - Lion-mask handles. About 1500 A.D. _British Museum._ - - - 63. BALUSTER VASE 24 - - With designs in raised outline, filled in with coloured - glazes on the biscuit; dark violet blue background. - About 1500. _Grandidier Collection (Louvre)._ - - - 64. FIFTEENTH CENTURY POLYCHROME PORCELAIN 24 - - Fig. 1.--Vase with grey crackle and peony scrolls in - blue and enamels. Ch’êng Hua mark. _British Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Vase with turquoise ground and bands of floral - pattern and winged dragons incised in outline and - coloured green, yellow and aubergine. _S. E. Kennedy - Collection._ - - Fig. 3.--Box with bands of _ju-i_ clouds and pierced - floral scrolls; turquoise and yellow glazes in dark - blue ground. _Grandidier Collection._ - - - 65. MING _san ts’ai_ PORCELAIN 24 - - Fig. 1.--Vase with winged dragons, _san ts’ai_ glazes - on the biscuit, dark blue ground. Dedicatory inscription - on the neck, including the words “Ming Dynasty.” - Cloisonné handles. _S. E. Kennedy Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Figure of Kuan-yin, turquoise, green and - aubergine glazes, dark blue rockwork. Fifteenth century. - _Grandidier Collection._ - - Fig. 3.--Vase with lotus scrolls, transparent glazes in - three colours. Late Ming. _Grandidier Collection._ - - - 66. PORCELAIN WITH CHÊNG TÊ MARK 32 - - Fig. 1.--Slop bowl with full-face dragons holding - _shou_ characters, in underglaze blue in a yellow - enamel ground. _British Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Vase with engraved cloud designs in transparent - coloured glazes on the biscuit, green ground. - _Charteris Collection._ - - - 67. BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN. Sixteenth Century 32 - - Fig. 1.--Bowl with Hsüan Tê mark. _Dresden Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Covered bowl with fish design. _Dresden - Collection._ - - Fig. 3.--Bottle, peasant on ox. _Eumorfopoulos Collection._ - - Fig. 4.--Bottle with lotus scrolls in mottled blue. - _Alexander Collection._ - - - 68. BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN. Sixteenth Century 40 - - Fig. 1.--Perfume vase, lions and balls of brocade. _V. - and A. Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Double gourd vase, square in the lower part. - Eight Immortals paying court to the God of Longevity, - panels of children (_wa wa_). _Eumorfopoulos Collection._ - - Fig. 3.--Bottle with medallions of _ch’i-lin_ and incised - fret pattern between. Late Ming. _Halsey Collection._ - - - 69. SIXTEENTH CENTURY PORCELAIN 40 - - Fig. 1.--Bowl of blue and white porcelain with silver - gilt mount of Elizabethan period. _British Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Covered jar, painted in dark underglaze blue - with red, green and yellow enamels; fishes and water - plants. Chia Ching mark. _S. E. Kennedy Collection._ - - - 70. PORCELAIN WITH CHIA CHING MARK 40 - - Fig. 1.--Box with incised Imperial dragons and lotus - scrolls; turquoise and dark violet glazes on the - biscuit. _V. and A. Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Vase with Imperial dragons in clouds, painted - in yellow in an iron red ground. _Cologne Museum._ - - - 71. SIXTEENTH CENTURY PORCELAIN 40 - - Figs. 1 and 2.--Two ewers in the Dresden Collection, - with transparent green, aubergine and turquoise glazes - on the biscuit, traces of gilding. In form of a phœnix, - and of a crayfish. - - Fig. 3.--Bowl with flight of storks in a lotus scroll, - enamels on the biscuit, green, aubergine and white in a - yellow ground. Chia Ching mark. _Alexander Collection._ - - - 72. VASE WITH IMPERIAL FIVE-CLAWED DRAGONS IN CLOUD SCROLLS - OVER SEA WAVES (_Colour_) 46 - - Band of lotus scrolls on the shoulder. Painted in dark - Mohammedan blue. Mark on the neck, of the Chia Ching - period (1522–1566) in six characters. _V. & A. Museum._ - - - 73. TWO BOWLS WITH THE CHIA CHING MARK (1522–1566), WITH - DESIGNS OUTLINED IN BROWN AND WASHED IN WITH - COLOURS IN MONOCHROME GROUNDS (_Colour_) 50 - - Fig. 1.--With peach sprays in a yellow ground. - _Alexander Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--With phœnixes (_feng-huang_) flying among - scrolls of _mu-tan_ peony. _Cumberbatch Collection._ - - - 74. TWO BOWLS WITH GILT DESIGNS ON A MONOCHROME GROUND. - PROBABLY CHIA CHING PERIOD (1522–1566) (_Colour_) 54 - - Fig. 1.--With lotus scroll with etched details on a - ground of iron red (_fan hung_) outside. Inside is - figure of a man holding a branch of cassia, a symbol - of literary success, painted in underglaze blue. Mark - in blue, _tan kuei_ (red cassia). - - Fig. 2.--With similar design on ground of emerald green - enamel. Mark in blue in the form of a coin or _cash_ - with the characters _ch’ang ming fu kuei_ (“long life, - riches and honours”). - - - 75. MING PORCELAIN 64 - - Fig. 1.--Tripod Bowl with raised peony scrolls in - enamel colours. Wan Li mark. _Eumorfopoulos - Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Blue and white Bowl, Chia Ching period. Mark, - _Wan ku ch’ang ch’un_ (“a myriad antiquities and - enduring spring”). _Kunstgewerbe Museum, Berlin._ - - Fig. 3.--Ewer with white slip _ch’i-lin_ on a blue - ground. Wan Li period. _Eumorfopoulos Collection._ - - Fig. 4.--Gourd-shaped Vase with winged dragons and fairy - flowers, raised outlines and coloured glazes on the - biscuit. Sixteenth century. _Salting Collection._ - - - 76. BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN. Sixteenth Century 64 - - Fig. 1.--Vase with monster handles, archaic dragons. - _Halsey Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Hexagonal Bottle, white in blue designs. Mark, - a hare. _Alexander Collection._ - - Fig. 3.--Bottle with “garlic mouth,” stork and lotus - scrolls, white in blue. _Salting Collection._ - - Fig. 4.--Vase (_mei p’ing_), Imperial dragon and scrolls. - Wan Li mark on the shoulder. _Coltart Collection._ - - - 77. TWO EXAMPLES OF MING BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN IN THE - BRITISH MUSEUM (_Colour_) 72 - - Fig. 1.--Ewer of thin, crisp porcelain with foliate - mouth and rustic spout with leaf attachments. Panels - of figure subjects and landscapes on the body: “rat - and vine” pattern on the neck and a band of hexagon - diaper enclosing a cash symbol. Latter half of the - sixteenth century. - - Fig. 2.--Octagonal Stand, perhaps for artist’s colours. - On the sides are scenes from the life of a sage. - Borders of _ju-i_ pattern and gadroons. On the top are - lions sporting with brocade balls. Painted in deep - Mohammedan blue. Mark of the Chia Ching period - (1522–1566). - - - 78. PORCELAIN WITH PIERCED (_LING LUNG_) DESIGNS AND BISCUIT - RELIEFS. Late Ming 74 - - Fig. 1.--Bowl with Eight Immortals and pierced swastika - fret. _S. E. Kennedy Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Bowl with blue phœnix medallions, pierced - trellis work and characters. Wan Li mark. _Hippisley - Collection._ - - Fig. 3.--Covered Bowl with blue and white landscapes and - biscuit reliefs of Eight Immortals. _Grandidier - Collection._ - - - 79. WAN LI POLYCHROME PORCELAIN 80 - - Fig. 1.--Vase (_mei p’ing_) with engraved design, green - in a yellow ground, Imperial dragons in clouds, rocks - and wave border. Wan Li mark. _British Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Bottle with pierced casing, phœnix design, etc., - painted in underglaze blue and enamels; cloisonné - enamel neck. _Eumorfopoulos Collection._ - - Fig. 3.--Covered Jar, plum blossoms and symbols in a - wave pattern ground, coloured enamels in an aubergine - background. _British Museum._ - - - 80. COVERED JAR OR POTICHE (_Colour_) 84 - - Painted in iron red and green enamels, with a family - scene in a garden, and brocade borders of _ju-i_ pattern, - peony scrolls, etc. Sixteenth century. _Salting - Collection, V. & A. Museum._ - - - 81. BEAKER-SHAPED VASE OF BRONZE FORM (_Colour_) 88 - - With dragon and phœnix designs painted in underglaze - blue, and red, green and yellow enamels: background of - fairy flowers (_pao hsiang hua_) and borders of “rock - and wave” pattern. Mark of the Wan Li period (1573–1619) - in six characters on the neck. An Imperial piece. - _British Museum._ - - - 82. LATE MING PORCELAIN 90 - - Fig. 1.--Jar of Wan Li period, enamelled. Mark, a hare. - _British Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Bowl with Eight Immortals in relief, coloured - glazes on the biscuit. _Eumorfopoulos Collection._ - - Figs. 3, 4 and 5.--Blue and white porcelain, early - seventeenth century. _British Museum._ - - - 83. VASE 90 - - With blue and white decoration of rockery, phœnixes, - and flowering shrubs. Found in India. Late Ming - period. _Halsey Collection._ - - - 84. VASE OF BALUSTER FORM WITH SMALL MOUTH (_mei p’ing_). - (_Colour_) 96 - - Porcelain with coloured glazes on the biscuit, the - designs outlined in slender fillets of clay. A meeting - of sages in a landscape beneath an ancient pine tree, - the design above their heads representing the mountain - mist. On the shoulders are large _ju-i_ shaped lappets - enclosing lotus sprays, with pendent jewels between; - fungus (_ling chih_) designs on the neck. Yellow glaze - under the base. A late example of this style of ware, - probably seventeenth century. _Salting Collection, - V. & A. Museum._ - - - 85. VASE (_Colour_) 104 - - With crackled greenish grey glaze coated on the exterior - with transparent apple green enamel: the base unglazed. - Probably sixteenth century. _British Museum._ - - - 86. FUKIEN PORCELAIN. Ming Dynasty 112 - - Fig. 1.--Figure of Kuan-yin with boy attendant. Ivory - white. _Eumorfopoulos Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Bottle with prunus sprigs in relief, the glaze - crackled all over and stained a brownish tint. - _Eumorfopoulos Collection._ - - Fig. 3.--Figure of Bodhidharma crossing the Yangtze on - a reed. Ivory white. _Salting Collection, V. & A. - Museum._ - - - 87. IVORY WHITE FUKIEN PORCELAIN 112 - - Fig. 1.--Libation Cup. About 1700. _British Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Cup with sixteenth century mount. _Dresden - Collection._ - - Fig. 3.--Incense Vase and Stand. About 1700. _British - Museum._ - - - 88. TWO EXAMPLES OF THE UNDERGLAZE RED (_chi hung_)OF THE K’ANG - HSI PERIOD (1662–1722), SOMETIMES CALLED _lang yao_. - (_Colour_) 120 - - Fig. 1.--Bottle-shaped Vase of dagoba form with - minutely crackled _sang-de-bœuf_ glaze with passages - of cherry red. The glaze ends in an even roll short of - the base rim, and that under the base is stone-coloured - and crackled. _British Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Bottle-shaped Vase with crackled underglaze red - of deep crushed strawberry tint. The glaze under the - base is pale green crackled. _Alexander Collection._ - - - 89. THREE EXAMPLES OF K’ANG HSI BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN - IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM (_Colour_) 132 - - Fig. 1.--Ewer with leaf-shaped panels of floral - arabesques, white in blue, enclosed by a mosaic - pattern in blue and white: stiff plantain leaves on - the neck and cover. Silver mount with thumb-piece. - - Fig. 2.--Deep Bowl with cover, painted with “tiger-lily” - scrolls. Mark, a leaf. - - Fig. 3.--Sprinkler with panels of lotus arabesques, white - in blue, and _ju-i_ shaped border patterns. A diaper of - small blossoms on the neck. Mark, a leaf. - - - 90. COVERED JAR FOR NEW YEAR GIFTS (_Colour_) 138 - - With design of blossoming prunus (_mei hua_) sprays in - a ground of deep sapphire blue which is reticulated - with lines suggesting ice cracks; dentate border on the - shoulders. _V. & A. Museum._ - - - 91. BLUE AND WHITE K’ANG HSI PORCELAIN 142 - - Fig. 1.--Triple Gourd Vase, white in blue designs of - archaic dragons and scrolls of season flowers. - _Dresden Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Beaker, white magnolia design slightly raised, - with blue background. _British Museum._ - - Fig. 3.--“Grenadier Vase,” panels with the Paragons of - Filial Piety. _Dresden Collection._ - - - 92. BLUE AND WHITE K’ANG HSI PORCELAIN 142 - - Fig. 1.--Sprinkler with lotus design. _British Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Bottle with biscuit handles, design of graceful - ladies (_mei jên_). _Fitzwilliam Museum (formerly D. - G. Rossetti Collection)._ - - Fig. 3.--Bottle with handles copied from Venetian glass. - _British Museum._ - - - 93. BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN 142 - - Fig. 1.--Tazza with Sanskrit characters. Ch’ien Lung - mark. _British Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Water Pot, butterfly and flowers, steatitic - porcelain. Wan Li mark. _Eumorfopoulos Collection._ - - Fig. 3.--Bowl, steatitic porcelain. Immortals on a log - raft. K’ang Hsi period. _British Museum._ - - - 94. PORCELAIN DECORATED IN ENAMELS ON THE BISCUIT 142 - - Fig. 1.--Ewer in form of the character _Shou_ - (Longevity); blue and white panel with figure designs. - Early K’ang Hsi period. _Salting Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Ink Palette, dated 31st year of K’ang Hsi - (1692 A.D.). _British Museum._ - - - 95. TWO EXAMPLES OF PORCELAIN, PAINTED WITH COLOURED - ENAMELS ON THE BISCUIT, THE DETAILS OF THE DESIGNS - BEING FIRST TRACED IN BROWN. K’ANG HSI PERIOD - (1662–1722) (_Colour_) 150 - - Fig. 1.--One of a pair of Buddhistic Lions, sometimes - called Dogs of Fo. This is apparently the lioness, - with her cub: the lion has a ball of brocade under - his paw. On the head is the character _wang_ (prince), - which is more usual on the tiger of Chinese art. - _S. E. Kennedy Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Bottle-shaped Vase and Stand moulded in bamboo - pattern and decorated with floral brocade designs and - diapers. _Cope Bequest, V. & A. Museum._ - - - 96. VASE OF BALUSTER FORM PAINTED IN COLOURED ENAMELS ON - THE BISCUIT (_Colour_) 154 - - The design, which is outlined in brown, consists of a - beautifully drawn prunus (_mei hua_) tree in blossom - and hovering birds, besides a rockery and smaller - plants of bamboo, etc., set in a ground of mottled - green. Ch’êng Hua mark, but K’ang Hsi period - (1662–1722). _British Museum._ - - - 97. SQUARE VASE (_Colour_) 156 - - With pendulous body and high neck slightly expanding - towards the top: two handles in the form of archaic - lizard-like dragons (_chih lung_), and a pyramidal - base. Porcelain painted with coloured enamels on the - biscuit, with scenes representing Immortals on a log - raft approaching Mount P’eng-lai in the Taoist - Paradise. K’ang Hsi period (1662–1722). _British - Museum._ - - - 98. K’ANG HSI PORCELAIN WITH ON-BISCUIT DECORATION. _Dresden - Collection_ 160 - - Fig. 1.--Teapot in form of a lotus seed-pod, enamels - on the biscuit. - - Fig. 2.--Hanging Perfume Vase, reticulated, enamels - on the biscuit. - - Fig. 3.--Ornament in form of a Junk, transparent _san - ts’ai_ glazes. - - - 99. K’ANG HSI PORCELAIN WITH ON-BISCUIT DECORATION 160 - - Fig. 1.--Ewer with black enamel ground, lion handle. - _Cope Bequest, V. & A. Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Figure of the Taoist Immortal, Ho Hsien Ku, - transparent _san ts’ai_ glazes. _S. E. Kennedy - Collection._ - - Fig. 3.--Vase and Stand, enamelled on the biscuit. - _Cope Bequest._ - - - 100. SCREEN WITH PORCELAIN PLAQUE, PAINTED IN ENAMELS ON THE - BISCUIT 160 - - Light green background. K’ang Hsi period (1662–1722). - _In the Collection of the Hon. E. Evan Charteris._ - - - 101. VASE WITH PANELS OF LANDSCAPES AND _po ku_ symbols in - _famille verte_ ENAMELS 160 - - In a ground of underglaze blue trellis pattern. K’ang - Hsi period (1662–1722). _Dresden Collection._ - - - 102. TWO DISHES OF _FAMILLE VERTE_ PORCELAIN IN THE DRESDEN - COLLECTION. K’ang Hsi period (1662–1722) 160 - - Fig. 1.--With birds on a flowering branch, brocade - borders. Artist’s signature in the field. - - Fig. 2.--With ladies on a garden terrace. - - - 103. CLUB-SHAPED (_rouleau_) VASE (_Colour_) 166 - - Finely painted in _famille verte_ enamels with panel - designs in a ground of chrysanthemum scrolls in iron - red; brocade borders. Last part of the K’ang Hsi - period (1662–1722). _Salting Collection, V. & A. - Museum._ - - - 104. THREE EXAMPLES OF K’ANG HSI _famille verte_ PORCELAIN 168 - - Fig. 1.--Square Vase with scene of floating cups on the - river; inscription with cyclical date 1703 A.D.; - _shou_ characters on the neck. _Hippisley Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Lantern, with river scenes. _Dresden - Collection._ - - Fig. 3.--Covered Jar of _rouleau_ shape, peony scrolls - in iron red ground, brocade borders. _Dresden - Collection._ - - - 105. COVERED JAR PAINTED IN _famille verte_ ENAMELS 168 - - With brocade ground and panel with an elephant (the - symbol of Great Peace). Lion on cover. K’ang Hsi - period (1662–1722). _Dresden Collection._ - - - 106. K’ANG HSI _famille verte_ PORCELAIN. _Alexander - Collection_ 168 - - Fig. 1.--Dish with rockery, peonies, etc., birds and - insects. - - Fig. 2.--“Stem Cup” with vine pattern. - - - 107. _Famille verte_ PORCELAIN MADE FOR EXPORT TO EUROPE. K’ang - Hsi period (1662–1722). _British Museum_ 168 - - Fig. 1.--Vase with “sea monster” (_hai shou_). - - Fig. 2.--Dish with basket of flowers. Mark, a leaf. - - Fig. 3.--Covered Jar with _ch’i-lin_ and _fêng-huang_ - (phœnix). - - - 108. DISH PAINTED IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE AND _famille verte_ ENAMELS. - (_Colour_) 172 - - In the centre, a five-clawed dragon rising from waves - in pursuit of a pearl. Deep border in “Imari” style - with cloud-shaped compartments with chrysanthemum - and prunus designs in a blue ground, separated by - close lotus scrolls reserved in an iron red ground in - which are three book symbols. K’ang Hsi period - (1662–1722). _Alexander Collection._ - - - 109. FIGURE OF SHOU LAO, TAOIST GOD OF LONGEVITY 176 - - Porcelain painted with _famille verte_ enamels. K’ang - Hsi period (1662–1722). _Salting Collection, V. & A. - Museum._ - - - 110. TWO EXAMPLES OF THE “POWDER BLUE” (_ch’ui ch’ing_) PORCELAIN - OF THE K’ANG HSI PERIOD (1662–1722) IN THE VICTORIA - AND ALBERT MUSEUM (_Colour_) 182 - - Fig 1.--Bottle of gourd shape with slender neck: powder - blue ground with gilt designs from the Hundred - Antiques (_po ku_) and borders of _ju-i_ pattern, - formal flowers and plantain leaves. - - Fig. 2.--Bottle-shaped Vase with _famille verte_ panels - of rockwork and flowers reserved in a powder blue - ground. _Salting Collection._ - - - 111. TWO EXAMPLES OF SINGLE-COLOUR PORCELAIN IN THE SALTING - COLLECTION (VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM). (_Colour_) 186 - - Fig. 1.--Bottle-shaped Vase of porcelain with landscape - design lightly engraved in relief under a turquoise - blue glaze. Early eighteenth century. - - Fig. 2.--Water vessel for the writing table of the form - known as _T’ai-po tsun_ after the poet Li T’ai-po. - Porcelain with faintly engraved dragon medallions - under a peach bloom glaze; the neck cut down and - fitted with a metal collar. Mark in blue of the K’ang - Hsi period (1662–1722) in six characters. - - - 112. THREE FIGURES OF BIRDS, LATE K’ANG HSI PORCELAIN, WITH - COLOURED ENAMELS ON THE BISCUIT 192 - - Fig. 1.--Stork. _British Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Hawk. _S. E. Kennedy Collection._ - - Fig. 3.--Cock. _British Museum._ - - - 113. PORCELAIN DELICATELY PAINTED IN THIN _famille verte_ ENAMELS. - About 1720 192 - - Fig. 1.--Dish with figures of Hsi Wang Mu and attendant. - Ch’êng Hua mark. _Hippisley Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Bowl with the Eight Immortals. _S. E. Kennedy - Collection._ - - - 114. HANGING VASE WITH OPENWORK SIDES, FOR PERFUMED FLOWERS 192 - - Porcelain painted in late _famille verte_ enamels. About - 1720. Blackwood frame. _Cumberbatch Collection._ - - - 115. VASE OF BALUSTER FORM (_Colour_) 206 - - With ornament in white slip and underglaze red and blue - in a celadon green ground: rockery, and birds on a - flowering prunus tree. Yung Chêng period (1723–1735). - _Alexander Collection._ - - - 116. YUNG CHÊNG PORCELAIN 208 - - Fig. 1.--Imperial Rice Bowl with design of playing - children (_wa wa_), engraved outlines filled in with - green in a yellow ground, transparent glazes on the - biscuit. Yung Chêng mark. _British Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Blue and White Vase with fungus (_ling chih_) - designs in Hsüan Tê style. _Cologne Museum._ - - - 117. YUNG CHÊNG PORCELAIN 208 - - Fig. 1.--Vase with prunus design in underglaze red and - blue. _C. H. Read Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Imperial Vase with phœnix and peony design in - pale _famille verte_ enamels over underglaze blue - outlines. _V. & A. Museum._ - - - 118. EARLY EIGHTEENTH CENTURY ENAMELS 208 - - Fig. 1.--Plate painted at Canton in _famille rose_ - enamels (_yang ts’ai_ “foreign colouring”). Yung - Chêng period. _S. E. Kennedy Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Arrow Stand, painted in late _famille verte_ - enamels. About 1720. _V. & A. Museum._ - - - 119. YUNG CHÊNG PORCELAIN, PAINTED AT CANTON WITH _FAMILLE ROSE_ - ENAMELS. _British Museum._ 208 - - Fig. 1.--“Seven border” Plate. - - Fig. 2.--Eggshell Cup and Saucer with painter’s marks. - - Fig. 3.--Eggshell Plate with vine border. - - Fig. 4.--Armorial Plate with arms of Leake Okeover. - Transition enamels, about 1723. - - - 120. COVERED JAR OR POTICHE, PAINTED IN _famille rose_ OR - “FOREIGN COLOURS” (_yang ts’ai_) WITH BASKETS OF - FLOWERS (_Colour_) 222 - - Deep borders of ruby red enamel broken by small panels - and floral designs. On the cover is a lion coloured - with enamels on the biscuit. From a set of five vases - and beakers in the _Collection of Lady Wantage_. Late - Yung Chêng period (1723–1735). - - - 121. TWO BEAKERS AND A JAR FROM SETS OF FIVE, _famille rose_ - ENAMELS. Late Yung Chêng porcelain 224 - - Fig. 1.--Beaker with “harlequin” ground. _S. E. Kennedy - Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Jar with dark blue glaze gilt and leaf-shaped - reserves. _Burdett-Coutts Collection._ - - Fig. 3.--Beaker with fan and picture-scroll panels, - etc., in a deep ruby pink ground. _Wantage - Collection._ - - - 122. WHITE PORCELAIN WITH DESIGNS IN LOW RELIEF 232 - - Fig. 1.--Vase, peony scroll, _ju-i_ border, etc. - Ch’ien Lung period. _O. Raphael Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Bottle with “garlic mouth,” Imperial dragons - in clouds. Creamy crackled glaze imitating Ting ware. - Early eighteenth century. _Salting Collection._ - - Fig. 3.--Vase with design of three rams, symbolising - Spring. Ch’ien Lung period. _W. Burton Collection._ - - - 123. EIGHTEENTH CENTURY GLAZES (_Colour_) 236 - - Fig. 1.--Square Vase with tubular handles, and - apricot-shaped medallions on front and back. _Flambé_ - red glaze. Ch’ien Lung period (1736–1795). _British - Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Bottle-shaped Vase with deep blue (_ta ch’ing_) - glaze: unglazed base. Early eighteenth century. - _British Museum._ - - Fig. 3.--Vase with fine iron red enamel (_mo hung_) on - the exterior. Ch’ien Lung period (1736–1795). _Salting - Collection, V. & A. Museum._ - - - 124. MISCELLANEOUS PORCELAINS 240 - - Fig. 1.--Magnolia Vase with _flambé_ glaze of crackled - lavender with red and blue streaks. Ch’ien Lung - period. _Alexander Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Bottle with elephant handles, yellow, purple, - green, and white glazes on the biscuit. Ch’ien Lung - period. _British Museum._ - - Fig. 3.--Dish with fruit design in lustrous transparent - glazes on the biscuit, covering a faintly etched - dragon pattern. K’ang Hsi mark. _British Museum._ - - - 125. CH’IEN LUNG WARES. _Hippisley Collection_ 240 - - Fig. 1.--Brush Pot of enamelled Ku-yüeh-hsüan glass. - Ch’ien Lung mark. - - Fig. 2.--Bottle, porcelain painted in Ku-yüeh style, - after a picture by the Ch’ing artist Wang Shih-mei. - - Fig. 3.--Imperial Presentation Cup marked _hsü hua t’ang - chih tsêng_. - - Fig. 4.--Medallion Vase, brocade ground with bats in - clouds, etc. Ch’ien Lung mark. - - - 126. VASE WITH “HUNDRED FLOWER” DESIGN IN _famille rose_ - ENAMELS. 240 - - Ch’ien Lung period (1736–1795). _Grandidier - Collection, Louvre._ - - - 127. VASE PAINTED IN MIXED ENAMELS. THE HUNDRED DEER. 240 - - Late Ch’ien Lung period. _Grandidier Collection, Louvre_ - - - 128. CH’IEN LUNG PORCELAIN. _British Museum_ 248 - - Fig. 1.--Vase with “rice grain” ground and blue and - white design. - - Fig. 2.--Vase with “lacework” designs. Ch’ien Lung mark. - - Fig. 3.--Vase with the Seven Worthies of the Bamboo - Grove in _lac burgauté_. - - Fig. 4.--Vase with “robin’s egg” glaze. - - - 129. OCTAGONAL VASE AND COVER, PAINTED IN _famille rose_ - ENAMELS 248 - - Ch’ien Lung period (1736–1795). _One of a pair in the - Collection of Dr. A. E. Cumberbatch._ - - - 130. VASE WITH PEAR-SHAPED BODY AND WIDE MOUTH; TUBULAR - HANDLES (_Colour_) 254 - - Porcelain with delicate _clair de lune_ glaze - recalling the pale blue tint of some of the finer - Sung celadons. About 1800. _British Museum._ - - - 131. EIGHTEENTH CENTURY PAINTED PORCELAIN 264 - - Fig. 1.--Plate painted in black and gold, European - figures in a Chinese interior. Yung Chêng period. - _British Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Dish with floral scrolls in _famille rose_ - enamels in a ground of black enamel diapered with - green foliage scrolls. Ch’ien Lung period. _Wantage - Collection._ - - - 132. Vase painted in mixed enamels, an Imperial park and a - bevy of ladies 264 - - Deep ruby pink borders with coloured floral scrolls - and symbols. Ch’ien Lung mark. About 1790. _Wantage - Collection._ - - - 133. LATE _famille rose_ ENAMELS 280 - - Fig. 1.--Bowl painted in soft enamels, attendants of - Hsi Wang Mu in boats. Mark, _Shên tê t’ang chih_. - Tao Kuang period. _British Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Imperial Fish Bowl with five dragons ascending - and descending, borders of wave pattern, _ju-i_ - pattern, etc., _famille rose_ enamels. Late eighteenth - century. _Burdett-Coutts Collection._ - - - 134. PORCELAIN SNUFF BOTTLES. Eighteenth Century. _British - Museum_ 280 - - Fig. 1.--Subject from the drama, black ground. Yung - Chêng mark. - - Fig. 2.--Battle of demons, underglaze blue and red. - Mark, _Yung-lo t’ang_. - - Fig. 3.--Blue and white “steatitic” ware. - - Fig. 4.--Crackled cream white _ting_ glaze, pierced - casing with pine, bamboo and prunus. - - Fig. 5.--“Steatitic” ware with Hundred Antiques design - in coloured relief. Chia Ch’ing mark. - - - - - CHINESE POTTERY AND PORCELAIN - - - - - CHAPTER I - - THE MING [chch] DYNASTY, 1368–1644 A.D. - - -As we have already discussed, so far as our imperfect knowledge -permits, the various potteries which are scattered over the length and -breadth of China, we can now concentrate our attention on the rising -importance of Ching-tê Chên. From the beginning of the Ming dynasty, -Ching-tê Chên may be said to have become the ceramic metropolis of the -empire, all the other potteries sinking to provincial status. So far -as Western collections, at any rate, are concerned, it is not too much -to say that 90 per cent. of the post-Yüan porcelains were made in this -great pottery town. - -What happened there in the stormy years which saw the overthrow of -the Mongol dynasty and the rise of the native Ming is unknown to us, -and, indeed, it is scarcely likely to have been of much interest. -The Imperial factories were closed, and did not open till 1369, or, -according to some accounts, 1398.[1] If we follow the _Ching-tê Chên -T’ao lu_, which, as its name implies, should be well informed on -the history of the place, a factory was built in 1369 at the foot of -the Jewel Hill to supply Imperial porcelain (_kuan tz’ŭ_), and -in the reign of Hung Wu (1368–1398) there were at least twenty kilns -in various parts of the town working in the Imperial service. They -included kilns for the large dragon bowls, kilns for blue (or green) -ware (_ch’ing yao_), “wind and fire”[2] kilns, seggar kilns -for making the cases for the fine porcelain, and _lan kuang_ -kilns, which Julien renders _fours à flammes étendues_. The last -expression implies that the heat was raised in these kilns by means of -a kind of bellows (_kuang_) which admitted air to the furnace, -and Bushell’s rendering, “blue and yellow enamel furnaces,” ignores an -essential part of both the characters[3] used in the original. - -From this time onward there is no lack of information on the nature -of the Imperial wares made during the various reigns, but it must be -remembered that the Chinese descriptions are in almost every case -confined to the Imperial porcelains, and we are left to assume that -the productions of the numerous private kilns followed the same lines, -though in the earlier periods, at any rate, we are told that they were -inferior in quality and finish. - -The Hung Wu [chch 2] palace porcelain, as described in the _T’ao -lu_, was of fine, unctuous clay and potted thin. The ware was left -for a whole year to dry, then put upon the lathe and turned thin, and -then glazed and fired. If there was any fault in the glaze, the piece -was ground down on the lathe, reglazed and refired. “Consequently the -glaze was lustrous (_jung_) like massed lard.” These phrases -are now so trite that one is tempted to regard them as mere Chinese -conventionalities, but there is no doubt that the material used in -the Ming period (which, as we shall see presently, gave out in the -later reigns) was of peculiar excellence. The raw edge of the base rim -of early specimens does, in fact, reveal a beautiful white body of -exceedingly fine grain and smooth texture, so fat and unctuous that one -might almost expect to squeeze moisture out of it. - -The best ware, we are told, was white, but other kinds are mentioned. -A short contemporary notice in the _Ko ku yao lun_,[4] written in -1387, says, “Of modern wares (made at Ching-tê Chên) the good examples -with white colour and lustrous are very highly valued. There are, -besides, _ch’ing_[5] (blue or green) and black (_hei_) wares -with gilding, including wine pots and wine cups of great charm.” Such -pieces may exist in Western collections, but they remain unidentified, -and though there are several specimens with the Hung Wu mark to be seen -in museums, few have the appearance of Ming porcelain at all. There is, -however, a dish in the British Museum which certainly belongs to the -Ming dynasty, even if it is a century later than the mark implies. -The body is refined and white, though the finish is rather rough, with -pits and raised spots here and there in the glaze and grit adhering -to the foot rim; but it is painted with a free touch in a bright -blue, recalling the Mohammedan blue in colour, the central subject a -landscape, and the sides and rim divided into panels of floral and -formal ornament. It must be allowed that the style of the painting is -advanced for this early period, including as it does white designs -reserved in blue ground as well as the ordinary blue painting on a -white ground. - - - _Yung Lo_ [chch 2] (1403–1424) - -The usual formulæ are employed by the _T’ao lu_ in describing the -Imperial ware of this reign. It was made of plastic clay and refined -material, and though, as a rule, the porcelain was thick, there -were some exceedingly thin varieties known as _t’o t’ai_[6] or -“bodiless” porcelains. Besides the plain white specimens, there were -others engraved with a point[7] or coated with vivid red (_hsien -hung_). The _Po wu yao lan_,[8] reputed a high authority on -Ming porcelains and written in the third decade of the seventeenth -century, adds “blue and white” to the list and gives further details of -the wares. The passage is worth quoting in full, and runs as follows: -“In the reign of Yung Lo were made the cups which fit in the palm of -the hand,[9] with broad mouth, contracted waist, sandy (_sha_) -foot, and polished base. Inside were drawn two lions rolling balls. -Inside, too, in seal characters, was written _Ta Ming Yung Lo nien -chih_[10] in six characters, or sometimes in four[11] only, as fine -as grains of rice. These are the highest class. Those with mandarin -ducks, or floral decoration inside, are all second quality. The cups -are decorated outside with blue ornaments of a very deep colour, -and their shape and make are very refined and beautiful and in a -traditional style. Their price, too, is very high. As for the modern -imitations, they are coarse in style and make, with foot and base burnt -(brown), and though their form has some resemblance (to the old), they -are not worthy of admiration.” - -As may be imagined, Yung Lo porcelain is not common to-day, and the -few specimens which exist in our collections are not enough to make -us realise the full import of these descriptions. There are, however, -several types which bear closely on the subject, some being actually -of the period and others in the Yung Lo style. A fair sample of the -ordinary body and glaze of the time is seen in the white porcelain -bricks of which the lower story of the famous Nanking pagoda was built. -Several of these are in the British Museum, and they show a white -compact body of close but granular fracture; the glazed face is a pure, -solid-looking white, and the unglazed sides show a smooth, fine-grained -ware which has assumed a pinkish red tinge in the firing. The coarser -porcelains of the period would, no doubt, have similar characteristics -in body and glaze. The finer wares are exemplified by the white bowls, -of wonderful thinness and transparency, with decoration engraved in -the body or traced in delicate white slip under the glaze and scarcely -visible except as a transparency. Considering the fragility of these -delicate wares and the distant date of the Yung Lo period, it is -surprising how many are to be seen in Western collections. Indeed, it -is hard to believe that more than a very few of these can be genuine -Yung Lo productions, and as we know that the fine white “egg shell” -porcelain was made throughout the Ming period and copied with great -skill in the earlier reigns of the last dynasty, it is not necessary -to assume that every bowl of the Yung Lo type dates back to the first -decades of the fifteenth century. - - [Illustration: Plate 59.--White Eggshell Porcelain Bowl with - Imperial dragons faintly traced in white slip under the glaze. - - Mark of the Yung Lo period (1403–1424) incised in the centre in - archaic characters. 1. Exterior. 2. Interior view. Diameter 8¾ - inches. _British Museum._] - -It is wellnigh impossible to reproduce adequately these white -porcelains, but Plate 59 illustrates the well-known example in the -Franks Collection, which has long been accepted as a genuine Yung Lo -specimen. It represents the _ya shou pei_ in form, with wide mouth -and small foot--the contracted waist of the _Po wu yao lan_; the -foot rim is bare at the edge, but not otherwise sandy, and the base is -glazed over, which may be the sense in which the word “polished”[12] is -used in the _Po wu yao lan_. The ware is so thin and transparent -that it seems to consist of glaze alone, as though the body had -been pared away to vanishing point before the glaze was applied--in -short, it is _t’o t’ai_ or “bodiless.” When held to the light -it has a greenish transparency and the colour of melting snow, and -there is revealed on the sides a delicate but exquisitely drawn design -of five-clawed Imperial dragons in white slip (not etched, as has -too often been stated), showing up like the water-mark in paper. On -the bottom inside is the date-mark of the period etched with a point -in four archaic characters (see vol. i, p. 213). A more refined and -delicate ceramic work could hardly be imagined. - -Close to this bowl in the Franks Collection there are two smaller bowls -or, rather, cups which in many ways answer more nearly the description -of the _ya shou pei_,[13] though they are thick in substance -and of coarser make. They have straight spreading sides, wide at the -mouth, with foliate rim, and contracted at the foot. The foot rim is -bare of glaze, but the base is covered. They are of an impure white -ware with surface rather pitted, and inside is a lotus design traced -in white slip under the glaze and repeated in radiating compartments. -These are perhaps a product of the private factories. The same form is -observed among the blue and white porcelain in two small cups, which -are painted in blue with a landscape on the exterior and with bands -of curled scrolls inside and the Yung Lo mark in four characters. The -base is unglazed, and though they are undoubtedly intended to represent -a Yung Lo type, these not uncommon bowls can hardly be older than the -last dynasty. Another blue and white bowl in the Franks Collection has -the Yung Lo mark and the scroll decoration inside, and on the exterior -a long poem by Su Shih, covering most of the surface. It is painted in -a grey blue, and the ware, though coarse, has the appearance of Ming -manufacture, perhaps one of the late Ming copies which are mentioned -without honour in the _Po wu yao lan_. It is, however, of the -ordinary rounded form.[14] - -Hsiang Yüan-p’ien illustrates in his Album one Yung Lo specimen, a low -cylindrical bowl of the “bodiless” kind, “thin as paper,” with a very -delicate dragon and phœnix design, which is seen when the bowl is -held to the light and carefully inspected. This style of ornament is -described as _an hua_ (secret decoration), but it is not stated -whether, in this case, it was engraved in the paste or traced in white -slip. - -The mention of “fresh red” (_hsien hung_), which seems to have been -used on the Yung Lo porcelain as well as in the succeeding Hsüan Tê -period, brings to mind a familiar type of small bowl with slight -designs in blue inside, often a figure of a boy at play, the exterior -being coated with a fine coral red, over which are lotus scrolls -in gold. There are several in the British Museum, and one, with a -sixteenth-century silver mount, was exhibited at the Burlington Fine -Arts Club in 1910.[15] The term _hsien hung_ is certainly used for an -underglaze copper red on the Hsüan Tê porcelain, and it is doubtful -whether it can have been loosely applied to an overglaze iron red on -the earlier ware. For the bowls to which I refer have an iron red -decoration, though it is sometimes wonderfully translucent and, being -heavily fluxed, looks like a red glaze instead of merely an overglaze -enamel (see Plate 74). Several of these red bowls have the Yung Lo -mark, others have merely marks of commendation or good wish. Their form -is characteristic of the Ming period, and the base is sometimes convex -at the bottom, sometimes concave. They vary considerably in quality, -the red in some cases being a translucent and rather pale coral tint, -and in others a thick, opaque brick red. Probably they vary in date as -well, the former type being the earlier and better. It is exemplified -by an interesting specimen in the Franks Collection marked _tan kuei_ -(red cassia), which indicates its destination as a present to a -literary aspirant, the red cassia being a symbol of literary success. -This piece has, moreover, a stamped leather box of European--probably -Venetian--make, which is not later than the sixteenth century. This, -if any of these bowls, belongs to the Yung Lo period, but it will be -seen presently that the iron red was used as an inferior but more -workable substitute for the underglaze red in the later Ming reigns, -and, it must be added, these bowls are strangely numerous for a -fifteenth-century porcelain. That they are a Yung Lo type, however, -there is little doubt, for this red and gold decoration (_kinrande_ -of the Japanese) is the adopted style which won for the clever Kioto -potter, Zengoro Hozen, the art name _Ei raku_, i.e. Yung Lo in Japanese. - - - - - CHAPTER II - - HSÜAN TÊ [chch 2] (1426–1435) - - -In this short reign, which Chinese writers regard as the most brilliant -period of their porcelain industry, the number of kilns occupied with -the Imperial orders had increased to fifty-eight, the majority of them -being outside the Imperial factory and distributed among the private -factories. According to the _T’ao lu_,[16] the clay used at this -time was red and the ware like cinnabar, a statement which is difficult -to reconcile with the glowing description of the jade-like white altar -cups and other exquisite objects for which the reign was celebrated. -It is, of course, possible that a dark coloured body was employed in -some of the wares, as was done at other periods, or it may be that the -words are hyperbolically used to describe a porcelain of which the -exposed parts of the body assumed a red colour in the firing. This -latter peculiarity is noticeable on specimens of later Ming porcelain, -particularly the blue and white of the Chia Ching period. But in any -case a red biscuit cannot have been invariable or even characteristic -of the period, for no mention is made of such a feature in the _Po -wu yao lan_, which gives by far the fullest account of the Hsüan Tê -porcelain. - -The description in the _Po wu yao lan_,[17] which seems to -have been generally accepted, and certainly was largely borrowed by -subsequent Chinese works, may be freely rendered as follows: - -“Among the wares of the Hsüan Tê period there are stem-cups[18] -decorated with red fish. For these they used a powder made of red -precious stones from the West to paint the fish forms, and from the -body there rose up in relief in the firing the precious brilliance of -the fresh red ravishing the eye. The brown and blackish colours which -resulted from imperfect firing of the red are inferior. There were -also blue decorated wares, such as stem-cups with dragon pine and plum -designs, wine stem-cups with figure subjects[19] and lotus designs, -small cinnabar pots and large bowls in colour red like the sun, but -with white mouth rim, pickle pots and small pots with basket covers and -handles in the form of bamboo joints, all of which things were unknown -in ancient times. Again, there were beautiful objects of a useful kind, -all small and cleverly made with finely and accurately drawn designs. -The incense vases, trays and dishes[20] were made in large numbers, and -belong to a common class. The flat-sided jars with basket covers, and -the ornamented round pots with flanged[21] mouth for preserving honey, -are very beautiful and mostly decorated in colours (_wu ts’ai_). The -white cups, which have the character _t’an_ (altar) engraved inside the -bowl, are what are known as 'altar cups.’ The material of these things -is refined and the ware thick, and the form beautiful enough to be used -as elegant vases in the true scholar’s room. There are besides white -cups for tea with rounded body,[22] convex[23] base, thread-like foot, -bright and lustrous like jade, and with very finely engraved[24] dragon -and phœnix designs which are scarcely inferior to the altar cups. At -the bottom the characters _ta ming hsüan tê nien chih_[25] are secretly -engraved in the paste, and the texture of the glaze is uneven, like -orange peel.[26] How can even Ting porcelain compare with these? Truly -they are the most excellent porcelains of this reign, and unfortunately -there have not been many to be seen since then. Again, there are the -beautiful barrel-shaped seats, some with openwork ground, the designs -filled in with colours (_wu ts’ai_), gorgeous as cloud brocades, others -with solid ground filled in with colours in engraved floral designs, so -beautiful and brilliant as to dazzle the eye; both sorts have a deep -green (_ch’ing_) background. Others have blue (_lan_) ground, -filled in with designs in colours (_wu ts’ai_), like ornament carved -in cobalt blue (_shih ch’ing_, lit. stone blue). There is also blue -decoration on a white ground and crackled grounds like ice. The form -and ornament of these various types do not seem to have been known -before this period.” - - [Illustration: Plate 60.--Reputed Hsüan Tê Porcelain. - - Fig. 1.--Flask with blue decoration, reputed to be Hsüan Tê - period. Height 3¼ inches. _British Museum_. - - Fig. 2.--Brush Rest. (?) Chang Ch’ien on a log raft; partly - biscuit. Inscribed with a stanza of verse and the Hsüan Tê mark. - Length 6 inches. - - _Grandidier Collection._] - - [Illustration: Plate 61.--Porcelain with _san ts’ai_ glazes - on the biscuit. - - Fig. 1.--Wine Jar with pierced casing, the Taoist Immortals - paying court to the God of Longevity, turquoise blue ground. - Fifteenth century. Height 11½ inches. _Eumorfopoulos - Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Screen with design in relief, horsemen on a mountain - path, dark blue ground. About 1500. Height 14 inches. _Benson - Collection._] - -It will be seen from the above that the Hsüan Tê porcelains included -a fine white, blue and white and polychrome painted wares, underglaze -red painted wares, and crackle. The last mentioned is further specified -in the _Ch’ing pi tsang_ as having “eel’s blood lines,”[27] and -almost rivalling the Kuan and Ju wares. The ware was thick and strong, -and the glaze had the peculiar undulating appearance (variously -compared to chicken skin, orange peel, millet grains, or a wind ruffled -surface) which was deliberately produced on the eighteenth century -porcelains. - -Another surface peculiarity shared by the Hsüan Tê and Yung Lo wares -was “palm eye” (_tsung yen_) markings, which Bushell explains as -holes in the glaze due to air bubbles. It is hard to see how these can -have been other than a defect. Probably both these and the orange peel -effects were purely fortuitous at this time. - -Of the various types which we have enumerated, the white wares need -little comment. The glaze was no doubt thick and lustrous like mutton -fat jade, and though Hsiang in his Album usually describes the white of -his examples as “white like driven snow,” it is worthy of note that in -good imitations of the ware particular care seems to have been given to -impart a distinct greenish tint to the glaze. - -The honours of the period appear to have been shared by the “blue and -white” and red painted wares. Out of twenty examples illustrated in -Hsiang’s Album, no fewer than twelve are decorated chiefly in red, -either covering the whole or a large part of the surface or painted -in designs, among which three fishes occur with monotonous frequency. -The red in every case is called _chi hung_, and it is usually -qualified by the illuminating comparison with “ape’s blood,” and in one -case it is even redder than that! - -The expression _chi hung_ has evidently been handed down by oral -traditions, for there is no sort of agreement among Chinese writers -on the form of the first character. The _T’ao lu_ uses the character -[chch], which means “sacrificial,” and Bushell[28] explains this “as -the colour of the sacrificial cups which were employed by the Emperor -in the worship of the Sun.” Hsiang uses the character [chch] which -means “massed, accumulated.” And others use the character [chch] which -means “sky clearing,” and is also applied to blue in the sense of the -“blue of the sky after rain.” In the oft quoted list of the Yung Chêng -porcelains we find the item, “Imitations of Hsüan _chi hung_ wares, -including two kinds, _hsien hung_ (fresh red) and _pao shih hung_ -(ruby red).” There can be little doubt that both these were shades of -underglaze red derived from copper oxide, a colour with which we are -quite familiar from the eighteenth century and later examples. - -For in another context we find the _hsien hung_ contrasted with -_fan hung_, which is the usual term for overglaze iron red, -and the description already given of the application of _pao shih -hung_ leaves no doubt whatever that it was an underglaze colour. The -two terms are probably fanciful names for two variations of the same -colour, or perhaps for two different applications of it, for we know -that it was used as a pigment for brushwork as well as in the form of a -ground colour incorporated in the glaze. The secret of the colour seems -to have been well kept, and the general impression prevailing outside -the factories was that its tint and brilliancy were due to powdered -rubies, the red precious stone from the West which gave the name to the -_pao shih hung_.[29] It is known that in some cases such stones -as cornelian (_ma nao_) have been incorporated in the porcelain -glazes in China to increase the limpidity of the glaze. This is reputed -to have happened in the case of the Ju yao, but neither cornelian nor -ruby could serve in any way as a colouring agent, as their colour would -be dissipated in the heat of the furnace. The real colouring agent of -the _chi hung_ is protoxide of copper. If there were nothing else -to prove this, it would be clear from the fact hinted in the _Po wu -yao lan_ that the failures came out a brownish or blackish tint. -This colour has always proved a difficult one to manage, and in the -early part of the last dynasty, when it was freely used after the -manner of the Hsüan Tê potters, the results were most unequal, varying -from a fine blood red to maroon and brown, and even to a blackish tint. - -The peculiar merits of the Hsüan Tê red were probably due in some -measure to the clay of which the ware was composed, and which contained -some natural ingredient favourable to the development of the red. At -any rate, we are told[30] that in the Chia Ching period (1522–1566) -“the earth used for the _hsien hung_ ran short.” - -Among the favourite designs[31] expressed in the Hsüan Tê red were -three fishes, three fruits,[32] three funguses, and the character -_fu_ (happiness) repeated five times.[33] All these are mentioned -among the Yung Chêng imitations. A good idea of the fish design is -given by a cylindrical vase in the Franks Collection, which is plain -except for two fishes in underglaze red of good colour, and rising in -slight relief in the glaze. The glaze itself is of that faint celadon -green which was apparently regarded as a necessary feature of the -Hsüan Tê copies, and which incidentally seems to be favourable to the -development of the copper red. The _sang de bœuf_ red of the last -dynasty is avowedly a revival of the Hsüan Tê red in its use as a glaze -colour. Indeed, certain varieties of the _sang de bœuf_ class -are still distinguished as _chi hung_. The large bowls, “red as -the sun and white at the mouth rim,” as mentioned in the _Po wu yao -lan_, have a counterpart in the large bowl of the last dynasty with -_sang de bœuf_ glaze, which, flowing downwards, usually left a -colourless white band at the mouth. - -The Hsüan Tê period extended only to ten years, and specimens of Hsüan -red are excessively rare to-day, even in China. It is doubtful if a -genuine specimen exists outside the Middle Kingdom, but with the help -of the old Chinese descriptions and the clever imitations of a later -date,[34] there is no difficulty in imagining the vivid splendours of -the “precious stone red” of this brilliant period. - -Among the “blue and white” wares of all periods, the Hsüan Tê -porcelain is unanimously voted the first place by Chinese writers, and -its excellence is ascribed principally to the superior quality of an -imported mineral variously described as _su-ni-p’o_, _su-p’o-ni_ and -_su-ma-ni_. These outlandish names are, no doubt, attempts to render -in Chinese the foreign name of the material, which was itself probably -the name of the place or people whence it was exported. There is little -doubt that this mysterious substance was the same species as the -Mohammedan blue (_hui hui ch’ing_) of the following century. Indeed, -this latter name is applied to it in Hsiang’s Album. The Mohammedan -blue was obtained from Arab traders, and its use for painting on -pottery had been familiar in the Near East, in Persia and Syria for -instance, at least as early as the twelfth century.[35] The _su-ni-p’o_ -blue was no doubt imported in the form of mineral cobalt, and though -there was no lack of this mineral in the neighbourhood of Ching-tê -Chên, the foreign material was of superior quality. It was, however, -not only expensive but unsuited for use in a pure state. If applied by -itself, it had a tendency to run in the firing, and it was necessary -to blend it with proportions of the native mineral varying from one -in ten for the finest quality to four in six for the medium quality. -The native mineral used by itself tended to be heavy and dull in tone, -owing to its inability to stand the intense heat of the kiln, and was -only employed alone on the coarser wares. The supply of Mohammedan -blue was uncertain and spasmodic. It ceased to arrive at the end of -the Hsüan Tê period, and it was not renewed till the next century (see -p. 29). Its nature, too, seems to have varied, for we are expressly -told that the Hsüan Tê blue was pale in tone while the Mohammedan -blue of the sixteenth century was dark. Possibly, however, this was -not so much due to the nature of the material as to the method of its -application, for Chinese writers are by no means unanimous about the -paleness of the Hsüan Tê blue. The _Ch’ing pi ts’ang_, for instance, -states that “they used _su-p’o-ni_ blue and painted designs of dragons, -phœnixes, flowers, birds, insects, fish and similar forms, deep and -thickly heaped and piled and very lovely.” - -Authentic specimens of Hsüan Tê blue and white are virtually unknown, -but the mark of the period is one of the commonest on Chinese porcelain -of relatively modern date. In most cases this spurious dating means -nothing more than that the period named was one of high repute; but -there is a type of blue and white, usually bearing the period mark of -Hsüan Tê, which is so mannered and characteristic that one feels the -certainty that this really represents one kind at least of the Hsüan -porcelain. It is usually decorated in close floral scrolls, and the -blue is light dappled with darker shades, which are often literally -“heaped and piled” (_tui t’o_) over the paler substratum. - -I have seen examples of this style belonging to various periods, mostly -eighteenth century, but some certainly late Ming[36] (see Plate 67, -Fig. 4). Seven examples of Hsüan blue and white porcelain are figured -in Hsiang’s Album,[37] comprising an ink pallet, a vase shaped like a -section of bamboo, a goose-shaped wine jar, a vase with an elephant -on the cover, a tea cup, a sacrificial vessel, and a lamp with four -nozzles. In five of these the blue is confined to slight pencilled -borders, merely serving to set off the white ground, which is compared -to driven snow. The glaze is rich and thick, and of uneven surface, -rising in slight tubercles likened to “grains of millet.” This is the -“orange skin” glaze. The blue in each case is _hui hu[38] ta ch’ing_ -(deep Mohammedan blue). Of the two remaining instances, one is painted -with a dragon in clouds, and the other with “dragon pines,” and in the -latter case the glaze is described as “lustrous like mutton fat jade,” -and the blue as “of intensity and brilliance to dazzle the eye.” - -The impression conveyed by all these examples is that they represent a -type quite different from that described as “heaped and piled,” a type -in which delicate pencilling was the desideratum, the designs being -slight and giving full play to the white porcelain ground. It is, in -fact, far closer in style to the delicately painted Japanese Hirado -porcelain than to the familiar Chinese blue and white of the K’ang Hsi -period. - -Plate 60 illustrates a little flask-shaped vase in the Franks -Collection, which purports to be a specimen of Hsüan Tê blue and white -porcelain. It has a thick, “mutton fat” glaze of faint greenish tinge, -and is decorated with a freely drawn peach bough in underglaze blue -which has not developed uniformly in the firing. The colour in places -is deep, soft and brilliant, but elsewhere it has assumed too dark a -hue.[39] Its certificate is engraved in Chinese fashion on the box -into which it has been carefully fitted--_hsüan tz’ŭ pao yüeh p’ing_, -“precious moon vase of Hsüan porcelain”--attested by the signature -Tzŭ-ching, the studio name of none other than Hsiang Yüan-p’ien, whose -Album has been so often quoted. Without attaching too much weight to -this inscription, which is a matter easily arranged by the Chinese, -there is nothing in the appearance of this quite unpretentious little -vase which is inconsistent with an early Ming origin. - -On the same plate is a brush rest in form of a log raft, on which is a -seated figure, probably the celebrated Chang-Ch’ien, floating down the -Yellow River. The design recalls a rare silver cup of the Yüan dynasty, -which was illustrated in the _Burlington Magazine_ (December, -1912). Here the material is porcelain biscuit with details glazed and -touched with blue, and the _nien hao_ of Hsüan Tê is visible on -the upper part of the log beside two lines of poetry. Whether this -brush rest really belongs to the period indicated or not, it is a rare -and interesting specimen. Two other possible examples of Hsüan Tê blue -and white are described on p. 32. - - [Illustration: PLATE 62 - - Barrel shaped Garden Seat: porcelain with coloured glazes on the - biscuit, the designs outlined in slender fillets of clay. A lotus - scroll between an upper band of clouds and a lower band of horses - in flying gallop and sea waves. Lion mask handles. About 1500 - A.D. - - Height 14¼ inches. _British Museum._] - -As to the other types of Hsüan ware named in the _Po wu yao lan_, -with one exception I can find no exact counterpart of them in existing -specimens, though parts of the descriptions are illustrated by examples -of apparently later date. Thus the form of the white tea cups, “with -rounded body, convex base, and thread-like foot,” is seen in such bowls -as Fig. 1 of Plate 74, which is proved by its mount to be not later -than the sixteenth century. Other examples of these bowls will be -discussed later. They are characterised by a convexity in the centre -which cannot be shown in reproductions. - -The secret decoration (_an hua_) consists of designs faintly traced -usually with a sharp-pointed instrument in the body and under the -glaze. There is an excellent example of this in a high-footed cup in -the Franks Collection which has the Hsüan Tê mark, the usual faintly -greenish glaze, beneath which is a delicately etched lotus scroll -so fine that it might easily be overlooked and is quite impossible -to reproduce by photographic methods. It is, no doubt, an early -eighteenth-century copy of Hsüan ware. - -The one exception mentioned above is the type represented by the -“barrel-shaped seats.” The description of these leaves no room for -doubt that they belonged to a fairly familiar class of Ming ware, whose -strength and solidity has preserved it in considerable quantity where -the more delicate porcelains have disappeared. Plate 62 gives a good -idea of the Ming barrel-shaped garden seat, “with solid ground filled -in with colours in engraved floral designs.” The other kind, “with -openwork ground, the designs filled in with colours (_wu ts’ai_), -gorgeous as cloud brocades,” must have been in the style of Plate 61. -These styles of decoration are more familiar to us on potiche-shaped -wine jars and high-shouldered vases than on garden seats, but the type -is one and the same. Quite a series of these vessels was exhibited at -the Burlington Fine Arts Club in 1910, and they are fully described -in the catalogue. Some had an outer casing in openwork; others had -the designs outlined in raised threads of clay, which contained the -colours like the ribbons of cloisonné enamel[40]; in others, again, -the patterns were incised with a point. The common feature of all of -them was that the details of the pattern were defined by some emphatic -method of outlining which served at the same time to limit the flow -of the colours. The colours themselves consist of glazes containing a -considerable proportion of lead, and tinted in the usual fashion with -metallic oxides. They include a deep violet blue (sometimes varying to -black or brown), leaf green, turquoise, yellow,[41] and a colourless -glaze or a white slip which served as white colour, though at times the -white was represented merely by leaving the unglazed body or biscuit to -appear. These coloured glazes differ from the on-glaze painted enamels -in that they are applied direct to the body of the ware, and are fired -at a relatively high temperature in the cooler parts of the great -kiln, a circumstance expressed by the French in the concise phrase, -_couleurs de demi-grand feu_.[42] - -The central ornament consisted chiefly of figures of sages or deities -in rocky landscape, or seated under pine trees amid clouds, dragons in -clouds, or beautiful lotus designs; and these were contained by various -borders, such as floral scrolls, gadroons, _ju-i_ head patterns, -fungus scrolls, and symbols hanging in jewelled pendants. As a rule, -the larger areas of these vases are invested with a ground colour and -the design filled in with contrasting tints. Sometimes the scheme of -decoration includes several bands of ornament, and in this case--as -on Plate 62--more than one ground colour is used. The _Po wu yao lan_ -speaks of green (_ch’ing_) and dark blue (_lan_) grounds, and existing -specimens indicate that the dark violet blue was the commonest ground -colour. Next to this, turquoise blue is the most frequently seen; but -besides these there is a dark variety of the violet which is almost -black, and another which is dark brown, both of which colours are based -on cobaltiferous oxide of manganese. It has already been observed that -this type of decoration was frequently used on a pottery body as well -as on porcelain. - -The question of the antiquity of the above method of polychrome -decoration is complicated by the contradictory accounts which Dr. -Bushell has given of a very celebrated example, the statuette of -the goddess Kuan-yin in the temple named Pao kuo ssŭ at Peking. -The following reference to this image occurs in the _T’ung ya_, -published in the reign of Ch’ung Chêng (1625–1643): “The Chün Chou -transmutation wares (_yao pien_) are not uncommon to-day. The Kuan-yin -in the Pao kuo ssŭ is a _yao pien_.” Dr. Bushell, who visited the -temple several times, gives a minute description of the image, which -contains the following passage[43]: “The figure is loosely wrapped in -flowing drapery of purest and bluest turquoise tint, with the wide -sleeves of the robe bordered with black and turned back in front to -show the yellow lining; the upper part of the cloak is extended up -behind over the head in the form of a plaited hood, which is also -lined with canary yellow.” To the ordinary reader, such a description -would be conclusive. A fine example of Ming porcelain, he would say, -decorated with the typical coloured glazes on the biscuit. Bushell’s -comment, however, is that the “colours are of the same type as those -of the finest flower pots and saucers of the Chün Chou porcelain of -the Sung dynasty.” It should be said that the temple bonzes insist -that they can trace the origin of the image back to the thirteenth -century. If these are indeed the typical Chün Chou glazes, then all -our previous information on that factory, including Bushell’s own -contributions, is worthless. In another work,[44] however, the same -writer states that it (the image in question) is “really enamelled in -'five colours’--turquoise, yellow, crimson, red brown and black.” This -is precisely what we should have expected, and it can only be imagined -that Bushell in the other passage was influenced by the statement in -the _T’ung ya_ that it was a furnace transmutation piece, a statement -probably based on the superstition that it was a miraculous likeness -of the goddess, who herself descended into the kiln and moulded its -features. As to the other temple tradition, that it was made in the -thirteenth century, it is not necessary to take that any more seriously -than the myth concerning its miraculous origin, which derives from the -same source. - -It is hardly necessary to state that all the existing specimens of this -class (and they are fairly numerous) do not belong to the Hsüan Tê -period. Indeed, it is unlikely that more than a very small percentage -of them were made in this short reign. Whether the style survived the -Ming dynasty is an open question; but it is safe to assume that it was -largely used in the sixteenth century. - -The discussion of this group of polychrome porcelain leads naturally -to the vexed question of the introduction of enamel painting over the -glaze. By the latter I mean the painting of designs on the finished -white glaze in vitrifiable enamels, which were subsequently fixed in -the gentle heat of the muffle kiln (_lu_)--_couleurs de petit feu_, as -the French have named them. No help can be got from the phraseology of -the Chinese, for they use _wu ts’ai_ or _wu sê_ (lit. five colours) -indifferently for all kinds of polychrome decoration, regardless of -the number of colours involved or the mode of application. There is, -however, no room for doubt that the delicate enamel painting, for which -the reign of Ch’êng Hua (1465–1487) was celebrated, was executed with -the brush over the fired glaze. It is inconceivable that the small, -eggshell wine cups with peony flowers and a hen and chicken “instinct -with life and movement” could have been limned by any other method. -If this is the case, then what could the Chinese writers mean when -they contrasted the _wu ts’ai_ ornament of the Hsüan Tê and Ch’êng -Hua periods, but that the same process of painting was in use in both -reigns? The Ch’êng Hua colours were more artistic because they were -thin and delicately graded, while the Hsüan Tê _wu ts’ai_ were too -thickly applied.[45] For this reason, if for no other, we may rightly -infer that painting in on-glaze enamels was practised in the Hsüan Tê -period, if, indeed, it had not been long in use.[46] - -There is another and an intermediate method of polychrome decoration -in which the low-fired enamels (_de petit feu_) are applied direct to -the biscuit, as in the case of the _demi-grand feu_ colours, but with -the difference that they are fixed in the muffle kiln. This method was -much employed on the late Ming and early Ch’ing porcelains, and it will -be discussed later; but it is mentioned here because there are several -apparent examples of it in Hsiang’s Album, one[47] of which is dated -Hsüan Tê. The example in question is a model of the celebrated Nanking -pagoda, and it is described as _wu ts’ai_, the structure being white, -the roofs green, the rails red, and the doors yellow, while the date -is painted in blue. I have hesitated to assume that this is intended -to represent an on-glaze painted piece, though there is much in the -description to indicate such a conclusion; but it is certainly either -this or a member of the class under discussion, viz. decorated in -enamels of the muffle kiln applied to the biscuit.[48] In either case -it proves the knowledge of vitrifiable enamels at this period to all -who accept the evidence of Hsiang’s Album. - -Examples of Hsüan Tê polychrome porcelain enumerated in the _T’ao -shuo_ included wine pots in the form of peaches, pomegranates, -double gourds, a pair of mandarin ducks and geese; washing dishes (for -brushes) of “gong-shaped outline,” with moulded fish and water-weeds, -with sunflowers and with lizards; and lamp brackets, “rain-lamps,” -vessels for holding bird’s food, and cricket[49] pots (see vol. i, p. -188). - -Specimens of on-glaze painted porcelain with the Hsüan Tê mark are -common enough, but I have not yet seen one which could be accepted -without reserve. Perhaps the nearest to the period is a specimen in the -Franks Collection, a box made of the lower part of a square vase which -had been broken and cut down. It was fitted with a finely designed -bronze cover in Japan, and it is strongly painted in underglaze blue -and the usual green, yellow, red and purple on-glaze enamels. The mark -is in a fine dark blue, and the porcelain has all the character of a -Ming specimen. - -There is, in the same collection, a dish of a different type, but -with the Hsüan Tê mark in Mohammedan blue and other evidences of Ming -origin. The glaze is of a faintly greenish white and of considerable -thickness and lustre, and the design consists of lotus scrolls in gold. -Painting in gold in the Hsüan Tê period is mentioned in the _T’ao -shuo_[50] in connection with the pots for holding the fighting -crickets alluded to above. - - - - - CHAPTER III - - CH’ÊNG HUA [chch 2] (1465–1487) AND OTHER REIGNS - - -The Ch’êng Hua porcelain shares with that of the Hsüan Tê period the -honours of the Ming dynasty, and Chinese writers are divided on the -relative merits of the two. Unfortunately, no material remains on -which we might base a verdict of our own, but we may safely accept the -summing up which the _Po wu yao lan_, the premier authority on early -Ming wares, gives as follows[51]: “In my opinion, the blue and white -porcelain of the Ch’êng Hua period does not equal that of the Hsüan Tê, -while the polychrome of the Hsüan period does not equal that of the -'model[52] emperor’s’ reign. The reason is that the blue of the Hsüan -ware was _su-ni-p’o_[53] blue, whereas afterward it was all exhausted, -and in the Ch’êng Hua period only the ordinary blue was used. On -the other hand, the polychrome (_wu ts’ai_) decoration on the Hsüan -ware was deep and thick, heaped and piled, and consequently not very -beautiful; while on the polychrome wares of the Ch’êng Hua period the -colours used were thin and subdued,[54] and gave the impression of a -picture.”[55] Elsewhere we read that the Hsüan Tê porcelain was thick, -the Ch’êng Hua thin, and that the blue of the Hsüan blue and white was -pale, that of the Ch’êng Hua dark; but on this latter point there are -many differences of opinion, and among the wares made at the Imperial -factory in the Yung Chêng period we are told that there were “copies -of Ch’êng Hua porcelain with designs pencilled in pale blue (_tan -ch’ing_).”[56] - -The only types of Ch’êng Hua porcelain considered worthy of mention -by Chinese writers are the polychrome, the blue and white, and the -red monochrome, though doubtless the other methods of previous reigns -were still used. Stress is laid on the excellence of the designs which -were supplied by artists in the palace,[57] and on the fine quality of -the colours used, and an interesting list of patterns is given in the -_T’ao shuo_,[58] which includes the following: - -1. Stem-cups (_pa pei_), with high foot, flattened bowl, and spreading -mouth; decorated in colours with a grape-vine pattern. - -“Among the highest class of Ch’êng Hua porcelain these are unsurpassed, -and in workmanship they far excel the Hsüan Tê cups.” Such is the -verdict of the _Po wu yao lan_, but they are only known to us by later -imitations. - -A poor illustration of one of these is given in Hsiang’s Album,[59] -and we are told in the accompanying text that the glaze is _fên pai_, -“white like rice powder,” while the decoration, a band of oblique vine -clusters and tendrils, is merely described as _wu ts’ai_ (polychrome), -but it is obviously too slight to be executed by any other method than -painting with enamels on the glaze. The price paid for this cup is -stated as one hundred taels (or ounces) of silver. - -2. Chicken cups (_chi kang_), shaped like the flat-bottomed, -steep-sided, and wide-mouthed fish bowls (_kang_), and painted in -colours with a hen and chickens beneath a flowering plant. - -A valuable commentary on Ch’êng Hua porcelains is given by a late -seventeenth-century writer in notes appended to various odes (e.g. -on a “chicken cup” and on a Chün Chou vase). The writer is Kao -Tan-jên, who also called himself Kao Chiang-ts’un, the name appended -to a long dissertation on a Yüan dynasty silver wine cup, which now -belongs to Sir Robert Biddulph and was figured in the _Burlington -Magazine_.[60] “Ch’êng Hua wine cups,” he tells us, “include a great -variety of sorts. All are of clever workmanship and decoration, and are -delicately coloured in dark and light shades. The porcelain is lustrous -and clear, but strong. The chicken cups are painted with a _mu -tan_ peony, and below it a hen and chicken, which seem to live and -move.” Another writer[61] of the same period states that he frequented -the fair at the _Tz’ŭ-iên_ temple in the capital, where porcelain -bowls were exhibited, and rich men came to buy. For Wan Li porcelain -the usual price was a few taels of silver; for Hsüan Tê and Ch’êng Hua -marked specimens two to five times that amount; but “chicken cups” -could not be bought for less than a hundred taels, and yet those who -had the means did not hesitate to buy, and porcelain realised higher -prices than jade. - -An illustration in Hsiang’s Album[62] gives a poor idea of one of -these porcelain gems, which is described as having the sides thin as -a cicada’s wing, and so translucent that the fingernail could be seen -through them. The design, a hen and chicken beside a cock’s-comb plant -growing near a rock, is said to have been in the style of a celebrated -Sung artist. The painting is in “applied colours (_fu sê_), thick and -thin,” and apparently yellow, green, aubergine and brown. Like that of -the grape-vine cup, it is evidently in enamels on the glaze. - -3. Ruby red bowls (_pao shao wan_)[63] and cinnabar red dishes (_chu -sha p’an_). These were, no doubt, the same as the “precious stone red -(_pao shih hung_) and cinnabar bowls red as the sun,” described in the -chapter on Hsüan Tê porcelain. Kao Chiang-ts’un remarks on these that -“among the Ch’êng wares are chicken cups, ruby red bowls, and cinnabar -dishes, very cleverly made, and fine, and more costly than Sung -porcelain.” - -4. Wine cups with figure subjects and lotuses. - -5. “Blue and white” (_ch’ing hua_) wine cups, thin as paper. - -6. Small cups with plants and insects (_ts’ao ch’ung_).[64] - -7. Shallow cups with the five sacrificial altar vessels (_wu kung -yang_). - -8. Small plates for chopsticks, painted in colours. - -9. Incense boxes. - -10. All manner of small jars. - -All these varieties are mentioned in the _Po wu yao lan_, which -gives the place of honour to the grape-vine stem-cups. The only kind -specifically described as blue and white is No. 5, and the inference is -that the other types were usually polychrome. - - [Illustration: Plate 63.--Baluster Vase - - With designs in raised outline, filled in with coloured glazes on - the biscuit; dark violet blue background. About 1500. Height 14¾ - inches. - - _Grandidier Collection_ (_Louvre_).] - - [Illustration: Plate 64.--Fifteenth-century Polychrome Porcelain. - - Fig. 1.--Vase with grey crackle and peony scrolls in blue - and enamels. Ch’èng Hua mark. Height 16¼ inches. _British - Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Vase with turquoise ground and bands of floral pattern - and winged dragons incised in outline and coloured green, yellow - and aubergine. Height 22 inches. _S. E. Kennedy Collection._ - - Fig. 3.--Box with bands of _ju-i_ clouds and pierced floral - scrolls; turquoise and yellow glazes in dark blue ground. - Diameter 10 inches. _Grandidier Collection._] - - [Illustration: Plate 65.--Ming _san ts’ai_ Porcelain. - - Fig. 1.--Vase with winged dragons, _san ts’ai_ glazes on the - biscuit, dark blue ground. Dedicatory inscription on the neck, - including the words “Ming dynasty.” Cloisonné handles. Height 22¼ - inches. _S. E. Kennedy Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Figure of Kuan-yin, turquoise, green and aubergine - glazes, dark blue rockwork. Fifteenth century. Height 28 inches. - _Grandidier Collection._ - - Fig. 3.--Vase with lotus scrolls, transparent glazes in - three colours. Late Ming. Height 20 inches. _Grandidier - Collection._] - -The following designs are enumerated and explained by Kao Chiang-ts’un -in the valuable commentary which has already been mentioned:-- - -11. Wine cups with the design known as “the high-flaming candle -lighting up red beauty,” explained as a beautiful damsel holding a -candle to light up _hai-t’ang_ (cherry apple) blossoms. - -12. Brocade heap pattern[65]; explained as “sprays of flowers and fruit -massed (_tui_) on all sides.”[66] - -13. Cups with swings, with dragon boats, with famous scholars and with -children. - -The swings, we are told, represent men and women[67] playing with -swings (_ch’iu ch’ien_): the dragon boats represent the dragon boat -races[68]; the famous scholar (_kao shih_) cups have on one side Chou -Mao-shu, lover of the lotus, and on the other T’ao Yüan-ming sitting -before a chrysanthemum plant; the children (_wa wa_) consist of five -small children playing together.[69] - -14. Cups with grape-vines on a trellis, fragrant plants, fish and -weeds, gourds, aubergine fruit, the Eight Buddhist Emblems (_pa chi -hsiang_), _yu po lo_ flowers, and Indian lotus (_hsi fan lien_) designs. - -None of these need explanation except the Buddhist Emblems, which are -described on p. 298, and the _yu po lo_, which is generally explained -as a transcription of the Sanskrit _utpala_, “the dark blue lotus.” - -Though the reader will probably not have the opportunity of identifying -these designs on Ch’êng Hua porcelain, they will help him in the -description of later wares on which these same motives not infrequently -occur. The nine illustrations[70] of Ch’êng Hua porcelain in Hsiang’s -Album, for the most part feebly drawn and badly coloured, form an -absurd commentary on the glowing descriptions in the text. Their chief -interest lies in their bearing on the question of polychrome painting. -In some cases the designs have all the appearance of on-glaze enamels; -in others they suggest transparent glazes or enamels on the biscuit. -The colours used are green, yellow and aubergine brown, the _san ts’ai_ -or “three colours,” notwithstanding which the decoration is classed -under the general term _wu ts’ai_ (lit. five colours), or polychrome. -The phrases used to describe the colouring include _wu ts’ai_, _fu sê_, -_t’ien yu_, of which _fu sê_[71] means “applied colours,” which might -equally suggest on-glaze enamels or on-biscuit colours, and _t’ien -yu_[72] decidedly suggests on-biscuit colouring. On the other hand, in -one case[73] we are expressly told that the “colour of the glaze is -lustrous white and the painting _upon it_[74] consists of geese, etc.,” -an unequivocal description of on-glaze painting. - -Though the Ch’êng Hua mark is one of the commonest on Chinese -porcelain, genuine examples of Ch’êng Hua porcelain are virtually -unknown in Western collections. The Imperial wares of the period were -rare and highly valued in China in the sixteenth century, and we can -hardly hope to obtain them in Europe to-day; but there must be many -survivors from the wares produced by the private kilns at the time, -and possibly some few examples are awaiting identification in our -collections. Unfortunately, the promiscuous use of the mark on later -wares, the confused accounts of the blue in the “blue and white,” -and the conflicting theories on the polychrome decoration, have all -helped to render identifications difficult to make and easy to dispute. -The covered cake box in the Bushell collection, figured by Cosmo -Monkhouse[75] as a Ch’êng Hua specimen, is closely paralleled in make -and style of decoration by a beaker-shaped brush pot in the Franks -Collection.[76] Both are delicately pencilled in pale blue; both have a -peculiar brown staining in parts of the glaze and a slight warp in the -foot rim. In the British Museum piece, however, the foot rim is grooved -at the sides to fit a wooden stand, a feature which was not usual -before the K’ang Hsi period, and something in the style of the drawing -is rather suggestive of Japanese work. There is, however, another -specimen in the Franks Collection[77] which is certainly Chinese of the -Ming dynasty, and possibly of the Ch’êng Hua period, of which it bears -the mark. It is a vase of baluster form, thick and strongly built, with -great weight of clay at the foot, and unfortunately, like so many of -the early polychrome vases which have come from China in recent years, -it is cut down at the neck. It has a greyish crackled glaze, painted -with a floral scroll design, outlined in brown black pigment and washed -in with leaf green, yellow, manganese purple and bluish green enamels, -which are supplemented by a little underglaze blue, and the mark is in -four characters in blue in a sunk panel under the base. - -Though too clumsy to belong to any of the groups of Imperial wares -described in the _Po wu yao lan_, this vase is certainly an old -piece, and possibly the production of one of the private factories of -the Ch’êng Hua period. In the Eumorfopoulos and Benson Collections[78] -there are a few examples of these massive-footed vases, most of them -unfortunately incomplete above, decorated in polychrome glazes with -engraved or relief-edged designs, but not, as a rule, in on-glaze -enamels. These are clearly among our earliest examples of polychrome -porcelain, and we should expect to find here, if anywhere, specimens of -the coloured porcelain of the fifteenth century. See Plate 64. - -Though the fifteenth century was distinguished by two brilliant -periods, there are considerable gaps in the ceramic annals of the time. -The reign of the Emperor Chêng T’ung,[79] who succeeded to the throne -in 1436, was troubled by wars, and in his first year the directorate of -the Imperial factory was abolished; and, as soldiers had to be levied, -relief was given by stopping the manufacture of porcelain for the -palace. In 1449 this emperor was actually taken captive by the Mongols, -and his brother, who took his place from 1450 to 1456 under the title -of Ching T’ai,[80] reduced the customary supplies of palace wares in -1454 by one third. The reign of Ching T’ai is celebrated for cloisonné -enamel on metal. - -In 1457, when Chêng T’ung was released and returned to the throne under -the title of T’ien Shun[81] (1457–1464), the Imperial factory was -re-established, and the care of it again entrusted to a palace eunuch. -There are no records, however, of the wares made in these periods, -though we may assume that the private factories continued in operation -even when work at the Imperial pottery was suspended. The directorship -was again abolished in 1486, and porcelain is not mentioned in -the official records until the end of the reign of Hung Chih[82] -(1488–1505). - -In Hsiang’s Album[83] we are told that the pale yellow of the Hung Chih -period was highly prized, and that the polychrome wares vied with those -of the reign of Ch’êng Hua. Four examples are given: an incense burner, -a cup moulded in sunflower design, and a spirit jar (all yellow), -besides a gourd-shaped wine pot with yellow ground and accessories in -green and brown, apparently coloured glazes or enamels applied to the -biscuit. The yellow glazes are described as pale yellow (_chiao_[84] -_huang_), and likened to the colour of steamed chestnuts (_chêng -li_[85]) or the sunflower (_k’uei hua_[86]). - -The yellow colour is of old standing in Chinese ceramics. We have -found it on T’ang pottery, in the _mi sê_ of the Sung period, in the -blackish yellow of the Yüan ware made at Hu-t’ien, and in the early -Ming porcelains. Peroxide of iron or antimony are the usual metallic -bases of the colour, and it was used either in high-fired glazes or -in enamels of the muffle stove. The yellow for which the Hung Chih -period was noted was a yellow glaze, applied direct to the biscuit, or -added as an overglaze to the ordinary white porcelain. When applied to -the biscuit it assumes a fuller and browner tint than when backed by -a white glaze. These yellow glazes often have a slightly mottled or -stippled look, the colour appearing as minute particles of yellow held -in suspension in the glaze. - -Marked examples, purporting to be Hung Chih yellow, are occasionally -seen, but the most convincing specimen is a saucer dish in the Victoria -and Albert Museum, of good quality porcelain, with a soft rich yellow -glaze and the Hung Chih mark under the base in blue. Part of its -existence was spent in Persia, where it was inscribed in Arabic with -the date 1021 A.H., which corresponds to 1611 A.D. - -A beautiful seated figure of the goddess Kuan-yin in the Pierpont -Morgan Collection, not unlike Plate 65, Fig. 2, but smaller, is -decorated with yellow, green and aubergine glazes on the biscuit, and -bears a date in the Hung Chih period which corresponds to 1502. - -A dish of fine white porcelain with the Hung Chih mark is in the -British Museum, and examples of the blue and white of the period may -be seen in the celebrated Trenchard bowls. These last are the earliest -known arrivals in the way of Chinese porcelain in this country, and -they were given by Philip of Austria, King of Castile, to Sir Thomas -Trenchard in 1506. One of them is illustrated in Gulland’s _Chinese -Porcelain_,[87] with a description written by Mr. Winthrop after a -personal inspection. The decoration consists of floral scrolls outside -and a fish medallion surrounded by four fishes inside. The account of -the colour, however, is not very flattering: “One of the bowls bore -this decoration very distinctly traced in blackish cobalt, while the -other bowl had a very washed-out and faded appearance.” The ware itself -is described as “rather greyish.” Probably these bowls were made for -the export trade, and need not necessarily be regarded as typical of -the Hung Chih blue and white. - - - _Chêng Tê_ [chch 2] (1506–1521) - -The reign of Chêng Tê, though not mentioned in the _Po wu yao lan_ -and but briefly noticed in the _T’ao shuo_, must have been an -important period in the history of Chinese porcelain. The _yü ch’i -ch’ang_ (Imperial ware factory) was rebuilt[88] and the direct -supervision of a palace eunuch renewed. The porcelain, we are told in -the _T’ao lu_, was chiefly blue painted and polychrome, the finest -being in the underglaze red known as _chi hung_. An important -factor in the blue decoration was the arrival of fresh supplies of the -Mohammedan blue.[89] The story is that the governor of Yunnan obtained -a supply of this _hui ch’ing_ from a foreign country, and that it -was used at first melted down with stone for making imitation jewels. -It was worth twice its weight in gold. When, however, it was found -that it would endure the heat of the kiln, orders were given for its -use in porcelain decoration, and its colour was found to be “antique -and splendid.” Hence the great esteem in which the blue and white of -the period was held.[90] The merit of this new Mohammedan blue was its -deep colour, and the choicest kind was known as “Buddha’s head blue” -(_Fo t’ou ch’ing_). Its use at this period was not confined to the -Imperial factory, for we read that the workmen stole it and sold it to -the private manufacturers. In the following reign a method of weighing -the material was instituted, which put an end to this pilfering. - -Some account has already been given[91] of this material and its use in -combination with the commoner native mineral blue. It was, no doubt, -the blue used on Persian, Syrian and Egyptian pottery of the period -exported by the Arab traders. One of the oldest routes[92] followed by -Western traders with China was by river (probably the Irrawady) from -the coast of Pegu, reaching Yung-ch’ang, in Yunnan, and so into China -proper. This will explain the opportunities enjoyed by the viceroy of -Yunnan. There were, of course, other lines of communication between -China and Western Asia by sea and land, and a considerable interchange -of ideas had passed between China and Persia for several centuries, so -that reflex influences are traceable in the pottery of both countries. -Painting in still black under a turquoise blue glaze is one of the -oldest Persian methods of ceramic decoration, and we have seen that it -was closely paralleled on the Tz’ŭ Chou wares (vol. i, p. 103). - -It is related that a thousand Chinese artificers were transplanted -to Persia by Hulagu Khan (1253–1264), and it is probable that they -included potters. At any rate, the Chinese dragon and phœnix appear -on the Persian lustred tiles of the fourteenth century. At a later -date Shah Abbas (1585–1627) settled some Chinese potters in Ispahan. -Meanwhile, quantities of Chinese porcelain had been traded in the -Near East, where it was closely copied by the Persian, Syrian and -Egyptian potters in the sixteenth century. The Persian pottery and -soft porcelain of this time so closely imitates the Chinese blue and -white that in some cases a very minute inspection is required to -detect the difference, and nothing is commoner than to find Persian -ware of this type straying into collections of Chinese porcelain.[93] -Conversely, the Persian taste is strongly reflected in some of the -Chinese decorations, not only where it is directly studied on the -wares destined for export to Persia, but in the floral scrolls on the -Imperial wares of the Ming period. The expressions _hui hui hua_ -(Mohammedan ornament or flowers) and _hui hui wên_ (Mohammedan -designs) occur in the descriptions of the porcelain forwarded to -the palace, and there can be little doubt that they refer to floral -arabesque designs in a broad sense, though it would, of course, be -possible to narrow the meaning to the medallions of Arabic writing not -infrequently seen on Chinese porcelain, which was apparently made for -the use of some of the numerous Mohammedans in China. - -An interesting series of this last-mentioned type is exhibited in the -British Museum along with a number of bronzes similarly ornamented. -Many of these are of early date, and five of the porcelains bear the -Chêng Tê mark and unquestionably belong to that period. These comprise -a pair of vases with spherical tops which are hollow and pierced -with five holes, in form resembling the peculiar Chinese hat stands; -the lower part of a cut-down vase, square in form; an ink slab with -cover, and a brush rest in the form of a conventional range of hills. -The body in each case is a beautiful white material, though thickly -constructed, and the glaze, which is thick and of a faint greenish -tinge, has in three of these five pieces been affected by some accident -of the firing, which has left its surface dull and shrivelled in places -like wrinkled skin.[94] The designs are similar throughout--medallions -with Arabic writing surrounded by formal lotus scrolls or cloud-scroll -designs, strongly outlined and filled in with thin uneven washes of a -beautiful soft Mohammedan blue. The glaze being thick and bubbly gives -the brush strokes a hazy outline, and the blue shows that tendency -to run in the firing which we are told was a peculiarity of the -Mohammedan blue if not sufficiently diluted with the native mineral -cobalt. The inscriptions are mainly pious Moslem texts, but on the -cover of the ink slab is the appropriate legend, “Strive for excellence -in penmanship, for it is one of the keys of livelihood,” and on the -brush rest is the Persian word _Khāma-dān_ (pen rest). In the same -case are three cylindrical vases, apparently brush pots, decorated in -the same style but unmarked. One has dark Mohammedan blue and probably -belongs to the next reign. The other two, I venture to think, are -earlier. They are both of the same type of ware, a fine white material, -which takes a brownish red tinge in the exposed parts, and the glaze, -which is thick and of a soft greenish tint, has a tendency to scale off -at the edges. The bases are unglazed and show the marks of a circular -support. The larger piece is remarkably thick in the wall, and has a -light but vivid blue of the Mohammedan sort; the smaller piece is not -quite so stoutly proportioned, but the blue is peculiarly soft, deep, -and beautiful, though it has run badly into the glaze, and where it has -run it has changed to a dark indigo.[95] One would say that this is -the Mohammedan blue, almost pure; and if, as I have suggested, these -two specimens are earlier types, they can only belong to the Hsüan Tê -period. - -Another blue and white example with Chêng Tê mark in the British Museum -is of thinner make and finer grain; but, as it is a saucer-dish, this -refinement was only to be expected. It is painted in a fine bold style, -worthy of the best Ming traditions, with dragons in lotus scrolls, but -the blue is duller and greyer in tone than on the pieces just described. - -Two specimens of Chêng Tê ware are figured in Hsiang’s Album,[96] one -a tripod libation cup of bronze form and the other a lamp supported -by a tortoise, and the glaze of both is “deep yellow, like steamed -chestnuts.” - - [Illustration: Plate 66.--Porcelain with Chêng Tê mark. - - Fig. 1.--Slop Bowl with full-face dragons holding _shou_ - characters, in underglaze blue in a yellow enamel ground. Height - 3½ inches. _British Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Vase with engraved cloud designs in transparent - coloured glazes on the biscuit, green ground. Height 8⅛ inches. - _Charteris Collection._] - - [Illustration: Plate 67.--Blue and White Porcelain. Sixteenth - Century. - - Fig. 1.--Bowl with Hsüan Tê mark. Diameter 4 inches. _Dresden - Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Covered Bowl with fish design. _Dresden Collection._ - - Fig. 3.--Bottle, peasant on an ox. Height 8½ inches. - _Eumorfopoulos Collection._ - - Fig. 4.--Bottle with lotus scrolls in mottled blue. Height 9 - inches. _Alexander Collection._] - -The Chêng Tê mark is far from common, but it occurs persistently on -certain types of polychrome porcelain. One is a saucer-dish with carved -dragon designs under a white glaze, the depressions of the carving -and a few surrounding details being washed over with light green -enamel. The design consists of a circular medallion in the centre -enclosing a dragon among clouds, and two dragons on the outside, the -space between them faintly etched with sea waves. The ware is usually -thin and refined. These dishes are not uncommon, and it is difficult -to imagine that they can all belong to such an early period. On the -other hand, one also meets with copies of the same design with the -Ch’ien Lung mark (1736–1795), which display unmistakable difference in -quality. Another type has the same green dragon design with engraved -outlines set in a yellow ground, and in most cases its antiquity is -open to the same doubts. It is certain, however, that these pieces -represent a style which was in vogue in the Chêng Tê period. A small -vase of this kind was the only piece with the Chêng Tê mark in the -exhibition at the Burlington Fine Arts Club in 1910,[97] and it had -the appearance of a Ming specimen. A good example of this Chêng Tê -polychrome belonging to the Hon. Evan Charteris is illustrated in Fig. -2 of Plate 66. It has the designs etched in outline, filled in with -transparent green, yellow and aubergine glazes, the three colours -or _san ts’ai_ of the Chinese; and the Chêng Tê mark is seen on the -neck.[98] And a square bowl in the British Museum, similar in body -and glaze to the blue and white specimens with Arabic inscriptions, -is painted in fine blue on the exterior with dragons holding _Shou_ -(longevity) characters in their claws, the background filled in with a -rich transparent yellow enamel. This piece (Plate 66, Fig. 1) has the -mark of Chêng Tê in four characters painted in Mohammedan blue, and is -clearly a genuine specimen. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - - CHIA CHING [chch 2] (1522–1566) AND LUNG CH’ING [chch 2] (1567–1572) - - -The Imperial potteries at Ching-tê Chên were busy in the long reign -of Chia Ching, grandson of Ch’êng Hua, under the supervision of one -of the prefects of the circuit who took charge in place of the palace -eunuch of previous reigns. Chinese accounts of the porcelain of this -important period, summarised in the _T’ao shuo_, include passages from -the late Ming and therefore almost contemporary works, the _Shih wu -kan chu_ and the _Po wu yao lan_. In the former we are told that the -Mohammedan blue was largely used, but that the material for the “fresh -red” (_hsien hung_)[99] was exhausted, and that the method of producing -the red colour was no longer the same as of old, the potters being -capable only of making the overglaze iron red called _fan hung_. The -_Po wu yao lan_ gives a more intimate description of the ware, and the -passage[100]--the last in that work on the subject of porcelain--may be -rendered as follows:-- - -“Chia Ching porcelain includes blue-decorated and polychrome wares of -every description; but unfortunately the clay brought to the place from -the neighbouring sources in Jao Chou gradually deteriorated, and when -we compare these two classes of porcelain with the similar productions -of the earlier periods of the dynasty the (Chia Ching) wares do not -equal the latter. There are small white bowls (_ou_) inscribed inside -with the character _ch’a_ [chch 1] (tea), the character _chiu_ [chch 1] -(wine), or the characters _tsao t’ang_ [chch 2] (decoction of dates), -or _chiang t’ang_[101] [chch 2] (decoction of ginger); these are the -sacrificial altar vessels regularly used by the Emperor Shih Tsung -(i.e. Chia Ching), and they are called white altar cups, though in form -and material they are far from equalling the Hsüan Tê vessels. The Chia -Ching shallow wine cups with rimmed mouth,[102] convex centre,[103] -and foot with base rim,[104] decorated outside in three colours with -fish design, and the small vermilion boxes, no bigger than a “cash,” -are the gems of the period. As for the small boxes beautifully painted -with blue ornament, I fear that the Imperial factories of after times -will not be able to produce the like. Those who have them prize them as -gems.” - -A few supplementary comments in the _T’ao shuo_ further inform -us that the Mohammedan blue of the Chia Ching period was preferred -very dark (in contrast with the pale blue of the Hsüan Tê porcelain), -that it was very lovely, and that supplies of this blue arrived -providentially at the time when the “fresh red” failed[105]; and also -that the supplies of earth from Ma-ts’ang were daily diminishing till -they were nearly exhausted, and consequently the material of the ware -was far from equalling that of the Hsüan Tê period. The _T’ao lu_ -adds practically nothing to the above statements. - -Fortunately, there are still to be found a fair number of authentic -specimens of Chia Ching porcelain, but before considering these in -the light of the Chinese descriptions, it will be helpful as well -as extremely interesting to glance at the lists of actual porcelain -vessels supplied to the palace at this time. From the eighth year of -this reign, the annual accounts of the palace porcelains have been -preserved in the Annals of Fou-liang, from which they were copied in -the provincial topographies. Two of these lists (for the years 1546 -and 1554) are quoted by Bushell,[106] and a general summary of them is -given in the _T’ao shuo_.[107] To quote them in full here would -take too much space, but the following notes may be useful to the -reader, who, with his knowledge of the later porcelains, should have -no difficulty in reconstructing for himself the general appearance of -the court wares of the time. - -The actual objects[108] supplied consisted chiefly of fish bowls -(_kang_), covered and uncovered jars (_kuan_), of which some were -octagonal, bowls (_wan_), dinner bowls (_shan wan_) of larger size, -saucer dishes (_tieh_) and round dishes (_p’an_), tea cups (_ch’a -chung_), tea cups (_ou_), wine cups (_chiu chan_), and libation cups -(_chüeh_) with hill-shaped saucers (_shan p’an_) to support their three -feet, various vases (_p’ing_), slender ovoid jars for wine (_t’an_), -ewers or wine pots (_hu p’ing_), and wine seas (_chiu hai_) or large -bowls. A large number of complete dinner-table sets (_cho ch’i_) occur -in one of the lists, and we learn from the _T’ao shuo_ that uniform -sets with the same pattern and colours throughout were an innovation -of the Ming dynasty. A set[109] comprised 27 pieces, including 5 fruit -dishes (_kuo tieh_), 5 food dishes (_ts’ai tieh_), 5 bowls (_wan_), 5 -vegetable dishes (_yün tieh_), 3 tea cups (_ch’a chung_), 1 wine cup -(_chiu chan_), 1 wine saucer (_chiu tieh_), 1 slop receptacle (_cha -tou_), and 1 vinegar cruse (_ts’u chiu_). The slop receptacle appears -to have been a square bowl used for the remnants of food (see Plate 66, -Fig. 1). - -The sacrificial vessels of the period included tazza-shaped bowls and -dishes (_pien tou p’an_), large wine jars (_t’ai tsun_), with swelling -body and monster masks for handles, “rhinoceros” jars (_hsi tsun_) in -the form of a rhinoceros carrying a vase on its back, besides various -dishes, plates, cups, and bowls of undefined form. - -The decorations are grouped in six headings:-- - -(1) Blue and white (_ch’ing hua pai ti_, blue ornament on a white -ground), which is by far the largest. - -(2) Blue ware, which included blue bowls (_ch’ing wan_), sky-blue bowls -(_t’ien ch’ing wan_), and turquoise bowls (_ts’ui ch’ing wan_). In -some cases the ware is described as plain blue monochrome, and in one -item it is “best blue monochrome” (_t’ou ch’ing su_), while in others -there are designs engraved under the glaze (_an hua_). In others, -again, ornament such as dragons and sea waves is mentioned without -specifying how it was executed. Such ornament may have been etched -with a point in the blue surface,[110] or pencilled in darker blue on -a blue background or reserved in white in a blue ground. Another kind -is more fully described as “round dishes of pure blue (_shun ch’ing_) -with dragons and sea waves inside, and on the exterior a background of -dense cloud scrolls[111] with a gilt[112] decoration of three lions and -dragons.” Bushell[113] speaks of the “beautiful mottled blue ground for -which this reign is also remarkable,” and which, he says, was produced -by the usual blend of Mohammedan and native blue suspended in water. - -(3) Wares which were white inside and blue outside. - -(4) White ware, plain[114] or with engraved designs under the glaze -(_an hua_, lit. secret ornament). - -(5) Ware with brown glaze in two varieties, _tzŭ chin_ (golden brown), -and _chin huang_ (golden yellow), with dragon designs engraved under -the glaze. These are the well-known lustrous brown glazes, the former -of dark coffee brown shade, and the latter a light golden brown. - -(6) Ware with mixed colours (_tsa sê_), which included bowls and -dishes decorated in iron red[115] (_fan hung_) instead of the “fresh -red” (_hsien hung_); others with emerald green colour (_ts’ui lü sê_); -bowls with phœnixes and flowers of Paradise in yellow in a blue ground; -cups with blue cloud and dragon designs in a yellow ground; boxes with -dragon and phœnix designs engraved under a yellow glaze; dishes with -design of a pair of dragons and clouds in yellow within a golden brown -(_tzŭ chin_) ground; and globular bowls with embossed[116] ornament in -a single-coloured ground. - -To these types Bushell adds from other similar lists crackled ware -(_sui ch’i_), tea cups of “greenish white porcelain” (_ch’ing pai -tz’ŭ_), which seems to be a pale celadon, and large fish bowls with pea -green (_tou ch’ing_) glaze. - -The source of the designs of the porcelain is clearly indicated in -the following passage in the _T’ao shuo_[117]: “Porcelain enamelled -in colours was painted in imitation of the fashion of brocaded silks, -and we have consequently the names of blue ground, yellow ground, and -brown gold (_tzŭ chin_) ground. The designs used to decorate it were -also similar, and included dragons in motion (_tsou lung_), clouds -and phœnixes, _ch’i-lin_, lions, mandarin ducks, myriads of gold -pieces, dragon medallions (_p’an lung_, lit. coiled dragons), pairs -of phœnixes, peacocks, sacred storks, the fungus of longevity, the -large lion in his lair, wild geese in clouds with their double nests, -large crested waves, phœnixes in the clouds, the son-producing lily, -the hundred flowers, phœnixes flying through flowers, the band of -Eight Taoist Immortals, dragons pursuing pearls, lions playing with -embroidered balls, water weeds, and sporting fishes. These are the -names of ancient brocades, all of which the potters have reproduced -more or less accurately in the designs and colouring of their -porcelain.” - -The following analysis of the designs named in the Chia Ching lists -will show that the blue and white painters of the period took their -inspiration from the same source:-- - - -=Floral Motives.= - -Celestial flowers (_t’ien hua_), supporting the characters _shou -shan fu hai_ [chch 4], “longevity of the hills and happiness -(inexhaustible as) the sea.” - -Flowers of the four seasons (the tree peony for spring, lotus for -summer, chrysanthemum for autumn, and prunus for winter). - -Flowering and other plants (_hua ts’ao_). - -The myriad-flowering wistaria (_wan hua t’êng_). - -The water chestnut (_ling_). - -The pine, bamboo, and plum. - -Floral medallions (_t’uan hua_). - -Indian lotus (_hsi fan lien_). - -Knots of lotus (_chieh tzŭ lien_[118]). - -Interlacing sprays of lotus supporting the Eight Precious Symbols or -the Eight Buddhist Emblems.[119] - -Branches of _ling chih_[120] fungus supporting the Eight Precious -Symbols. - -_Ling chih_ fungus and season flowers. - -Lotus flowers, fishes, and water weeds. - -Floral arabesques (_hui hui hua_). - -Flowers of Paradise (_pao hsiang hua_) [chch 3]. - -The celestial flowers and the flowers of Paradise are no doubt similar -designs of idealised flowers in scrolls or groups.[121] The _pao -hsiang hua_, which is given in Giles’s Dictionary as “the rose,” is -rendered by Bushell “flowers of Paradise” or “fairy flowers.” Judging -by the designs with this name in Chinese works, and also from the fact -that the rose is a very rare motive on Chinese wares before the Ch’ing -dynasty, whereas the _pao hsiang hua_ is one of the commonest in -the Ming lists, Bushell’s rendering is probably correct in the present -context. - - -=Animal Motives=, mythical or otherwise. - -Dragons, represented as pursuing jewels (_kan chu_); grasping jewels -(_k’ung chu_); in clouds; emerging from water; in bamboo foliage and -fungus plants; among water chestnut flowers; among scrolls of Indian -lotus; emerging from sea waves and holding up the Eight Trigrams (_pa -kua_); holding up the characters _fu_ [chch] (happiness) or _shou_ -[chch] (longevity), as on Fig. 1 of Plate 66. - -Dragons of antique form. These are the lizard-like creatures -(_ch’ih_) with bifid tail which occur so often in old bronzes and -jades. - -Dragon medallions (_t’uan lung_). - -Nine dragons and flowers. - -Dragons and phœnixes moving through flowers. - -Dragon, and phœnixes with other birds. - -Phœnixes flying through flowers. - -A pair of phœnixes. - -Lions[122] rolling balls of brocade. - -Flying lions. - -Hoary[123] lions and dragons. - -Storks in clouds. - -Peacocks (_k’ung ch’iao_) and _mu-tan_ peonies. - -Birds flying in clouds. - -Fish and water weeds. - -Four fishes.[124] - - -=Human Motives.= - -Children (_wa wa_) playing. - -Three divine beings (_hsien_) compounding the elixir of -Immortality. - -Two or four Immortals. - -The Eight Immortals (_pa hsien_) crossing the sea; or paying court -to the god of Longevity (_p’êng shou_), or congratulating him -(_ch’ing shou_). - -A group of divine beings (_hsien_) paying court to the god of -Longevity. - -Two designs of doubtful meaning may be added here: - -(1) “Jars decorated with _chiang hsia pa chün_,”[125] a phrase -which means “the eight elegant (scholars) of Chiang-hsia (i.e. below -the river),” but has been translated by Bushell, using a variant -reading,[126] as “the eight horses of Mu Wang.” The latter rendering -ignores the presence of _chiang hsia_, and the former, though -a correct reading of the original, is not explained in any work of -reference to which I have had access. - -(2) “Bowls with _man ti ch’iao_,” lit. “graceful (designs) filling -the ground.” The meaning of _ch’iao_ is the difficulty, and -Bushell in one translation[127] has rendered it “graceful sprays of -flowers,” which sorts well with rest of the phrase, but in another[128] -he has assumed that it means “graceful beauties” in reference to the -well-known design of tall, slender girls, which the Dutch collectors -named _lange lijsen_ (see Plate 92, Fig. 2). The latter rendering, -however, goes badly with _man ti_, “filling the ground,” which is -certainly more applicable to some close design, such as floral scroll -work. This is, however, a good example of the difficulty of translating -the Chinese texts, where so much is left to the imagination, and -consequently there is so much room for differences of opinion. - - [Illustration: Plate 68.--Blue and White Porcelain. Sixteenth - Century. - - Fig. 1.--Perfume Vase, lions and balls of brocade. Height 8¾ - inches. _V. & A. Museum._ - - Fig. 2. Double Gourd Vase, square in the lower part. Eight - Immortals paying court to the God of Longevity, panels of - children (_wa wa_). Height 21 inches. _Eumorfopoulos - Collection._ - - Fig. 3.--Bottle with medallions of _ch’i-lin_ and incised - fret pattern between. Late Ming. Height 9 inches. _Halsey - Collection._] - - [Illustration: Plate 69.--Sixteenth Century Porcelain. - - Fig. 1.--Bowl of blue and white porcelain with silver gilt mount - of Elizabethan period. Height 3¾ inches. _British Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Covered Jar, painted in dark underglaze blue with red, - green and yellow enamels; fishes and water plants. Chia Ching - mark. Height 17 inches. _S. E. Kennedy Collection._] - - [Illustration: Plate 70.--Porcelain with Chia Ching mark. - - Fig. 1.--Box with incised Imperial dragons and lotus scrolls; - turquoise and dark violet glazes on the biscuit. Diameter 9½ - inches. _V. & A. Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Vase with Imperial dragons in clouds, painted in yellow - in an iron red ground. Height 8½ inches. _Cologne Museum._] - - [Illustration: Plate 71.--Sixteenth Century Porcelain. - - Figs. 1 and 2.--Two Ewers in the Dresden Collection, with - transparent green, aubergine and turquoise glazes on the biscuit, - traces of gilding. In form of a phœnix (height 11 inches), and of - a crayfish (height 8¼ inches). - - Fig. 3.--Bowl with flight of storks in a lotus scroll, enamels on - the biscuit, green, aubergine and white in a yellow ground. Chia - Ching mark. Diameter 7 inches. _Alexander Collection._] - - -=Emblematic Motives.= - -Heaven and Earth, and the six cardinal points (_ch’ien k’un liu -ho_[129]), or “emblems of the six cardinal points of the Universe.” - -_Ch’ien_ and _k’un_ are the male and female principles which are -represented by Heaven and Earth, and together make up the Universe. The -identification of these emblems is obscure. They might simply be the -Eight Trigrams (_pa kua_), which are explained next, for two of these -are known as _ch’ien_ and _k’un_, and together with the remaining six -they are arranged so as to make up eight points of the compass. But in -that case, why not simply say _pa kua_ as elsewhere? - -On the other hand, we know that certain emblems were used in the Chou -dynasty[130] in the worship of the six points of the Universe, viz. a -round tablet with pierced centre (_pi_) of bluish jade for Heaven; a -yellow jade tube with square exterior (_ts’ung_) for Earth; a green -tablet (_kuei_), oblong with pointed top, for the East; a red tablet -(_chang_), oblong and knife-shaped, for the South; a white tablet, in -the shape of a tiger (_hu_), for the West; and a black jade piece of -flat semicircular form (_huang_) for the North. All these objects are -illustrated in Laufer’s _Jade_, but as they have not, to my knowledge, -appeared together in porcelain decoration, the question must for the -present be left open. - - * * * * * - -The _pa-kua_ [chch 2] or Eight Trigrams, supported by dragons or by -waves and flames. - -These are eight combinations of triple lines. In the first the lines -are unbroken, and in the last they are all divided at the centre, the -intermediate figures consisting of different permutations of broken and -unbroken lines (see p. 290). These eight diagrams, by which certain -Chinese philosophers explained all the phenomena of Nature, are -supposed to have been constructed by the legendary Emperor Fu Hsi (B.C. -2852) from a plan revealed to him on the back of the “dragon horse” -(_lung ma_) which rose from the Yellow River.[131] Among other things, -they are used to designate the points of the compass, one arrangement -making the first figure represent the South (also designated -_ch’ien_[chch] or Heaven), and the last figure the North (also -designated _k’un_[chch] or Earth), the remaining figures representing -South-West, West, North-West, North-East, East, and South-East. - - * * * * * - -The _pa pao_ [chch 2], or Eight Precious Symbols, supported by fungus -sprays. - -These are usually represented by (1) a sphere or jewel, which seems -to have originally been the sun disc; (2) a circle enclosing a -square, which suggests the copper coin called a “cash”; (3) an open -lozenge, symbol of victory or success; (4) a musical stone (_ch’ing_); -(5) a pair of books; (6) a pair of rhinoceros horns (cups); (7) a -lozenge-shaped picture (_hua_); (8) a leaf of the artemisia, a plant of -good omen, which dispels sickness. (See p. 299.) - - * * * * * - -The _pa chi hsiang_ [chch 3], or Eight Buddhist Symbols, supported on -lotus scrolls. - -These symbols, which appeared among the auspicious signs on the foot -of Buddha, comprise (1) the wheel (_chakra_), which is sometimes -replaced by the hanging bell; (2) the shell trumpet of Victory; (3) -the umbrella of state; (4) the canopy; (5) the lotus flower; (6) the -vase; (7) the pair of fish, emblems of fertility; (8) the angular knot -(representing the entrails), symbol of longevity. (See p. 298.) - -The hundred forms of the character _shou_ (longevity)--_pai shou -tz’ŭ_. - - * * * * * - -_Ju-i_ sceptres and phœnix medallions. - -The _ju-i_ [chch 2] (“as you wish”) sceptre brings fulfilment of -wishes, and is a symbol of longevity (see vol. i., p. 227). The head of -the _ju-i_, which has a strong resemblance to the conventional form of -the _ling chih_ fungus, is often used in borders and formal patterns -variously described as “_ju-i_ head patterns,” “cloud-scroll patterns,” -or “_ju-i_ cloud patterns.” - -Close ground patterns of propitious clouds (_yung hsiang yün ti_). - -Cloud designs are propitious because they symbolise the fertilising -rain, and they are commonly represented by conventional scrolls as well -as by the more obvious cloud patterns. - - * * * * * - -Crested sea waves (_chiang ya hai shui_). - -_Chiang ya_ [chch 2] (lit. ginger shoots) is rendered by Bushell -“crested waves,” the metaphor being apparently suggested by the curling -tops of the young plant. - -Cups decorated[132] with the characters _fu shou k’ang ning_ [chch 4] -(happiness, long life, peace, and tranquillity). - -A blue and white vase with these characters in medallions framed by -cloud scrolls on the shoulders is shown on Plate 68. - - -=Miscellaneous Motives.= - -The waterfalls of Pa Shan [chch 2] in the province of Szechuan. - -Gold weighing-scales (_ch’êng chin_ [chch 2]). - -A design named _san yang k’ai t’ai_ [chch 4], a phrase alluding to the -“revivifying power of spring,” and said by Bushell to be symbolised by -three rams. Cf. Fig. 2 of Plate 122. - -The mark of the Chia Ching period, though not so freely used as -those of Hsüan Tê and Ch’êng Hua, has been a favourite with Japanese -copyists, whose imitations have often proved dangerously clever. Still, -there are enough genuine specimens in public and private collections in -England to provide a fair representation of the ware. In studying these -the blue and white will be found to vary widely, both in body material -and in the colour of the blue, according to the quality of the objects. - -Plate 77 illustrates a remarkably good example of the dark but vivid -Mohammedan blue on a pure white ware of fine close grain with clear -glaze. The design, which consists of scenes from the life of a sage, -perhaps Confucius himself, is painted in typical Ming style, and -bordered by _ju-i_ cloud scrolls and formal brocade patterns. The Chia -Ching blue is often darker[133] and heavier than here, resembling thick -patches of violet ink, to use Mr. Perzynski’s phrase. This powerful -blue is well shown in the large vase given by Mr. A. Burman to the -Victoria and Albert Museum (Plate 72), and by a fine ewer in Case 22 in -the same gallery. The latter has an accidentally crackled glaze on the -body with brownish tint, due, no doubt, to staining. - -On the other hand, a large double-gourd vase in the British Museum, -heavily made (probably for export), is painted with the eighteen -Arhats, or Buddhist apostles, in a dull greyish blue, which would -certainly have been assigned to the Wan Li period were it not for the -Chia Ching mark. This is, no doubt, the native cobalt without any -admixture of Mohammedan blue. - -The body material in these specimens varies scarcely less than the -blue. In the colour stand on Plate 77 the ware is a pure clean white, -both in body and glaze. On other specimens--particularly the large, -heavily built jars and vases made for export to India and Persia--the -ware is of coarser grain, and the glaze of grey or greenish tone. The -tendency of the Ming biscuit to assume a reddish tinge where exposed -to the fire is exaggerated on some of these large jars, so that the -exposed parts at the base and foot rim are sometimes a dark reddish -brown. Doubtless the clay from different mines varied considerably, -and the less pure materials would be used on these relatively coarse -productions. On the other hand, the better class of dish and bowl made -for service at the table is usually of clean white ware, potted thin -and neatly finished, and differing but little in refinement from the -choice porcelains of the eighteenth century. Such are the dragon dish -described on p. 32 and the polychrome saucers which will be mentioned -presently. - -The export trade with Western Asia and Egypt, both by sea and land, -must have been of considerable dimensions in the middle of the -sixteenth century. Broken pieces of Chinese blue and white are found -on all the excavated sites in the Near East, and the influence of the -Chinese porcelain is clearly seen in the blue, or blue and brown, -painted faience made in Persia, Syria, and Egypt in the sixteenth -century. The reflex influence of Persia on the Chinese wares has -already been noted, and it is clear that Persian taste was studied -by the makers of the dishes, bottles, pipes, and other objects with -birds and animals in foliage and floral scrolls of decidedly Persian -flavour, which are still frequently found in the Near East. It was this -type of Chinese porcelain which inspired Italian maiolica potters in -their decoration _alla porcellana_, as well as the decorators of -the Medici or Florentine porcelain, the first European porcelain of -any note. Françesco Maria, the patron of the Medici porcelain, died -in 1587, and as little, if any, of the ware was made after his death, -the rare surviving examples may be safely taken as reflecting, where -any Chinese influence is apparent, the influence of the mid-sixteenth -century porcelains. - - [Illustration: PLATE 72 - - Vase with Imperial five-clawed dragons in cloud scrolls over - sea waves: band of lotus scrolls on the shoulder. Painted in - dark Mohammedan blue. Mark on the neck, of the Chia Ching period - (1522–1566) in six characters. - - Height 21 inches. _Victoria and Albert Museum._] - -An interesting series of Ming blue and white export wares collected -in India was lent to the Burlington Fine Arts Club in 1910 by -Mrs. Halsey. It included a few Chia Ching specimens, and among them a -melon-shaped jar with lotus scrolls in the dark blue of the period. -This melon form has been popular with the Chinese potters from T’ang -times, and it occurs fairly often in the Ming export porcelains. A -companion piece, for instance, at the same exhibition was decorated -with handsome pine, bamboo, and plum designs. Others, again, are -appropriately ornamented with a melon vine pattern, a gourd vine, or a -grape vine with a squirrel-like animal on the branches. The drawing of -these pieces is usually rough but vigorous, the form is good, and the -blue as a rule soft and pleasing; and though entirely wanting in the -superfine finish of the choice K’ang Hsi blue and white, they have a -decorative value which has been sadly underrated. - -The polychrome porcelains of the Chia Ching period are rarer than -the blue and white, but still a fair number of types are represented -in English collections. Of the colours applied direct to the biscuit -the early glazes of the _demi-grand feu_--turquoise, aubergine -violet, green and yellow--were doubtless applied as in the previous -century to the large wine jars, vases and figures in the round. An -unusual specimen of this class is the marked Chia Ching cake box -in the Victoria and Albert Museum, illustrated on Plate 70. The -design--Imperial dragons among floral scrolls--is traced with a -point in the paste and covered with a delicate turquoise glaze, the -background being filled with violet aubergine. Similarly engraved -designs coloured by washes of transparent glazes in the three -colours--green, yellow and aubergine brown--are found with the Chia -Ching mark as with that of Chêng Tê, and Plate 73 illustrates two -singularly beautiful bowls with designs outlined in brown and washed -in with transparent glazes. The one has flowering branches of prunus, -peach and pomegranate in white, green and aubergine in a yellow ground, -and the other phœnixes and floral scrolls in yellow, green and white in -a ground of pale aubergine. Both have the Chia Ching mark. Fig. 2 of -Plate 71 is another member of the same group, with a beautiful design -of cranes and lotus scrolls in a yellow ground. There are, besides, -examples of these yellow and aubergine glazes in monochrome. A good -specimen of the latter with Chia Ching mark in the British Museum has -fine transparent aubergine glaze with iridescent surface, the colour -pleasantly graded, which contrasts with the uniform smooth glaze and -trim finish of a Ch’ien Lung example near to it. - -Two interesting ewers in the Dresden collection (Figs. 1 and 2 of Plate -71) probably belong to this period, or at any rate to the sixteenth -century. They are fantastically shaped to represent a phœnix and a -lobster, and are decorated with green, yellow, aubergine and a little -turquoise applied direct to the biscuit. Parts of the surface have been -lightly coated with gilding, which has almost entirely disappeared. -These pieces are mentioned in an inventory of 1640, and a lobster -ewer precisely similar was included in the collection made by Philipp -Hainhofer in the early years of the seventeenth century.[134] - -Among the examples of on-glaze enamels of this period are those in -which the coral red derived from iron oxide (_fan hung_) is -the most conspicuous colour. This red is often highly iridescent, -displaying soft ruby reflections like Persian lustre; at other -times it is richly fluxed, and has a peculiarly vitreous and almost -sticky appearance. The former effect is well seen in a small saucer -in the British Museum, which has a wide border of deep lustrous red -surrounding a medallion with lions and a brocade ball in green. The -latter is seen on a square, covered vase in the same case, decorated -on each side with full-faced dragons in red and the usual cloud -accessories in inconspicuous touches of green and yellow. The yellow -enamel of the period is often of an impure, brownish tint and rather -thickly applied, but these peculiarities of both yellow and red -continued in the Wan Li period. - - [Illustration: PLATE 73 - - Two Bowls with the Chia Ching mark (1522–1566), with designs - outlined in brown and washed in with colours in monochrome - grounds. - - Fig. 1 with peach sprays in a yellow ground. Diameter 8 inches. - _Alexander Collection._ - - Fig. 2 with phœnixes (_fêng-huang_) flying among scrolls - of _mu-tan_ peony. Diameter 7 inches. _Cumberbatch - Collection._] - -The combination of enamel colours with underglaze blue, which was so -largely used in the Wan Li period as to be generally known by the name -_Wan li wu ts’ai_ (Wan Li polychrome), is not unknown on Chia Ching -wares. The wide-mouthed jar, for instance, from the collection of Mr. -S. E. Kennedy[135] (Plate 69, Fig. 2) is decorated with a design of -fish among water plants in deep Chia Ching blue combined with green, -yellow and iron red enamels; and a small bottle-shaped vase in the -British Museum has the same blue combined with on-glaze red, green, -yellow and aubergine, the design being fish, waves, and water plants. -The greens of this and the Wan Li period include various shades--bright -leaf green, pale emerald, and a bluish green[136] which seems to -be peculiar to the late Ming period. - -A box in the collection of Dr. C. Seligmann has a dragon design -reserved in a blue ground and washed over with yellow enamel, on which -in turn are details traced in iron red; and another peculiar type of -Chia Ching polychrome in the Pierpont Morgan Collection (Cat. No. 882) -is a tea cup with blue Imperial dragons inside, “on the outside deep -yellow glaze with decoration in brownish red of intensely luminous -tone, derived from iron, lightly brushed on the yellow ground: the -decoration consists of a procession of boys carrying vases of flowers -round the sides of the cup with addition of a scroll of foliage -encircling the rim.” Both these specimens have the Chia Ching mark. - -Allusion has already been made (p. 6) to a type of bowl which belongs -to the Ming period, though opinions differ as to the exact part of -that dynasty to which it should be assigned. The bowls vary slightly -in form, but the most usual kind is that shown on Plate 74 with -well rounded sides. A common feature, which does not appear in the -photograph, is a convex centre. Others, again, are shallow with concave -base, but no foot rim. The decoration of those in the British Museum -includes (1) a coral red exterior with gilt designs as described on -p. 6, combined with slight underglaze blue interior ornament, (2) a -beautiful pale emerald green exterior similarly gilt, with or without -blue ornament inside, and (3) a single specimen with white slip -traceries in faint relief under the glaze inside, the outside enamelled -with turquoise blue medallions and set with cabochon jewels in Persia -or India. There are similar bowls in the Dresden collection, with pale -sky blue glaze on the exterior. As already noted, one or two of the -red bowls have the Yung Lo mark, but, as a rule, they are marked with -phrases of commendation or good wish,[137] such as _tan kuei_ (red -cassia, emblem of literary success), _wan fu yu t’ung_ (may infinite -happiness embrace all your affairs!) Two of them are known to have -sixteenth-century European mounts, viz. the red bowl mentioned on p. 6, -and a green specimen in the British Museum.[138] Without denying the -possibility of some of the red examples dating back to the Yung Lo -period, the conclusion is almost irresistible that we have here in one -case the _fan hung_ decoration which replaced the _hsien hung_ in the -Chia Ching period, and in another the _ts’ui lü_ (emerald green), named -among the colours of the Imperial Chia Ching porcelains. - -The Chia Ching monochromes already mentioned include white, blue, sky -blue, lustrous brown, turquoise, green, yellow, and aubergine, with or -without designs engraved in the paste (_an hua_). None of these call -for any further comment, unless it be the distinction between blue and -sky blue of the Imperial wares. The former, no doubt, resulted from -the Mohammedan blue (blended with native cobalt) mixed with the glaze, -and must have been a fine blue of slightly violet tone: the latter was -apparently the lavender-tinted blue which goes by the name of sky blue -on the more modern porcelains. - -We read in more than one passage in the Chinese works that the -imitation of the classical porcelains of Hsüan Tê and Ch’êng Hua was -practised in the Chia Ching period, and the name of a private potter -who excelled in this kind of work has been preserved. A note on this -artist, given in the _T’ao lu_[139] under the heading _Ts’ui kung[140] -yao_, or Wares of Mr. Ts’ui, may be rendered as follows:-- - -“In the Chia Ching and Lung Ch’ing periods there lived a man who was -clever at making porcelain (_t’ao_). He was famed for imitations of the -wares in the traditional style and make of the Hsüan Tê and Ch’êng Hua -periods, and in his time he enjoyed the highest reputation. The name -given to his wares was Mr. Ts’ui’s porcelain (_ts’ui kung yao tz’ŭ_), -and they were eagerly sought in all parts of the empire. As for the -shape of his cups (_ch’ien_), when compared with the Hsüan and Ch’êng -specimens[141] they differed in size but displayed the same skill and -perfection of design. In the blue and polychrome wares his colours were -all like the originals. His were, in fact, the cream of the porcelains -made in the private factories (_min t’ao_).” - - [Illustration: PLATE 74 - - Two Bowls in the British Museum with gilt designs on a monochrome - ground. Probably Chia Ching period (1522–1566) - - Fig. 1 with lotus scroll with etched details on a ground of iron - red (_fan hung_) outside. Inside is figure of a man holding - a branch of cassia, a symbol of literary success, painted in - underglaze blue. Mark in blue, _tan kuei_ (red cassia.) - Diameter 4½ inches. - - Fig. 2 with similar design on ground of emerald green enamel. - Mark in blue in the form of a coin or _cash_ with the - characters _ch’ang ming fu kuei_ (long life, riches and - honours!). Diameter 4¾ inches.] - -It is interesting to note that the imitation of the early Ming -porcelains began as soon as this, and we may infer from the usual -Chinese procedure that the marks of the Hsüan Tê and Ch’êng Hua periods -were duly affixed to these clever copies. - - - _Lung Ch’ing_ [chch 2] (1567–1572) - -We read in the _T’ao shuo_[142] that the Imperial factory was -re-established in the sixth year of this reign (1572), and placed under -the care of the assistant prefects of the district. This would seem to -imply that for the greater part of this brief period the Imperial works -had been in abeyance. Be this as it may, there was no falling off in -the quantity of porcelain commanded for the Court, and the extravagant -and burdensome demands evoked a protest from Hsü Ch’ih, the president -of the Censorate,[143] in 1571. It was urged among other things that -the secret of the copper red colour (_hsien hung_) had been lost, -and that the potters should be allowed to use the iron red (_fan -hung_) in its place: that the size and form of the large fish bowls -which were ordered made their manufacture almost impossible: that -the designs for the polychrome (_wu ts’ai_) painting were too -elaborate, and that square boxes made in three tiers were a novelty -difficult to construct. Fire and flood had devastated Ching-tê Chên, -and many of the workmen had fled, and he (the president) begged that a -large reduction should be made in the palace orders. - -We are not told whether this memorial to the emperor had the desired -effect. In the case of the next emperor a similar protest resulted in -a large reduction of the demands. But the document discloses several -interesting facts, and among other things we learn that the designs for -some of the ware and for the coloured decoration were still sent from -the palace as in the days of Ch’êng Hua. - -The official lists of porcelain actually supplied to the Court of Lung -Ch’ing have been briefly summarised in the _T’ao shuo_[144]; -but they do not include any new forms, and the motives of decoration -were in the main similar to those recorded in the Chia Ching lists. -The following, however, may be added to the summary in the previous -chapter:-- - -The _yü tsan hua_, rendered in Giles’s Dictionary as the “tuberose,” by -Bushell as the “iris.” - -Clumps of chrysanthemum flowers. - -Interlacing scrolls of _mu-tan_ peony. - -_Ch’ang ch’un_ (long spring) flowers, identified by Bushell with the -“jasmine.” - -A “joyous meeting,” symbolised according to Bushell by a pair of -magpies. - -The Tartar pheasant (_chai chih_). - -The season flowers supporting the characters [chch 4] _ch’ien k’un -ch’ing t’ai_, “Heaven and earth fair and fruitful!” - -Monsters (_shou_) in sea waves. - -Flying fish. - -Historical scenes (_ku shih_), as well as genre subjects (_jên wu_). - -Children playing with branches of flowers. - -This last design occurs both in the form of belts of foliage scrolls, -among which are semi-nude boys, and of medallions with a boy holding a -branch, on blue and white and polychrome wares of the late Ming period. -But it is a design of considerable antiquity, and it is found engraved -on the early Corean bowls which, no doubt, borrowed from Sung originals. - -Though all these designs are given under the general heading of blue -and white, we may infer that the polychrome which is occasionally -mentioned was used in combination with the blue. Thus the mention of -“phœnixes in red clouds flying through flowers,” of “nine red dragons -in blue waves,” and of “a pair of dragons in red clouds,” recalls -actual specimens which I have seen of Lung Ch’ing and Wan Li boxes -with designs of blue dragons moving through clouds touched in with -iron red. Again, where the blue designs are supplemented with “curling -waves and plum blossoms in polychrome (_wu ts’ai_),” one thinks of the -well-known pattern of conventional waves on which blossom and symbols -are floating, as on Plate 79. Other types of decoration mentioned are -yellow grounds and white glaze, both with dragon designs engraved under -the glaze (_an hua_), peacocks and _mu-tan_ peonies in gilding, and -moulded ornament. A specific example of the last are the lions which -served as knobs on the covers of the ovoid wine jars (_t’an_). - -The author of the _T’ao shuo_ pays a handsome tribute to the skill -of the late Ming potters. “We find,” he says, “that the porcelain of -the Ming dynasty daily increased in excellence till we come to the -reigns of Lung Ch’ing and Wan Li, when there was nothing that could not -be made.” At the same time he finds fault with a particular kind of -decoration which was encouraged by the degraded and licentious tastes -of the Emperor Lung Ch’ing, and seems to have only too frequently -marred the porcelain of the period.[145] - -The rare examples of marked Lung Ch’ing porcelain in our collections -do not call for special comment, and the unmarked specimens will -hardly be distinguished from the productions of the succeeding Wan -Li period. There are, however, two boxes in the British Museum which -may be regarded as characteristic specimens of the Imperial blue and -white porcelains. Both are strongly made with thick but fine-grained -body material and a glaze of slightly greenish tone; and the designs -are boldly sketched in strong outline and washed in with a dark indigo -blue. One is a square box with four compartments decorated with -five-clawed dragons in cloud scrolls, extended or coiled in medallions -according as space demanded; and the other is oblong and rectangular, -and painted on the sides (the cover is missing) with scenes of family -life (_jên wu_). In both cases the base is unglazed except for a sunk -medallion in which the six characters of the Lung Ch’ing mark are -finely painted in blue. - - - - - CHAPTER V - - WAN LI [chch 2] (1573–1619) AND OTHER REIGNS - - -The long reign of Wan Li, the last important period of the Ming -dynasty, is certainly the best represented in European collections, a -circumstance due to the ceramic activity of the time not less than to -its nearness to our own age. In the first year of the reign orders were -given that one of the sub-prefects of Jao-chou Fu should be permanently -stationed at Ching-tê Chên to supervise the Imperial factory. It -appears that he proved a stern taskmaster, and at the same time that -the potters were severely burdened by excessive demands from the -palace. The picture drawn by the censor in the previous reign of the -afflicted condition of the potters, and the story told elsewhere[146] -how they had made intercession daily in the temple of the god that the -Imperial orders might be merciful, are fitting preface to the tale of -the dragon bowls told as follows by T’ang Ying,[147] the director of -the factory in the first half of the eighteenth century. - -“By the west wall of the Ancestral-tablet Hall of the spirit who -protects the potters is a dragon fish bowl (_lung kang_). It is -three feet in diameter and two feet high, with a fierce frieze of -dragons in blue and a wave pattern below. The sides and the mouth are -perfect, but the bottom is wanting. It was made in the Wan Li period of -the Ming. Previously these fish bowls had presented great difficulty in -the making, and had not succeeded, and the superintendent had increased -his severity. Thereupon the divine T’ung took pity on his fellow -potters, and served them by alone laying down his life. He plunged into -the fire, and the bowls came out perfect. This fish bowl was damaged -after it had been finished and selected (for palace use), and for a -long time it remained abandoned in a corner of the office. But when -I saw it I sent a double-yoked cart and men to lift it, and it was -brought to the side of the Ancestral-tablet Hall of the god, where it -adorns a high platform, and sacrifice is offered. The vessel’s perfect -glaze is the god’s fat and blood; the body material is the god’s body -and flesh; and the blue of the decoration, with the brilliant lustre of -gems, is the essence of the god’s pure spirit.” - -The deification of T’ung was a simple matter to the Chinese, who -habitually worship before the tablets of their ancestors; but he seems -to have become the genius of the place, and in this capacity to have -superseded another canonised potter named Chao,[148] who had been -worshipped at Ching-tê Chên since 1425. - -To add to the difficulties experienced by the potters in satisfactorily -fulfilling the Imperial demands, it had been reported in 1583 that -the supplies of earth from Ma-ts’ang were practically worked out, and -though good material was found at Wu-mên-t’o, which is also in the -district of Fu-liang, the distance for transport was greater, and as -the price was not correspondingly raised the supply from this source -was difficult to maintain. Consequently we are not surprised to learn -that in this same year another memorial was forwarded to the emperor by -one of the supervising censors, Wang Ching-min, asking for alleviation -of the palace orders, and protesting specifically against the demands -for candlesticks, screens, brush handles, and chess apparatus as -unnecessarily extravagant. It was urged at the same time that blue -decoration should be substituted for polychrome, and that pierced work -(_ling lung_) should not be required, the objection to both these -processes being that they were difficult to execute and meretricious in -effect. - -It is stated in the _T’ao lu_[149] that the supply of Mohammedan blue -had ceased completely in the reign of Wan Li, and that on the other -hand the _chi hung_ or underglaze copper red was made, though it was -not equal in quality to the _hsien hung_ or _pao shih hung_[150] of -the earlier periods. Both these assertions are based on the somewhat -uncertain authority of the _T’ang shih ssŭ k’ao_, and though the -truth of the second is shown by existing specimens, the first is only -partially true, for there are marked examples of Mohammedan blue in the -British Museum and probably elsewhere. Either there were supplies of -the Mohammedan material in hand at the beginning of the reign, or they -continued to arrive for part at least of the period. - -The lists of porcelain supplied to the Court of Wan Li may be consulted -with advantage, and the extracts from those of the previous reigns may -be supplemented by the following, which, though not necessarily new -forms and designs, do not appear in the Chia Ching and Lung Ch’ing -records:-- - - -=Forms.= - -Trays for wine cups (_pei p’an_).[151] - -Beaker-shaped[152] vases (_hu p’ing_ [chch 2]). - -Flat-backed wall vases in the form of a double gourd split vertically. - -Chess boards (_ch’i p’an_). - -Hanging oil lamps[2] (_ch’ing t’ai_ [chch 2]). - -Pricket candlesticks (_chu t’ai_). See _Cat. B. F. A._, 1910, E 6: a -pricket candlestick with cloud and dragon designs in blue and the Wan -Li mark. - -Jars for candle snuff (_chien chu kuan_). - -Screens (_p’ing_). - -Brush handles (_pi kuan_). - -Brush rests (_pi chia_). - -Brush pots (_pi ch’ung_). Apparently the cylindrical jars usually -known as _pi t’ung_. - -Fan cases (_shan hsia_). - -Water droppers for the ink pallet (_yen shui ti_). - -Betel-nut boxes (_pin lang lu_). - -Handkerchief boxes (_chin lu_). - -Hat boxes (_kuan lu_). - -Cool seats (_liang tun_), for garden use in summer. - - -=Motives for Painted Decoration.= - - _Floral, etc.:_ - -Lily flowers (_hsüan hua_). - -Hibiscus (_kuei_) flowers on a brocade ground. - -Round medallions of season flowers. - -Flower designs broken by medallions of landscape. - -Marsh plants. - -Sections of water melons (_hsi kua pan_). - -Foreign pomegranates; sometimes tied with fillets. - -The sacred peach. - -Medallions of peach boughs with the seal character _shou_ -(longevity). - -Apricot (_hsing_) foliage. - -Pine pattern brocade. - -Ginseng (_hsien_). - -Hemp-leaved (_ma yeh_) Indian lotus. - -Borders of bamboo foliage and branching prunus. - -Grape-vine borders. - - - _Animals, etc.:_ - -Monsters: variously described as _hai shou_ (sea monsters) and -_i shou_ (strange monsters). - -Nine blue monsters in red waves. - -Strange monsters attending the celestial dragon. - -Sea horses. - -Full-faced dragons (_chêng mien lung_). See Plate 66. - -Medallions of archaic dragons (_ch’ih_) and tigers. - -Ascending and descending dragons. - -Couchant, or squatting (_tun_) dragons. - -Flying dragons. - -The hundred dragons. - -The hundred storks. - -The hundred deer. (As in the “Hundred Shou Characters” and other -similar phrases, the “hundred” is merely an indefinite numerative -signifying a large number.) - -Elephants with vases of jewels (of Buddhistic significance). - -Water birds in lotus plants. - -Six cranes, “symbolising the cardinal points of the universe” (_liu -ho ch’ien k’un_). - -Phœnixes among the season flowers. - -Bees hovering round plum blossom. - - - _Human:_ - -Men and women (_shih nü_). - -Medallions with boys pulling down (branches of) cassia (_p’an kuei_). - -The picture of the Hundred Boys. - -_Fu_, _Lu_, _Shou_ (Happiness, Rank, and Longevity). It is not stated -whether the characters only are intended, or, as is more probable, the -three Taoist deities who distribute these blessings. - - -=Emblematic Motives and Inscriptions.= - -The eight Buddhist emblems, bound with fillets (_kuan t’ao_). - -_Ju-i_ sceptres bound with fillets. - -_Ju-i_ cloud borders (_ju i yün pien_). - -Midsummer holiday symbols (_tuan yang chieh_). Explained by Bushell as -sprigs of acorns and artemisia hung up on the fifth day of the fifth -moon. - -Emblems of Longevity (_shou tai_), e.g. gourd, peach, fungus, pine, -bamboo, crane, deer. - -The “monad symbol” (_hun yüan_), which is apparently another name -for the _yin yang_, and the Eight Trigrams. See p. 290. - -Lozenge symbols of victory (_fang shêng_). - -“The four lights worshipping the star of Longevity” (_ssŭ yang p’êng -shou_). - -Spiral (_hui_ [chch 1]) patterns. - -Sanskrit invocations (_chên yen tz’ŭ_). See Plate 93. - -Ancient writings found at Lo-yang (_lo shu_). Lo-yang (the modern -Honan Fu) was the capital of the Eastern Han (25–220 A.D.). - -Inscriptions in antique seal characters (_chuan_). - -Dragons holding up the characters [chch 4] _yung pao wan shou_ (ever -insuring endless longevity); and [chch 6] _yung pao hung fu ch’i t’ien_ -(ever insuring great happiness equalling Heaven). - -Borders inscribed [chch 4] _fu ju tung hai_ (happiness like the -eastern sea); and [chch 8] _fêng t’iao yü shun t’ien hsia t’ai p’ing_ -(favouring winds and seasonable rain: great peace throughout the -empire). - -“A symbolical head with hair dressed in four puffs”[153] bearing the -characters [chch 4] _yung pao ch’ang ch’un_ (ever insuring long spring). - -Taoist deities holding the characters [chch 8] _wan ku ch’ang ch’un -ssŭ hai lai ch’ao_ (through myriads of ages long spring; tribute -coming from the four seas); or the same sentiment with _yung pao_ (ever -insuring) in place of _wan ku_. - -Dragons in clouds holding the characters [chch 2] _shêng shou_, the -emperor’s birthday. - - -=Miscellaneous.= - -Representations of ancient coins (_ku lao ch’ien_). - -Landscapes (_shan shui_). - -Necklaces (_ying lo_ [chch 2]). - -Jewel mountains in the sea waves (_pao shan hai shui_). This -is, no doubt, the familiar border pattern of conventional waves with -conical rocks standing up at regular intervals. - -Round medallions (_ho tzŭ_, lit. boxes) in brocade grounds. - -Most of these designs are given under the heading of “blue and -white,” though, as in the Lung Ch’ing list, the blue is in many cases -supplemented by colour or by other forms of decoration such as patterns -engraved in the body (_an hua_), and “designs on a blue ground,” the -nature of them not explained, but no doubt similar to those described -on p. 61. The method of reserving the decoration in white in a blue -ground (_ch’ing ti pai hua_) is specifically mentioned under the -heading of “mixed decorations.” The supplementary decoration consists -of on-glaze enamels mixed with the underglaze blue; bowls with coloured -exterior and blue and white inside or vice versa; yellow grounds with -designs engraved under the glaze; gilded fishes among polychrome water -weeds, and other gilded patterns; curling waves in polychrome and plum -blossoms; red dragons in blue waves, the red either under or over the -glaze; relief designs (_ting chuang_[154]) and pierced work (_ling -lung_[155]). - -The “mixed colours” included garden seats with lotus designs, etc., -in polychrome (_wu ts’ai_) and with aubergine brown (_tzŭ_) lotus -decoration in a monochrome yellow ground; tea cups with dragons in -fairy flowers engraved under a yellow glaze; yellow ground with -polychrome (_wu ts’ai_) decoration; banquet dishes, white inside, the -outside decorated with dragons and clouds in red, green, yellow, and -aubergine. - -The custom of minutely subdividing the work in the porcelain factories -so that even the decoration of a single piece was parcelled out among -several painters existed in the Ming dynasty, though perhaps not -carried so far as in the after periods. It is clear that under such -a system the individuality of the artists was completely lost, and -we never hear the name of any potter or painter who worked at the -Imperial factory. In the private factories probably the division of -labour was less rigorous, and it is certain that many of the specimens -were decorated by a single brush. But even so, signatures of potters -or painters are almost unknown; and only one or two private potters -of conspicuous merit at the end of the Ming period are mentioned by -name in the Chinese books. Mr. Ts’ui, for instance, has already been -mentioned in the chapter on the Chia Ching period, and three others -occur in the annals of the Wan Li period. - - [Illustration: Plate 75.--Ming Porcelain. - - Fig. 1.--Tripod Bowl with raised peony scrolls in enamel colours. - Wan Li mark. Height 5¾ inches. _Eumorfopoulos Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Blue and white Bowl, Chia Ching period. Mark, _Wan ku - ch’ang ch’un_ (“A myriad antiquities and enduring spring!”). - Height 3 inches. _Kunstgewerbe Museum, Berlin._ - - Fig. 3.--Ewer with white slip _ch’i-lin_ on a blue ground. - Wan Li period. Height 9 inches. _Eumorfopoulos Collection._ - - Fig. 4.--Gourd-shaped Vase with winged dragons and fairy flowers, - raised outlines and coloured glazes on the biscuit. Sixteenth - century. Height 8¾ inches. _Salting Collection._] - -Of these, the most interesting personality was Hao Shih-chiu,[156] -scholar, painter, poet, and potter, who signed his wares with the -fanciful name _Hu yin tao jên_[157] (Taoist hidden in a tea pot), to -show that he “put his soul” into the making of his pots. He lived, we -are told,[158] in exaggerated simplicity, in hut, with a mat for a -door and a broken jar for a window; but he was so celebrated as a man -of talent and culture that his hut was frequented by the _literati_, -who capped his verses and admired his wares. The latter were of great -refinement and exquisitely beautiful, and his white “egg shell”[159] -wine cups were so delicate as to weigh less than a gramme.[160] No less -famous were his red wine cups, bright as vermilion, the colour floating -in the glaze like red clouds. They were named _liu hsia chan_[161] -(_lit._ floating red cloud cups), which has been poetically rendered -by Bushell as “dawn-red wine cups” and “liquid dawn cups,” and were -evidently one of the reds of the _chi hung_ class produced by copper -oxide in the glaze, like the beautiful wine cups with clouded maroon -red glaze of the early eighteenth century. All these wares were eagerly -sought by connoisseurs throughout the Chinese empire. “There were -also elegantly formed pots (hu), in colour pale green, like Kuan and Ko -wares, but without the ice crackle, and golden brown[162] tea pots with -reddish tinge, imitating the contemporary wares of the Ch’ên family at -Yi-hsing, engraved underneath with the four characters, _Hu yin tao -jên_.” - -The “red cloud” cups are eulogised by the poet Li Jih-hua in a verse -addressed to their maker as fit to be “started from the orchid pavilion -to float down the nine-bend river.”[163] - - [Illustration: Plate 76.--Blue and White Porcelain. Sixteenth - Century. - - Fig. 1.--Vase with monster handles, archaic dragons. Height 10⅞ - inches. _Halsey Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Hexagonal Bottle, white in blue designs. Mark, a hare. - Height 11½ inches. _Alexander Collection._ - - Fig. 3.--Bottle with “garlic mouth,” stork and lotus scrolls, - white in blue. Height 11 inches. _Salting Collection._ - - Fig. 4.--Vase (_mei p’ing_), Imperial dragon and scrolls. - Wan Li mark on the shoulder. Height 15 inches. _Coltart - Collection._] - -The two other potters of this period whose names have survived are -Ou of Yi-hsing fame (vol. i., p. 181) and Chou Tan-ch’üan, whose -wonderful imitations of Sung Ting ware have been described in vol. -i., p. 94. Many clever imitations of this latter porcelain were -made at Ching-tê Chên in the Wan Li period, and a special material, -_ch’ing-t’ien_[164] stone, was employed for the purpose; but the -followers of Ch’ou Tan-ch’üan were not so successful as their master, -and their wares are described as over-elaborate in decoration and quite -inferior to Ch’ou’s productions. There was one type, however, which -is specially mentioned, the oblong rectangular boxes made to hold -seal-vermilion. These are described in a sixteenth-century work[165] as -either pure white or painted in blue, and usually six or seven inches -long. They are accorded a paragraph in the _T’ao shuo_[166] under -the heading of _fang ting_ or “imitation Ting ware,” and they were -probably of that soft-looking, creamy white crackled ware to which -Western collectors have given the misleading name of “soft paste.”[167] - -Another private manufacture specially mentioned in the _T’ao lu_[168] -was located in a street called _Hsiao nan_ [chch 2] where, we are told, -“they made wares of small size only, like a squatting frog, and called -for that reason frog wares (_ha ma[169] yao_). Though coarse, they were -of correct form; the material was yellowish, but the body of the ware -was thin; and though small, the vessels were strong. One kind of bowl -was white in colour with a tinge of blue (_tai ch’ing_), and decorated -in blue with a single orchid spray or bamboo leaves; and even those -which had no painted design had one or two rings of blue at the mouth. -These were called “white rice vessels” (_pai fan ch’i_). There were, -besides, bowls with wide mouths and flattened rims (_p’ieh t’an_)[170] -but shallow, and pure white, imitating the Sung bowls. All these wares -had a great vogue, both at the time and at the beginning of the present -(i.e. the Ch’ing) dynasty.” - -Out of the comparatively large number of Wan Li porcelains in -European collections the majority are blue and white. This is only -to be expected, having regard to the preponderance of this style -of decoration in the Imperial lists, and also to the fact that it -was found easiest of all processes to execute. In fact, the censor -pleading on behalf of the potters in 1583 asks that this style may be -substituted for the more exacting polychrome and pierced work. It has -already been mentioned that the supplies of Mohammedan blue apparently -came to an end early in the reign, but there are enough examples of -this colour associated with the Wan Li mark to show that it was used -for part at least of the period. One of these is a well-potted bowl -of fine white porcelain, entirely covered with Sanskrit characters -(_chên yen tz’ŭ_), in the British Museum; and another piece* is a -dish moulded in the form of an open lotus flower with petals in relief, -and in the centre a single Sanskrit character. Both are painted in a -clear and vivid Mohammedan blue, and have the Wan Li mark under the -base. A dark violet blue, closely akin to the typical Chia Ching colour -but with a touch of indigo, occurs on two dishes,* decorated with a -pair of fishes among aquatic plants and bearing the four characters of -the Wan Li mark surrounding a cartouche, which contains the felicitous -legend, “Virtue, culture, and enduring spring” (see vol. i., p. 225). -An intense but more vivid violet blue, which betrays something of the -Mohammedan blend, is seen on a ewer* of Persian form, decorated with a -_ch’i-lin_ reclining before a strangely Italian-looking fountain. -The ware of this piece, though thick, is of fine grain, and the glaze -has a faint greenish tinge, and its mark, a hare,[171] (see vol. i., p. -227) occurs on several other examples of varying quality, but all of -late Ming character. - -Another group of marked Wan Li ware, comprising bowls and dishes -with trim neat finish and obviously destined for table use, has a -soft-looking glaze, often much worn, but, even in the less used parts, -with a peculiar smoothness of surface which is, no doubt, largely due -to age. There are three examples of this group in the British Museum, -all painted in the same soft, dark indigo-tinged blue. One is a bowl -with baskets of season flowers round the exterior, insects, and a -border of dragon and phœnix pattern; while inside is a blue medallion -with a full-face dragon reserved in white. The other two are dishes -with figure subjects and gourd vine borders, which are interesting -because the painting shows signs of a transition state, part being -in flat Ming washes, and part showing the marbled effect which was -afterwards characteristic of the K’ang Hsi blue and white. - -In striking contrast with this smooth, soft-surfaced ware is a vase* of -square, beaker shape, and details which indicate a form derived from -bronze. Though evidently an Imperial piece, it is of strong, heavy -build, with a hard thick glaze of greenish tinge, so full of minute -bubbles as to spread in places a veritable fog over the blue decoration -beneath. The design, consisting of a dragon and phœnix among sprays of -(?) lily, with rock and wave borders, is repeated in all the spaces, -and below the lip in front is the Wan Li mark extended in a single -line. A similar vase,* but with polychrome decoration, illustrated -on Plate 81, will serve to show the form and design. Both are fine, -decorative objects, in a strong, rugged style, which takes no account -of small fire-flaws and slight imperfections in the glaze. The same -strong, hard body and glaze is seen again on three flat, narrow-rimmed -dishes,* which are conspicuous for unusual borders, two having a large -checker and the third a chevron pattern, in addition to a thin blue -line on either side of the edge. Sand adhering to the foot rim and -faint radiating lines scored in the base are indications of rough -finish, and they are clearly all the work of a private factory perhaps -catering for the export trade. - -A variety of boxes figured in the Imperial lists, destined for holding -incense, vermilion, chess pieces, handkerchiefs, caps, sweetmeats, -cakes, etc. A fair number of these have survived and found their way -into Western collections. Round, square, oblong with rounded ends, -and sometimes furnished with interior compartments, they are usually -decorated with dragon designs in dark blue, occasionally tricked out -with touches of iron red; but miscellaneous subjects also occur in -their decoration, as in a fine example exhibited at the Burlington Fine -Arts Club in 1910,[172] which has figure subjects on the cover and a -landscape with waterfall, probably from a picture of the celebrated -mountain scenery in Szechuan. Sometimes the covers of these boxes are -perforated as though to allow some perfume to escape. Other interesting -late Ming porcelains in the same exhibition were a pricket candlestick -with cloud and dragon ornament and the Wan Li mark; a curious perfume -vase (Plate 68, Fig. 1), which illustrates the design of lions sporting -with balls of brocade, an unmarked piece which might even be as -early as Chia Ching; and a wide-mouthed vase lent by the Ashmolean -Museum, Oxford, with the familiar design of fantastic lions moving -among peonies and formal scrolls on the body and panels of flowers -separated by trellis diaper on the shoulder. The last is a type which -is not uncommon, but this particular example is interesting because it -belonged to one of the oldest collections in England, presented to the -Oxford Museum by John Tradescant, and mostly collected before 1627. - -The export trade with Western Asia was in full swing in the reign of -Wan Li, and the Portuguese traders had already made their way to the -Far East and brought back Chinese porcelain for European use. That it -was, however, still a rare material in England seems to be indicated -by the sumptuous silver-gilt mounts in which stray specimens were -enshrined. Several of these mounted specimens still exist, and seven -of them were seen at the Burlington Fine Arts Exhibition, 1910,[173] -the date of the mounts being about 1580–1590. Taken, as they may -fairly be, as typical specimens, they show on the whole a porcelain -of indifferent quality, with all the defects and virtues of export -ware--the summary finish of skilful potters who worked with good -material but for an uncritical public, and rapid, bold draughtsmanship -in an ordinary quality of blue usually of greyish or indigo tint. The -most finished specimen was a bowl from the Pierpont Morgan Collection, -with a design of phœnixes and lotus scrolls finely drawn in blue of -good quality. Unlike the others, it had a reign mark (that of Wan Li), -and probably it was made at the Imperial factory. A bottle mounted -as a ewer from the same collection had a scale pattern on the neck, -flowering plants and birds on the body, and a saucer dish was painted -in the centre with a typical late Ming landscape, with mountains, pine -trees, pagoda, a pleasure boat, and sundry figures. The blue of this -last piece was of fair quality but rather dull, and it had a double -ring under the base void of mark. Another bowl had on the exterior -panel designs with deer in white reserved in a blue ground, in a style -somewhat similar to that of the bottle illustrated on Plate 76, Fig. -3. There is a bowl in the British Museum, mounted with silver-gilt -foot and winged caryatid handles of about 1580 (Plate 69, Fig. 1). -The porcelain is of fine white material with thick lustrous glaze of -slightly bluish tint and “pinholed” here and there; and the design -painted in blue with a faint tinge of indigo consists of a vase with a -lotus flower and a lotus leaf and three egrets, in a medallion inside -and four times repeated on the exterior. This is clearly an early Wan -Li specimen, if, indeed, it is not actually as old as Chia Ching. - -The most remarkable collection of Chinese export porcelain is -illustrated by Professor Sarre[174] from a photograph which he was -able to make of the _Chini-hane_ or porcelain house attached to the -mosque of Ardebil, in Persia. Ranged on the floor are some five -hundred specimens--jars, vases, ewers, and stacks of plates, bowls -and dishes, many of which had formerly occupied niches in the walls -of the building erected by Shah Abbas the Great[175] (1587–1628). -Unfortunately, the conditions were not favourable to photography, and -the picture, valuable as it is, only permits a clear view of the nearer -objects, the rest being out of focus and represented by mere shadows -of themselves. They are, we are told, mainly blue and white, but with -a sprinkling of coloured pieces, and it is clear from the picture that -they belong to various periods of the Ming dynasty, mostly to the later -part. They include, no doubt, presents from the Chinese Court,[176] -besides the porcelains which came in the ordinary way of trade, and -we recognise a large vase almost identical with the fine Chia Ching -specimen on Plate 72: a small-mouthed, baluster-shaped vase, similar in -form and decoration to a marked Wan Li specimen in the Pierpont Morgan -Collection[177]; a bowl with lotus scrolls in blotchy blue, recalling -the style of Plate 67, Fig. 4; a ewer with the curious fountain design -described on p. 67; besides a number of the ordinary late Ming export -types and some celadon jars and bulb bowls of a slightly earlier -period. Some of the pots, we are told, are almost a metre in height. -Among the tantalising forms in the indistinct background are some large -covered jars with a series of loop-handles on the shoulders, such as -are found in Borneo and the East Indies (see vol. i., p. 189). - -One of the most attractive types of late Ming export porcelain, and at -the same time the most easily recognised, consists of ewers, bowls, -and dishes of thin, crisp porcelain with characteristic designs in -pale, pure blue of silvery tone; see Plate 77, Fig. 1. The ware is of -fine, white, unctuous material with a tendency (not very marked) to -turn brown at the foot rim and in parts where the glaze is wanting. -The glaze partakes of the faintly greenish tinge common to Ming wares, -but it is clear and of high lustre. Here, again, a little sand or grit -occasionally adhering to the foot rim and radiating lines lightly -scored in the base indicate a summary finish which detracts from -the artistic effect no more than the obviously rapid though skilful -brushwork of the decoration. Sharply moulded forms and crinkled -borders, admirably suited to this thin crisp material, give additional -play to the lustrous glaze, and the general feeling of the ware is well -expressed by Mr. F. Perzynski[178] in his excellent study of the late -Ming blue and white porcelains, in which he remarks that “the artists -of this group have used thin, brittle material more like flexible metal -than porcelain.” - -The designs as shown in the illustration are typical of the ware. - - [Illustration: PLATE 77 - - Two examples of Ming Blue and White Porcelain in the British - Museum - - Fig. 1.--Ewer of thin, crisp porcelain with foliate mouth and - rustic spout with leaf attachments. Panels of figure subjects and - landscapes on the body: “rat and vine” pattern on the neck and a - band of hexagon diaper enclosing a cash symbol. Latter half of - the sixteenth century. Height 7 inches. - - Fig. 2.--Octagonal stand perhaps for artist’s colours. On the - sides are scenes from the life of a sage; borders of _ju-i_ - pattern and gadroons. On the top are lions sporting with brocade - balls. Painted in deep Mohammedan blue. Mark of the Chia Ching - period (1522–1566). Diameter 4¾ inches.] - -A freely drawn figure of a man or woman usually in garden surroundings, -standing before a fantastic rock or seated by a table and a -picture-screen often form the leading motive, though this is varied by -landscape, floral compositions, spirited drawings of birds (an eagle -on a rock, geese in a marsh, a singing bird on a bough), or a large -cicada on a stone among plants and grasses. The borders of dishes and -the exteriors of bowls are divided into radiating compartments (often -with the divisions lightly moulded) filled with figures, plant designs, -symbols, and the like, and separated by narrow bands with pendent -jewels and tasselled cords, which form perhaps the most constant -characteristics of the group. Small passages of brocade diapers with -swastika fret, hexagon and matting patterns, are used to fill up the -spaces. The finer examples of this group are of admirable delicacy both -in colour and design; but the type lasted well into the seventeenth -century and became coarse and vulgarised. It appears in a debased -form in the large dishes which were made in quantity for the Persian -and Indian markets, overloaded with crudely drawn brocade diapers and -painted in dull indigo blue, which is often badly fired and verges on -black. The central designs on these dishes, deer in a forest, birds in -marsh, etc., usually betray strong Persian influence. - -I am not aware of any specimens of this group, either of the earlier -or the more debased kinds which bear date-marks, but still a clear -indication of the period is given by various circumstances. A bowl in -the National Museum at Munich is credibly stated to have belonged to -William V., Duke of Bavaria (1579–1597),[179] and a beautiful specimen, -also a bowl, with silver-gilt mount of about 1585, is illustrated -by Mr. Perzynski.[180] The characteristic designs of this ware are -commonplace on the Persian pottery of the early seventeenth century, -and a Persian blue and white ewer in the British Museum, which is dated -1616, clearly reflects the same style. The shallow dishes with moulded -sides are frequently reproduced in the still-life pictures by the Dutch -masters of the seventeenth century, from whose work many precious hints -may be taken by the student of ceramics. To give one instance only, -there are two such pictures[181] in the Dresden Gallery from the brush -of Frans Snyders (1579–1657). - -We shall have occasion later on to discuss more fully another kind of -blue and white porcelain for which the Chinese and American collectors -show a marked partiality, and which has received the unfortunate -title, “soft paste,” from the latter. It has an opaque body, often -of earthy appearance, and a glaze which looks soft and is usually -crackled, and the ware is usually of small dimensions, such as the -Chinese _literatus_ delighted to see in his study, and beautifully -painted with miniature-like touches, every stroke of the brush clear -and distinct. Ming marks--Hsüan Tê, Ch’êng Hua, etc.--are not uncommon -on this ware, and there is no doubt that it was in use from the early -reigns of the dynasty, but the style has been so faithfully preserved -by the potters of the eighteenth century that it is wellnigh impossible -to distinguish the different periods. A dainty specimen with the Wan Li -mark illustrated in Fig. 2 of Plate 93 will serve to show the delicacy -and refinement of this exquisite porcelain. At the same time it should -be mentioned that the imitation Ting wares described on p. 96, vol. i., -when painted in blue, are included in this group. - - [Illustration: Plate 78.--Porcelain with pierced (_ling - lung_) designs and biscuit reliefs. Late Ming. - - Fig. 1.--Bowl with Eight Immortals and pierced swastika fret. - Diameter 3¾ inches. _S. E. Kennedy Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Bowl with blue phœnix medallions, pierced trellis work - and characters. Wan Li mark. Height 2¼ inches. _Hippisley - Collection._ - - Fig 3.--Covered Bowl with blue and white landscapes and biscuit - reliefs of Eight Immortals. Height 6½ inches. _Grandidier - Collection._] - -Two interesting kinds of decoration mentioned in the Wan Li list[182] -are frequently found in combination with blue and white; these are -relief (_ting chuang_ or _tui hua_) and pierced work (_ling lung_). -Though both have been seen in various forms on the earlier wares, -they occur at this period in a fashion which challenges special -attention. I allude particularly to the small bowls with or without -covers, decorated on the sides with unglazed (or “biscuit”) figures -in detached relief, or with delicately perforated fretwork, or with -a combination of both. The catalogue[183] of the Pierpont Morgan -Collection illustrates two covered bowls of the first type with the -Eight Immortals in four pairs symmetrically arranged on the sides, -and a “biscuit” lion on the cover doing duty for a handle. A similar -bowl, formerly in the Nightingale Collection, had the same relief -decoration and painted designs in the typical grey blue of the Wan -Li period; and Fig. 3 of Plate 78 represents an excellent example -from the Grandidier collection. The Chinese were in the habit of -daubing these biscuit reliefs (just as they did the unglazed details -of statuettes) with a red pigment which served as a medium for oil -gilding, but as neither of these coatings was fired they have worn away -or been cleaned off in the majority of cases. In the Rijks Museum, -Amsterdam, is a picture[184] by Van Streeck (1632–1678), which shows -one of these covered bowls with the biscuit reliefs coloured red, and -Mr. Perzynski[185] alludes to another in a still-life by Willem Kalf -(1630–1693) in the Kaiser Frederick Museum, Berlin, with the figures -both coloured[186] and gilt. An excellent example of the second kind -of decoration is illustrated by Fig. 2 of Plate 78, one of a set of -four bowls in the Hippisley Collection, with phœnix medallions and -other decoration in a fine grey blue, the spaces filled with perforated -designs of the utmost delicacy, veritable “devil’s work,” to borrow a -Chinese term for workmanship which shows almost superhuman skill. The -small pierced medallions contain the characters _fu_, _shou_, _k’ang_, -_ning_[187] (happiness, longevity, peace, and tranquillity), and under -the base are the six characters of the Wan Li mark. A line cut in the -glaze (before firing) at the lip and on the base-rim seems to have -been designed to give a firm hold to a metal mount, a use to which it -has been actually put in one case; and in another the glazing of the -mark under the base has been omitted with the result that it has come -from the kiln black instead of blue. The third kind which combines the -reliefs and the pierced ornament is illustrated by Fig. 1 of Plate 78. -The reliefs of these medallions are small and very delicately modelled, -and the subjects are various, including human and animal figures, birds -and floral compositions; the borders are often traced in liquid clay, -which is left in unglazed relief. An example in the British Museum -has an interior lining washed with blue to serve as a backing for the -pierced work, and it is painted inside with dragon designs in Wan Li -grey blue. It bears a mark which occurs on other late Ming porcelains, -_yü tang chia ch’i_ (beautiful vessel for the Jade Hall).[188] -Examples of this same pierced and relief work in white, without the -supplementary blue designs, though rare, are yet to be seen in several -collections. If marked at all they usually bear the apocryphal date of -Ch’êng Hua, but an example in the Marsden Perry collection, Providence, -U.S.A., has the T’ien Ch’i (1621–1627) date under the base, which no -doubt represents the true period of its manufacture. This intricate -_ling lung_ work, which the Wan Li censor deprecated as too difficult -and elaborate, has been perpetuated, though it was probably never more -beautifully executed than in the late Ming period. The later examples -are mostly characterised by larger perforations, which were easier -to manage. There are several references to the pierced and relief -decorations in the lists of porcelain supplied to the Court of Wan -Li, e.g. “brush rests with sea waves and three dragons in relief over -pierced designs, and landscapes,” “landscape medallions among pierced -work,” and “sacred fungus carved in openwork, and figures of ancient -cash.” In the finer examples of pierced work the most frequent design -is the fret or key pattern often interwoven with the four-legged -symbol known as the swastika, which commonly serves in Chinese for -the character _wan_ (ten thousand), carrying a suggested wish for -“long life,” as expressed in the phrase _wan sui_ (Jap. _banzai_), ten -thousand years. The pierced patterns are carved out of the porcelain -body when the ware has been dried to a “leather-tough” consistency, and -the manipulative skill exercised in the cutting and handling of the -still plastic material is almost superhuman. Similar _tours de force_ -distinguish the Japanese Hirado porcelain, and Owen’s work in our own -Worcester ware exhibits extraordinary skill, but I doubt if anything -finer in this style has ever been made than the _ling lung_ bowls of -the late Ming potters. - -Another form of decoration which, if not actually included in the _ling -lung_ category, is at any rate closely allied to it, is the fretwork -cut deeply into the body of the ware without actually perforating it, -the hollows of the pattern being generally left without glaze. This -ornament is used in borders or to fill the spaces between blue and -white medallions after the manner of the pierced fretwork, and it was -evidently contemporaneous with the latter, viz. dating from the late -Ming period onwards (Plate 68, Fig. 3). - -It will be convenient here to consider another type of decoration -which was probably in use in the early periods of the Ming dynasty, -certainly in the reign of Wan Li, and which has continued to modern -times. This is the decoration in white clay varying in thickness from -substantial reliefs to translucent brush work in thin slip or liquid -clay, which allows the colour of the background to appear through -it. The designs are painted or modelled in white against dark or -light-coloured grounds of various shades--lustrous coffee brown (_tzŭ -chin_), deep blue, slaty blue, lavender, celadon, plain white, and -crackled creamy white--and they are usually slight and artistically -executed. The process, which is the same in principle as in the modern -_pâte sur pâte_, consisted of first covering the ground with -colouring matter, then tracing the design in white slip (i.e. liquid -clay) or building it up with strips of clay modelled with a wet brush, -and finally covering it with a colourless glaze. In this case the -white design has a covering of glaze. When a celadon green ground is -used the design is applied direct to the biscuit and the celadon glaze -covers the whole, but being quite transparent it does not obscure the -white slip beneath. Sometimes, however, as in Fig. 3 of Plate 75, the -design is unglazed and stands out in a dry white “biscuit.” Elaborate -and beautiful examples of slip decoration were made in the K’ang Hsi -and later periods, and Pére d’Entrecolles, writing in 1722, describes -their manufacture, stating that steatite and gypsum were used to form -the white slip.[189] The Ming specimens are usually of heavier make -and less graceful form, and distinguished by simplicity and strength -of design, the backgrounds being usually lustrous brown or different -shades of blue. They consist commonly of bottles, jars, flower pots, -bulb bowls, dishes, and narghili bowls, and many of them were clearly -made for export to Persia and India, where they are still to be found. -On rare examples the slip decoration is combined with passages of blue -and white. - -There is little to guide us to the dating of these wares, and marks -are exceptional.[190] There is, however, a flower pot in the British -Museum with white design of _ch’i-lin_ on a brown ground which has -the late Ming mark _yü t’ang chia ch’i_[191]; and a specimen with an -Elizabethan metal mount was exhibited at the Burlington Fine Arts -Club in 1910.[192] These are, no doubt, of Ching-tê Chên make; but -there is a curious specimen in the British Museum which seems to be -of provincial manufacture. It is a dish with slaty blue ground and -plant designs with curious feathery foliage traced with considerable -delicacy. The border of running floral scroll has the flowers outlined -in dots, and the whole execution of the piece is as distinctive as -the strange coarse base which shows a brown-red biscuit and heavy -accretions of sand and grit at the foot rim. The same base and the same -peculiarities of design appeared on a similar dish with celadon glaze -exhibited by Mrs. Halsey at the Burlington Fine Arts Club in 1910,[193] -and in the British Museum there are other dishes clearly of the same -make, but with (1) crackled grey white glaze and coarsely painted blue -decoration, and (2) with greenish white glaze and enamelled designs -in iron red and the Ming blue green. It is clear that we have to deal -here with the productions of one factory, and though we have no direct -clue to its identity, it certainly catered for the export trade to -India and the islands; for the enamelled dishes of this type have been -found in Sumatra. Mrs. Halsey’s dish came from India, and fragments -of the blue and enamelled types were found in the ruins of the palace -at Bijapur,[194] which was destroyed by Aurungzebe in 1686. Probably -the factory was situated in Fukien or Kuangtung, where it would be -in direct touch with the southern export trade, and the style of -the existing specimens points to the late Ming as the period of its -activity. - -The process of marbling or “graining” has been tried by potters all the -world over, and the Chinese were no exceptions. The effect is produced -either by slips of two or more coloured clays worked about on the -surface, or by blending layers of clays in two or more colours (usually -brown and white) in the actual body. Early examples of this marbling -occur among the T’ang wares, and Mr. Eumorfopoulos has examples of the -Ming and later periods. One of these, a figure with finely crackled -buff glaze and passages of brown and white marbling in front and on the -back, has an incised inscription, stating that it was modelled by Ch’ên -Wên-ching in the year 1597.[195] - -The use of underglaze red in the Wan Li period has already been -mentioned (p. 59), and though Chinese writers classed it as _chi hung_ -they would not admit it to an equality with the brilliant reds of the -fifteenth century.[196] Where red is named in the lists of Imperial -porcelains we are left in doubt as to its nature, whether under or over -the glaze; but there are two little shallow bowls in the British Museum -with a curious sponged blue associated with indifferent underglaze red -painting, which bear the late Ming mark _yü t’ang chia ch’i_.[197] A -bowl of lotus flower pattern, similar in form to that described on p. -66, but deeper, and painted with similar designs in pale underglaze -red, though bearing the Ch’êng Hua mark, seems to belong to the late -Ming period. - -The Wan Li polychromes will naturally include continuations of the -early Ming types, such as the large jars with decoration in raised -outline, pierced or carved and filled in with glazes of the _demi-grand -feu_--turquoise, violet purple, green and yellow--wares with flat -washes of the same turquoise and purple, incised designs filled in -with transparent glazes of the three colours (_san ts’ai_), green, -yellow and aubergine, and, what is probably more truly characteristic -of this period, combinations of the first and last styles. A good -example of the transparent colours over incised designs is Fig. 1 of -Plate 79, a vase of the form known as _mei p’ing_ with green Imperial -dragons in a yellow ground and the Wan Li mark. All three of the _san -ts’ai_ colours were also used separately as monochromes with or without -engraved designs under the glaze, a striking example in the Pierpont -Morgan Collection being a vase with dragon handles and engraved designs -under a brilliant iridescent green glaze, “which appears like gold in -the sunlight.”[198] But though these types persisted, they would no -doubt be gradually superseded by simpler and more effective methods -of pictorial decoration in painted outline on the biscuit, filled in -with washes of transparent enamels in the same three colours. These -softer enamels, which contained a high proportion of lead and could be -fired at the relatively low temperature of the muffle kiln, must have -been used to a considerable extent in the late Ming period, though -their full development belongs to the reign of K’ang Hsi, and there -will always be a difficulty in separating the examples of these two -periods, whether the colours be laid on in broad undefined washes, as -on certain figures and on the “tiger skin” bowls and dishes, or brushed -over a design carefully outlined in brown or black pigment. There is -one species of the latter family with a ground of formal wave pattern -usually washed with green and studded with floating plum blossoms, -in which are galloping sea horses or symbols, or both, reserved and -washed with the remaining two colours, or with a faintly greenish flux, -almost colourless, which does duty for white. This species is almost -always described as Ming; and with some reason, for the sea wave and -plum blossom pattern is mentioned in the Wan Li lists as in polychrome -combined with blue decoration. But the danger of assuming a specimen to -be Ming because it exhibits a design which occurred on Ming porcelain -is shown by an ink pallet in the British Museum, which is dated in the -thirty-first year of K’ang Hsi, i.e. 1692. This important piece (Plate -94, Fig. 2) is decorated in enamels on the biscuit over black outlines -with the wave and plum blossom pattern, the same yellow trellis diaper -which appears on the base of the vase in Plate 97, and other diaper -patterns which occur on so many of the so-called Ming figures. This -piece is, in fact, a standing rebuke to those careless classifiers who -ascribe all on-biscuit enamel indiscriminately to the Ming period, and -I am strongly of opinion that most of the dishes,[199] bowls, ewers, -cups and saucers, and vases with the wave and plum blossom pattern and -horses, etc., in which a strong green enamel gives the dominating tint, -belong rather to the K’ang Hsi period. The same kind of decoration is -sometimes found applied to glazed porcelain, as on Fig. 3 of Plate 79, -a covered potiche-shaped vase in the British Museum with the design -of “jewel mountains and sea waves,” with floating blossoms, and _pa -pao_[200] symbols in green, yellow and white in an aubergine ground, -supplemented by a few plain rings in underglaze blue. The style of this -vase and the quality of the paste suggest that it really does belong to -the late Ming period. - - [Illustration: Plate 79.--Wan Li Polychrome Porcelain. - - Fig. 1.--Vase (_mei p’ing_) with engraved design, green in a - yellow ground, Imperial dragons in clouds, rock and wave border. - Wan Li mark. Height 15 inches. _British Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Bottle with pierced casing, phœnix design, etc., painted - in underglaze blue and enamels; cloisonné enamel neck. Height 23 - inches. _Eumorfopoulos Collection._ - - Fig. 3.--Covered Jar, plum blossoms and symbols in a wave pattern - ground, coloured enamels in an aubergine background. Height 15½ - inches. _British Museum._] - -The use of enamels over the glaze was greatly extended in the Wan Li -period, though practically all the types in vogue at this time can -be paralleled in the Chia Ching porcelain, and, indeed, have been -discussed under that heading. There is the red family in which the -dominant colour is an iron red, either of curiously sticky appearance -and dark coral tint or with the surface dissolved in a lustrous -iridescence. Yellow, usually a dark impure colour, though sometimes -washed on extremely thin and consequently light and transparent, -and transparent greens, which vary from leaf tint to emerald and -bluish greens, occur in insignificant quantity. This red family is -well illustrated by a splendid covered jar in the Salting Collection -(Plate 80), and by three marked specimens in the British Museum, an -ink screen, a bowl, and a circular stand. It also occurs on another -significant piece in the latter collection, a dish admirably copying -the Ming style but marked _Shên tê t’ang po ku chih_[201] (antique -made for the Shên-tê Hall), a palace mark of the Tao Kuang period -(1821–1850). It should be added that this colour scheme[202] is -frequently seen on the coarsely made and roughly decorated jars and -dishes with designs of lions in peony scrolls, etc., no doubt made in -large quantities for export to India and Persia. They are not uncommon -to-day, and in spite of their obvious lack of finish they possess -certain decorative qualities, due chiefly to the mellow red, which are -not to be despised. - -But the characteristic polychrome of the period, the _Wan Li wu -ts’ai_, combines enamelled decoration with underglaze blue, and -this again can be divided into two distinctive groups. One of these is -exemplified by Plate 81, an Imperial vase shaped after a bronze model -and of the same massive build as its fellow in blue and white, which -was described on p. 67. Here the underglaze blue is supplemented by the -green, the impure yellow and the sticky coral red of the period, and -the subject as on the blue and white example consists of dragons and -phœnixes among floral scrolls with borders of rock and wave pattern. -The object of the decorator seems to have been to distract the eye -from the underlying ware, as if he were conscious of its relative -inferiority, and the effect of this close design, evenly divided -between the blue and the enamels, is rather checkered when viewed from -a distance. But both form and decoration are characteristic of the -Wan Li Imperial vases, as is shown by kindred specimens, notably by a -tall vase in the Pierpont Morgan Collection, of which the design is -similar and the form even more metal-like, having on the lower part -the projecting dentate ribs seen on square bronze and cloisonné beakers -of the Ming dynasty. Two other marked examples of this colour scheme, -from which the absence of aubergine is noteworthy, are (1) a ewer -in the British Museum with full-face dragons on the neck supporting -the characters _wan shou_ (endless longevity) and with floral -sprays on a lobed body, and (2) a straight-sided box with moulded -six-foil elevation, painted on each face with a screen before which -is a fantastic animal on a stand, and a monkey, dog and cat in garden -surroundings. - -The second--and perhaps the more familiar--group of _Wan Li wu ts’ai_ -is illustrated by Fig. 1 of Plate 82, on which all the colours, -including aubergine, are represented in company with the underglaze -blue. There is no longer the same patchy effect, because the blue -is more evenly balanced by broader washes of the enamel colours, -particularly the greens. The design of this particular example is a -figure subject taken from Chinese history (_shih wu_), supplemented -by a brocade band of floral scroll work on the shoulder and formal -patterns on the neck and above the base. The former and the latter -positions are commonly occupied in these vases by a band of stiff -leaves and a border of false gadroons, both alternately blue and -coloured. The stiff leaves in this instance are replaced by floral -sprays, and the coloured designs are outlined in a red brown pigment. -The mark under the base is the “hare,” which has already been noticed -on examples of late Ming blue and white.[203] Another late Ming mark, -_yü t’ang chia ch’i_,[204] occurs on a dish in the British Museum, with -design of the Eight Immortals paying court to the god of Longevity (_pa -hsien p’êng shou_), painted in the same style but with a predominance -of underglaze blue. - - [Illustration: PLATE 80 - - Covered Jar or potiche. Painted in iron red and green enamels, - with a family scene in a garden, and brocade borders of - _ju-i_ pattern, peony scrolls, etc. Sixteenth century. - - Height 17½ inches. - - _Salting Collection_ (_Victoria and Albert Museum_).] - -But it is not necessary to multiply instances, for the type is well -known, and must have survived for a long period. Indeed, many competent -authorities assign the bulk of this kind of porcelain to the Yung -Chêng period (1723–1735); and it is undoubtedly true that imitations -of Wan Li polychrome were made at this time, for they are specifically -mentioned in the Yung Chêng list of Imperial wares.[205] But I am -inclined to think that the number of these late attributions has been -exaggerated, and that they do not take sufficiently into account the -interval of forty-two years between the reigns of Wan Li and K’ang -Hsi. It was a distracted time when the potters must have depended -largely upon their foreign trade in default of Imperial orders, and it -is probable that much of this ware, characterised by strong, rather -coarse make, greyish glaze and boldly executed decoration in the Wan Li -colour scheme, belongs to this intermediate period. The vases usually -have the flat unglazed base which characterises the blue and white of -this time.[206] Two handsome beakers, with figure subjects and borders -of the peach, pomegranate and citron, and a beautiful jar with phœnix -beside a rock and flowering shrubs, in the British Museum, seem to -belong to this period, but there are numerous other examples, many of -which are coarse and crude, and obviously made wholesale for the export -trade. - -Among the various examples of Wan Li polychrome exhibited at the -Burlington Fine Arts Club in 1910, there was one which calls for -special mention, a box[207] with panels of floral designs surrounded by -fruit and diaper patterns in the usual colours of the _wu ts’ai_, with -the addition of an overglaze blue enamel. It is true that this blue -enamel was clearly of an experimental nature and far from successful, -but its presence on this marked and indubitable Wan Li specimen is -noteworthy. For it has long been an article of faith with collectors -that this blue enamel does not antedate the Ch’ing dynasty, being, -in fact, a characteristic feature of the K’ang Hsi _famille verte_ -porcelain. The rule still remains an excellent one, and this solitary -exception only serves to emphasise its general truth, showing as -it does that so far the attempts at a blue enamel were a failure. -But at the same time the discovery is a warning against a too rigid -application of those useful rules of thumb, based on the generalisation -from what must, after all, be a limited number of instances. - -Marked examples of Wan Li monochromes are rarely seen, but we may -assume that the glazes in use in the previous reigns continued to be -made--blue, lavender, turquoise, violet and aubergine brown, yellow in -various shades, leaf green, emerald green, apple green, celadon, coffee -brown, and golden brown--besides the more or less accidental effects -in the mottled and _flambé_ glazes. The plain white bowls of the -period had a high reputation,[208] and a good specimen in the British -Museum, though far from equalling the Yung Lo bowl (Plate 59), is -nevertheless a thing of beauty. The white wares of the Ting type made -at this time have been already discussed.[209] The monochrome surfaces -were not infrequently relieved by carved or etched designs under the -glaze, but it must be confessed that monochromes are exceedingly -difficult to date. Particular colours and particular processes -continued in use for long periods, and the distinctions between the -productions of one reign and the next, or even between those of the -late Ming and the early Ch’ing dynasties, are often almost unseizable. -At best these differences consist in minute peculiarities of form and -potting, in the texture of the body and glaze, and the finish of the -base, which are only learnt by close study of actual specimens and -by training the eye to the general character of the wares until the -perception of the Ming style becomes instinctive. But something further -will be said on this subject in the chapter on Ming technique. - - [Illustration: PLATE 81 - - Beaker-shaped Vase of bronze form, with dragon and phœnix designs - painted in underglaze blue, and red, green and yellow enamels: - background of fairy flowers (_pao hsiang hua_) and borders - of “rock and wave” pattern. Mark of the Wan Li period (1573–1619) - in six characters on the neck. An Imperial piece. Carved wood - stand with cloud pattern. - - Height 18½ inches. - - _British Museum._] - - - THE LAST OF THE MINGS - - _T’ai Ch’ang_ [chch 2] (1620) - - _T’ien Ch’i_ [chch 2] (1621–1627) - - _Ch’ung Chêng_ [chch 2] (1628–1643) - -Chinese ceramic history, based on the official records, is silent -on the subject of the three last Ming reigns, and we are left to -infer that during the death struggles of the old dynasty and the -establishment of the Manchu Tartars on the throne work at the Imperial -factory was virtually suspended. The few existing specimens which bear -the marks of T’ien Ch’i and Ch’ung Chêng (the T’ai Ch’ang mark is -apparently unrepresented) are of little merit. A barrel-shaped incense -vase with floral scrolls and a large bowl with four-clawed dragons -of the former date in the British Museum are painted the one in dull -greyish blue, and the other in a bright but rather garish tint of -the same colour; both have a coarse body material with blisters and -pitting in the glaze, and the painting of the designs is devoid of any -distinction. Similarly, a polychrome saucer dish with the same mark -and in the same collection, decorated with an engraved dragon design -filled in with purple glaze in a green ground, carries on the early -tradition of that type of Ming polychrome, but the ware is coarse, -the design crudely drawn, and the colours impure.[210] From the -same unflattering characteristics another dish in the British Museum, -with large patches of the three on-biscuit colours--green, yellow and -aubergine--may be recognised as of the T’ien Ch’i make. This is a -specimen of the so-called tiger skin ware, of which K’ang Hsi and later -examples are known--a ware which, even in the best-finished specimens -with underglaze engraved designs, is more curious than beautiful. On -the other hand, one of the delicate bowls with biscuit figures in high -relief, already described (p. 75), proves that the potters of the T’ien -Ch’i period were still capable of skilful work when occasion demanded. -A pair of wine cups in the British Museum, with freely drawn designs of -geese and rice plants in pale greyish blue under a greyish glaze, are -the solitary representatives of the Ch’ung Chêng mark. - -In the absence of Imperial patronage, and with the inevitable trade -depression which followed in the wake of the fierce dynastic struggle, -it was fortunate for the Ching-tê Chên potters that a large trade with -European countries was developing. The Portuguese and Spanish had -already established trading connections with the Chinese, and the other -Continental nations--notably the Dutch--were now serious competitors. -The Dutch East India Company was an extensive importer of blue and -white porcelain, and we have already discussed one type of blue and -white which figures frequently in the Dutch pictures of the seventeenth -century. - -There is another group of blue and white which can be definitely -assigned to this period of dynastic transition, between 1620–1662. A -comparative study of the various blue and white types had already led -to the placing of this ware in the middle of the seventeenth century, -and Mr. Perzynski, in those excellent articles[211] to which we have -already alluded, has set out the characteristics of this ware at some -length, with a series of illustrations which culminate in a dated -example. There will be no difficulty in finding a few specimens of -this type in any large collection of blue and white. It is recognised -by a bright blue of slightly violet tint under a glaze often hazy with -minute bubbles, which suggested to Mr. Perzynski the picturesque simile -of “violets in milk.” Other more tangible characteristics appear in -the designs, which commonly consist of a figure subject--a warrior or -sage and attendant--in a mountain scene bordered by a wall of rocks -with pine trees and swirling mist, drawn in a very mannered style and -probably from some stock pattern. Other common features are patches of -herbage rendered by pot-hook-like strokes, formal floral designs of a -peculiar kind, such as the tulip-like flower on the neck of Fig. 4 of -Plate 82; the band of floral scroll work on the shoulder of the same -piece is also characteristic. In many of the forms, such as cylindrical -vases and beakers, the base is flat and unglazed, and reveals a good -white body, and European influence is apparent in some of the shapes, -such as the jugs and tankards. - -As for the dating of this group, an early example of the style of -painting in the Salting Collection[212] has a silver mount of the -early seventeenth century, and a tankard of typical German form in the -Hamburg Museum has a silver cover dated 1642.[213] There is, besides, a -curious piece in the British Museum, the decoration of which has strong -affinities to this group. It is a bottle with flattened circular body -and tall, tapering neck, with landscape and figures on one side and -on the other a European design copied from the reverse of a Spanish -dollar, and surrounded by a strap-work border. The dollar, from a -numismatic point of view, might have been made equally well for Philip -II. (1556–1598), Philip IV. (1621–1665), or Charles II. (1665–1700), -but there can be little doubt from the style of the ware that it -belonged to one of the two earlier reigns. - -A comparison of the ware and the blue of this group leads to the -placing of the fairly familiar type illustrated by Figs. 3 and 5 -of Plate 82 in the same intermediate period, and similarly certain -specimens of polychrome, with underglaze blue and the usual enamels, -display the characteristic body and blue painting, and even some of the -decorative mannerisms. These specimens, particularly when of beaker -form, are often finished off with a band of ornament engraved under the -glaze. - - [Illustration: Plate 82.--Late Ming Porcelain. - - Fig. 1--Jar of Wan Li period, enamelled. Mark, a hare. Height 9 - inches. _British Museum._ Fig. 2. Bowl with Eight Immortals - in relief, coloured glazes on the biscuit. Height 3¼ inches. - _Eumorfopoulos Collection._ - - Figs. 3, 4 and 5.--Blue and white porcelain, early seventeenth - century. Height of Fig. 5, 17 inches. _British Museum._] - - [Illustration: Plate 83.--Vase - - With blue and white decoration of rockery, phœnixes, and - flowering shrubs. Found in India. Late Ming period. Height 22 - inches. _Halsey Collection._] - - - - - CHAPTER VI - - THE TECHNIQUE OF THE MING PORCELAIN - - -Although the processes involved in the various kinds of decoration and -in the different wares have been discussed in their several places, a -short summary of those employed in the manufacture of the Ching-tê Chên -porcelain during the Ming period will be found convenient. The bulk of -the materials required were found in the surrounding districts, if not -actually in the Fou-liang Hsien. The best kaolin (or porcelain earth) -was mined in the Ma-ts’ang mountains until the end of the sixteenth -century, when the supply was exhausted and recourse was had to another -deposit at Wu-mên-t’o. The quality of the Wu-mên-t’o kaolin was -first-rate, but as the cost of transport was greater and the manager -of the Imperial factory refused to pay a proportionately higher price, -very little was obtained. The material for the large dragon bowls, and -presumably for the other vessels of abnormal size, was obtained from -Yü-kan and Wu-yüan and mixed with powdered stone (_shih mo_) from -the Hu-t’ien district. Other kaolins, brought from Po-yang Hsien and -the surrounding parts, were used by the private potters, not being -sufficiently fine for the Imperial wares. - -The porcelain stone, which combined with the kaolin to form the two -principal ingredients of true porcelain, came from the neighbourhoods -of Yü-kan and Wu-yüan, where it was pounded and purified in mills -worked by the water power of the mountains, arriving at Ching-tê Chên -in the form of briquettes. Hence the name _petuntse_,[214] which, -like kaolin, has passed into our own language, and the term _shih -mo_ (powdered stone) used above. - -The glaze earth (_yu t’u_) in various qualities was supplied from -different places. Thus the Ch’ang-ling material was used for the blue -or green (_ch’ing_) and the yellow glazes, the Yi-k’êng for the pure -white porcelain, and the T’ao-shu-mu for white porcelain and for “blue -and white.” This glazing material was softened with varying quantities -of ashes of lime burnt with ferns or other frondage. Neither time nor -toil was spared in the preparation of the Imperial porcelains, and -according to the _T’ung-ya_[215] the vessels were, at one time at any -rate, dried for a whole year after they had been shaped and before -finishing them off on the lathe. When finished off on the lathe they -were glazed and dried, and if there were any inequalities in the -covering they were glazed again. Furthermore, if any fault appeared -after firing they were put on the lathe, ground smooth, and reglazed -and refired. - -It was not the usual custom with Chinese potters to harden the ware -with a slight preliminary firing before proceeding to decorate and -apply the glaze, and consequently such processes as underglaze painting -in blue, embossing, etc., were undergone while the body was still -relatively soft and required exceedingly careful handling. The glaze -was applied in several ways--by dipping in a tub of glazing liquid -(i.e. glaze material finely levigated and mixed with water), by -painting the glaze on with a brush, or by blowing it on from a bamboo -tube, the end of which was covered with a piece of tightly stretched -gauze. One of the last operations was the finishing off of the foot, -which was hollowed out and trimmed and the mark added (if it was to be -in blue, as was usually the case) and covered with a spray of glaze. -To the connoisseur the finish of the foot is full of meaning. It is -here he gets a glimpse of the body which emerges at the raw edge of -the rim, and by feeling it he can tell whether the material is finely -levigated or coarse-grained. The foot rim of the Ming porcelains is -plainly finished without the beading or grooves of the K’ang Hsi wares, -which were evidently designed to fit a stand[216]; and the raw edge -discloses a ware which is almost always of fine white texture and close -grain (often almost unctuous to the touch), though the actual surface -generally assumes a brownish tinge in the heat of the kiln. The base -is often unglazed in the case of large jars and vases, rarely in the -cups, bowls, dishes, or wine pots, except among the coarser types of -export porcelain. A little sand or grit adhering to the foot rim and -radiating lines under the base caused by a jerky movement of the lathe -are signs of hasty finish, which occur not infrequently on the export -wares. The importance of the foot in the eyes of the Chinese collector -may be judged from the following extract from the _Shih ch’ing jih -cha_[217]:-- - - “Distinguish porcelain by the vessel’s foot. The Yung Lo - 'press-hand’ bowls have a glazed bottom but a sandy foot; - Hsüan ware altar cups have 'cauldron’[218] bottom (i.e. convex - beneath) and wire-like foot; Chia Ching ware flat cups decorated - with fish have a 'loaf’ centre[219] (i.e. convex inside) and - rounded foot. All porcelain vessels issue from the kiln with - bottoms and feet which can testify to the fashion of the firing.” - -It is not always easy unaided by illustration to interpret the Chinese -metaphors, but it is a matter of observation that many of the Sung -bowls, for instance, have a conical finish under the base, and that the -same pointed finish appears on some of the early Ming types, such as -the red bowls with Yung Lo mark. The “loaf centre” of the Chia Ching -bowls seems to refer to the convexity described on p. 35. The blue and -white conical bowls with Yung Lo mark (see p. 6) have, as a rule, a -small glazed base and a relatively wide unglazed foot rim. - -But this digression on the nether peculiarities of the different wares -has led us away from the subject of glaze. The proverbial thickness and -solidity of the early Ming glazes, which are likened to “massed lard,” -are due to the piling up of successive coatings of glaze to ensure a -perfect covering for the body, and the same process was responsible -for the undulating appearance of the surface, which rose up in small -rounded elevations “like grains of millet” and displayed corresponding -depressions.[220] This uneven effect, due to an excess of glaze, was -much prized by the Chinese connoisseurs, who gave it descriptive -names like “millet markings,” “chicken skin,” or “orange peel,” and -the potters of later periods imitated it freely and often to excess. -Porcelain glazes are rarely dead white, and, speaking generally, it -may be said that the qualifying tint in the Ming period was greenish. -Indeed, this is the prevailing tone of Chinese glazes, but it is -perhaps accentuated by the thickness of the Ming glaze. This greenish -tinge is most noticeable when the ware is ornamented with delicate -traceries in pure white clay or slip under the glaze. - - [Illustration: PLATE 84 - - Vase of baluster form with small mouth (_mei p’ing_). - Porcelain with coloured glazes on the biscuit, the designs - outlined in slender fillets of clay. A meeting of sages in a - landscape beneath an ancient pine tree, the design above their - heads representing the mountain mist. On the shoulders are large - _ju-i_ shaped lappets enclosing lotus sprays, with pendent - jewels between: fungus (_ling chih_) designs on the neck. - Yellow glaze under the base. A late example of this style of - ware, probably seventeenth century. - - Height 11 inches. - - _Salting Collection_ (_Victoria and Albert Museum_).] - -As for the shape of the various Ming wares, much has already been -said in reference to the various lists of Imperial porcelains, more -particularly with regard to the household wares such as dishes, -bowls, wine pots, boxes, etc. No precise description, however, is -given in these lists of the actual forms of the vases, and we have -to look elsewhere for these. There are, however, extracts from books -on vases[221] and on the implements of the scholar’s table in the -_T’ao shuo_ and the _T’ao lu_, in which a large number of shapes are -enumerated. Observation of actual specimens shows that bronze and metal -work supplied the models for the more elaborate forms which would -be made, partly or wholly, in moulds. These metallic forms, so much -affected by the Chinese _literatus_, though displaying great cleverness -in workmanship and elaboration of detail, are not so pleasing to the -unprejudiced Western eye as the simple wheel-made forms of which the -Chinese potter was a perfect master. Of the latter, the most common in -Ming porcelains are the potiche-shaped covered jar (Plate 80) and the -high-shouldered baluster vase with small neck and narrow mouth (Plate -84), which was known as _mei p’ing_ or prunus jar from its suitability -for holding a flowering branch of that decorative flower. Next to -these, the most familiar Ming forms are the massive and often clumsy -vases of double gourd shape, or with a square body and gourd-shaped -neck, bottles with tapering neck and globular body, ovoid jars, -melon-shaped pots with lobed sides, jars with rounded body and short -narrow neck, all of which occur in the export wares. These are, as a -rule, strongly built and of good white material, and if the shoulders -are contracted (as is nearly always the case) they are made in -two sections, or more in the case of the double forms, with no pains -taken to conceal the seam. Indeed, elaborate finish had no part in the -construction of these strong, rugged forms, which are matched by the -bold design and free drawing of the decoration. I may add that sets of -vases hardly come within the Ming period. They are an un-Chinese idea, -and evolved in response to European demands. The mantelpiece sets of -five (three covered jars and two beakers) are a development of the -mid-seventeenth century when the Dutch traders commanded the market. -The Chinese altar-set of five ritual utensils is the nearest approach -to a uniform set, consisting as it did of an incense burner, two flower -vases, and two pricket candlesticks, often with the same decoration -throughout. - -The Ming bowls vary considerably in form, from the wide-mouthed, -small-footed bowl (_p’ieh_) of the early period to the rounded forms, -such as Fig. 1 of Plate 74. In some cases the sides are moulded in -compartments, and the rims sharply everted. Others again are very -shallow, with hollow base and no foot rim; others follow the shape -of the Buddhist alms bowl with rounded sides and contracted mouth; -and there are large bowls for gold-fish (_yü kang_), usually with -straight sides slightly expanding towards the upper part and broad -flat rims, cisterns, hot-water bowls with double bottom and plug hole -beneath, square bowls (Plate 66, Fig. 1) for scraps and slops, and -large vessels, probably of punch-bowl form, known as “wine seas.” The -commonest type of Chinese dish is saucer-shaped, but they had also -flat plates bounded by straight sides and a narrow rim, which has no -relation to the broad, canted rim of the European plate constructed to -carry salt and condiments. - -The Chinese use porcelain plaques for inlaying in furniture and -screens, or mounting as pictures, and there are, besides, many objects -of purely native design, such as barrel-shaped garden seats for summer -use, cool pillows, and hat stands with spherical top and tall, slender -stems. But it was only natural that when they began to cater for the -foreign market many foreign forms should have crept in, such as the -Persian ewer with pear-shaped body, long elegant handle and spout, the -latter usually joined to the neck by an ornamental stay: the hookah -bowl: weights with wide base and ball-shaped tops for keeping down -Indian mats, etc., when: spread on the ground; and at the end of the -Ming period a few European shapes, such as jugs and tankards. In the -Ch’ing dynasty European forms were made wholesale. - - * * * * * - -In considering the colours used in the decoration, we naturally take -first the limited number which were developed in the full heat of -the porcelain furnace, the _couleurs de grand feu_ of the French -classification. These were either incorporated in the glazing material -or painted on the porcelain body and protected by the glaze. Chief -among them was blue, which we have already discussed in its various -qualities. The Mohammedan blue--the _su-ni-p’o_ of the Hsüan Tê period -and the _hui hui ch’ing_ of the reigns of Chêng Tê and Chia Ching--was -an imported material of pre-eminent quality but of uncertain supply. -It was supplemented--and, indeed, usually blended--with the native -mineral[222] which was found in several places. Thus the _po-t’ang_ -blue (so called from a place name) was found in the district of -Lo-p’ing Hsien in the Jao-chou Fu; but the mines were closed after a -riot in the Chia Ching period, and its place was taken by a blue known -as _shih-tzŭ ch’ing_ (stone, or mineral, blue) from the prefecture of -Jui-chou in Kiangsi. According to Bushell[223] the _po-t’ang_ blue was -very dark in colour, and it was sometimes known as _Fo t’ou ch’ing_ -(Buddha’s head blue) from the traditional colour of the hair of Buddha. -Another material used for painting porcelain was the _hei chê shih_ -(black red mineral) from Hsin-chien in Lu-ling, which was also called -_wu ming tzŭ_. It was evidently a cobaltiferous ore of manganese and a -blue-producing mineral, doubtless the same as the _wu ming i_ (nameless -wonder), which we have already found in use as a name for cobalt. - -Much confusion exists, in Chinese works, on the subject of these blues, -and it is stated in one place that the “Buddha head blue” was a variety -of the _wu ming i_, which would make the _po t’ang_ blue and the _wu -ming i_ and the _wu ming tzŭ_ one and the same thing. In effect they -were the same species of mineral, and the local distinctions are of no -account at the present day except in so far as they explain the variety -of tints in the Ming blue and white. It is, however, interesting to -learn from a note on Mohammedan blue in the K’ang Hsi Encyclopædia -that the native mineral, when carefully prepared, was very like the -Mohammedan blue in tint. - -All these blues were used either for painting under the glaze or for -mixing with the glaze to form ground colours or monochromes, which -varied widely in tint, according to the quantity and quality of the -cobalt, from dark violet blue (_chi ch’ing_) through pale and -dark shades of the ordinary blue colour to slaty blue and lavender. -Some of them--notably the lavender and the dark violet blue--are -often associated with crackle, being used as an overglaze covering a -greyish white crackled porcelain. This treatment of the surface is -well illustrated by a small covered jar in the British Museum with a -dark violet blue apparently uncrackled but covering a crackled glaze. -Two lavender blue bowls in the Hippisley Collection with the Chêng Tê -mark are similarly crackled. Other Ming blue monochromes are a small -pot found in Borneo and now in the British Museum with a dark blue of -the ordinary tint used in painted wares, and a wine pot in the same -collection with dragon spout and handle of a peculiar slaty lavender -tint strewn with black specks, the colour evidently due to a strain of -manganese in the cobalt. - -Next in importance to the blue is the underglaze red derived from -copper, which was discussed at length in connection with the Hsüan Tê -porcelains.[224] Its various tints, described as _hsien hung_ (fresh -red), _pao shih hung_ (ruby red), and cinnabar bowls “red as the -sun,” are, we may be sure, more or less accidental varieties of the -capricious copper red. The same mineral produced the _sang de bœuf_, -maroon and liver reds, and probably the peach bloom[225] of the K’ang -Hsi and later porcelains. - -Other colours incorporated in the high-fired glaze in the Ming period -are the pea green (_tou ch’ing_) or celadon, and the lustrous brown -(_tzŭ chin_) which varied from coffee colour to that of old gold. Both -of these groups derived their tint from iron oxide, carried in the -medium of ferruginous earth. The use of two or more of these coloured -glazes on one piece is a type of polychrome which was doubtless used on -the Ming as on the later porcelains. - -The glazes fired at a lower temperature, in the cooler parts of the -great kiln, and known for that reason as _couleurs de demi-grand feu_, -include turquoise (_ts’ui sê_), made from a preparation of old copper -(_ku t’ung_) and nitre; bright yellow (_chin huang_), composed of 1⅕ -oz. of antimony mixed with 16 oz. of pulverised lead; bright green -(_chin lü_), composed of 1⅖ oz. of pulverised copper, 6 oz. of powdered -quartz and 16 oz. of pulverised lead; purple (_tzŭ sê_), composed of 1 -oz. of cobaltiferous ore of manganese, 6 oz. of powdered quartz and 16 -oz. of pulverised lead. These colours, melting as they did at a lower -temperature than that required to vitrify the porcelain body, had to be -applied to an already fired porcelain “biscuit.”[226] - -The irregular construction of the Chinese kilns resulted in a great -variety of firing conditions, of which the Chinese potter made good -use; so that, by a judicious arrangement of the wares, glazes which -required a comparatively low temperature were fired in the same kiln -as those which needed the same heat as the porcelain body itself. The -glazes just enumerated are familiar from the large covered jars, vases, -garden seats, etc., with designs raised, carved, or pierced in outline, -many of which date from the fifteenth century.[227] Their manufacture -continued throughout the Ming period, both in porcelain and pottery, -and in the latter, at any rate, continued into the Ch’ing dynasty. - -Another group of glazes applied likewise to the biscuit and fired in -the temperate parts of the kiln differs from the last mentioned in its -greater translucency.[228] These are the _san ts’ai_ or three colours, -viz. green, yellow and aubergine, all of which contain a considerable -proportion of lead, and differ little in appearance from the on-glaze -enamels of the muffle kiln. They were used either as monochromes, plain -or covering incised designs, or in combination to wash over the spaces -between the outlines of a pattern which had been incised or painted on -the biscuit. - -Finally, the enamels of the _Wan li wu ts’ai_,[229] overglaze -colours used in addition to underglaze blue, were composed of a -vitreous flux coloured with a minute quantity of metallic oxide. The -flux, being a glass containing a high percentage of lead, was fusible -at such a low temperature that it was not possible to fire them in the -large kiln. Consequently these enamels were painted on to the finished -glaze, a process which greatly increased the freedom of design, and -fired in a small “muffle” or enameller’s kiln, where the requisite heat -to melt the flux and fix the colours could be easily obtained. - -Though the _T’ao shuo_, in the section dealing with Ming technique, -makes a general allusion to painting in colours on the glaze, the only -specific reference to any colour of the muffle kiln, excepting gold, -is to the red obtained from sulphate of iron (_fan hung sê_). This, we -are told, was made with 1 oz. of calcined sulphate of iron (_ch’ing -fan_) and 5 oz. of carbonate of lead, mixed with Canton ox-glue to make -it adhere to the porcelain before it was fired. This is the iron red, -the _rouge de fer_ of the French, which varies in tint from orange or -coral to deep brick red, and in texture from an impalpable film almost -to the consistency of a glaze, according to the quantity of lead flux -used with it. On the older wares it is often deeply iridescent and -lustrous, owing to the decomposition of the lead flux. This _fan hung_ -is the colour which the Chia Ching potters were fain to substitute for -the underglaze copper red (_chi hung_) when the usual material for that -highly prized colour had come to an end, and difficulty was experienced -in finding an effective substitute. - -The remaining colours of the on-glaze palette are more obviously -enamels; that is to say, glassy compounds; and as they were, in -accordance with Chinese custom, very lightly charged with colouring -matter, it was necessary to pile them on thickly where depth of colour -was required. - -Hence the thickly encrusted appearance of much of the Chinese enamelled -porcelain. The Wan Li enamels consisted of transparent greens of -several shades (all derived from copper), including a very blue green -which seems to have been peculiar to the Ming palette, yellow (from -antimony) pale and clear or brownish and rather opaque, and transparent -aubergine, a colour derived from manganese and varying in tint from -purple to brown. Two thin dry pigments--one an iron red and the other -a brown black colour derived from manganese--were used for drawing -outlines; and the brown black was also used in masses with a coating -of transparent green to form a green black colour, the same which is -so highly prized on the _famille noire_ porcelains of the K’ang Hsi -period. As for the blue enamel of the K’ang Hsi period, it can hardly -be said to have existed before the end of the Ming dynasty.[230] - -Gilding, which was apparently in use throughout[231] the Ming period, -was applied to the finished porcelain and fired in the muffle kiln. The -gold leaf, combined with one-tenth by weight of carbonate of lead, was -mixed with gum and painted on with a brush. The effect, as seen on the -red and green bowls (Plate 74), was light and filmy, and though the -gold often has the unsubstantial appearance of size-gilding, in reality -it adheres firmly[232] and is not easily scratched. - -Of the other processes described in the _T’ao shuo_,[233] embossed -(_tui_ [chch]) decoration was effected by applying strips or shavings -of the body material and working them into form with a wet brush. -Some of the more delicate traceries, in scarcely perceptible relief, -are painted in white slip. Engraved (_chui_ [chch]) decoration was -effected by carving with an iron graving-tool on the body while it was -still soft. And so, too, with the openwork (_ling lung_), which has -already been described.[234] All these processes were in use in one -form or another from the earliest reigns of the Ming dynasty, and some -of them, at any rate, have been encountered on the Sung wares. High -reliefs, such as the figures on the bowls described on p. 74, would -be separately modelled and “luted” on by means of liquid clay; and, -as already noted, these reliefs were often left in the biscuit state, -though at times we find them covered with coloured glazes. It is hardly -necessary to add that the same processes were applied to pottery, and -that the reliefs took many other forms besides figures, e.g. dragon -designs, foliage, scrollwork, symbols, etc. - - [Illustration: PLATE 85 - - Vase with crackled greenish grey glaze coated on the exterior - with transparent apple green enamel: the base unglazed. Probably - sixteenth century. - - Height 14 inches. - - _British Museum._] - -The crackled glazes of the Sung period were still made, though the Ming -tendency was to substitute painted decoration for monochrome; and we -have already noted the crackled blue and lavender in which a second -glaze is added to a grey white crackle. This process is particularly -noticeable in the “apple green” monochromes (Plate 85), both of the -Ming and Ch’ing dynasties, in which a green overglaze itself uncrackled -is washed on to a crackled stone grey porcelain. The green is often -carried down over the slightly browned biscuit of the foot rim, forming -a band of brown. But this, so far from being a peculiarity of the -Ming technique, is much more conspicuous on the porcelains of the early -eighteenth century, when it was the constant practice to dress the foot -rim of the crackled wares with a brown ferruginous earth in imitation -of the “iron foot” of their Sung prototypes. - -The work at the Imperial factory[235] was divided between twenty-three -departments, nine of which were occupied with accessories, such as -the making of ropes and barrels, general carpentry, and even boat -building. Five separate departments were employed in making the large -bowls, the wine cups, the plates, the large round dishes, and the tea -cups; another in preparing the “paste” or body material, and another in -making the “seggars” or fireclay cases in which the ware was packed in -the kiln. Five more were occupied in the details of decoration, viz. -the mark and seal department, the department for engraving designs, the -department for sketching designs, the department for writing, and the -department for colouring. - -It does not appear that the work of decoration was so minutely -subdivided in the Ming period as in later times, when we are told that -a piece of porcelain might pass through more than seventy hands; but it -is clear, at least, that the outlining and filling in of the designs -were conducted in separate sheds. This is, indeed, self-apparent -from the Ming blue and white porcelains, the designs of which are -characterised by strong and clear outlines filled in with flat washes -of colour. - -With regard to the actual designs, we are told that in the Ch’êng -Hua period they were drawn by the best artists at the Court, and -from another passage[236] it is clear that the practice of sending -the patterns from the palace continued in later reigns as well. -Such designs would no doubt accumulate, and probably they were -collected together from time to time and issued in the form of -pattern books.[237] Another method in which the painters of Ming -blue and white were served with patterns is related in the _T’ao -shuo_[238]:--“For painting in blue, the artists were collected each -day at dawn and at noon, and the colour for painting was distributed -among them. Two men of good character were first selected, the -larger pieces of porcelain being given to one, the smaller pieces -to the other; and when they had finished their painting, the amount -of the material used was calculated before the things were taken to -the furnace to be baked. If the results were satisfactory, then the -pieces were given as models to the other painters, and in the rest of -the pieces painted, the quantity of the colour used and the depth of -the tint was required to be in exact accordance with these models.” -There was little scope for originality or individual effort under -this system, where everything, even to the amount of material used, -was strictly prescribed. To translate their model with feeling and -accuracy was the best that could be expected from the rank and file. -But with the manual skill and patient industry for which the Chinese -are proverbial, and the good taste which prevailed in the direction -of the work, it was a system admirably suited to the task, and it -unquestionably led to excellent results. - -As to the systems in use in the private factories we have no -information, but we may fairly assume that their processes were much -the same; and that, not having the benefit of the designs sent from -Court, they were more dependent upon the pattern books and stock -designs more or less remotely connected with the work of famous -painters. - - - - - CHAPTER VII - - MISCELLANEOUS PORCELAIN FACTORIES - - -Although from the Ming period onwards our interest is almost entirely -centred in Ching-tê Chên, there were other factories which cannot be -altogether ignored. A certain number have already been mentioned at the -end of the first volume, our scanty information being drawn chiefly -from the pottery section of the K’ang Hsi Encyclopædia. The same -monumental work includes in another part[239] a discourse on porcelain -(_tz’ŭ ch’i_), in which several additional factories are named. The -passage in question is prefaced by a quotation from the _Tien hung k’ai -wu_, a late-seventeenth century manual, in which we are told that the -white earth (_o t’u_[240]) necessary for the manufacture of fine and -elegant ware was found in China in five or six places only[241]: viz. -at Ting Chou, in the Chên-ting Fu in Chih-li, at Hua-ting Chou in the -Ping-liang Fu in Shensi, at P’ing-ting Chou in the T’ai-yüan Fu in -Shansi, and at Yü Chou in the K’ai-fêng Fu in Honan, in the north; and -at Tê-hua Hsien in the Ch’üan-chou Fu in Fukien, at Wu-yüan Hsien and -Ch’i-mên Hsien in the Hui-chou Fu, in Anhui, in the south. As to the -wares made in these localities, we are told that the porcelains of the -Chên-ting and K’ai-fêng districts were generally yellow and dull and -without the jewel-like brilliancy, and that all put together were not -equal to the Jao Chou ware. It would appear, then, that the Ting Chou -factories so noted in Sung times were still extant, though they had -lost their importance. For the rest, the Ch’i-mên district supplied -Ching-tê Chên with the raw material, the Tê-hua wares will be discussed -presently, and we have no information about the productions (if any) of -the other localities. - -The province of Fukien apparently contained several factories -besides the important centre at Tê-hua. The Annals of Ch’üan-chou -Fu (celebrated as a trading port in the Middle Ages), for instance, -are quoted with reference to a porcelain (_tz’ŭ ch’i_) manufacture -at Tz’ŭ-tsao in the Chin-chiang Hsien, and three other places in the -district of An-ch’i are named as producers of white porcelain which was -inferior to that of Jao Chou. Similarly, the Annals of Shao-wu Fu, on -the north-east border of the province, allude to white porcelain made -at three places,[242] the factory at T’ai-ming in An-jen being the -best, but all were far from equalling the Jao Chou ware. - -The district of Wên-chou Fu (formerly in the south of Fukien but now -transferred to northern Chekiang) was noted for pottery in the distant -days of the Chin dynasty (265–419 A.D.), and for the “bowls -of Eastern Ou.”[243] Of its subsequent ceramic history we have no -information, but there is an interesting specimen in the British Museum -which seems to bear on the question. It is an incense burner in the -form of a seated figure of the god of Longevity on a deer, skilfully -modelled in strong white porcelain and painted in a good blue in the -Ming style; and on the box in which it came was a note to the effect -that it is Wên-chou ware. If there is any truth in this legend (and it -would be quite pointless if untrue), then a blue and white porcelain in -the style of the better class of Ming export ware was made at Wên-chou. - -Another interesting specimen in the same museum, which should also be -mentioned here, is a bottle with wide straight neck, of fine white ware -thickly potted, with soft, smooth-worn glaze painted in a greyish blue -with a medley of flowers, fruit, insects, and symbols, completed by -borders of _ju-i_ heads and stiff leaves. It is marked under the base -in a fine violet blue, _fu fan chih ts’ao_, which, rendered “made on -the borders of Fukien,” might refer to the factories at Shao-wu Fu or -even Wên-chou Fu. This is another piece which has many affinities with -the late Ming export blue and white. - -But the Fukien porcelain _par excellence_ is a white ware of -distinctive character and great beauty which was and still is made -at Tê-hua Hsien, in the central part of the province.[244] This is -the _blanc de Chine_ of the French writers and the modern Chien yao -of the Chinese, but to be carefully distinguished from the ancient -Chien yao with mottled black glaze which was made in the Sung dynasty -at Chien-yang in the north of the province.[245] The _T’ao lu_[246] -informs us that the porcelain industry at Tê-hua began in the Ming -dynasty, that the cups and bowls usually had a spreading rim, that the -ware was known as _pai tz’ŭ_ (white porcelain), that it was rich and -lustrous but, as a rule, thick, and that the images of Buddha were very -beautiful. This condensed account is supplemented by a few remarks in -the K’ang Hsi Encyclopædia,[247] from which we gather that the material -for the ware was mined in the hills behind the Ch’êng monastery and -that it was very carefully prepared, but if the porcelain was worked -thin it was liable to lose shape in the kiln, and if it was too thick -it was liable to crack. At first it was very expensive, but by the time -of writing (about 1700) it was widely distributed and no longer dear. - -Tê-hua porcelain is, in fact, a fine white, highly vitrified material, -as a rule very translucent and covered with a soft-looking, mellow -glaze which blends so intimately with the body that they seem to be -part and parcel of one another. The glaze varies in tone from ivory or -cream white to the colour of skim milk, and its texture may be aptly -described by the homely comparison with blancmange. When the ivory -colour is suffused by a faint rosy tinge, it is specially prized; but -I can find no reason for supposing that the cream white and milk white -tints represent different periods of the ware. On the contrary, there -is good evidence to show that they were made concurrently. - -As the ware is with few exceptions plain white or white decorated -with incised, impressed, moulded, or applied ornaments of a rather -formal and often archaic character, there will always be a difficulty -in determining the date of the finer specimens, viz. whether they -are Ming or early Ch’ing. The nature of the ware itself is a most -uncertain guide, for one of the most beautiful examples of the material -which I have seen is a figure of a European soldier which cannot be -older than 1650. I need hardly say that owners of Fukien porcelain, -particularly of the figures, habitually give themselves the benefit of -this ever present doubt, and that these pieces are usually listed in -sale catalogues as Ming or early Ming according to taste. This attitude -is fundamentally illogical, for the ware is still made at the present -day, and the Ming specimens in modern collections are likely to be the -exception, and not, as optimistic owners would lead one to suppose, the -rule. But in any case it will be more convenient to deal with the ware -as a whole in the present chapter than to attempt the difficult task of -treating its different periods separately, even though the bulk of our -examples belong to the Ch’ing dynasty. - -Tê-hua porcelain can be conveniently studied in the British Museum, -where there is a fairly representative collection comprising more -than a hundred specimens. It includes a number of the figures for -which the factories were specially noted, of deities and sages such -as Kuan-yin, goddess of Mercy; Kuan-yü, god of War; Bodhidharma, the -Buddhist apostle; Manjusri, of the Buddhist Trinity; Hsi-wang-mu, the -Taoist queen of the west; the Taoist Immortals; besides small groups -representing romantic or mythological subjects such as Wang Chih -watching the two spirits of the pole stars playing chess. But the -favourite subject of the Tê-hua modeller was the beautiful and gracious -figure of Kuan-yin, represented in various poses as standing on a cloud -base with flowing robes, seated in contemplation on a rocky pedestal, -or enthroned between her two attributes, the dove--which often carries -a necklace of pearls--and the vase of nectar, while at her feet on -either side stand two diminutive figures representing[248] her follower -Lung Nü (the dragon maid), holding a pearl, and the devoted comrade -of her earthly adventures Chên Tsai. The Kuan-yin of this group is -reputed to have been the daughter of a legendary eastern King named -Miao-chuang, but other accounts make the deity a Chinese version of the -Buddhist Avalokitesvara, and it is certain that her representations -as the Kuan-yin with eleven heads and again with a “thousand” hands -reflect Indian traditions. In the latter manifestations the sex of the -deity is left in doubt, but there can be no question on that head when -she is represented with a babe in her arms as “Kuan-yin the Maternal,” -to whom childless women pray, a figure strangely resembling our images -of the Virgin and Child. Indeed, we are told[249] that the Japanese -converts to Christianity in the sixteenth century adopted the Kuan-yin -figure as a Madonna, and that there is in the Imperial Museum in the -Ueno Park, Tokio, a remarkable collection of these images among the -Christian relics. There is, however, another deity with whom this -Kuan-yin may easily be confounded, viz. the Japanese Kichimojin, also -“the Maternal,” the Sanskrit Hâriti, who was once the devourer of -infants but was converted by Sakyamuni and was afterwards worshipped as -the protector of children. This deity figures in Japanese pictorial art -as a “female holding a peach and nursing in her bosom an infant, whose -hands are folded in prayer. In front stand two nude children, one of -whom grasps a peach, the other a branch of bamboo.”[250] - -Among the Tê-hua porcelains in the British Museum are no fewer than -nine specimens--groups, figures, or ornamental structures--with figures -in European costumes which date from the middle to the end of the -seventeenth century. One, a soldier apparently Dutch, about 1650, -is well modelled in deliciously mellow and translucent cream white -porcelain. Most of the others are more roughly designed, and vary in -tint from cream to milk white. - -It is said that the natives of the Fukien province are among the most -superstitious of the Chinese, and Bushell[251] sees a reflection of -this religious temperament in the nature of the Tê-hua wares. If this -is so, they must have had exalted opinions of their European visitors, -whom they often furnish with the attributes of Chinese divinities, -representing them in positions and poses which seem to caricature -native deities and sages. There is, for instance, an ornament in form -of a mountain retreat with a shrine in which is seated a figure in a -three-cornered European hat and a Buddha-like attitude. Another group -consists of a European mounted on a _ch’i-lin_, posing as an -Arhat, and another of a European standing on a dragon’s head which -would symbolise to the Chinese the attainment of the highest literary -honours. - -There are, besides, in the British Museum collection figures of animals -and birds, the Buddhist lion, the cock, the hawk, or the parrot, -mostly fitted with tubes to hold incense sticks; and there are a pair -of well modelled figures of Chou dogs. - -As for the vessels of Tê-hua porcelain, they consist chiefly of incense -vases and incense burners, libation cups shaped after bronze or -rhinoceros horn models, brush pots, wine cups, water vessels for the -study table and the like (often beautifully modelled in the form of -lotus leaves or flowers), boxes, tea and wine pots, cups and bowls, and -more rarely vases. - -An extensive trade was done with the European merchants, whose -influence is apparent in many of the wares, such as coffee cups with -handles, mugs of cylindrical form or globular with straight ribbed -necks in German style, and “barber-surgeons’ bowls” with flat pierced -handles copied from silver models. Indeed, the superficially European -appearance of some of these pieces has led serious students to mistake -them for early Meissen porcelain and even for that nebulous porcelain -supposed to have been made by John Dwight, of Fulham, at the end of the -seventeenth century. Père d’Entrecolles[252] incidentally mentions the -fact that some Ching-tê Chên potters had in the past removed to Fukien -in the hope of making profits out of the European traders at Amoy, and -that they had taken their plant and even their materials with them, but -that the enterprise was a failure. - -Conversely, the influence of the Tê-hua wares is obvious in many of the -early European porcelains, such as those made at Meissen, St. Cloud, -Bow, and Chelsea, which were often closely modelled on the Fukien -white. There is, indeed, a striking similarity between the creamy -soft-paste porcelain of St. Cloud and the creamy variety of the _blanc -de chine_, both having the same mellow, melting appearance in the glaze. - - [Illustration: Plate 86.--Fukien Porcelain, Ming Dynasty. - - Fig 1.--Figure of Kuan-yin with boy attendant. Ivory white. - Height 10¼ inches. _Eumorfopoulos Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Bottle with prunus sprigs in relief, the glaze crackled - all over and stained a brownish tint. Height 9⅛ inches. - _Eumorfopoulos Collection._ - - Fig. 3.--Figure of Bodhidharma crossing the Yangtze on a reed. - Ivory white. Height 7½ inches. _Salting Collection_ (_V. & - A. Museum_).] - - [Illustration: Plate 87.--Ivory White Fukien Porcelain. - - Fig. 1.--Libation Cup. About 1700. Length 3⅞ inches. _British - Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Cup with sixteenth-century mount. Height 2 inches. - _Dresden Collection._ - - Fig. 3.--Incense Vase and Stand. About 1700. Diameter 6¾ inches. - _British Museum._] - -It would be possible to guess from these European copies, if we had no -other means, the character of the Tê-hua porcelain of the K’ang Hsi -period with its quaintly moulded forms, its relief decoration of prunus -sprigs, figures of Immortals, deer, etc., the only conspicuously absent -type being the incised[253] ornament which was unsuited to the European -ware. But there is no lack of actual specimens of the period of -active export which extended from about 1650–1750. Naturally they vary -greatly in quality, which depends on the purity and translucence of -the ware whether it be cream or milk white, and on the soft aspect -and rich lustre of the glaze. A large series, which may be taken as -representative of the K’ang Hsi period, was collected by Augustus -the Strong, and is still to be seen at the Johanneum at Dresden; or, -rather, part of it is still there, for much of that historic collection -was given away or pilfered from time to time, and many specimens with -the Dresden catalogue numbers engraved are now to be found in our own -museums. Many of the figures at Dresden have evidently been coated -with a kind of black paint, which probably served as a medium for oil -gilding, but this unfired colouring has worn away, and only traces now -remain. - -Occasionally one finds among the Tê-hua wares a specimen with dry -appearance and crazed or discoloured glaze, defects due to faulty -firing or to burial in damp soil. Such pieces are surprising in a -ware with such apparent homogeneity of body and glaze, and the crazed -examples might be easily mistaken for one of the _t’u ting_ (or -earthy Ting ware) types. - -As to the history of the factories, it is expressly stated in the -_T’ao lu_ that they were started in the Ming dynasty. No account -need be taken of the few legendary specimens to which tradition assigns -an earlier origin than this, such as the so-called flute of Yoshitsune, -a twelfth-century hero of Japan, and the incense burner in St. Mark’s, -Venice, which is reputed to have been brought from China by Marco Polo. -The latter is of the same model as Fig. 3 of Plate 87, perhaps from the -same mould, and I have seen at least half a dozen others in London. A -third piece which was long regarded as a document is the jewelled white -plate in the Dresden collection, supposed to have been brought back -from Syria by a Crusader in the twelfth century. The story is no doubt -apocryphal, but in any case it has no real bearing on the question, -for the plate is not Fukien ware but a specimen of white Ching-tê Chên -porcelain with a “shop mark” in underglaze blue. It has been set with -jewels in India or Persia, like a sixteenth-century bowl in the British -Museum, but the “Crusader plate” is probably a century later. - -Brinkley[254] asserts, without giving any authority, that the Tê-hua -industry was virtually discontinued at the end of the eighteenth -century, and revived in recent years. The latter part of the -statement is unquestionably true, for we have the eye-witness of a -missionary[255] who visited the place about 1880 and describes the -manufactory as the most extensive of its kind in Fukien--“pottery, -pottery everywhere, in the fields, in the streets, in the shops. In -the open air children are painting the cups. Each artist paints with -his own colour and his own few strokes, whether a leaf, a tree, a -man’s dress or beard, and passes it over to his neighbour, who in -turn applies his brush to paint what is his share in the decoration.” -Unfortunately there is no reason to suppose that the writer made his -observations with an expert eye which would make a distinction between -pottery and porcelain, but in any case it is certain that he found a -vast ceramic industry in full blast at Tê-hua. - -With reference to the modern ware Brinkley says[256]: “A considerable -number of specimens are now produced and palmed off upon unwary -collectors. But the amateur can easily avoid such deceptions if he -remembers that in genuine pieces of ivory white the ware is always -translucid when held up to the light, a property which, if not entirely -absent, is only possessed in a comparatively slight degree by the -modern product. The general quality of the glaze and the technique -of a piece should be sufficient guides, but if any doubt remains an -examination of the base of the specimens will probably dispel it. In -the old ware the bottom of a vase or bowl, though carefully finished, -is left uncovered, whereas the modern potter is fond of hiding his -inferior pâte by roughly overspreading it with a coat of glaze.” - -Probably these observations are in the main correct, but experience -shows that relative opacity and glazed bases are by no means confined -to modern wares. Still, if the collector aims at acquiring pieces of -good colour, whether cream or milk white, with translucent body, pure -glaze and sharp modelling, he is not likely to go far astray. - -The description quoted above of the painting of modern Fukien ware -is interesting in view of the common assertion that the Tê-hua white -porcelain was never painted. This assertion is probably based on a -passage in the first letter of Père d’Entrecolles: “Celle (i.e. la -porcelaine) de Fou-kien est d’un blanc de neige qui n’a nul éclat et -qui n’est point mélangé de couleurs.” On the other hand, a distinct -reference is made to the painting in colours in a modern Chinese -work.[257] Unfortunately, the question has been complicated by the -existence of many pieces of Fukien white which have been enamelled -in Europe. In the first half of the eighteenth century in Holland, -Germany, and elsewhere, there were decorators busy enamelling white -porcelain of whatever kind they could get, and the _blanc de -chine_ offered a ready subject for this treatment. The decoration -thus added was usually in Oriental taste, and might be confused with -indifferent Chinese work. Many of these pieces are in the British -Museum. On the other hand, there are in the same collection two -cups with roughly painted floral designs in green and red which -are obviously Chinese, though they might well have been painted in -the mechanical method described by Mr. Dukes, which was probably -traditional. Mr. Eumorfopoulos possesses several good examples of this -painted Fukien ware, one of which may be described to show the style -of painting affected. It is executed in leaf green, lustrous red, and -the turquoise green which we associate with the Wan Li period, and -the form--a double-bottomed bowl--is likewise reminiscent of the Ming -dynasty. - -The Japanese, whose traditions have often proved most misleading, -have frequently classed the Fukien white as Corean porcelain -(_haku-gorai_ or white Corean), probably because specimens reached -them from the Corean ports. In the British Museum, for instance, there -is a beautiful white incense vase, formerly in the collection of Mr. -Ninagawa of Tokio, and labelled by him as “Corean porcelain, 500 years -old.” It has all the characteristics of the finest cream white Fukien -ware of late Ming or K’ang Hsi period, and if this piece is Corean, -then I do not believe that even the subtle perception of the Japanese -could find any difference between Corean and Fukien white. It is only -right to add that other Japanese experts have pronounced it Chinese. -Incidentally, I may mention that the base of this vase is glazed. - -Marks were occasionally used by the Tê-hua potters, either incised or -stamped in seal form,[258] on the bottoms of cups and other vessels, -and on the backs of figures. Reign marks are rare, but apocryphal -dates of the Hsüan Tê period occasionally occur, as on a figure of Li -T’ieh-kuaì in the British Museum. Others consist of potters’ marks too -often illegible because the thick glaze has filled up the hollows of -the stamps, fanciful seal marks, frets, whorls, and occasionally the -swastika symbol. A few examples are given in vol. i., p. 222. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - - THE CH’ING [chch] DYNASTY, 1644–1910 - - -The reigns of the Manchu chieftains T’ien Ming, T’ien Tsung, and Ts’ung -Tê (1616–1643) are included in the chronology of the Ch’ing or Pure -Dynasty, but it is more usual to reckon that period from 1644, when -the Emperor Shun Chih [chch 2] was firmly established on the throne -after the suicide of the last of the Mings. Little is known of the -ceramic history of the seventeen years during which Shun Chih occupied -the throne. The official records which deal only with the Imperial -factory are almost silent, and when they do speak it is merely to -chronicle failures. It is clear, however, that the Imperial factory -at Ching-tê Chên had again been opened; for orders were sent in 1654 -for a supply of large “dragon bowls” for the palace gardens. They were -to be 2½ feet high, 3½ feet in diameter, 3 inches thick at the sides, -and 5 inches at the bottom. For four years the potters wrestled with -this difficult order without success. This time there was no “divine -T’ung” to purchase success by a holocaust of himself; and eventually -the Emperor was persuaded to withdraw the command. No better fortune -attended an order given in 1659 for oblong plaques (3 feet by 2½ feet, -and 3 inches thick) which were intended for veranda partitions. - -Beyond these two negative items there is no information of the reign of -Shun Chih in the Chinese books, and the porcelain itself is scarcely -more illuminating, for authentic marked examples of this period are -virtually unknown. A figure already mentioned as bearing the date 1650 -belongs rather to the pottery section, but it shows that the traditions -of the Ming glazes of the _demi-grand feu_ were still kept alive. -The blue and white and the polychrome made in the private factories at -this time have been discussed with the transition wares (pp. 89 and -90), and for the rest we can only assume that the Shun Chih porcelains -are not to be distinguished from those of the last Ming reigns on the -one hand, and those of the early years of K’ang Hsi on the other. - -Reflecting on the insignificance of the Shun Chih porcelains, one is -tempted to ask how it is that the celebrated Lang T’ing-tso, whose -name is usually associated with the beautiful Lang yao of the K’ang -Hsi period, did not succeed in raising the wares of this period to a -more conspicuous level. Lang T’ing-tso was governor of Kiangsi from -1654 and viceroy of Kiangsi and Kiangnan from 1656–1661 and again from -1665–1668. His name is mentioned (according to Bushell,[259] at any -rate, for I have not been able to verify the statement) in connection -with the efforts to make the dragon bowls for the palace in 1654; but -we shall return to this point in discussing the Lang yao. - -Meanwhile, we pass to the reign of K’ang Hsi [chch 2] (1662–1722), -the beginning of what is to most European collectors the greatest -period of Chinese porcelain, a period which may be roughly dated from -1662–1800. Chinese literary opinion gives the preference to the Sung -and Ming dynasties, but if monetary value is any indication the modern -Chinese collector appreciates the finer Ch’ing porcelains as highly -as the European connoisseur. These latter wares have, at any rate, -the advantage of being easily accessible to the Western student, and -they are not difficult to obtain provided one is ready to pay the high -price which their excellence commands. It will be no exaggeration to -say that three quarters of the best specimens of Chinese porcelain in -our collections belong to this prolific period, and they may be seen -in endless variety in the museums and private galleries of Europe and -America, nowhere perhaps better than in London itself. - - [Illustration: PLATE 88 - - Two examples of the underglaze red (_chi hung_) of the K’ang - Hsi period (1662–1722), sometimes called _lang yao_ - - Fig. 1.--Bottle-shaped Vase of dagoba form with minutely crackled - _sang-de-bœuf_ glaze with passages of cherry red. The glaze - ends in an even roll short of the base rim, and that under the - base is stone-coloured and crackled. Height 8½ inches. - - _British Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Bottle-shaped Vase with crackled underglaze red of deep - crushed strawberry tint. The glaze under the base is pale green, - crackled. Height 10¾ inches. - - _Alexander Collection._] - -With regard to the porcelains made in the early years of K’ang Hsi -there is very little information, and their special excellence has -been assumed mainly on the supposition that the Viceroy Lang T’ing-tso -exercised a beneficent influence on the wares of this period. He is -reputed to have been sponsor of the Lang yao, which in the ordinary -acceptation of the term[260] includes the beautiful _sang de -bœuf_ red, an apple green crackle, and perhaps a cognate crackled -green glaze on which are painted designs in _famille verte_ enamels. -The explanation of the term _lang yao_ is far from clear, and, as -already hinted, the connection of the viceroy Lang T’ing-tso with this -or any other of the K’ang Hsi porcelains is by no means established. -Bushell[261] accepted the derivation of Lang yao from the first part -of the viceroy’s name as representing the best of several Chinese -theories, and on the supposition that “the ceramic production of this -time has retained the name of the viceroy, in the same way as the names -of Ts’ang Ying-hsüan, Nien Hsi-yao, and T’ang Ying, who were in turn -superintendents of the Imperial potteries, were afterwards given to the -_Ts’ang yao_, _Nien yao_, and _T’ang yao_.” There are many objections -to this reasoning. In the first place, Lang T’ing-tso was viceroy of -the two provinces of Kiangsi and Kiangnan for three or four years only -(1665–1668) during the reign of K’ang Hsi, and it was only in his -capacity as viceroy of Kiangsi that he would have been concerned with -Ching-tê Chên, even supposing that the man who had charge of two large -provinces could find time to devote himself to the details of ceramic -manufactures. Secondly, it is nowhere recorded that Lang T’ing-tso was -concerned in any way with the direction of the potteries, so that there -is in this respect no parallel between him and the directors Ts’ang, -Nien, and T’ang. Thirdly, the history of Ch’ing-tê Chên as given in the -_T’ao lu_, and the history of Chinese porcelain as given in the _T’ao -shuo_, make no mention whatever of _lang yao_ or of Lang T’ing-tso, -while the former takes special notice of the wares of Ts’ang, Nien, and -T’ang, and the latter discusses T’ang’s work at some length. Had so -important a person as the viceroy of two provinces been connected with -the invention or perfection of such celebrated wares as the _lang yao_, -the occurrence would hardly have escaped the notice of the Chinese -chronicler. - -There are other attempts to explain the name _lang yao_. In the -catalogue of Mr. A. B. Mitford’s collection[262] it is stated that “the -Lang family were a family of famous potters who possessed the secret -of this peculiar glaze and paste. They became extinct about the year -1610.” Bushell[263] dismisses this with the comment that “the family is -apocryphal and the porcelain antedated,” and in the same passage gives -an alternative theory, viz. “this name has been derived by some Chinese -of less weight from that of Lang Shih-ning, an artist protégé of the -Jesuits,[264] who also lived in the reign of K’ang Hsi, and whose -pictures are still appreciated.” - -The evidence for all these versions seems to be equally defective. -They are, in fact, mere assertions, and the reader can take his choice -of any of them, provided he does not insist on Mr. Mitford’s date -(anterior to 1610), for all authorities are now agreed that the _lang -yao_ is a K’ang Hsi production. The fact is that the name has been -handed down without any explanation, and the current theories are of -comparatively modern construction. The secret of the _lang yao_ -consisted in the first instance in the knowledge of means to produce -a brilliant red glaze from copper oxide. It was not a new discovery, -but merely a revival of the wonderful “precious stone” red of the -early Ming period.[265] The supplies of some essential ingredient -for this colour had failed in the Chia Ching period,[266] and the -secret of the true colour had been temporarily lost. This secret was -now recovered probably by a potter of the name of Lang, and that -name has been associated with it ever since. So far from the _lang -yao_ being limited to the early part of the reign of K’ang Hsi or -to the few years when Lang T’ing-tso might have been concerned with -it, there can be little doubt that the _sang de bœuf_ red or red -_lang yao_ is the special colour described in detail by Père -d’Entrecolles in 1712, and again in 1722 under the significant name -of _yu li hung_, or “red in the glaze.” The reader can judge for -himself from the description given in the second letter[267]: “This -red _inside the glaze_ is made with granulated red copper and the -powder of a certain stone or pebble of a reddish colour. A Christian -doctor told me that this stone was a kind of alum, used in medicine. -The whole is pounded in a mortar and mixed with a boy’s urine and -the ordinary porcelain glaze; but I have not been able to ascertain -the quantities of the ingredients, for those in possession of the -secret take good care not to divulge it. This mixture is applied to -the porcelain before it is fired and no other glaze is used; but care -has to be taken that the red colour does not run to the bottom of the -vase during the firing. They tell me that when they intend to apply -this red to porcelain they do not use porcelain stone (_petuntse_) -in the body, but they use in its place, mixed with the porcelain -earth (_kaolin_), a yellow clay prepared in the same manner as -the _petuntse_. Probably it is a kind of clay specially suited -to receive this colour.” Would that the worthy father had named the -possessors of the secret! Had it been a Jesuit family, is it likely -that he would not have said so? But here, at any rate, is not only such -an accurate description of the manufacture of the _sang de bœuf_ -red that little need be added to it, but also a valuable commentary on -the obscure passages in which the allusion is made to the brilliant -red of the Hsüan Tê and other early Ming periods. For what is the -reddish stone or pebble but the “red precious stone from the West,” -which played a mysterious part in the _pao shih hung_ of the Hsüan -Tê period? Chinese tradition has imagined this stone to have been the -ruby, on the impossible assumption that the red colour of the glaze -was derived from the red of the ruby. But it was, in all probability, -cornaline (the _ma nao_ used in the Sung porcelain of Ju Chou) or -amethystine quartz, and its only function would have been to increase -the brilliancy and transparence of the glaze, the red colour being -entirely due to copper oxide. It is interesting, too, to note that the -composition of the porcelain body was varied to suit this red colour, -and that a yellow clay was substituted for the porcelain stone, in view -of the alleged difficulties in obtaining the proper “earth for the -fresh red (_hsien hung_)” in the Chia Ching period. In a similar -manner a more earthy composition was found to be more sympathetic than -the pure white porcelain to some of the other monochromes, as may be -observed in existing specimens of turquoise blue. - -The _lang yao_, then, is the _chi hung_ of the K’ang Hsi period, the -brilliant blood red commonly known by the French name _sang de bœuf_, -and to-day it is one of the most precious monochromes. A choice example -illustrated on Plate 88 shows the changing tints from a brilliant -cherry red below the shoulder to the massed blood red where the -fluescent glaze has formed thickly above the base. The colour flowing -down has left an even white band round the mouth, and has settled in -thick coagulations on the flat parts of the shoulders and again above -the base; but in spite of its apparent fluidity the glaze has stopped -in an even line without overrunning the base. The glaze under the base -is of pale buff tone and crackled, and a careful examination of the -surface generally shows that a faint crackle extends over the whole -piece. The glaze, moreover, is full of minute bubbles and consequently -much pinholed, and the red colour has the appearance of lying on the -body in a dust of minute particles which the glaze has dragged downward -in its flow and spread out in a continuous mass, but where the colour -and the glaze have run thick the particles reappear in the form of a -distinct mottling or dappling. - -To obtain the best colour from the copper oxide in this glaze -it was necessary to regulate the firing to a nicety, the margin -between success and failure being exceedingly small. Naturally, too, -the results varied widely in quality and tone; but the permanent -characteristics of the K’ang Hsi _sang de bœuf_ are (1) a brilliant -red varying in depth and sometimes entirely lost in places,[268] but -always red and without any of the grey or grey blue streaks which -emerge on the _flambé_ red and the modern imitations of the _sang de -bœuf_; (2) the faint crackle of the glaze; (3) the stopping of the -glaze at the foot rim. The colour of the glaze under the base and -in the interior of vases varied from green or buff crackle to plain -white. The secret of this glaze, which Père d’Entrecolles tells us was -carefully guarded, seems to have been lost altogether about the end -of the K’ang Hsi period. Later attempts to obtain the same effects, -though often successful in producing large areas of brilliant red, are -usually more or less streaked with alien tints such as grey or bluish -grey, and are almost invariably marred by the inability of the later -potters to control the flow of the glaze which overruns the foot rim -and consequently has to be ground off. But it is highly probable that -the modern potter will yet surmount these difficulties, and I have -actually seen a large bowl of modern make in which the ox-blood red -was successfully achieved on the exterior (the interior was relatively -poor), and the flow of the glaze had been stopped along the foot rim -except in one or two small places where the grinding was cleverly -masked. So that it behoves the collector to be on his guard. - -Fig. 2 of Plate 88 shows another type of red, also classed as _lang -yao_, which has the same peculiarities of texture as the _sang de -bœuf_, but the colour is more of a crushed-strawberry tint, and has in -a more marked degree that thickly stippled appearance which suggests -that the colour mixture has been blown on to the ware through gauze. -This is probably the _ch’ui hung_ or _soufflé_ red mentioned by Père -d’Entrecolles in connection with the _yu li hung_. The same glaze -is often found on bowls, the colour varying much in depth and the -base being usually covered with a crackled green glaze beneath. This -crackled green is a very distinctive glaze, highly translucent and full -of bubbles, like the red _lang yao_, and it is sometimes found covering -the entire surface of a vase or bowl and serving as a background for -paintings in _famille verte_ enamels. It seems, in fact, to be the true -green _lang yao_, and one is tempted to ask if it was not in reality -intended to be a _sang de bœuf_ red glaze from which a lack of oxygen -or some other accident of the kiln has dispelled all the red, leaving -a green which is one of the many hues produced by copper oxide under -suitable conditions. These conditions might well be present in such an -enclosed space as the foot of a bowl; and if they happened to affect -the whole of the piece, what more natural than to trick out the failure -with a gay adornment of enamel colours? - -On the other hand, what is commonly known as green _lang yao_ is -the brilliant emerald or apple green crackle which has already been -discussed on p. 102. But why this colour should be connected in any -way with the Lang or any particular family is a mystery. The method -of producing it is transparently obvious--a green enamel laid over a -stone-coloured crackle; and there are examples of all periods from -the Ming down to modern times. Indeed, the modern specimens are only -distinguished with the greatest difficulty from the old. - - * * * * * - -To return to the history of the period from which we digressed to -discuss the _lang yao_, the progress of the reviving industry suffered -a rude set-back between 1674–1678 when the Imperial factory was -destroyed during the rebellion of Wu San-kuei, viceroy of Yunnan. It -is improbable that up to this time any notable development had taken -place in the manufacture of porcelain, and those who think to flatter -a specimen by suggesting that it is “_very_ early K’ang Hsi” are likely -to be paying a doubtful compliment. When, however, peace was restored -and the factory rebuilt, a veritable renaissance of the porcelain -industry began. In 1680[269] an official of the Imperial household was -sent to reside at the factory and to superintend the work; and we are -told in the _T’ao shuo_[270] that “previously to this the first-class -workmen had been levied from the different districts of Jao Chou; -but now all this forced labour was stopped, and as each manufactory -was started the artisans were collected and materials provided, the -expenses being defrayed from the Imperial exchequer and the money paid -when due, in accordance with the market prices. Even the expenses for -carriage were not required from the different districts. None of the -proper duties of the local officers were interfered with; both the -officials and the common people enjoyed the benefit, and the processes -of manufacture were all much improved.” - -The success of this new movement was assured by the appointment in -1682 of Ts’ang Ying-hsüan [chch 3] to the control of the Imperial -works. We are not told how long this distinguished person retained the -directorship, but his merits are clearly indicated in the encomiums -of a subsequent director, the celebrated T’ang Ying. In his “History -of the God of the Furnace Blast,” the latter states that when Ts’ang -was in charge of the factory the god laid his finger on the designs -and protected the porcelain in the kiln, so that it naturally came -out perfect. Unfortunately, the notice of Ts’ang’s work in the _T’ao -lu_[271] is in the conventional style, and extremely meagre. The earth -used, we are told, was unctuous, the material lustrous and thin. Every -kind of colour was made, but the snake-skin green (_shê p’i lü_), the -eel yellow (_shan yü huang_), the (?) turquoise ([chch 2] _chi ts’ui_), -and the “spotted yellow” ([chch 3] _huang pan tien_) were the most -beautiful. The monochrome (_chiao_)[272] yellow, the monochrome brown -or purple (_tzŭ_), the monochrome green, the _soufflé (ch’ui)_ red and -the _soufflé_ blue, were also beautiful. The Imperial factory under the -administration of T’ang-ying imitated these glaze colours. - -Most of these colours explain themselves. The _soufflé_ red is no -doubt the same as the _ch’ui hung_ described by Père d’Entrecolles and -discussed above with the so-called _lang yao_. The _soufflé_ blue will -be no other than the familiar “powder blue.” But the “spotted yellow” -is an ambiguous term, for the Chinese _huang pan tien_[273] might -mean a yellow glaze spotted with some other colour, a mottled yellow, -or even a glaze with yellow spots like that of a rare vase in the -Eumorfopoulos Collection, which has a brown black glaze flecked with -greenish yellow spots. - -Bushell identified the spotted yellow glaze with the “tiger skin,” -with its patches of green, yellow and aubergine glazes applied to -the biscuit, which in the finer specimens is etched with dragon -designs.[274] - -This is practically all the direct information which the Chinese annals -supply on the K’ang Hsi period, but in contrast with this strange -reticence we have a delightful account of the industry at Ching-tê Chên -during this important time in the two oft-quoted letters[275] written -by the Jesuit father, d’Entrecolles, in 1712 and 1722. The worthy -father’s work lay among the potters themselves, and his information was -derived from first-hand observation and from the notes supplied by his -potter converts, with whatever help he was able to extract from the -Annals of Fou-liang and similar native books. No subsequent writer has -enjoyed such a favoured position, and as his observations have been -laid under heavy contribution ever since, no apology is necessary for -frequent reference to them in these pages. - - - - - CHAPTER IX - - K’ANG HSI BLUE AND WHITE - - -Western collectors have agreed to give the place of honour to the K’ang -Hsi blue and white. The Ming wares of the same kind, mainly from lack -of adequate representation, have not yet been fully appreciated; and in -the post-K’ang Hsi periods the blue and white took an inferior status, -owing to the growing popularity of enamelled wares. The peculiar -virtues of the K’ang Hsi blue and white are due to simple causes. -Blue was still regarded as the best medium for painted designs, and -the demand for it, both in China and abroad, was enormous. The body -material was formed of carefully selected clay and stone, thoroughly -levigated and freed from all impurities. No pains were spared in the -preparation of the blue, which was refined over and over again until -the very quintessence had been extracted from the cobaltiferous ore. -Naturally this process was costly, and the finest cobalt was never used -quite pure; even on the most expensive wares it was blended with a -proportion of the lower grades of the mineral, and this proportion was -increased according to the intended quality of the porcelain. But the -choicest blue and white of this period was unsurpassed in the purity -and perfection of the porcelain, in the depth and lustre of the blue, -and in the subtle harmony between the colour and the white porcelain -background; and the high standard thus established served to raise the -quality of the manufacture in general. - -Vast quantities of this blue and white were shipped to Europe by the -Dutch and the other East India companies, who sent extensive orders -to Ching-tê Chên. It need hardly be said that this export porcelain -varied widely in quality, but it included at this time wares of the -highest class. Indeed, in looking through our large collections -there are surprisingly few examples of the choice K’ang Hsi blue and -white which cannot be included in the export class, as indicated by -the half-Europeanised forms of plates, jugs, tankards, and other -vessels, and by the fact that the vases are made in sets of five. But -considering that it was made to suit purchasers of such varied tastes -and means, it is surprising how little of this K’ang Hsi porcelain is -bad. Even the roughest specimens have a style and a quality not found -on later wares, and all have an unquestionable value as decoration. - -It would be futile to attempt to describe exhaustively the different -kinds of K’ang Hsi blue and white and the innumerable patterns with -which they are decorated. We must confine our descriptions to a few -type specimens, but first it will be useful to give the points of a -choice example. Such a vessel, whatever its nature, will be potted with -perfect skill, its form well proportioned and true. The surface will -be smooth, because the material is thoroughly refined and the piece -has been carefully trimmed or finished on the lathe, and finally all -remaining inequalities have been smoothed away with a moist feather -brush before the glazing. The ware will be clean and white, and the -glaze[276] pure, limpid, and lustrous, but with that faint suspicion of -green which is rarely absent from Chinese porcelain. The general effect -of the body and glaze combined is a solid white like well set curds. -The base, to which the connoisseur looks for guidance, is deeply cut -and washed in the centre with glaze which reaches about half-way down -the sides of the foot rim. This patch of glaze is usually pinholed, -as though the nemesis of absolute perfection had to be placated by -a few flaws in this inconspicuous part. The rim itself is carefully -trimmed, and in many cases grooved or beaded, as though to fit a wooden -stand,[277] and the unglazed edge reveals a smooth, close-grained -biscuit whose fine white material is often superficially tinged with -brown in the heat of the furnace. The decoration is carefully painted -in a pure sapphire blue of great depth and fire, and singularly free -from any strain of red or purple--a quality of blue only obtained by -the most elaborate process of refining. The designs, as on the Ming -porcelains, are first drawn in outline; but, unlike the strong Ming -outlines, these are so faint as to be practically unobserved; and the -colour is filled in, not in flat washes, as on the Ming blue and white, -but in graded depths of pulsating blue. This procedure is clearly shown -by two interesting bowls in the British Museum. They are identical -in form and were intended to match in pattern; but in one the design -(the Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup) is completed, while on the other -it remains in outline only, giving us a wonderful illustration of -the beautiful firm touch with which the artists traced these faint -outlines. The work of decoration was systematically subdivided in the -Chinese factory, and Père d’Entrecolles tells us that “one workman is -solely occupied with the ring which one sees on the border of the ware; -another outlines the flowers, which a third paints; one does the water -and the mountains, another the birds and animals.”[278] Whatever the -advantages and disadvantages of this divided labour, the designs on the -blue and white were admirably chosen to show off the fine qualities -of the colour; and it is to the blue that the collector looks first. -The distinction between the various qualities of blue hardly admit -of verbal definition. It can only be learnt by comparing the actual -specimens, and by training the eye to distinguish the best from the -second best. - -The patterns are not always blue on a white ground. Many of the most -beautiful results were obtained by reserving the design in white in a -blue ground, and both styles are often combined on the same piece. The -second is fairly common on the K’ang Hsi porcelains, being specially -suited to the lambrequins, arabesques, and formal patterns which were a -favourite decoration at this time. See Plates 89 and 91. - - [Illustration: PLATE 89 - - Three examples of K’ang Hsi Blue and White Porcelain in the - British Museum - - Fig. 1.--Ewer with leaf-shaped panels of floral arabesques, - white in blue, enclosed by a mosaic pattern in blue and white: - stiff plantain leaves on the neck and cover. Silver mount with - thumb-piece. Height 7⅛ inches. - - Fig. 2.--Deep bowl with cover, painted with “tiger-lily” scrolls. - Mark, a leaf. Height 7½ inches. - - Fig. 3.--Sprinkler with panels of lotus arabesques, white in - blue, and _ju-i_ shaped border patterns. A diaper of small - blossoms on the neck. Mark, a leaf. Height 7⅛ inches.] - -The choicest materials were lavished on the porcelains with these -formal designs, which consisted now of bands of _ju-i_ shaped -lappets[279] filled with arabesque foliage, forming an upper and lower -border, between which are floral sprays, now of a belt of three or four -palmette-like designs, similarly ornamented, and linked together round -the centre of a vase or bottle; of large, stiff, leaf-shaped medallions -borrowed, like the patterns which fill them, from ancient bronzes, -and of ogre-head designs from a similar source; of successive belts of -arabesque scrolls and dragon designs covering cylindrical jars; of a -mosaic of small blossoms, or of network diapers recalling the pattern -of a crackled porcelain. The white on blue process is constant in a -well known decoration in which archaic dragons, floral arabesques, -roses or peonies are arranged in “admired disorder” over the whole -surface of a cylinder vase or a triple gourd, as on Plate 91. Sometimes -the roses occupy the greater part of the design, and among them are -small oval or round blank medallions, which have earned for the pattern -the name of “rose and ticket.” - -This type of ware is represented in almost every variety in the Dresden -collection, and there are examples of the “rose and ticket” jars in -the _Porzellan-zimmer_ of the Charlottenburg Palace. Both these -collections are mainly composed of the export porcelain sent from -China in the last decades of the seventeenth century, and the latter -is practically limited to the presents made by the English East India -Company to Queen Sophia Charlotte of Prussia (1688–1705). The white on -blue patterns are also freely used in combination with blue and white -to form borders and to fill in the ground between panels. - -As for the blue on white designs, they are legion. There are the old -Ming favourites such as the Court scenes, historical and mythological -subjects, pictorial designs, such as ladies looking at the garden -flowers by candlelight.[280] There are landscapes after Sung and Ming -paintings, the usual dragon and phœnix patterns, animal, bird, and -fish designs, lions and mythical creatures, the familiar group of a -bird (either a phœnix or a golden pheasant) on a rock beside which -are peony, magnolia, and other flowering plants. Panel decoration, -too, is frequent, the panels sometimes petal-shaped and emphasised by -lightly moulded outlines, or again mirror-shaped, circular, fan-shaped, -leaf-shaped, oval, square, etc., and surrounded by diapers and “white -in blue” designs. The reserves are suitably filled with figure subjects -from romance, history, or family life, mythical subjects such as the -adventures of Taoist sages, the story of Wang Chi watching the game of -chess, Tung-fang So and his peaches, or, if numerical sequences are -needed, with the Four Accomplishments (painting, calligraphy, music and -chess), the flowers of the Four Seasons, the Eight Taoist Immortals, -the Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup, etc. Another favourite panel -design is a group of vases, furniture, and symbolical objects from the -comprehensive series known as the Hundred Antiques.[281] Sometimes -the whole surface of a vase is divided into rows of petal-shaped -compartments filled with floral designs, figure subjects, birds and -flowers or landscapes. Plate 91, Fig. 3, from a set of five, is one of -the large vases in the Dresden collection which, tradition says, were -obtained by Augustus the Strong from the King of Prussia in exchange -for a regiment of dragoons. It is decorated with panels illustrating -the stories of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety. - -Some of the purely floral patterns strike perhaps a more distinctive -note. The “aster pattern,” for instance, is a design of stiff, -radiating, aster-like flowers usually in a dark tone of blue and -displayed on saucer dishes or deep covered bowls. Some of the specimens -of this class appear to be a little earlier than K’ang Hsi. The -so-called “tiger-lily” pattern illustrated by Fig. 2 of Plate 89 is -usually associated with deep cylindrical covered bowls of fine material -and painted in the choicest blue. A beaker (Plate 91, Fig. 2) shows a -characteristic treatment of the magnolia, parts of the blossoms being -lightly sculptured in relief and the white petals set off by a foil of -blue clouding. It evidently belongs to a set of five (three covered -jars and two beakers) made as a _garniture de cheminée_ for the -European market. - -The squat-bodied bottle (Plate 92, Fig. 1) illustrates a familiar -treatment of the lotus design, with a large blossom filling the front -of the body. - -But perhaps the noblest of all Chinese blue and white patterns is the -prunus design (often miscalled hawthorn) illustrated by Plate 90, a -covered vase once in the Orrock Collection and now in the Victoria and -Albert Museum. The form is that of the well-known ginger jar, but these -lovely specimens were intended for no banal uses. They were filled with -fragrant tea or some other suitable gift, and sent, like the round cake -boxes, by the Chinese to their friends at the New Year, but it was not -intended that the jars or boxes should be kept by the recipients of the -compliment. - -The New Year falls in China from three to seven weeks later than in our -calendar, and it was seasonable to decorate these jars with sprays and -petals of the flowering prunus fallen on the ice, which was already -cracked and about to dissolve. The design is symbolic of the passing of -winter and the coming of spring; and the vibrating depths of the pure -sapphire blue broken by a network of lines simulating ice cracks form -a lovely setting for the graceful prunus sprays reserved in the pure -curd-like white of the ware. - -The prunus pattern has been applied to every conceivable form, whether -to cover the whole surface or to serve as secondary ornament in the -border of a design or on the rim of a plate, and the prunus jar -appears in all qualities of blue and on porcelain good and bad, old -and new. The graceful sprays have become stereotyped and the whole -design vulgarised in many instances; and in some cases the blossoms are -distributed symmetrically on a marbled blue ground as a mere pattern. -But nothing can stale the beauty of the choice K’ang Hsi originals, on -which the finest materials and the purest, deepest blue were lavished. -The amateur should find no difficulty in distinguishing these from -their decadent descendants. The freshness of the drawing, the pure -quality of the blue, and the excellence of body, glaze, and potting -are unmistakable. The old examples have the low rim round the mouth -unglazed where the rounded cap-shaped cover fitted, and the design on -the shoulders is finished off with a narrow border of dentate pattern. -The original covers are extremely rare, and in most cases have been -replaced with later substitutes in porcelain or carved wood. - -There are, besides, a number of types specially prevalent among the -export porcelains, some purely Chinese in origin, others showing -European influence. Take, for example, the well-known saucer dish with -mounted figures of a man and a woman hunting a hare--a subject usually -known as the “love chase”--a free and spirited design, rather sketchily -painted in pale silvery blue. The porcelain itself is scarcely less -characteristic, a thin, crisp ware, often moulded on the sides with -petal-shaped compartments, and in many ways recalling the earlier type -described on p. 70. It is, however, distinguished from the latter class -by slight differences in tone and finish which can only be learnt by -comparison of actual specimens. It is, moreover, almost always marked -with a _nien hao_ in six characters, whereas marks on the other type -are virtually unknown. The _nien hao_ is usually that of Ch’êng Hua, -but an occasional example with the K’ang Hsi mark gives the true date -of the ware. - -A quantity of this porcelain was brought up by divers from wrecks of -old East Indiamen in Table Bay, among which was the _Haarlem_, lost in -1648,[282] though most of the ships were wrecked at later dates. It -is a thin and sharply moulded ware, often pure eggshell, and the blue -varies from the pale silvery tint to vivid sapphire. The usual forms -are of a utilitarian kind--plates, saucer dishes, cups and saucers, -small vases and bottles, jugs, tankards, and the like--and the designs -are not confined to the “love chase,” but include other figure subjects -(e.g. a warrior on horseback carrying off a lady,[283] and various -scenes from romance and family life), floral designs, deer, phœnixes, -fish, birds, etc., and perhaps most often the tall female figures, -standing beside flowering shrubs or pots of flowers, which are vulgarly -known as “long Elizas,” after the Dutch _lange lijsen_ (see Plate 92, -Fig. 2). - -Graceful ladies (_mei jên_) are familiar motives in Chinese -decoration, but this particular type, usually consisting of isolated -figures in small panels or separated from each other by a shrub or -flowerpot, and standing in a stereotyped pose, are, I think,[284] -peculiar to the export wares of the last half of the seventeenth -century. - -This same type of thin, crisply moulded porcelain was also painted with -similar designs in _famille verte_ enamels over the glaze. It has a -great variety of marks, the commonest being the apocryphal Ch’êng Hua -date-mark, while others are marks of commendation,[285] such as _ch’i -chên ju yü_ (a rare gem like jade), _yü_ (jade), _ya_ (elegant), and -various hall-marks. - - [Illustration: PLATE 90 - - Covered Jar for New Year gifts, with design of blossoming prunus - (_mei hua_) sprays in a ground of deep sapphire blue, which - is reticulated with lines suggesting ice cracks: dentate border - on the shoulders - - Height 10 inches. _Victoria and Albert Museum._] - -Yet another group of superior quality is obviously connected with the -European trade by a peculiar mark (see vol. i., p. 228) resembling the -letter C or G. It is most commonly represented by pairs of bottles with -globular body and tall, tapering neck, decorated with flowing scrolls -of curious rosette-like flowers, a design stated with much probability -to have been copied from Dutch delft. As the Dutch design in question -had evidently been based on a Chinese original, the peculiar nature -of the flowers explains itself. There are other instances of patterns -bandied in this way between the Far East and the West. The same -peculiar floral scroll appears in _famille verte_ associated with -the same mark; and the same G mark occurs on two rare bottles in the -collection of Mr. J. C. J. Drucker, which have blue and white painting -on the neck and _famille verte_ designs in the finest enamels on the -body. A deep bowl in the Eumorfopoulos collection with _famille verte_ -panels of symbols from the Hundred Antiques, and a ground of green -“prunus” pattern, bears the same mark. Neither of these last examples -can be even remotely connected with Dutch influence, so that we may -dismiss the suggestion that the letter in the mark is intended to be -a D, standing for D(elft), for this reason quite apart from the fact -that such a mark on Delft ware is non-existent. I imagine that the true -explanation is that this peculiar mark is a merchant’s sign placed by -order on the goods made for some particular trader. - -A close copy of the “wing handles” of Venetian glass on certain blue -and white bottles (Plate 92, Fig. 3), the appearance of Prince of -Wales’s feathers in the border of a plate and of an heraldic eagle in -the well of a salt cellar, no less than many forms obviously Western -in origin, further emphasise the close relations between the Ching-tê -Chên potters and European traders.[286] An immense quantity of -indifferent blue and white was made for the European table services, -and summarily decorated with baskets of flowers, the usual flowering -plant designs, close patterns of small blossoms, floral scrolls with -large, meaningless flowers, ivy scrolls, passion flowers, and numerous -stereotyped designs, such as dragons in sea waves, prunus pattern -borders, pine tree and stork, a garden fence with rockery and flowering -shrubs, groups from the Hundred Antiques, a parrot on a tree stump, -etc. The blue of these pieces is usually rather dull and heavy, but -the ware has the characteristic appearance of K’ang Hsi porcelain, and -was evidently made for the most part about the year 1700. If marked -at all, the marks are usually symbols, such as the double fish, the -lozenge, the leaf, a tripod vase, and a strange form of the character -_shou_ known as the “spider mark” (see vol. i., p. 225). The -plates are often edged with lustrous brown glaze to prevent that -chipping and scaling to which the Chinese glaze was specially liable on -projecting parts of the ware.[287] - -Something has already been said[288] of another very distinctive class -of blue and white for which the misleading name of “soft paste” has -been widely adopted. The term is of American origin and has been too -readily accepted, for it is not only inaccurate as a description, -but is already current in Europe for a totally different ware, which -it describes with greater exactitude, viz. the artificial, glassy -porcelains made at Sèvres and Chelsea and other factories, chiefly in -France and England, in the middle of the eighteenth century. In actual -fact the Chinese ware to which the term “soft paste” is applied has -an intensely hard body. The glaze, however, which is softer than that -of the ordinary porcelain, contains a proportion of lead, and if not -actually crackled from the first becomes so in use, the crackle lines -being usually irregular and undecided. - -A detailed description of the manufacture of this ware is given by Père -d’Entrecolles,[289] though he is probably at fault in supposing that -its chief ingredient was a recent discovery in 1722. It was made, he -says, with a mineral called _hua shih_ (in place of kaolin), a stone of -glutinous and soapy nature, and almost certainly corresponding to the -steatite or “soapy rock” which was used by the old English porcelain -makers at Bristol, Worcester and Liverpool. “The porcelain made with -_hua shih_,” to quote Père d’Entrecolles, “is rare and far more -expensive than the other porcelain. It has an extremely fine grain; and -for purposes of painting, when compared with ordinary porcelain, it is -almost as vellum to paper. Moreover, this ware is surprisingly light -to anyone accustomed to handle the other kinds; it is also far more -fragile than the ordinary, and there is difficulty in finding the exact -temperature for its firing. Some of the potters do not use _hua shih_ -for the body of the ware, but content themselves with making a diluted -slip into which they dip their porcelain when dry, so as to give it a -coating of soapstone before it is painted and glazed. By this means it -acquires a certain degree of beauty.” The preparation of the _hua shih_ -is also described, but it is much the same as that of the kaolin, and -the composition of the steatitic body is given as eight parts of _hua -shih_ to two of porcelain stone (_petuntse_). - -There are, then, two kinds of steatitic porcelain, one with the body -actually composed of _hua shih_ and the other with a mere surface -dressing of this material. The former is light to handle, and opaque; -and the body has a dry, earthy appearance, though it is of fine grain -and unctuous to touch. It is variously named by the Chinese[290] -_sha-t’ai_ (sand bodied) and _chiang-t’ai_ (paste bodied), and when the -glaze is crackled it is further described as _k’ai pien_ (crackled). - -The painting on the steatitic porcelain differs in style from that -of the ordinary blue and white of this period. It is executed with -delicate touches like miniature painting, and every stroke of the -brush tells, the effects being produced by fine lines rather than by -graded washes. The ware, being costly to make, is usually painted by -skilful artists and in the finest blue. Fig. 3, of Plate 93, is an -excellent example of the pure steatitic ware, an incense bowl in the -Franks collection, of which the base and a large part of the interior -is unglazed and affords a good opportunity for the study of the body -material. The glaze is thin and faintly crackled, and the design--Hsi -Wang Mu and the Taoist Immortals--is delicately drawn in light, clear -blue. - -The second type, which has only a dressing of steatite over the -ordinary body, has neither the same lightness nor the opacity of the -true steatitic ware, but it has the same soft white surface, and is -painted in the same style of line drawing. - -There are, besides, other opaque and crackled wares painted in -underglaze blue, which are also described as “soft paste,” and, indeed, -deserve the name far more than the steatitic porcelain. The creamy, -crackled copies of old Ting wares, for instance, made with _ch’ing -tien_ stone,[291] are occasionally enriched with blue designs; and -the ordinary stone-coloured crackle with buff staining is also painted -at times with underglaze blue,[292] or with blue designs on pads of -white clay in a crackled ground. - -On the other hand, there are numerous wares of the Yung Chêng and -Ch’ien Lung periods which are probably composed in part, at least, of -steatite. They are usually opaque, and the surface is sometimes dead -white, sometimes creamy and often undulating like orange peel, and in -addition to blue decoration, enamel painting is not infrequent on these -later types. The purely steatitic porcelains are generally of small -size, which was appropriate to the style of painting as well as to the -expensive nature of the material. The furniture of the scholar’s table, -with its tiny flower vases for a single blossom, its brush washers and -water vessels of fanciful forms, its pigment boxes, etc., were suitable -objects for the material, and many of these little crackled porcelains -are veritable gems. Snuff bottles are another appropriate article, and -a representative collection of snuff bottles will show better than -anything the great variety of these mixed wares and so-called “soft -pastes.” - -It has been already observed that crackled blue and white porcelain -of the steatitic kind is found with the date marks of Ming Emperors, -and there can be little doubt that it was made from early Ming times, -but as the style of painting seems to have known no change it will be -always difficult to distinguish the early specimens. It is safe to -assume that almost all the specimens in Western collections belong to -the Ch’ing dynasty, a few to the K’ang Hsi period, but the bulk of the -better examples to the reigns of Yung Chêng and Ch’ien Lung. Modern -copies of the older wares also abound. - - [Illustration: Plate 91.--Blue and White K’ang Hsi Porcelain. - - Fig. 1.--Triple Gourd Vase, white in blue designs of archaic - dragons and scrolls of season flowers. Height 36½ inches. - _Dresden Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Beaker, white magnolia design slightly raised, with blue - background. Height 18 inches. _British Museum._ - - Fig. 3.--“Grenadier Vase,” panels with the Paragons of Filial - Piety. Height 44 inches. _Dresden Collection._] - - [Illustration: Plate 92.--Blue and White K’ang Hsi Porcelain. - - Fig. 1.--Sprinkler with lotus design. Height 6¼ inches. - _British Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Bottle with biscuit handles, design of graceful ladies - (_mei jen_). Height 11 inches. _Fitzwilliam Museum - (formerly D. G. Rosetti Collection)_. - - Fig. 3.--Bottle with handles copied from Venetian glass. Height - 6¼ inches. _British Museum._] - - [Illustration: Plate 93.--Blue and White Porcelain. - - Fig. 1.--Tazza with Sanskrit characters. Ch’ien Lung mark. Height - 4¼ inches. _British Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Water Pot, butterfly and flowers, steatitic porcelain. - Wan Li mark. Height 1⅞ inches. _Eumorfopoulos Collection._ - - Fig. 3.--Bowl, steatitic porcelain. Immortals on a log raft. - K’ang Hsi period. Diameter 5¾ inches. _British Museum._] - - [Illustration: Plate 94.--Porcelain decorated in enamels on the - biscuit. - - Fig. 1.--Ewer in form of the character _Shou_ (Longevity); - blue and white panel with figure designs. Early K’ang Hsi period. - Height 8¾ inches. _Salting Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Ink Palette, dated 31st year of K’ang Hsi (1692 - A.D.). Length 5¼ inches. _British Museum._] - -An interesting passage in the first letter[293] of Père d’Entrecolles -describes a curious kind of porcelain, of which the secret had already -been lost. It was known as _chia ch’ing_ or “blue put in press,” -and it was said that the blue designs on the cups so treated were -only visible when the vessel was filled with water. The method of -the manufacture is described as follows: “The porcelain to be so -decorated had to be very thin; when it was dry, a rather strong blue -was applied, not to the exterior in the usual manner, but on the -interior to the sides. The design usually consisted of fish, as being -specially appropriate to appear when the cup was filled with water. -When the colour was dry a light coating of slip, made with the body -material, was applied, and this coating enclosed the blue between -two layers of clay. When this coating was dry, glaze was sprinkled -inside the cup, and shortly afterwards the porcelain was placed on the -wheel. As the body had been strengthened on the interior, the potter -proceeded to pare it down outside as fine as possible without actually -penetrating to the colour. The exterior was then glazed by immersion. -When completely dry it was fired in the ordinary furnace. The work is -extremely delicate, and requires a dexterity which the Chinese seem no -longer to possess. Still, they try from time to time to recover the -secret of this magical painting, but without success. One of them told -me recently that he had made a fresh attempt, and had almost succeeded.” - -No example of this mysterious porcelain is known to exist, and it is -probable that the whole story is based on some ill-grounded tradition. -It is true that water will bring out the faded design on certain old -potteries, but this is due to the action of the water in restoring -transparency to a soft decayed glaze. But how the water or any other -liquid could affect the transparency of a hard, impenetrable porcelain -glaze, still less influence the colour concealed beneath a layer of -clay and glaze, is far from clear. Indeed, the whole story savours of -the “tall tales” quoted in chap. x. of vol. i. - -But perhaps it will not be inappropriate to mention here another -peculiar type of blue and white, which, if we may judge by the early -date mark usually placed upon it, throws back to some older model. The -design, usually a dragon, is delicately traced with a needle point on -the body of the ware, and a little cobalt blue is dusted into the -incisions.[294] The glaze is then applied, and when the piece is fired -and finished the dragon design appears faintly “tattooed” in pale blue. -The effect is light and delicate, but of small decorative value, and -the few examples which I have seen are redeemed from insignificance -by a peculiarly beautiful body of pure glassy porcelain. They bear an -apocryphal Ch’êng Hua mark, but evidently belong to the first half of -the eighteenth century, to the Yung Chêng, or perhaps the late K’ang -Hsi period. - - - - - CHAPTER X - - K’ANG HSI POLYCHROME PORCELAINS - - -Broadly speaking, the polychrome porcelains of the Ming and K’ang -Hsi periods are the same in principle, though they differ widely -in style and execution. The general types continued, and the first -to be considered is that in which all the colours are fired in the -high temperature of the large kiln, comprising underglaze blue and -underglaze red, and certain slips and coloured glazes. Conspicuous -among the last is a pale golden brown commonly known as Nanking -yellow, which is found in narrow bands or in broad washes, dividing -or surrounding blue designs, and is specially common on the bottles, -sprinklers, gourd-shaped vases, and small jars exported to Europe in -the last half of the seventeenth century. The golden brown also darkens -into coffee brown, and in some cases it alternates in bands with buff -crackle and pale celadon green. - -A deep olive brown glaze is sometimes found as a background for -ornament in moulded reliefs which are touched with underglaze blue and -red. A fine vase of this type is in the Salting Collection, and a good -example was given by Mr. Andrew Burman to the British Museum. Both seem -to be designed after bronze models. - -But the central colour of this group is undoubtedly the underglaze -red. Derived from copper it is closely akin to the red of the _chi -hung_ glaze, and both were conspicuous on the Hsüan Tê porcelain, -both fell into disuse in the later Ming periods, and both were revived -in the reign of K’ang Hsi. - -I have seen two examples of this colour in combination with underglaze -blue bearing the hall mark _chung-ho-t’ang_, and cyclical dates -corresponding to 1671 and 1672 respectively. In neither of these -pieces, however, was the red very successful, and probably the better -K’ang Hsi specimens belong to a later period of the reign. It was, -however, always a difficult colour to fire, and examples in which the -red is perfectly developed are rare. As a rule, it tends to assume a -maroon or dark reddish brown tint. - -Nor is the method of its application always the same. Sometimes it is -painted on in clean, crisp brush strokes; at others it is piled up in -thick washes which flow in the firing and assume some of the qualities -and the colour of _sang de bœuf_ red, even displaying occasional -crackle; on other pieces again a “peach bloom” tint is developed.[295] -On two of the best examples in the Franks Collection, where a deep -blood red is combined with a fine quality of blue, it is noteworthy -that the surface of the white glaze has a peculiar dull lustre. This, -I understand, is due to “sulphuring” in the kiln, a condition which, -whether accidental or intentional, is certainly favourable to the red -colour. It is also noticeable that the red is particularly successful -under a glaze which is faintly tinged with celadon green such as is -often used on imitations of Ming porcelains, and it was no doubt this -consideration which led to the frequent use of celadon green in this -group. The celadon is used either as a ground colour for the whole -piece or in parts only of the design, and the addition of white slip -further strengthened the palette. With these colours some exquisite -effects have been compassed in such designs as birds on prunus boughs -and storks among lotus plants, the main design being in blue, the -blossoms in white slip slightly raised and touched with red, and the -background plain white, celadon green (Plate 115), and sometimes pale -lavender blue. The celadon and pale lavender vases with this decoration -were favourites with the French in the eighteenth century, and many -sets of vases and beakers in this style have been furnished with -sumptuous ormolu mounts by the French goldsmiths. - -The painting in underglaze red, which was revived in the K’ang Hsi -period, continued with success in the succeeding reigns of Yung Chêng -and Ch’ien Lung (indeed it has not ceased to this day), but the bulk -of the finer examples in our collections seem to belong to the late -K’ang Hsi and the Yung Chêng periods. The underglaze red is used alone -as well as in combination, and some of its most successful effects are -found on small objects like colour boxes and snuff bottles. - -The black or brown pigment used for outlining designs under the -softer enamel colours such as green and yellow, though in one sense an -underglaze colour, does not belong to this group. - -From this group of polychrome porcelain we pass to another in which the -colour is given by washes of various glazes. A few of the high-fired -glazes are employed for this purpose, especially blue in combination -with celadon green and white, and a few clay slips, of which the -commonest is a dressing of brown clay applied without any glaze and -producing an iron-coloured surface. The most familiar members of this -group are small Taoist figures of rough but vivacious modelling with -draperies glazed blue, celadon and white,[296] and the base unglazed -and slightly browned in the firing. Collectors are tempted to regard -these figures as late or modern productions, but examples in the -Dresden collection prove that this technique was employed in the K’ang -Hsi period. In the same collection there are numbers of small toy -figures, such as monkeys, oxen, grotesque human forms, etc., sometimes -serving as whistles or as water-droppers. They are made of coarse -porcelain or stoneware with a thin dressing of brown ferruginous clay, -and touches of high-fired glazes. The appearance of these, too, is so -modern that we realise with feelings of surprise that they formed part -of the collection of Augustus the Strong. - -The polychrome porcelain coloured with glazes of the _demi-grand -feu_ (i.e. glazes fired in the more temperate parts of the large -kiln) has been discussed in the chapters on the Ming period.[297] -The group characterised by green, turquoise and aubergine violet, -semi-opaque, and minutely crackled is not conspicuous among K’ang -Hsi porcelains; indeed it seems to have virtually ceased with the -Ming dynasty. The individual colours, however, were still used as -monochromes; in combination they are chiefly represented by aubergine -violet and turquoise in broad washes on such objects as peach-shaped -wine pots, Buddhist lions with joss-stick holders attached, parrots, -and similar ornaments. - -The other three-colour group, composed of transparent green, yellow -and aubergine purple glazes, usually associated with designs finely -etched with a metal point on the body, were freely used in the K’ang -Hsi and Yung Chêng periods in imitation of Ming prototypes. Such -specimens are often characterised by extreme neatness of workmanship -and technical perfection of the ware. The best-known examples are thin, -beautifully potted rice bowls, with slightly everted rim, and a design -of five-clawed Imperial dragons traced with a point and filled in with -a colour contrasting with that of the ground, e.g. green on yellow, or -green on aubergine, all the possible changes being rung on the three -colours. Being Imperial wares these bowls are usually marked with the -_nien hao_ of their period, but such is the trimness of their make -that collectors are tempted to regard them as specimens of a later -reign. But here again the Dresden collection gives important evidence, -for it contains a bowl of this class with dragons in a remarkable -purplish black colour (probably an accidental variety of the aubergine) -in a yellow ground. It bears the mark of the K’ang Hsi period. - -The application of similar plumbo-alcaline glazes to a commoner type of -porcelain is described by Père d’Entrecolles[298]:--“There is a kind -of coloured porcelain which is sold at a lower rate than the enamelled -ware just described.... The material required for this work need not -be so fine. Vessels which have already been baked in the great furnace -without glaze, and consequently white and lustreless, are coloured by -immersion in a bowl filled with the colouring preparation if they are -intended to be monochrome. But if they are required to be polychrome -like the objects called _hoam lou houan_,[299] which are divided -into kinds of panels, one green, one yellow, etc., the colours are -laid on with a large brush. This is all that need be done to this -type of porcelain, except that after the firing a little vermilion -is applied to certain parts such as the beaks of birds, etc. This -vermilion, however, is not fired, as it would evaporate in the kiln, -and consequently it does not last. When the various colours have been -applied, the porcelain is refired in the great furnace with the other -wares which have not yet been baked; but care is taken to place it at -the bottom of the furnace and below the vent-hole where the fire is -less fierce; otherwise the great heat would destroy the colours.” - - [Illustration: PLATE 95 - - Two examples of Porcelain painted with coloured enamels on the - biscuit, the details of the designs being first traced in brown. - K’ang Hsi period (1662–1722) - - Fig. 1.--One of a pair of Buddhistic Lions, sometimes called Dogs - of Fo. This is apparently the lioness, with her cub: the lion has - a ball of brocade under his paw. On the head is the character - _wang_ (prince) which is more usual on the tiger of Chinese - art. Height 18 inches. _S. E. Kennedy Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Bottle-shaped Vase and Stand moulded in bamboo pattern - and decorated with floral brocade designs and diapers. Height 8¾ - inches. _Cope Bequest_ (_Victoria & Albert Museum_).] - -In this interesting passage, written in 1722, we have a precise -account of the manufacture of one of the types of porcelain which -have been indiscriminately assigned to the Ming period. This on-biscuit -polychrome was undoubtedly made in the Ming dynasty, but in view of -d’Entrecolles’ description it will be safe to assume that, unless -there is some very good evidence to the contrary, the examples in our -collections are not older than K’ang Hsi. The type is easily identified -from the above quotation, and there is a little group of the wares in -the British Museum, mostly small figures and ornaments with washes -of green, brownish yellow and aubergine purple applied direct to the -biscuit, and on some of the unglazed details the unfired vermilion -still adheres. These coloured glazes are compounded with powdered -flint, lead, saltpetre, and colouring oxides, and the porcelain -belongs to the comprehensive group of _san ts’ai_ or three-colour -ware, although the three colours--green, yellow and aubergine--are -supplemented by a black formed of brown black pigment under one of the -translucent glazes and a white which d’Entrecolles describes[300] as -composed of ⅖ ounce of powdered flint to every ounce of white lead. -This last forms the thin, iridescent film often of a faintly greenish -tinge, which serves as white on these three-colour porcelains. In rare -cases also a violet blue enamel is added to the colour scheme. - -A characteristic of this particular type is the absence of any painted -outlines. The colours are merely broad washes bounded by the flow of -the glaze, and this style of polychrome is best suited to figures and -moulded ornamental pieces, in which the details of the design form -natural lines of demarcation for the glazes. On a flat surface this -method of coloration is only suited to such patchy patterns as the -so-called tiger skin and the tortoiseshell wares. - -The Dresden collection is peculiarly rich in this kind of _san -ts’ai_, but though two or three of the specimens (Plate 71, Figs. 1 -and 2) differing considerably from the rest, are clearly of the Ming -period, the great majority are undoubtedly contemporaneous with the -forming of the collection, viz. of the K’ang Hsi period. The latter -include numerous figures, human and animal, and ornaments such as the -junk on Plate 98, besides some complicated structures of rocks and -shrines and grottos, peopled with tiny images and human figures. To -this group belong such specimens as the “brinjal bowls,” with everted -rim and slight floral designs engraved in outline and filled in with -coloured glaze in a ground of aubergine (brinjal) purple. There are -similar specimens with green ground, and both types are frequently -classed with Ming wares. Some of them may indeed belong to the late -Ming period,[301] but those with finer finish are certainly K’ang Hsi. -They are usually marked with rough, undecipherable seal marks in blue, -which are commonly known as shop marks. - -Some of the figures of deities, birds and animals, besides the -small ornamental objects such as brush-washers in the form of lotus -leaves and little water vessels for the writing table are of very -high quality, skilfully modelled and of material far finer than that -described by d’Entrecolles. Fig. 2, Plate 99, a statuette of Ho -Hsien-ku, one of the Eight Immortals, is an example. The flesh is in -white biscuit, showing the fine grain of the porcelain, white to-day, -though possibly it was originally coloured with unfired pigment and -gilt as was often the case. The glazes on this finer quality of ware, -especially the green and the aubergine, are peculiarly smooth and -sleek, and the yellow is fuller and browner than on the kindred ware, -enamelled on the biscuit, which we now proceed to investigate. - -The French term, _émaillé sur biscuit_, is used somewhat broadly to -cover the coloured glazes just described, as well as the enamels proper -of the muffle kiln. We shall try to confine the expression, “on-biscuit -enamels,” to the softer, verifiable enamels which are fired at a lower -temperature and in a smaller kiln or muffle. These are, in fact, the -same enamels as are used in the ordinary _famille verte_ porcelain -painted over the finished glaze, but when applied direct to the biscuit -they have a slightly darker and mellower tone, the background of -biscuit reflecting less light than the glittering white glaze. - - [Illustration: PLATE 96 - - Vase of baluster form painted in coloured enamels on the biscuit. - The design, which is outlined in brown, consists of a beautifully - drawn prunus (_mei hua_) tree in blossom and hovering birds, - beside a rockery and smaller plants of bamboo, etc., set in a - ground of mottled green. Ch’êng Hua mark but K’ang Hsi period - (1662–1722) - - Height 16¾ inches. _British Museum._] - -Though the colour scheme of this group is substantially the same as -that of the _san ts’ai_ glazes, and though the enamels when used in -wide areas are not always easily distinguished from the glazes, the -former do, in fact, differ in containing more lead, being actually -softer and more liable to acquire crackle and iridescence, and in some -cases there are appreciable differences in tint. The yellow enamel, -for instance, is as a rule paler, and even when of a dark tint it has -a muddy tone wanting in the fullness and strength of the yellow glaze; -the green enamel varies widely in tone from the glaze, and includes, -besides, several fresh shades, among which is a soft apple green -of great beauty; and the aubergine is less claret coloured and often of -a decidedly pinkish tone. - -But perhaps the most distinctive feature of this _san ts’ai_ of -the muffle kiln is the careful tracing of the design in a brown black -pigment on the biscuit. The transparent enamels are washed on over -these black outlines, and give appropriate colours without obscuring -the design which is already complete in itself.[302] The same brown -black pigment[303] is also used over wide areas, laid on thickly and -washed with transparent green to form the fine green black which is so -highly prized. Like so much of the porcelain with coloured ornament -applied to the biscuit this large group has been indiscriminately -assigned to the Ming dynasty. The lack of documentary evidence has -made it difficult to combat this obvious fallacy, obvious because -the form and style of decoration of the finest specimens are purely -K’ang Hsi in taste and feeling; but, while fully recognising that the -scheme of decoration was not a new one, but had been in use in the -Ming porcelains, I would point a warning finger again[304] to the ink -slab in the British Museum with its design of aubergine plum blossoms -on conventional green waves, its borders of lozenge and hexagon -diaper, all enamelled on the biscuit, and in the characteristic style -habitually described as Ming in sale catalogues, but actually dated -1692. Another consideration is the quantity of these pieces in the -Dresden collection which consists mainly of K’ang Hsi wares, and the -presence of several examples (e.g. bamboo vases such as Fig. 2 of Plate -95) in the rooms of the Charlottenburg Palace, which were furnished -mainly with presents made by the British East India Company to Queen -Sophia Charlotte (1668–1705). - -Marks are rare on this group, as a whole, though they occur fairly -frequently on the large vases, the commonest being the date mark of the -Ch’êng Hua period. No one would, however, seriously argue a fifteenth -century date from this mark which is far more common than any other on -K’ang Hsi porcelain; and I have actually seen the K’ang Hsi mark on -one or two specimens which appeared to be perfectly genuine. Curiously -enough the K’ang Hsi mark is more often a sign of a modern imitation, -but this in view of the perverse methods of marking Chinese porcelain -is in itself evidence that the modern copyist regards the reign of -K’ang Hsi as the best period of manufacture for this style of ware. - - [Illustration: PLATE 97 - - Square Vase with pendulous body and high neck slightly expanding - towards the top: two handles in the form of archaic lizard-like - dragons (_chih lung_), and a pyramidal base. Porcelain - painted with coloured enamels on the biscuit, with scenes - representing Immortals on a log raft approaching Mount P’êng-lai - in the Taoist Paradise. K’ang Hsi period (1662–1722) - - Height 20½ inches. _British Museum._] - -The noblest examples of this group, and perhaps the finest of all -Chinese polychromes, are the splendid vases with designs reserved -in grounds of green black, yellow or leaf green. Plates 96, 97 and -Frontispiece will serve to illustrate the colours and at the same -time some of the favourite forms[305] of these sumptuous pieces, the -baluster vase, and the square vase with pendulous body, pyramidal -base, and two handles usually of archaic dragon form. The favourite -design for the decoration of these forms is the flowering prunus tree, -beside a rockery with a few bright plumaged birds in the branches, one -of the most familiar and at the same time most beautiful of Chinese -patterns (see Plate 96). The flowers of the four seasons--peony, lotus, -chrysanthemum and prunus--form a beautiful decoration for the four -sides of another favourite form, a tall vase of square elevation with -sides lightly tapering downwards, rounded shoulders, arid circular -neck, slightly flaring at the mouth. The specimens illustrated are in -the British Museum, but there is a wonderful series of these lordly -vases in the Salting Collection, and in the Pierpont Morgan and Altmann -Collections in New York. To-day they are rare, and change hands at -enormous prices. Consequently all manner of imitations abound, European -and Oriental, the modern Chinese work in this style being often highly -successful. But the most insidious copies are the deliberate frauds -in which old K’ang Hsi vases are stripped of a relatively cheap -form of decoration, the glaze and colour being removed by grinding, -and furnished with a cleverly enamelled design in colours on the -biscuit. The actual colours are often excellent, and as the ware seen -at the base is the genuine K’ang Hsi porcelain even the experienced -connoisseur may be deceived at first, though probably his misgivings -will be aroused by something in the drawing which betrays the copyist, -and a searching examination of the surface will reveal some traces of -the sinister treatment to which it has been subjected or the tell-tale -marks, such as black specks or burns, left on the foot rim by the -process of refiring. There is much truth besides in the saying that -things “look their age,” and artificial signs of wear imparted by -friction and rubbing with sand or grit are not difficult for the -experienced eye to detect. - -As already noted, the black of the precious black-ground vases, the -_famille noire_ as they are sometimes called, is formed by -overlaying a dull black pigment with washes of transparent green -enamel. The result is a rich greenish black, the enamel imparting life -and fire to the dull pigment; and as the green is fluxed with lead it -tends to become iridescent, giving an additional green _reflet_ -to the black surface. The modern potters have learnt to impart an -iridescence to their enamels, and one often sees a strong lustre on -specimens which are clearly “hot from the kiln”; but these enamels -have a sticky appearance differing widely from the mellow lustre which -partial decay has spread over the K’ang Hsi colours. It will be found, -besides, that the shapes of the modern copies are wanting in the grace -and feeling of the originals. - -This type of porcelain enamelled on the biscuit is particularly well -suited to statuettes and ornamental objects of complex form. The -details of the biscuit remain sharp and clear, and there is no thick -white glaze to soften the projections and fill up the cavities, for the -washes of transparent enamel are too slight to obscure the modelling. -Consequently we find in this style of ware all the familiar Chinese -figures, the Buddhist and Taoist deities, demigods, and sages, which, -like our own madonnas and saints, mostly conform to well established -conventions, differing mainly in their size, the quality of their -finish, the form of their bases or pedestals, and the details of the -surface colouring. Of these the figures of Kuan-yin[306] are the most -frequent and the most attractive, the compassionate goddess with -sweet pensive face, mounted on a lotus pedestal or a rocky throne -and sometimes canopied with a cloak which serves as a hood and a -covering for her back and shoulders. She has moreover a long flowing -robe open at the neck, and displaying a jewelled necklace on her bare -bosom. There are, besides, the god of Longevity: the Eight Immortals: -Tung-fang So with his stolen peaches: the star-gods of Longevity, Rank, -and Happiness: the twin genii of Mirth and Harmony: Kuan-ti, the god -of War, on a throne or on horseback: Lao-tzŭ on his ox: the demon-like -Kuei Hsing, and the dignified Wên Ch’ang, gods of Literature; and all -the throng. There are a few animal forms such as the horse, the ox, the -elephant, the mythical _ch’i-lin_, and most common of all the Buddhist -lions (sometimes called the dogs of Fo), usually in pairs, one with a -cub, and the other playing with a ball of brocade, mounted on an oblong -base, to which is attached, in the smaller sizes at any rate, a tube -for holding incense sticks. Other familiar objects are four-footed -or tripod stands for manuscript rolls, boxes for brushes colours, -etc., ink screens, water pots of fanciful shape for the writing -table, picture plaques (Plate 100), supper sets made up of a number -of small trays which fit together in the form of a lotus flower[307] -or a rosette, perforated boxes and hanging vases for fragrant flowers -(Fig. 2 of Plate 98), “butterfly cages,” and “cricket boxes.” Another -well-known specimen represents the famous T’ang poet, Li T’ai-po, the -Horace of China, reclining in drunken stupor against a half overturned -wine jar, the whole serving as a water vessel for the writing table. - -Instances of the combination of on-glaze and on-biscuit enamels in the -same piece also occur. Thus on the splendid black-ground potiche in -the Franks Collection (Frontispiece) passages of white glaze have been -inserted to receive the coral red colour which apparently could not -be applied to the biscuit. And conversely in the ordinary _famille -verte_ decoration on the glaze there are sometimes inserted small -areas of on-biscuit enamels on borders, handles, base ornaments, -etc. Such combinations give an excellent opportunity for observing -the contrast between the softer, fuller tints on the biscuit and the -brighter, more jewel-like enamels on the white glaze. In rare instances -we find passages of blue and white decoration associated with the -on-biscuit enamels as on the curious ewer illustrated by Fig. 1 of -Plate 94. Blue and white is similarly combined with decoration in -coloured glazes on the biscuit in a late Ming jar in the Victoria and -Albert Museum (Case 9, No. 4396–57). - - [Illustration: Plate 98.--K’ang Hsi Porcelain with on-biscuit - decoration. - - _Dresden Collection._ - - Fig. 1.--Teapot in form of a lotus seed-pod, enamels on the - biscuit. Height 2¾ inches. - - Fig. 2.--Hanging Perfume Vase, reticulated, enamels on the - biscuit. Height 3½ inches. - - Fig. 3.--Ornament in form of a junk, transparent _san ts’ai_ - glazes. Height 11½ inches.] - - [Illustration: - - Plate 99.--K’ang Hsi Porcelain with on-biscuit decoration. - - Fig. 1.--Ewer with black enamel ground, lion handle. Height 8¾ - inches. _Cope Bequest_ (_V. & A. Museum_). - - Fig. 2.--Figure of the Taoist Immortal, Ho Hsien Ku, transparent - _san ts’ai_ glazes. Height 10⅛ inches. _S. E. Kennedy - Collection._ - - Fig. 3.--Vase and Stand, enamelled on the biscuit. Height 8¾ - inches. _Cope Bequest._] - - [Illustration: Plate 100.--Screen with Porcelain Plaque, painted - in enamels on the biscuit. - - Light green background. K’ang Hsi period (1662–1722). Total - height 22½ inches. - - _In the Collection of the Hon. E. Evan Charteris._] - - [Illustration: Plate 101.--Vase with panels of landscapes and - _po ku_ symbols in _famille verte_ enamels - - In a ground of underglaze blue trellis pattern. K’ang Hsi period - (1662–1722). Height 32 inches. _Dresden Collection._] - - [Illustration: Plate 102.--Two Dishes of _famille verte_ - Porcelain in the _Dresden Collection_. K’ang Hsi period - (1662–1722). - - Fig. 1.--With birds on a flowering branch, brocade borders. - Artist’s signature in the field. Diameter 16 inches. - - Fig. 2.--With ladies on a garden terrace. Diameter 21 inches.] - -The familiar phrase, _famille verte_, was first used by Jacquemart as a -class name for the enamelled porcelains on which green plays a leading -part. According to this definition it should include the _Wan li wu -ts’ai_, the Ming enamelled porcelain, as well as much of the on-biscuit -enamelled wares, in addition to the typical K’ang Hsi enamelled -porcelain to which usage has specially consecrated the term. A direct -descendant of the _Wan li wu ts’ai_, the _famille verte_ includes -the combinations of underglaze blue with the translucent on-glaze -enamels green, yellow, and aubergine, and the coral red (derived from -iron), the French _rouge de fer_, which is so thin that it -resembles a pigment rather than a vitreous enamel. Add to these the -brown black pigment, which is used to trace the outlines of the design -and with a covering of green to form the green black, and we have one -type of _famille verte_ which differs in no essential from the Wan -Li prototype. It is, in fact, no easy matter to find the line which -divides the two groups. The nature of the ware and the style of the -painting are the best guides; and the study of the K’ang Hsi blue and -white will be a great help in this delicate task. - -But the real K’ang Hsi _famille verte_, which we might call the _K’ang -hsi wu ts’ai_, is distinguished by the addition of an overglaze blue -enamel which enhanced the brilliancy of the colour scheme, and at the -same time removed the necessity of using underglaze and overglaze -colours together.[308] It is not to be supposed, however, that the -underglaze blue disappeared entirely from the group. The old types -were always dear to the Chinese mind, and there were frequent revivals -of these in addition to the special wares,[309] such as the “Chinese -Imari,” in which this kind of blue was essential. There are indeed -examples of both blues on the same pieces. - -The history of this overglaze blue enamel has already[310] been -partially discussed, and evidence has been given of its tentative -use in the Wan Li porcelain. A passage in the second letter of Père -d’Entrecolles[311] actually places its invention about the year 1700, -but the worthy father’s chronology (based no doubt chiefly on hearsay) -is often at fault. It is fairly certain, however, that the blue enamel -was not used to any extent before the Ch’ing dynasty, owing no doubt to -the fact that it had not been satisfactorily made until that date. - -A beautiful enamel of violet blue tone, it is an important factor of -the _famille verte_ decoration, and the merits of a vase or dish are -often decided on the purity and brilliance of this colour alone. There -is, however, something in the nature of the enamel which seems to -affect the surrounding glaze; at any rate, it is often ringed about -by a kind of halo of dull lustre, reflecting faint rainbow tints to a -distance of perhaps an inch from the edge of the blue. It is as though -an exhalation from the blue enamel deposited a thin film of lustre on -the glaze, and it is a very frequent occurrence, though not always in -the same conspicuous degree. Collectors who are ever looking for a sign -have been tempted to hail its presence as a sure proof of antiquity. -But it is by no means constant on the old _famille verte_, and it has -yet to be proved that the same enamel will not produce a similar effect -on the modern glaze. - -In view of the appreciation of _famille verte_ porcelain at the -present day a contemporary criticism will be of interest. D’Entrecolles -in his first letter,[312] referring to “porcelain painted with -landscapes in a medley of almost all the colours heightened with -gilding,” says: “They are very beautiful, if one pays a high price, but -the ordinary wares of this kind are not to be compared with blue and -white.” And again,[313] following an exact description of painting with -enamel colours on the finished glaze and of the subsequent refiring of -the ware, we read: “Sometimes the painting is intentionally reserved -for the second firing; at other times they only use the second firing -to conceal defects in the porcelain, applying the colours to the faulty -places. This porcelain, which is loaded with colour, is not to the -taste of a good many people. As a rule one can feel inequalities on the -surface of this kind of porcelain, whether due to the clumsiness of the -workmen, to the exigencies of light and shade in the painting, or to -the desire to conceal defects in the body of the ware.” - -The tenor of these criticisms will not be endorsed by the modern -collector of K’ang Hsi porcelain. _Famille verte_ porcelain is -enthusiastically sought, and even indifferent specimens command a -high price, while the really choice examples can only be purchased -by the wealthy. As to the inequalities on the surface, the second of -the three reasons hazarded by d’Entrecolles is nearest the truth. The -enamels used by the Chinese porcelain painter contain a remarkably -small percentage of colouring oxide, and one of the characteristics -of _famille verte_ colours is their transparency. To obtain full -tones and the contrast between light and shade (even to the limited -extent to which the Chinese use this convention) it was necessary -to pile up the layers of colour at the risk of unduly thickening the -enamel. But the connoisseur of to-day finds nothing amiss in these -jewel-like incrustations of colour, so long as the enamels are pure and -bright, and have not scaled off or suffered too severely from the wear -to which their prominent surface is exposed. - -It seems[314] that when the porcelain was destined to receive on-glaze -enamels (without any underglaze blue) a special glazing mixture was -used in which only one part of the softening element[315] was combined -with thirteen of the ordinary glazing fluid. This glaze was very white -and strong, and too opaque to do justice to an underglaze blue. - -There is a reference in the first letter of Père d’Entrecolles to -a white colour which was used on the “porcelain painted in various -colours.” It was fluxed with lead like the other enamel colours, and -it was also used mixed with the latter to modify their tint. In fact -there can be little doubt that it was arsenical white, an opaque white -familiar on the Yung Chêng and Ch’ien Lung porcelains, and prominent in -the _famille rose_ palette, but not usually suspected of such an -early appearance as 1712, the date of the letter in question. - -The designs of the _famille verte_ porcelain, like those on the blue -and white, are first traced in outline and then filled in with washes -of colour. The outlines are in a dry dull pigment of red or brown black -tint, inconspicuous in itself, but acquiring prominence when covered -with transparent enamel. M. Grandidier tried to formulate certain rules -for these outlines which, if reliable, would simplify greatly the task -of dating the porcelains. On Ming ware, he said, the outlines were -blue; on K’ang Hsi wares the face and body outlines were red, those of -the vestments and other objects black. Unfortunately the first of these -generalisations is wholly wrong, and the second pointless, because only -partly right. - -Omitting the underglaze blue as foreign to this particular group of -_famille verte_ under discussion, the colours consist of dark leaf -green often of a mottled appearance, a beautiful light apple green, -which is characteristic of the K’ang Hsi wares just as the blue green -is of the sixteenth century polychrome, an aubergine colour (derived -from manganese) which varies from purple brown to rosy purple, a yellow -of varying purity and usually of brownish tone, a green black formed -of the brown black pigment under washes of transparent green, a blue -enamel of violet tone, and the thin iron red. The blue enamel and the -red are sometimes omitted, leaving a soft harmony of green, aubergine -and yellow in which green plays the chief part. A little gilding is -often used to heighten parts of the design. - -As for the shapes of the _famille verte_ porcelain, they are -substantially the same as those of the blue and white and call for -no further comment. The designs, too, of the painted decoration are -clearly derived from the same sources as those in the blue and white, -viz. books of stock patterns, pictures, illustrations of history -and romance, and of such other subjects as happened to be specially -appropriate or of general interest. - -To take a single instance of a pictorial design, the familiar rockery -and flowering plants (peony, magnolia, etc.) and a gay-plumaged -pheasant lends itself to effective treatment in enamel colours. It -is taken from a picture, probably Sung in origin, but there are many -repetitions of it in pictorial art, one of which by the Ming painter -Wang-yu is in the British Museum collection.[316] The original is said -to have been painted by the Emperor Hui Tsung in the beginning of the -twelfth century. Another familiar design--quails and millet--is reputed -to have been painted by the same Imperial artist. - -A good instance of the kind of illustrated book which supplied the -porcelain decorator with designs is the _Yü chih kêng chih t’u_ -(Album of Ploughing and Weaving, compiled by Imperial order), -which deals with the cultivation of rice and silk in some forty -illustrations. It was first issued in the reign of K’ang Hsi, and -there are copies of the original and of several later editions in the -British Museum. A specimen of _famille rose_ porcelain in the -Franks Collection is decorated with a scene from this work, and in the -Andrew Burman Collection there are two _famille verte_ dishes with -designs from the same source. In the Burdett Coutts Collection, again, -there is a polygonal bowl with subjects on each side representing -the various stages of cotton cultivation, evidently borrowed from an -analogous work. - - [Illustration: PLATE 103 - - Club-shaped (_rouleau_) Vase finely painted in _famille - verte_ enamels with panel designs in a ground of chrysanthemum - scrolls in iron red; brocade borders. Last part of the K’ang Hsi - period (1662–1722) - - Height 17 inches. _Salting Collection_ (_Victoria and - Albert Museum_).] - -Signatures and seals of the artist usually attached to a stanza -of verse, or a few phrases which allude to the subject, are often -found in the field of the pictorial designs. Fig. 1 of Plate 102, -for instance, belongs to a series of beautiful dishes in the Dresden -collection, which display the same seal--apparently[317] _wan -shih chü_ (myriad rocks retreat), the studio name not, I think, of the -porcelain painter but of the artist whose picture was copied on the -porcelain. There are numerous examples of similar seals in the field -of the design, and we shall return to the subject later in a place -where important issues turn on the solution of the problem which it -raises.[318] - -The types of _famille verte_ porcelain are extremely numerous, almost -as varied as those of the blue and white (p. 136). Like the latter they -include much that was obviously made for European consumption, and most -of the groups which were singled out from the mass of blue and white -for special description can be paralleled in the _famille verte_. The -thin, crisp, moulded ware with petal-shaped panels and lobed borders, -the group with the “G” mark, and many other types are found with the -same peculiarities of paste and glaze, and even the same design painted -in on-glaze enamels. As in the case of the blue and white, the quality -of this export ware varies widely, and the individual specimens will -be judged by the drawing of the designs and the purity and fire of the -enamels. - -A few of the more striking types are illustrated on Plates 103 and 104. -Perhaps the most sumptuous effects of this colour scheme are displayed -in the vases decorated with panel designs surrounded by rich diapers -borrowed from silk brocades. A favourite brocade pattern consists of -single blossoms or floral sprays woven into a ground of transparent -green covering a powder of small brown dots. This dotted green ground -is commonly known as “frog’s spawn,” and another diaper of small -circles under a similar green enamel is easily recognised under the -name of “fish roe.” But the variety of these ground patterns is great, -and in spite of their prosaic nomenclature they render in a singularly -effective manner the soft splendour of the Chinese brocades. - -In dating the _famille verte_ porcelains the collector will find -his study of the blue and white of great assistance. There is, for -instance, the well-known type of export ware--sets of vases with -complex moulding, and dishes and plates, etc., with petal-shaped lobes -on the sides or borders. The central design of the decoration commonly -consists of _ch’i lin_, and phœnix, sea monsters (_hai shou_), storks -or ducks beside a flowering tree or some such familiar pattern; and -the surrounding petal-shaped panels are filled each with a growing -flower, or a vignette of bird and plant, plant and insect, or even a -small landscape. These bright but often perfunctorily painted wares -are paralleled in the early K’ang Hsi blue and white. They are among -the first Chinese polychrome porcelains to be copied by the European -potters. See Plate 107. - -In the purely native wares the early Ch’ing _famille verte_ is -distinguished by strong and rather emphatic colouring, the energy -of the drawing and the breadth of design which recall the late Ming -polychromes. The zenith of this style of decoration was reached about -1700, say between 1682 and 1710. This is the period of the magnificent -vases with panel designs in brocaded grounds, or with crowded figure -subjects, Court scenes, and the like, filling large areas of the -surface, such vases as may be seen in the splendid series of the -Salting Collection or in the Grandidier Collection in the Louvre. They -are probably children of the great renaissance which began under the -auspices of Ts’ang Ying-hsüan. Dated examples are extremely rare, and -consequently the square vase on Plate 104 assumes unusual importance on -account of the cyclical date which occurs in the long inscription, “the -29th day of the 9th moon of the _kuei mo_ year,” which we can hardly -doubt is 1703. Incidentally another side of this vase illustrates the -celebrated scene of the wine cups started from the “orchid arbour to -float down the nine-bend river.”[319] - -Another example with a cyclical date (the year _hsin mao_, and no -doubt 1711) is a globular water bottle “of the highest quality and -technique, decorated with transparent luminous enamels of great beauty -and delicacy,” in the Pierpont Morgan Collection.[320] But in this case -the date is attached to a verse in the field of the decoration, and it -may belong to the design rather than to the porcelain. - - [Illustration: Plate 104.--Three Examples of K’ang Hsi _famille - verte_ Porcelain. - - Fig. 1.--Square Vase with scene of floating cups on the river; - inscription with cyclical date 1703 A.D.; _shou_ characters - on the neck. Height 18⅜ inches. _Hippisley Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Lantern with river scenes. Height 13¾ inches. _Dresden - Collection._ - - Fig. 3.--Covered Jar of _rouleau_ shape, peony scrolls in - iron red ground, brocade borders. Height 22 inches. _Dresden - Collection._] - - [Illustration: Plate 105.--Covered Jar painted in _famille - verte_ enamels - - With brocade ground and panel with an elephant (the symbol of - Great Peace). Lion on cover. K’ang Hsi period (1662–1722). Height - 21¼ inches. _Dresden Collection._] - - [Illustration: Plate 106.--K’ang Hsi _famille verte_ - Porcelain. _Alexander Collection._ - - Fig. 1.--Dish with rockery, peonies, etc., birds and insects. - Diameter 16¼ inches. - - Fig. 2.--“Stem Cup” with vine pattern. Height 5¾ inches.] - - [Illustration: Plate 107.--_Famille verte_ Porcelain made - for export to Europe. K’ang Hsi period (1662–1722). _British - Museum._ - - Fig. 1.--Vase with “sea monster” (_hai shou_). - - Fig. 2.--Dish with basket of flowers. Mark, a leaf. Diameter 11 - inches. - - Fig. 3.--Covered Jar with _ch’i-lin_ and _fêng-huang_ - (phœnix).] - -The lateness of this latter date and the use of the word “delicacy” -in the description of the piece lead us naturally to that peculiarly -refined type of late _famille verte_ in which the ware is of eggshell -thinness, the painting extremely dainty and delicate, and the -colours rather pale but of perfect purity. Such are the well-known -“birthday plates” with the reign mark of K’ang Hsi on the back and the -birthday salutation in seal characters on the border: _wan shou wu -chiang_--“a myriad longevities without ending!” They are reputed to -have been made for the Emperor’s sixtieth birthday which fell in the -year 1713, but the story is supported by no evidence of any kind, and -they would have been equally appropriate for any Imperial birthday. The -character of these wares is more suggestive of the Yung Chêng period, -and it is probable that they belong to the extreme limit of the long -reign of K’ang Hsi. To this period then we shall assign these and the -whole group of kindred porcelains, the plates with designs similar -to those of the “birthday plates,” but without the inscribed border, -the small eggshell plates with one or two figures painted in the same -delicate style, others with a single spray of some flowering shrub -almost Japanese in its daintiness, and occasional bowls and vases with -decoration of the same character. See Plate 113. - -For extreme delicacy of treatment is by no means a feature of the K’ang -Hsi _famille verte_ in general, in which the Ming spirit with its -boldness and vigour still breathed. It is rather a late development in -the decadence of the ware, heralding the more effeminate beauty of the -_famille rose_, and were it not for the evidence of the birthday plates -I believe many connoisseurs would be tempted to ascribe these delicate -porcelains to a much later reign. - -Such, however, is the evolution of the _famille verte_ during the sixty -years of the K’ang Hsi period, from the strong colours and forceful -Ming-like designs of the earlier specimens to the mature perfection -of the splendid wares made about 1700, and thence by a process of -ultra-refinement to the later types in which breadth of treatment gives -place to prettiness and the strong thick enamels to thinner washes of -clear, delicate tints. These thin transparent colours continued in use; -indeed, they are a feature of a special type of enamelling which will -be discussed with the Yung Chêng wares; but the pure _famille verte_ -may be said to have come to an end with the last years of the reign -of K’ang Hsi. Later reproductions of course exist, for no style of -decoration is ever wholly extinct in Chinese art, but they are merely -revivals of an old style, which even before the end of the K’ang Hsi -period had reached the stage of transition to another family. The -opaque enamels of the _famille rose_ palette had already begun to -assert themselves. Timid intruders at first--a touch of opaque pink, -a little opaque yellow and arsenical white breaking in upon the old -harmony of transparent tints--they gradually thrust the _famille verte_ -enamels into a subsidiary position, and in the succeeding reigns rose -pinks entirely dominate the field. - -A word must be said of the use of the _famille verte_ painting in -combination with other types of decoration, in the subordinate position -of border patterns or more prominently in panel designs. Exquisite -effects are obtained by the latter in a ground of coral red, or -where a brilliant powder blue field is broken by shapely panels with -flowering plants and birds and other familiar vehicles for _famille -verte_ colouring. Occasionally we find the enamels actually painted -over a powder blue or an ordinary blue glaze, but the combination -is more peculiar than attractive; for the underlying colour kills -the transparent enamels, and the enamels destroy the lustre of the -blue ground. Indeed, it is probable that in many cases these freak -decorations were intended to hide a faulty background. - -A similar painting over the crackled green _lang yao_ glaze has already -been described, and it occurs over the grey white crackles, and rarely -but with much distinction, over a pale celadon glaze. But perhaps -the most effective combination of this kind is that in which a pale -lustrous brown or Nanking yellow is the ground colour. The quiet and -refined effects of this union are well exhibited by a small group of -vases, bowls, and dishes in the Salting Collection. - -Something has already been said of the use of underglaze blue in -combination with _famille verte_ enamels. The blue is either an -integral part of the general design as in the Wan Li “five colour” -scheme, or it forms a distinct decoration by itself, apart from the -enamels, though sharing the same surface. The latter use is exemplified -by a pair of bottles in the Salting Collection which have blue patterns -on the neck and _famille verte_ decoration on the body, consisting -of landscape panels surrounded by brocade patterns.[321] But the great -drawback to this union of underglaze and overglaze colours is usually -apparent. The blue was liable to suffer in the subsequent firings -necessitated by the enamels, even though those firings took place at -a relatively low temperature. Probably the potter would not expose -his finest blue to such risks, but at any rate the blue of this mixed -decoration is rarely of first-rate quality. - - [Illustration: PLATE 108 - - Dish painted in underglaze blue and _famille verte_ enamels. - In the centre, a five-clawed dragon rising from waves in pursuit - of a pearl. Deep border in “Imari” style with cloud-shaped - compartments with chrysanthemum and prunus designs in a blue - ground, separated by close lotus scrolls reserved in an iron - red ground in which are three book symbols. K’ang Hsi period - (1662–1722) - - Diameter 19½ inches. _Alexander Collection._] - -There is one group of porcelain which combines the underglaze blue -with on-glaze enamels, and which deserves special notice if only -because it has been recently favoured with particular attention by -collectors. This is what we are pleased to call “Chinese Imari.” -Our ceramic nomenclature has never been noted for its accuracy, and -like good conservatives we hold firmly to the old names which have -been handed down from days when geography was not studied, and from -ancestors who were satisfied with old Indian china, or Gombroon ware, -as names for Chinese porcelain. So Meissen porcelain is still Dresden, -the blue and white of Ching-tê Chên is Old Nanking, Chinese export -porcelain painted at Canton with pink roses is Lowestoft, and the ware -made at Arita, province of Hizen, in Japan, is Imari, because that is -the name of the seaport from which it was shipped. In fact, there are -many shops where you cannot make yourself understood in these matters -unless you call the wares by the wrong name. - -The Arita porcelain in question, this so-called Imari, was made from -the middle of the seventeenth century onwards, and it must have -competed seriously with the export wares of Ching-tê Chên. At any -rate, it was brought to Europe in large consignments by the Dutch -traders, who enjoyed the privilege of a trading station on the island -of Deshima, after the less politic Portuguese had been driven out of -Nagasaki in 1632. For the moment we are specially concerned with two -types of Arita ware. The first is distinguished by slight but artistic -decoration in vivid enamels of the _famille verte_, supplemented -by gilding and occasionally by underglaze blue. Favourite designs are -a banded hedge, prunus tree, a Chinese boy and a tiger or phœnix; two -quails in millet beside a flowering prunus; simple flowering sprays -or branches coiled in circular medallions; or only a few scattered -blossoms. Whatever the nature of the design, it was artistically -displayed, and in such a manner as to enhance without concealing -the fine white porcelain. This is what the old catalogues call the -_première qualité coloriée de Japon_, and a very popular ware it -was in eighteenth century Europe, when it was closely copied on the -early productions of the St. Cloud, Chantilly, Meissen, Chelsea, and -other porcelain factories. To-day it is commonly known as Kakiemon -ware, because its very distinctive style of decoration is traditionally -supposed to have been started by a potter named Kakiemon, who, with -another man of Arita, learned the secret of enamelling on porcelain -from a Chinese merchant about the year 1646. - -The second type was made entirely for the European trade, and it -is distinguished by large masses of dark, cloudy blue set off by -a soft Indian red (derived from oxide of iron) and gilding. These -colours are supplemented by touches of green, yellow, and aubergine -enamels, and occasionally by a brownish black. The ware itself is -heavy, coarse and greyish, but its rough aspect is well concealed by -irregular and confused designs of asymmetrical panels surrounded by -mixed brocade patterns. The panels often contain Chinese figures, -phœnixes, lions, floral designs of chrysanthemums, peony and prunus, -a basket of flowers, rough landscapes or garden views. They are -medleys of half-Chinese, half-Japanese motives, a riot of incoherent -patterns, but not without broad decorative effect thanks to the bold -masses of red, blue and gold. Such is the typical “Old Imari.” There -is, however, a finer and more Japanese variety of the same group -which is distinguished by free use of the chrysanthemum rosette, and -the Imperial kiri (paulonia imperialis), and by panels of diaper -pattern and floral designs alternating and counter-changed in colour, -the grounds now red, now blue, and now gold. The same colour scheme -prevailed in this sub-group, and the dark blue was usually netted over -with gold designs. - -It was no doubt the success which these wares met in European commerce -that induced the Chinese to take a lesson from their pupils, and to -adopt the “Imari” style. At any rate, they did copy all these types, -sometimes very closely, sometimes only in part. Thus in some cases the -actual Japanese patterns as well as the colour scheme are carefully -reproduced, in others the Japanese colour scheme is employed on Chinese -patterns or vice versa, and, again, there are cases in which passages -of Japanese ornament are inserted in purely Chinese surroundings. But -whether pure or diluted the Japanese style is unmistakable to those who -have once learnt to know its peculiarities, of which masses of blue -covered with gilt patterns and the prominence of red and gold are the -most conspicuous. - -There will, of course, always be a few specimens the nationality of -which will be difficult to decide, but to anyone familiar with Chinese -and Japanese porcelain the distinction between the Chinese “Imari” -and its island prototype is, as a rule, a simple matter. The Chinese -porcelain is thinner and crisper, its glaze has the smooth oily sheen -and faintly greenish tint which are peculiar to Chinese wares, and the -raw edge of the base rim is slightly browned. The Japanese porcelain, -on the other hand, is whiter in the Kakiemon ware, greyer and coarser -in the “Old Imari,” and the glaze in both cases has the peculiar -bubbled and “muslin-like” texture which is a Japanese characteristic. -The Japanese underglaze blue is dark and muddy in tone, the Chinese -bright, and purer, and the other colours differ, though not perhaps so -emphatically. The iron red of the Chinese, for instance, is thinner and -usually lighter in tone than the soft Indian red or thick sealing-wax -colour of the Japanese; and to those who are deeply versed in Oriental -art there is always the more subtle and less definable distinction, the -difference between the Chinese and Japanese touch and feeling. - -Plate 108 is a fine specimen which shows the blend of Chinese motives -and the Japanese colouring. - -The general character of the Chinese “Imari” is that of the K’ang Hsi -period, to which most of the existing specimens will be assigned; but -it is clear that the Chinese continued to use Japanese models in the -succeeding reign, for the last three items in the Imperial list of -porcelain made in the Yung Chêng period comprise wares “decorated in -gold and in silver in the style of the Japanese.”[322] - - - - - CHAPTER XI - - K’ANG HSI MONOCHROMES - - -In passing to the K’ang Hsi monochromes we enter a large field with -boundaries ill defined. Many of the colours are legacies from the -Ming potters, and most of them were handed on to after generations; -some indeed have enjoyed an unbroken descent to the present day. -Consequently there are few things more difficult in the study of -Chinese porcelain than the dating of single-colour wares. - -In some cases the origin of a particular glaze has been recorded, and -within certain limits the style of the piece will guide us in assessing -its age; but how often must we be content with some such non-committal -phrase as “early eighteenth century,” which embraces the late K’ang -Hsi, the Yung Chêng and the early Ch’ien Lung periods? On the other -hand, the careful student observes certain points of style and finish, -certain slight peculiarities of form which are distinctive of the -different periods, and on these indefinite signs he is able to classify -the doubtful specimens. To the inexpert his methods may seem arbitrary -and mysterious, but his principles, though not easy to enunciate, are -sound nevertheless. - - [Illustration: Plate 109.--Figure of Shou Lao, Taoist God of - Longevity. - - Porcelain painted with _famille verte_ enamels. K’ang Hsi - period (1662–1722). Height 17¼ inches. _Salting Collection_ - (_V. & A. Museum_).] - -We have already had occasion to discuss a few of the K’ang Hsi -monochromes in dealing with the question of _lang yao_. But besides -the _sang de bœuf_ there is another rare and costly red to which the -Americans have given the expressive name of “peach bloom.” Since their -first acquaintance with this colour in the last half of the nineteenth -century,[323] American collectors have been enamoured of it, and as -they have never hesitated to pay vast sums for good specimens, most -of the fine “peach blooms” have found their way to the United States, -and choice examples are rare in England. “The prevailing shade,” to -quote from Bushell’s description, “is a pale red, becoming pink -in some parts, in others mottled with russet spots, displayed upon a -background of light green celadon tint. The last colour occasionally -comes out more prominently, and deepens into clouds of bright apple -green tint.” The Chinese, in comparing the colour, have thought of the -apple rather than the peach; it is _p’in-kuo hung_ (apple red), and -the markings on it are _p’in-kuo ch’ing_ (apple green), and _mei kuei -tzŭ_ (rose crimson). Another Chinese name for the colour is _chiang-tou -hung_ (bean red), in allusion to the small Chinese kidney-bean with its -variegated pink colour and brown spots. - -It is generally supposed that, like the _sang de bœuf_, the “peach -bloom” owes its hue to copper oxide, and that all the accessory tints, -the russet brown and apple green, are due to happy accidents befalling -the same colouring medium in the changeful atmosphere of the kiln.[324] -This precious glaze is usually found on small objects such as water -pots and brush washers for the writing table (see Plate 111[325]), -and snuff bottles, and a few small elegantly formed flower vases of -bottle shape, with high shoulders and slender neck, the body sometimes -moulded in chrysanthemum petal design, or, again, on vases of slender, -graceful, ovoid form, with bodies tapering downwards, and the mouth -rim slightly flaring. In every case the bottom of the vessel shows a -fine white-glazed porcelain with unctuous paste, and the K’ang Hsi -mark in six blue characters written in a delicate but very mannered -calligraphy, which seems to be peculiar to this type of ware, and to a -few choice _clair de lune_ and celadon vases of similar form and make. - -The colour in the peach bloom glaze, as in the _sang de bœuf_, is -sometimes fired out and fades into white or leaves a pale olive green -surface with only a few spots of brown or pink to bear witness to the -original intention of the potter. The glaze is sometimes crackled and -occasionally it runs down in a thick crystalline mass at the base of -the vessel. - -Needless to say this costly porcelain has claimed the earnest attention -of the modern imitator. The first real success was achieved by a -Japanese potter at the end of the last century. He was able to make -admirable copies of the colour, but failed to reproduce adequately the -paste and glaze of the originals. I am told that he was persuaded to -transfer his secret to China, and with the Chinese body his imitations -were completely successful. The latter part of the story is based -on hearsay, and is given as such; but it is certain that there are -exceedingly clever modern copies of the old peach blooms in the market; -otherwise how could an inexpert collector in China bring home half a -dozen peach blooms bought at bargain prices? - -The copper red used in painting underglaze designs[326] will sometimes -develop a peach bloom colour, and there is a vase in the British Museum -with parti-coloured glaze in large patches of blue, celadon, and a -copper red which has broken into the characteristic tints of the peach -bloom vases. - -Another red of copper origin allied to the _sang de bœuf_ and the -peach bloom, and at times verging on both, is the maroon red, which -ranges from crimson to a deep liver colour. There are wine cups of this -colour whose glaze clouded with deep crimson recalls the “dawn red” -of the wine cups made by Hao Shih-chiu.[327] Sometimes the red covers -part only of the surface, shading off into the white glaze. The finer -specimens have either a crimson or a pinkish tinge, but far more often -the glaze has issued from the kiln with a dull liver tint. - -Naturally the value of the specimens varies widely with the beauty of -the colour. The pinker shades approach within measurable distance of -the pink of the peach bloom, and they are often classed with the latter -by their proud owners; but the colour is usually uniform, and lacks the -bursts of russet brown and green which variegate the true peach bloom, -and the basis of the maroon is a pure white glaze without the celadon -tints which seem to underlie the peach bloom. It may be added that the -maroon red glaze is usually uncrackled. - -As to the overglaze red, which is known by the names of _mo hung_ -(painted red) and _ts’ai hung_ (enamel red), it is the colour -derived from iron, and it was used both as one of the enamels of the -_famille verte_ palette and as a monochrome. In both capacities it -figured on Ming porcelain, and was fully discussed in that connection. -On K’ang Hsi wares it varied in tone from dark brick red to a light -orange, according to the density of the pigment, and in texture from -a thin dry film to a lustrous enamel, according to the quantity of -fluxing material[328] combined with it. Among the richly fluxed -varieties is a fine tomato colour of light, translucent tone. Sometimes -the iron red is found as sole medium for painted designs, as on a -rouleau vase in the Salting collection, but more commonly it serves as -a ground colour between panels of enamelled ornament (Plate 103), or in -border passages. In these last two positions it is usually of a light -orange shade, and broken by floral scrolls reserved in white. A dark -shade of the same pigment is also used in diapers of curled scrolls, -forming a groundwork for enamelled decoration. There are besides -beautiful examples of a pure red monochrome formed of this colour, but -I have only met with these among the later wares. - - * * * * * - -The blue monochromes include a large number of glazes varying in depth -and shade with the quality and quantity of the cobalt which is mingled -with the glazing material. These are _chiao ch’ing_ (blue monochrome -glazes), and they are all high-fired colours. They include the _chi -ch’ing_[329] or deep sky blue, whose darker shades are also named -_ta ch’ing_ (_gros bleu_), the slaty blue, the pale clear blue,[330] -the dark and light lavender shades, and the faintly tinted _clair de -lune_ or “moon white” (_yüeh pai_), in which the amount of cobalt used -must have been infinitesimal. But it would be useless to attempt to -catalogue the innumerable shades of blue, which must have varied with -every fresh mixture of colour and glaze and every fresh firing. - -There is, however, another group materially different from the -ordinary blue glazes. In this the colour was applied direct to -the body, as in blue and white painting, and a colourless glaze -subsequently added, with the natural result that the blue seems to be -incorporated with the body of the ware rather than with the glaze. -There were several ways of applying the colour, each producing a -slightly different effect. The cobalt powder could be mixed with water, -and washed on smoothly with a brush, or dabbed on with a sponge to give -a marbled appearance, or it could be projected on to the moistened -surface in a dry powder, through gauze stretched across the end of a -bamboo tube. - -The result of the last process was an infinity of minute specks of -blue, a massing of innumerable points of colour. This is the well-known -“powder blue,” the _bleu soufflé_, or blown blue described by Père -d’Entrecolles in his second letter[331]: “As for the _soufflé_ blue -called _tsoui tsim_ (_ch’ui ch’ing_), the finest blue, prepared in -the manner which I have described, is used. This is blown on to the -vase, and when it is dry the ordinary glaze is applied either alone or -mixed with _tsoui yeou_ (_sui yu_), if crackle[332] is required.” We -are further told that as on the blue and white a glaze softened with a -considerable proportion of lime was necessary for the perfection of the -colour. - -The “powder blue” seems to have been a new invention in the K’ang Hsi -period. Under the name of _ch’ui ch’ing_ (blown blue) it figures in the -_T’ao lu_[333] among the triumphs of Ts’ang Ying-hsüan’s directorate. -It is certainly a singularly beautiful colour effect, and worthy of the -homage it has received from collectors and ceramic historians. Though -the blue used was as a rule of the finest quality, it varied much in -intensity and tone with the nature of the cobalt and amount applied. -Probably the majority of collectors would give the palm to the darker -shades, but tastes differ, and the lighter tones when the blue is pure -sapphire have found whole-hearted admirers. A notable feature of the -powder blue is its surprising brilliancy in artificial light, when most -other porcelain colours suffer eclipse. - - [Illustration: PLATE 110 - - Two examples of “Powder Blue” (_ch’ui ch’ing_) Porcelain - of the K’ang Hsi period (1662–1722), in the Victoria and Albert - Museum - - Fig. 1.--Bottle of gourd shape with slender neck: powder blue - ground with gilt designs from the Hundred Antiques (_po ku_) - and borders of _ju-i_ pattern, formal flowers and plantain - leaves. Height 7½ inches. - - Fig. 2.--Bottle-shaped Vase with _famille verte_ panels of - rockwork and flowers reserved in a powder blue ground. Height 7 - inches. _Salting Collection._] - -It was used indifferently as a simple monochrome or as a ground -in which panel decoration was reserved, the panels painted in -_famille_ _verte_ enamels or in blue and white; and in both cases -the blue surface was usually embellished with light traceries in gold. -Plate 110 illustrates both types. Both are highly prized by collectors, -and change hands at high prices when of the good quality which is usual -on the K’ang Hsi specimens. We have already noted[334] the occasional -decoration of the powder blue ground with designs in _famille verte_ -enamels, and Père d’Entrecolles[335] records another process of -ornamentation which was applied to all the blue grounds of this group, -viz. the washed, the sponged, and the powder blues: “There are workmen -who trace designs with the point of a long needle on this blue whether -_soufflé_ or otherwise; the needle removes as many little specks of -dry blue as are necessary to form the design; then the glaze is put -on.” From this precise description it is easy to recognise this simple -but effective decoration. There are two examples in the British Museum -with dragon designs etched in this fashion, the one in a washed blue, -and the other in a sponged blue ground. The pattern appears in white -outline where the blue has been removed by the needle and the porcelain -body exposed. - -Long usage has given sanction to the term “mazarine blue.” It was -applied to the dark blue ground colour of eighteenth century English -porcelain, and in the contemporary catalogues the name “mazareen” was -given to any kind of deep blue from the mottled violet of Chelsea to -the powdery _gros bleu_ of Worcester. In reference to Chinese porcelain -it is used to-day with similar freedom for the _ta ch’ing_ or dark sky -blue and for the powder blue. Assuming that the phrase derives from the -famous Cardinal Mazarin, it cannot in its original sense have had any -reference to powder blue, for the Cardinal died in 1661, and, if he -had a weakness for blue monochrome, it must have been for some variety -of the _chiao ch’ing_ or blue glazes proper which were current at the -end of the Ming and the beginning of the Ch’ing dynasties. At the -present day it is impossible to guess the true shade of mazarine blue, -and we must be content to regard it as a phrase connoting a deep blue -monochrome the exact definition of which has gone beyond recall.[336] - -The K’ang Hsi mark is sometimes found on porcelain coated with a very -dark purplish blue glaze with soft looking surface and minute crackle. -It is apparently one of those glazes which are fired in the temperate -parts of the kiln, and its use is more frequent on porcelains of a -slightly later period. - -Finally, the turquoise blue, variously named _fei ts’ui_ (kingfisher -blue) and _k’ung ch’iao lü_ (peacock green), was freely used as a -monochrome on figures and ornamental wares. It is a colour which -descends from Ming times, and whose use has continued unchecked to the -present day, so that it is often extremely difficult to give a precise -date to any particular specimen, especially if the object happens to be -of archaic form, a copy of an old bronze or the like. Its nature has -already been discussed[337] among the Ming glazes, and one can only -say that the K’ang Hsi pieces have all the virtues of the K’ang Hsi -manufacture--fine material, good potting, shapely form, and beautiful -quality of colour. The tint varies widely from the soft turquoise blue -of kingfisher feathers to a deep turquoise green, and some of the most -attractive specimens are mottled or spotted with patches of greenish -black. The glaze is always minutely crackled, and has sufficient -transparency to allow engraved or carved designs on the body to be -visible. It is a colour which develops well on an earthen body, and the -potters often mixed coarse clay with the ware which was intended to -receive the turquoise glaze; but this, I think, was mainly practised -after the K’ang Hsi period, and the K’ang Hsi specimens will, as a -rule, be found to have a pure white porcelain basis. - -As in the Ming wares, the turquoise sometimes shares the field -with an aubergine purple of violet tone, both colours being of the -_demi-grand feu_. The purple is also used as a monochrome. There -are, in fact, two aubergine purple monochromes, the one a thick and -relatively opaque colour sometimes full of minute points as though it -had been blown on like the powder blue, the other a thin transparent -(and often iridescent) glaze of browner tone. Both are derived from -cobaltiferous ore of manganese, both have descended from the Ming -period, and have already been discussed as monochromes and as colours -applied to the biscuit. - - [Illustration: PLATE 111 - - Two examples of Single-colour Porcelain in the Salting Collection - (Victoria and Albert Museum) - - Fig. 1.--Bottle-shaped Vase of Porcelain with landscape design - lightly engraved in relief under a turquoise blue glaze. Early - eighteenth century. Height 8½ inches. - - Fig. 2.--Water Vessel for the Writing Table of the form known as - _T’ai-po tsun_ after the poet Li T’ai-po. Porcelain with - faintly engraved dragon medallions under a peach bloom glaze; the - neck cut down and fitted with a metal collar. Mark in blue of the - K’ang Hsi period (1662–1722) in six characters. Height 2¾ inches.] - -The cobaltiferous ore of manganese is the same material which is used -to give a blue colour, but in this case the manganese is removed, and -the cobalt rendered as pure as possible. For the manganese if in excess -produces a purplish brown, and its presence in however small a -quantity gives the blue a purple or violet strain. By the simple method -of graduating the amount of manganese which was allowed to remain with -the cobalt the potters were able to obtain many intermediate shades -between dark blue and purple for their monochrome glazes. - -The green monochromes are scarcely less numerous than the blue. There -are the transparent greens of apple or leaf green shades whether even -or mottled, which have been described among the glazes applied to the -biscuit and among the enamels of the _famille verte_. These were used -as monochromes and ground colours; and closely akin to them are (1) -the cucumber green (_kua p’i lü_), in which a yellowish leaf green is -heavily mottled with darker tints, and (2) the snake skin green (_shê -p’i lü_), a deep transparent green with iridescent surface, one of the -colours for which the directorate of Ts’ang Ying-hsüan was celebrated. -There are good examples of both in the Salting Collection, but it would -be useless to reproduce them except in colour. - -There are the apple and emerald green crackles (in both cases a -green glaze overlying a grey or stone-coloured crackle), but these -have already been discussed.[338] A somewhat similar technique -characterises the series of semi-opaque and crackled green glazes of -camelia leaf, myrtle, spinach, light and dark sage, dull emerald and -several intermediate tints. These are soft-looking glazes with small -but very regular crackle,[339] and their surface often has a “satiny” -sheen which recalls the Yi-hsing glazes. They are evidently glazes -of the _demi-grand feu_, and the colouring agent is doubtless -copper, though apparently modified with other ingredients. How far this -particular group was used in the K’ang Hsi period is hard to say. Most -of the specimens which I have seen give me the impression of a later -make, but as there are a few which might come within the K’ang Hsi -limits I have taken this opportunity to discuss them. - -There is one specimen of a rare green in the British Museum to which I -cannot recall a parallel. It is a bowl with the ordinary white glaze, -but covered on the exterior with a very bright yellowish green, like -the young grass with the sun shining on it. It is, perhaps, rather in -the nature of an enamel than a glaze, but the ware has the appearance -of age and should belong to the early part of the K’ang Hsi period. - -Most of the green glazes are low fired, melting in the temperature -of the _demi-grand feu_ and the muffle kiln. The high-fired greens -are those of celadon class. There is the _lang yao_[340] green, which -has been discussed under that heading, a crackled glaze, in colour -intermediate between apple green and the sea green celadon, and with a -surface texture hazy with bubbles like the _sang de bœuf_, to which it -is a near relation. This soft and beautiful colour has been described -as a “copper celadon,” and though Dr. Bushell refuses his blessing on -the name it seems to me a particularly happy expression. For the colour -apparently results from the same copper medium which under slightly -different firing conditions produces the _sang de bœuf_ red and at the -same time its tint approaches very nearly to the typical celadon green. - -The true celadon glaze was freely employed on the early Ch’ing -porcelains, especially on those of K’ang Hsi and Yung Chêng periods. -It is a beautiful pale olive or sea green colour, made light by the -pure white porcelain beneath which its transparent nature permits to -shine through. Compared with the Sung celadons as we know them,[341] -the Ch’ing dynasty ware is thinner in material and glaze, wanting in -the peculiar solidity of appearance of the ancient wares; the body -is whiter and finer, and the base is usually white with the ordinary -porcelain glaze. There is, moreover, no “brown mouth and iron foot,” -unless indeed this feature has been deliberately added by means of a -dressing of ferruginous clay, a make-up which is too obvious to deceive -the initiated. There were, however, some careful imitations of the -ancient celadons made at this time and got up with the appearance of -antiquity, but these were exceptional productions.[342] - -Père d’Entrecolles, writing in 1722, alludes to the K’ang Hsi celadon -in the following terms[343]:--“I was shown this year for the first -time a kind of porcelain which is now in fashion; its colour verges -on olive and they call it _long tsiven_. I saw some which was called -_tsim ko_ (_ch’ing kuo_), the name of a fruit which closely resembles -the olive.” The _long tsiven_ is clearly a transliteration of the -characters which we write _Lung-ch’üan_, the generic name of the old -celadons; but it is odd that Père d’Entrecolles should not have seen -copies of this glaze before 1722, for its use must have been continuous -at Ching-tê Chên from very early times, and we have found reference to -it in various periods of the Ming dynasty. It is evident, however, that -the colour was enjoying a fresh burst of popularity just at this time. -D’Entrecolles gives a few further notes which concern its composition. -His recipe is substantially the same as that given in Chinese works, -viz. a mixture of ferruginous earth, which would contribute a -percentage of iron oxide, with the ordinary glaze.[344] He also states -that _sui yu_ (crackle glaze) was added if a crackled surface was -required, and there are numerous examples of this kind of ware to be -seen. The most familiar are the vases with crackled celadon or grey -green glaze interrupted by bands of biscuit carved with formal patterns -and stained to an iron colour with a dressing of ferruginous earth. -Monster heads with rings (loose or otherwise) serve as twin handles on -these vases, which are designed after bronze models. These crackled -celadons are evidently fashioned after an old model, but they have -been largely imitated in modern times, and almost every pawnbroker’s -window displays a set of execrable copies (often further decorated in -underglaze blue) which are invariably furnished with the Ch’êng Hua -mark incised on a square brown panel under the base. - -The yellow monochromes of the K’ang Hsi period are mostly descendants -of the Ming yellows. There is the pale yellow applied over a white -glaze reproducing the yellow of “husked chestnuts,” for which the Hung -Chih (q.v.) porcelains were celebrated; and there is a fuller yellow, -usually of browner shade, applied direct to the biscuit. Yellow is -one of the Imperial colours, the usual tint being a full deep colour -like the yolk of a hen’s egg, and the Imperial wares are commonly -distinguished by five-clawed dragons engraved under the glaze. Other -glazes[345] used on the services made for the Emperor are the purplish -brown (aubergine) and the bright green of camelia leaf tint, which -with the yellow make up the _san ts’ai_ or three colours. In fact -the precise shades of these colours are those used on finer types -of three-colour porcelain[346] with transparent glazes fired in the -temperate part of the great kiln. All these glazes tend to become -iridescent with age. - -The colouring medium of the pale yellow is antimony combined with -a proportion of lead, and iron oxide is added to give the glaze an -orange or brown tinge.[347] It is noticeable that the yellow applied -to the biscuit is usually browner in tone. This is the nature, if we -may judge from the excellent coloured illustrations in the Walters -catalogue,[348] of the eel yellow (_shan yü huang_), a brownish colour -of clouded smoky appearance, and one of the few glazes named in the -_T’ao lu_ as a speciality of the directorate of Ts’ang Ying-hsüan. -The other yellow associated with the name of Ts’ang is the “spotted -yellow” (_huang pan t’ien_), discussed on p. 127. Its identification -is uncertain, and Brinkley describes it as “stoneware with a dark -olive green glaze with yellow speckles,” while Bushell (_O. C. A._, p. -317) regards it as a “tiger skin” glaze with large patches of yellow -and green enamel, the same as the _huang lü tien_ (yellow and green -spotted), which he quotes from another context. - -All these varieties belong to the _couleurs de demi-grand feu_; but -there are besides several varieties of yellow enamels fired in the -muffle kiln. Of these the transparent yellow was used as a ground -colour in the K’ang Hsi period, but the opaque varieties, such as the -lemon yellow, etc., belong rather to a later period. Among the latter I -should include the crackled mustard yellow, though examples of it have -often been assigned to the K’ang Hsi and even earlier reigns. There is, -for instance, a bottle-shaped vase with two elephant handles in the -Victoria and Albert Museum, which Bushell[349] regarded as a specimen -of the old _mi-sê_ (“millet colour”) glaze of the Sung dynasty. A -careful examination shows that this crackled brownish yellow is made in -much the same fashion as the apple green and the sage green crackles, -viz. a yellow glaze or enamel overlying a stone-coloured crackle. This -is not a Sung technique, but rather an imitative method belonging -perhaps to the Yung Chêng period, when old glazes and archaic shapes -were reproduced with wonderful skill and truth. - -There is a solitary specimen of a high-fired glaze of pale buff yellow -colour in the British Museum, which perhaps should be ranked with the -yellow monochromes, though its appearance suggests an exceptional -effect of the pale _tzŭ chin_ or “Nanking yellow” glaze. And a -rare vase in the Peters Collection has a minutely crackled brownish -yellow glaze clouded with dark olive in bold markings like those of -tortoiseshell. - -Another Ming monochrome freely used in the K’ang Hsi period is the -lustrous brown (_tzŭ chin_), formed like the celadon by mixing -ferruginous earth called _tzŭ chin shih_ with the ordinary glaze. -Presumably the quantity of this material was greater in the brown glaze -than in the celadon. Père d’Entrecolles describes this glaze in its -diverse shades of bronze, coffee and dead-leaf brown, but he makes the -curious error of proclaiming it a new invention in 1722.[350] He also -refers to its use on the exterior of white cups and as a ground colour -in which white panels were reserved. “On a cup or vase,” he tells us, -“which one wished to glaze with brown, a round or square of damped -paper was applied in one or two places; after the glaze had been laid -on, the paper was peeled off, and the unglazed space was painted in -red or blue. This dry, the usual glaze was applied to the reserve by -blowing or by some other method. Some of the potters fill the blank -spaces with a ground of blue or black, with a view to adding gilt -designs after the first firing.” - -There were other methods of decorating these panels, and perhaps -the most familiar is that in which the early _famille rose_ -enamels were employed. This combination of brown ground with panels -of floral designs in thick opaque rose red, yellow, white and green -was a favourite with the Dutch exporters. In fact this ware is still -called Batavian, the old catalogue name derived from the Dutch East -Indian settlement of Batavia, which was an entrepot for far-Eastern -merchandise. The date of the Batavian porcelain is clearly indicated by -the transition enamels as late K’ang Hsi. - -The _tzŭ chin_ brown was used as a monochrome in all its various shades -from dark coffee colour to pale golden brown, and the lighter and more -transparent shades were sometimes laid over engraved decoration. In -the British Museum there are two candlesticks, the stems of which -with dragon designs in full relief are in an intensely dark _tzŭ -chin_ glaze, so dark, indeed, that the tops have been exactly matched -in the deep brown ware made by Böttger of Dresden about 1710, the -latter polished on the lathe to simulate the lustrous surface of the -Chinese glaze. In the same collection are two saucer dishes of dark -_tzŭ chin_ glaze of fine quality painted with slight floral designs -in silver.[351] This kind of decoration must have been singularly -effective in its original state, but the silver does not stand the test -of time, and though it still firmly adheres its surface has turned -black. An unusual effect is seen on a vase in the Peters collection -which has a lustrous coffee brown glaze passing into olive and clouded -with black; and a very rare specimen in the same collection has a -“leopard skin” glaze of translucent olive brown with large mottling of -opaque coffee brown. The latter piece bears the Wan Li mark. - -The lightest shade of this colour is what has been described as Nanking -yellow.[352] It is used as a monochrome or as a ground colour with -panels usually of _famille verte_ enamels, and sometimes with enamelled -decoration applied over the brown glaze itself. It is clear that the -_sui yu_ or crackle glaze was sometimes mixed with the _tzŭ chin_, for -we find many examples of beautiful lustrous brown crackle. They have, -however, in many cases an adventitious tinge of grey or green, for -which the crackle glaze is perhaps responsible. - -A near relation to the _tzŭ chin_ (brown gold) glaze is the _wu chin_ -(black gold), a lustrous black glaze obtained by mixing a little impure -cobaltiferous ore of manganese (or coarse blue material[353]) with -the _tzŭ chin_ glaze. Like the latter the black is an intensely hard -glaze fired in the full heat of the great kiln, and it has a lustrous -metallic surface which earned for it the name of “mirror black.”[354] -This glaze seems to have really been a K’ang Hsi innovation,[355] and -possibly it was a confusion with this fact which led d’Entrecolles into -his erroneous statement about the date of the lustrous brown. - - [Illustration: Plate 112.--Three figures of Birds, late K’ang Hsi - Porcelain, with coloured enamels on the biscuit. - - Fig. 1.--Stork. Height 17¼ inches. _British Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Hawk. Height 10 inches. _S. E. Kennedy Collection._ - - Fig. 3.--Cock. Height 13½ inches. _British Museum._] - - [Illustration: Plate 113.--Porcelain delicately painted in thin - _famille verte_ enamels. About 1720. - - Fig. 1.--Dish with figures of Hsi Wang Mu and attendant. Ch’êng - Hua mark. Diameter 6¾ inches. _Hippisley Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Bowl with the Eight Immortals. Diameter 8⅞ inches. _S. - E. Kennedy Collection._] - - [Illustration: Plate 114.--Hanging Vase with openwork sides, for - perfumed flowers. _Cumberbatch Collection._ - - Porcelain painted in late _famille verte_ enamels. About - 1720. Blackwood frame. Total height 17 inches.] - -The mirror black is usually a monochrome tricked out with gilt -traceries, but as in the case of the powder blue the light Chinese -gilding is usually worn away, and often its quondam presence can now -only be detected by a faint oily film which appears when the porcelain -is held obliquely to the light. It is a common practice to have this -lost gilding replaced by modern work. - -There are several large vases of triple-gourd form in the -Charlottenburg Palace with the upper and lower lobes coated with -gilt mirror black, and the central bulb enamelled with _famille -verte_ colours; and another use of the glaze as panel decoration in -a lustrous brown ground has already been noted in an extract from Père -d’Entrecolles; it is also found on rare specimens as a background for -panels of _famille verte_ enamelling. But its most effective use -is as a pure monochrome only relieved by faint gilding, and some of the -choicest K’ang Hsi specimens have soft brown reflexions in the lustre -of the surface. Another and probably a later type of mirror black is a -thick lacquer-like glaze with signs of minute crackle. - -There is a type of glaze which, though variegated with many tints, -still belongs to the category of monochromes. This is the _flambé_, -to use the suggestive French term which implies a surface shot with -flame-like streaks of varying colour. This capricious colouring, -the result of some chance action of the fire upon copper oxide in -the glaze, had long been known to the Chinese potters. It appeared -on the Chün Chou wares of the Sung and Yüan dynasties, and it must -have occurred many times on the Ming copper monochromes; but up to -the end of the K’ang Hsi period it seems to have been still more or -less accidental on the Ching-tê Chên porcelain, if we can believe -the circumstantial account written by Père d’Entrecolles in the year -1722[356]:--“I have been shown one of the porcelains which are called -_yao pien_, or transmutation. This transmutation takes place in the -kiln, and results from defective or excessive firing, or perhaps from -other circumstances which are not easy to guess. This specimen which, -according to the workman’s idea, is a failure and the child of pure -chance, is none the less beautiful, and none the less valued. The -potter had set out to make vases of _soufflé_ red. A hundred pieces -were entirely spoilt, and the specimen in question came from the kiln -with the appearance of a sort of agate. Were they but willing to take -the risk and the expense of successive experiments, the potters would -eventually discover the secret of making with certainty that which -chance has produced in this solitary case. This is the way they learnt -to make porcelain with the brilliant black glaze called _ou kim_ (_wu -chin_); the caprice of the kiln determined this research, and the -result was successful.” - -It is interesting to read how this specimen of _flambé_ resulted from -the misfiring of a copper red glaze, no doubt a _sang de bœuf_; for in -the most common type of _flambé_ red (see Plate 123, Fig. 1) passages -of rich _sang de bœuf_ emerge from the welter of mingled grey, blue and -purple tints. The last part of d’Entrecolles’ note was prophetic, for -in the succeeding reigns the potters were able to produce the _flambé_ -glaze at will. - -There are, besides, many other strangely coloured glazes which can -only be explained as misfired monochromes of the _grand feu_, those -of mulberry colour, slaty purple, and the like, most of which were -probably intended for maroon or liver red, but were altered by some -caprice of the fire. But it would be useless to enumerate these erratic -tints, which are easily recognised by their divergence from the normal -ceramic colours. - -The French have always been partial to monochrome porcelains. In the -eighteenth century they bought them eagerly to decorate their hotels -and châteaux, and enshrined them in costly metal mounts. But as the -style of the mounting, rococo in the early part of the century, -neo-classical in the latter part, was designed to match the furniture -of the period, the oriental shapes were often sacrificed to the -European fashion. Dark blue and celadon green were favourite colours, -if we may judge by surviving examples, and to-day enormous prices are -paid for Chinese monochromes fitted with French ormolu mounts by the -Court goldsmiths, such as Gouthière, Caffieri, and the rest.[357] -But these richly mounted pieces have more interest as furniture and -metal work, and the ceramophile regards them askance for their foreign -and incongruous trappings, which disturb the pure enjoyment of the -porcelain.[358] - -It remains to consider the white porcelain, that is to say the -porcelain which was intended to remain white and undecorated with any -form of colouring. White was the colour used by the Court in times -of mourning, and large services of white porcelain were made for the -Emperor on these occasions. But it is not to be supposed that all the -beautiful white wares were made solely for this purpose.[359] They -have always been highly esteemed by the Chinese from the early Ming -times, when the Yung Lo bowls and the white altar cups of Hsüan Tê were -celebrated among porcelains, down to the present day. Many exquisite -whites were made in the early reigns of the Ch’ing dynasty, and as with -so many of the perennial monochromes their exact dating is full of -difficulty. We are not concerned here with the _blanc de chine_ -or white porcelain of Tê-hua in Fukien, which has already been -discussed, but with the white of Ching-tê Chên, the glaze of which is -distinguished from the former by its harder appearance, and its bluish -or greenish tinge. - -The latter was made to perfection in the K’ang Hsi period. Having no -colours to distract the eye from surface blemishes, nothing short of -absolute purity could satisfy the critic. In choice specimens the paste -was fine, white and unctuous, the glaze clear, flawless, and of oily -lustre,[360] the form was elegant and the potting true. Such pieces -without blemish or flaw are the very flower of porcelain, whether they -be of eggshell thinness (_t’o t’ai_), half eggshell (_pan t’o t’ai_), -or of the substance of ordinary wares. - -But though innocent of colour the white porcelain was rarely without -decoration. The finest Imperial services were usually delicately etched -under the glaze with scarcely visible dragon designs. Other kinds have -the ornament strongly cut, such as the eggshell cups and saucers with -patterns of hibiscus, lotus, or chrysanthemum petals firmly outlined, -or the vases with full-bodied designs in low relief obtained by carving -away the ground surrounding the pattern.[361] Others have faint -traceries or thickly painted patterns in white slip, in steatite,[362] -or in fibrous gypsum under the glaze. A fuller relief was obtained by -pressing in deeply cut moulds or by applying strips and shavings of -the body clay, and working them into designs with a wet brush after -the manner of the modern _pâte sur pâte_. There are still higher -reliefs in K’ang Hsi porcelain, figures, and symbolical ornaments, -formed separately in moulds and “luted” on to the ware with liquid -clay, but these generally appeared on the enamelled wares, and are -themselves coloured. The applied reliefs on the white wares are usually -in unglazed biscuit, and there are, besides, pierced and channelled -patterns, but these processes have been fully described among the late -Ming wares,[363] and nothing further need be said of them, except that -they were employed with supreme skill and refinement by the K’ang Hsi -potters. Père d’Entrecolles[364] alludes to these perforated wares in -the following passage:--“They make here (i.e. at Ching-tê Chên) another -kind of porcelain which I have never yet seen. It is all pierced _à -jour_ like fretwork, and inside is a cup to hold the liquid. The cup -and the fretwork are all in one piece.” Wares of various kinds with -solid inner lining and pierced outer casing are not uncommon in Chinese -porcelain and pottery. Sometimes, however, the cups are completed -without the inner shell, like Fig. 2, of Plate 78, which could be -fitted with a silver lining if required to hold liquid. - -Objects entirely biscuit are exceptional. There are, however, two small -Buddhistic figures, and two lions of this class in the British Museum, -and curiously enough both are stamped with potter’s marks, which is -itself a rare occurrence on porcelain. The former bear the name of -Chang Ming-kao and the latter of Ch’ên Mu-chih (see vol. i., page 223). -Bushell[365] tells us that the Chinese call biscuit porcelain _fan -tz’ŭ_ (turned porcelain), a quaint conception which implies that -the ware is turned inside out, as though the glaze were inside, and -the body out; and this illusion is occasionally kept up by applying a -touch of glaze inside the mouth of the unglazed vessel. - -Biscuit porcelain is specially suitable for figure modelling, because -the sharpness of the details remains unobscured by glaze. It has been -largely employed in European porcelain factories for this purpose, but -the Chinese seem to have been prejudiced against this exclusive use of -the material. As a rule they reserve it for the fleshy parts of their -figures, giving the draperies a coating of glaze or of enamel or both. -A rare example of the use of biscuit is illustrated in the catalogue of -the Walters Collection (_O. C. A._, Plate XXIX.), a white bottle -with a dragon carved out of the glaze and left in biscuit. - -The white wares so far described were made of the ordinary porcelain -body and glaze, but there is another group of whites which is ranked -with the so-called “soft pastes.” This is a creamy, opaque and often -earthy-looking ware, the glaze of which is almost always crackled. -It is in fact an imitation of the old Ting yao (q.v.), and its -soft-looking surface and warm creamy tone are seen to perfection in -small vases, snuff bottles, and ornamental wares. Indeed, the elegantly -shaped and finely potted vessels of this soft, ivory crackle are among -the gems of the period. - -Crackle is a feature which is common to many of the monochromes, and -incidental mention has frequently been made of it in the preceding -pages. It is essentially a Chinese phenomenon, dating back to the Sung -dynasty, and there are various accounts of the methods employed to -produce it. We are speaking of the intentional crackle which is clearly -defined and usually accentuated by some colouring matter rubbed into -the cracks, as opposed to the accidental crazing which appears sooner -or later on most of the glazes of the _demi grand feu_, and on many -low-fired enamels. One crackling process used by the Sung potters has -been described on p. 99, vol. i. Another method is mentioned in the -K’ang Hsi Encyclopædia,[366] viz. to heat the unglazed ware as much as -possible in the sun, then plunge it into pure water. By this means a -crackle was produced on the ware after the firing. - -But the normal process in the Ch’ing dynasty seems to have been to -mix a certain ingredient with the glaze which produced a crackle when -fired. There are constant references to this ingredient under the name -of _sui yu_ (crackle glaze) in the letters of Père d’Entrecolles in -connection with various monochromes, and in the first letter,[367] the -following definite account appears:--“It is to be observed that when -no other glaze but that composed of white pebbles[368] is added to the -porcelain, the ware turns out to be of a special kind known as _tsoui -ki_ (_sui ch’i_ = crackled ware). It is marbled all over and split up -in every direction into a infinite number of veins. At a distance it -might be taken for broken porcelain, all the fragments of which have -remained in place. It is like mosaic work. The colour produced by this -glaze is a slightly ashen white.” - -The effect of this ingredient of the glaze whatever its composition may -have been is easily understood. All porcelain and pottery undergoes a -considerable amount of contraction--from loss of moisture, etc.--in -the kiln, and to obtain a perfectly even glaze it is necessary that -the contraction of the glaze should be the same as that of the body. -Clearly this ingredient caused the glaze to contract to a greater -extent than the body, and so to split up into minute fissures. The -Chinese were able to control to a great extent the size and nature of -the crackle, as is shown by the appearance of alternate bands of large -and small crackle on the same piece. The methods of colouring the -crackle include rubbing red ochre, ink, and decoction of tea leaves -into the cracks before the ware was quite cool. Another method is -described by Bushell (_O. C. A._, p. 511) by which a white crackled -ware was stained pink or crimson. The vessel was held in the fire in an -iron cage until thoroughly heated, and then water mixed with gold-pink -colouring matter was blown on to it. This, however, is a later process. -Most of the monochrome glazes are occasionally crackled, but the most -characteristic colours of the crackle glazes are the greyish white (the -_blanc un peu cendré_ of Père d’Entrecolles), and light buff, which -were probably intended to recall the ash colour (_hui sê_) and the -millet colour (_mi sê_) of the Sung _Ko yao_. Some of the light buff or -“oatmeal” crackles of the early Ch’ing period are peculiarly refined -and beautiful. - -Though this has seemed a favourable opportunity for discussing crackle -glazes it is not to be supposed that they were a speciality of the -K’ang Hsi period. They are common to every age since the Sung dynasty, -and probably they were never made in such abundance and with such care -as in the Yung Chêng and early Ch’ien Lung periods. - - - - - CHAPTER XII - - YUNG CHÊNG [chch 2] PERIOD (1723–1735) - - -The Emperor, K’ang Hsi, was succeeded by his son, who reigned from -1723–1735 under the title Yung Chêng. The interest which the new ruler -had taken as a prince in ceramic manufactures is proved by a passage -in the first letter (written in 1712) of Père d’Entrecolles in which -he instances among remarkable examples of the potter’s skill a “great -porcelain lamp made in one piece, through which a torch gave light to -a whole room. This work was ordered seven or eight years ago by the -Crown Prince.” We are further told that the same prince had ordered the -manufacture of various musical instruments in porcelain. These could -not all be made, but the most successful were flutes and flageolets, -and a set of chimes made of nine small, round and slightly concave -plaques, which hung in a frame, and were played with drum-sticks. -Apparently the Emperor continued to take an intimate interest in the -industry after he had ascended the throne, for he commanded his brother -the prince of Yi to announce personally to T’ang Ying his appointment -at Ching-tê Chên in 1728. - -At the beginning of the reign the direction of the Imperial factory was -in the hands of Nien Hsi-yao,[369] who, in his capacity of inspector -of customs at Huai-an Fu,[370] dispensed the funds for the Imperial -porcelain. A brief note in the _T’ao lu_,[371] under the heading -“Nien ware of the Yung Chêng period,” sums up in the usual compressed -style of Chinese ceramic writers the character of the porcelain made -at this time. The duty of Nien, inspector of customs at Huai-an Fu, -we read, was to select the materials, and to see that the porcelain -was furnished to the Imperial orders. The ware was extremely refined -and elegant. The coloured porcelains were sent twice monthly to -Nien at the Customs, and forwarded by him to the Emperor. Among the -vases (_cho ch’i_) many were of egg colour, and of rounded form, -lustrous and pure white like silver. They combined blue and coloured -decoration, and some had painted, engraved, etched, or pierced ornament -all ingeniously fashioned. Imitation of the antique and invention of -novelties, these were truly the established principles of Nien. - -The interesting list of wares made at the Imperial factory which is -given in detail on pp. 223–226 supplies a full commentary on this -meagre notice, illustrating the types which are merely hinted in -the _T’ao lu_ and specifying the particular kinds of antiques -which were reproduced and many of the new processes invented in this -reign. With regard to the last, however, it appears that the chief -credit was due to Nien’s gifted assistant, T’ang Ying. Most of the -actual processes, such as carving, engraving, piercing _à jour_, -embossing in high and low relief, blowing on of the glazes, painting -in enamels, in gold and in silver,[372] have already been described in -previous chapters. Indeed we may assume that all the science of the -K’ang Hsi potters was inherited by their successors in the Yung Chêng -period, and we need only concern ourselves with the novelties and the -specialities of the period. - -A few words should be said first about the ware itself. Necessary -variations in the appearance of the Ching-tê Chên porcelain, which -were due to purely natural causes such as the use of clays of varying -qualities or those from different localities, have been noted from time -to time. These differences are generally quite obvious and they explain -themselves. But apart from these there are numerous instances in which -the potters have deliberately departed from the normal recipes in order -to obtain some special effect. Thus we saw that the _ch’ing-tien_ -stone was introduced into the body in imitations of the opaque and -rather earthy-looking white Ting Chou ware; _hua shih_ (steatite) -was used for another type of opaque porcelain which offered a -vellum-like surface to the blue painter; and coarse, impure clays were -found of great service in the imitation of the dark-coloured body of -the antique wares. - -Many other modifications appear in the porcelain of the first half of -the eighteenth century. There is, for instance, a very dead white ware, -soft looking, but translucent, which occurs on some of the choicer -examples of armorial porcelain.[373] There are several specimens of -this in the British Museum, one of which bears the early date, 1702, -while others belong to the Yung Chêng period. Again there is the highly -vitreous ware evolved by T’ang Ying to imitate the opaque glass of -_Ku-yüeh-hsüan_; but that will be discussed later.[374] These -special bodies were mainly employed for articles of small size and -ornamental design, and they can be studied in all their varieties in -a representative collection of snuff bottles. The Chinese potters -lavished all their skill on these dainty little objects. Not only -do they include every kind of ware, crackled or plain, translucent -or opaque, but they illustrate in miniature every variety of -decoration--monochrome, painted, carved, moulded, incised, pierced and -embossed. Probably the choicest snuff bottles were made in the Yung -Chêng and Ch’ien Lung periods; but the Chinese have never ceased to -delight in them, and many beautiful examples were manufactured in the -nineteenth century, particularly in the Tao Kuang period. - -The ordinary Yung Chêng porcelain differs but little from that of the -previous reign, though it tends to assume a whiter appearance, and -the green tinge of the glaze is less marked. Moreover, a change is -noticeable in the finish of the base rim of vases and bowls. Bevelling -of the edge is less common, and gives place to a rounded or angular -finish, the foot rim being often almost [symbol: V]-shaped; while the -slight tinge of brown around the raw edge, which is usual on K’ang Hsi -wares, is often entirely absent. The actual potting of the porcelain -displays a wonderful degree of manipulative skill, and the forms, -though highly finished, are not lacking in vigour. They are, in fact, -a happy mean between the strong, free lines of the K’ang Hsi and the -meticulous finish of the later Ch’ien Lung porcelains. The verdict of -the _T’ao lu_, “extremely refined and elegant,” is fully justified -by the porcelain itself no less than by its decoration. - -Not the least deserving of this praise, though mainly made for export, -is the important group discussed on page 209, viz. the saucer dishes, -plates, tea and coffee wares, etc., of delicate white porcelain, -painted, apparently at Canton, in the _famille rose_ enamels. It -is an “eggshell” porcelain, white, thin, and beautifully finished, -and the dainty little conical or bell-shaped tea cups, though without -handles, are the perfection of table ware. This kind of “eggshell” is -easily distinguished from the Ming type, which is greener in tone and -has the appearance of melting snow by transmitted light. - -The Yung Chêng period is not conspicuous for blue and white porcelain. -The perfection of the _famille rose_ colours and the growing -demand for enamelled wares seem to have withdrawn the attention of the -potters from their old speciality. Marked examples of Yung Chêng blue -and white are so uncommon that it is difficult to estimate the merits -of the ware from them. A saucer dish in the British Museum shows the -familiar pattern of a prunus spray reserved in white in a marbled blue -ground; but though the ware itself preserves much of the K’ang Hsi -character, the blue is dull and grey, and wanting in the vivacity and -depth of the old models. One would say that little care had been spent -on the refining of the blue, and without the old perfection of material -the K’ang Hsi style, with its broad washes of colour, was doomed to -failure. Considerations of this sort may have led the painters to -abandon the washes in favour of pencilling in fine lines, a method -apparent on the armorial porcelain which can be dated to this period. -Such a treatment of the blue was admirably suited to small objects. -Indeed it was the usual style of decoration on the steatitic porcelain, -of which many excellent examples belonging to this time are to be found -among the snuff bottles, vermilion boxes, and the small, artistic -furniture of the writing table. On large specimens the effect is thin -and weak. - -On the other hand the Yung Chêng potters, who excelled in reproducing -the antique, were most successful in their imitation of the old -Ming blue and whites. The Imperial list[375] includes such items as -“reproductions of the pale blue painted designs of Ch’êng Hua,” and -of the dark blue of Chia Ching. An interesting example of a Ming -reproduction is a bowl in the British Museum, which is painted on the -exterior with the old design of ladies walking in a garden by candle -light.[376] In spite of its Yung Chêng mark this piece is obviously a -copy of a Ming model. The porcelain is white and thick, and the glaze, -which is of greenish tint, has a peculiar soft-looking surface, while -the blue design inside is of characteristic Ming colour, though that of -the exterior is scarcely so successful. - -Another type much copied at this period as well as in the succeeding -reign is that in which the blue is mottled and blotched with darker -spots, a type discussed among the early Ming wares.[377] And similarly -such specimens as Fig. 2 of Plate 116, which bears a Hsüan Tê mark, -doubtless belong to this period of imitative manufacture. It is of -thick, solid build with smooth, soft-looking glaze, whose bubbled -texture gives the blue a hazy appearance. - -Painting in underglaze red alone, or in combination with underglaze -blue, was freely practised in the reign of Yung Chêng, and probably -most of the fine examples of this type in our collections belong to -this and the succeeding reign (Fig. 1, Plate 117). There is a good -example with the Yung Chêng mark in the British Museum, a vase of -“pilgrim-bottle” form with central design of the three emblematic -fruits--peach, pomegranate, and finger citron, symbols of the Three -Abundances of Years, Sons and Happiness. The fruits are in a soft -underglaze red, verging on the peach-bloom tint, and the foliage, -together with the borders and accessory designs, are pencilled in dark -blue. - -The Imperial list alludes to this decoration under the heading of “red -in the glaze” (_yu li hung_), including (1) red used alone for -painted designs, and (2) red foliage combined with blue flowers.[378] -Examples of both these styles are frequent in large and small objects, -and especially in the decoration of snuff bottles, which often bear the -Yung Chêng mark. They are, however, by no means confined to the Yung -Chêng period, but have continued in uninterrupted use to the present -day. - - [Illustration: PLATE 115 - - Vase of baluster form with ornament in white slip and underglaze - red and blue in a celadon green ground: rockery and birds on a - flowering prunus tree. Yung Chêng period - - (1723–1735) - - Height 15½ inches. _Alexander Collection._] - -Other references in the list[379] to underglaze red painting include -designs of three fishes,[380] three fruits, three funguses, and five -bats (for the five blessings) in the Hsüan Tê style, red in a white -ground; and the same red designs in a celadon green ground, the -latter combination being a novelty of the previous reign. Plate 115 -is a choice example of the underglaze colours in a celadon ground; -and similar designs in a pale lavender blue ground, besides other -combinations of the same colours, coloured slips, and high-fired glazes -which form the polychrome decoration of the _grand feu_ have been -already discussed on p. 146. They belong to the Yung Chêng and Ch’ien -Lung periods no less than to the K’ang Hsi. - -Of the other kinds of polychrome, the porcelain with glazes of the -_demi-grand feu_, and enamels of the muffle kiln in the three -colours, green, yellow, and aubergine, was still made. It is hardly -likely that the manufacture[381] which Père d’Entrecolles describes -in 1722 ceased immediately, and we know that the finer types with -engraved designs and transparent glazes in the three colours were made -to perfection at the Imperial factory. Fig. 1 of Plate 116 illustrates -a bowl of this kind with the Yung Chêng mark and, to judge from its -exquisite quality, an Imperial piece. The ornament is in green, in a -full yellow ground. This type of decoration is a legacy from the Ming -dynasty, and doubtless many of the saucer dishes, bowls, etc., with -Chêng Tê marks, but with all the trimness and neatness of the Yung -Chêng wares, belong to the latter period. One variety is actually -specified in the Imperial list[382] viz. “reproductions of porcelain -with incised green decoration in a monochrome yellow ground.” - -As for the on-glaze enamels of the muffle kiln the old _famille verte_ -colour scheme was to a great and increasing extent supplanted by the -_famille rose_. It survived, however, in certain modified forms--in the -delicately painted wares, for example, usually of eggshell thinness and -decorated in thin, clear, transparent enamels, such as were described -in connection with the late K’ang Hsi “birthday plates ” (see Plate -113). And again the same colours were employed in a special type of -decoration which seems to have originated in the Yung Chêng period, -though it was freely used in later reigns. In this the design was -carefully traced in pale blue outlines under the glaze, and filled in -with light uniform washes of transparent enamels on the glaze. The -effect is delicate and refined, though somewhat weak in comparison with -the full, iridescent colours and broad washes of the older _famille -verte_. - -Possibly this style of decoration was intended to reproduce the -traditional refinement of the Ch’êng Hua cups. The Imperial list[383] -includes “reproductions of Ch’êng Hua polychrome (_wu ts’ai_),” -and four exquisite eggshell wine cups in the Hippisley Collection -which bear the Ch’êng Hua mark, are painted in this fashion.[384] -Similarly in the Bushell collection there are some beautiful -reproductions of the Ch’êng Hua “stem-cups,” with grape vine patterns, -etc., which are no doubt of the same origin. Larger work in the same -style is illustrated by a fine vase in the Victoria and Albert Museum -with a phœnix design which suggests an Imperial destination (Plate -117). - - [Illustration: Plate 116.--Yung Chêng Porcelain. - - Fig. 1.--Imperial Rice Bowl with design of playing children - (_wa wa_), engraved outlines filled in with green in a - yellow ground, transparent glazes on the biscuit. Yung Chêng - mark. Diameter 6 inches. _British Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Blue and white Vase with fungus (_ling chih_) - designs in Hsüan Tê style. Height 7½ inches. _Cologne - Museum._] - - [Illustration: Plate 117.--Yung Chêng Porcelain. - - Fig. 1.--Vase with prunus design in underglaze red and blue. - Height 15 inches. _C. H. Read Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Imperial Vase with phœnix and peony design in pale - _famille verte_ enamels over underglaze blue outlines. - Height 25⅝ inches. _V. & A. Museum._] - - [Illustration: Plate 118.--Early Eighteenth Century Enamels. - - Fig.1--Plate painted at Canton in _famille rose_ enamels - (_yang ts’ai_, “foreign colouring”). Yung Chêng period. - Diameter 21½ inches. _S. E. Kennedy Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Arrow Stand, painted in late _famille verte_ - enamels. About 1720. Height 19¼ inches. _V. & A. Museum._] - - [Illustration: Plate 119.--Yung Chêng Porcelain, painted at - Canton with _famille rose_ enamels. _British Museum._ - - Fig. 1.--“Seven border” Plate. Diameter 8¼ inches. - - Fig. 2.--Eggshell Cup and Saucer with painter’s marks (see p. - 212). Diameter of saucer, 4½ inches. - - Fig. 3.--Eggshell Plate with vine border. Diameter 8¼ inches. - - Fig. 4.--Armorial Plate with arms of Leake Okeover. Transition - enamels, about 1723. Diameter 8⅞ inches.] - -Thirdly, there are the reproductions of the enamelled porcelain of -the Chêng Tê and Wan Li periods[385] (q.v.), characterised, no doubt, -by the combination of underglaze blue and overglaze enamels. We have -already seen[386] from the note on Nien yao in the _T’ao lu_ that -this combination was conspicuous at this period, and it is probable -that much of the “five colour” porcelain in late Ming style should -be dated no further back than the Yung Chêng revival. Other types -of Ming coloured wares reproduced at this time were “porcelain with -ornament in Hsüan Tê style in a yellow ground,”[387] which seems to -mean underglaze blue designs with the ground filled in with yellow -enamel--a not unfamiliar type--and porcelain with designs painted in -iron red (_ts’ai hung_) “reproduced from old pieces.”[388] But the most -prominent feature of the enamelled porcelains of this time is the rapid -development of the _famille rose_ colours. We have already noted the -first signs of their coming in the thick rose pink and opaque white, -which made their appearance in the latter years of K’ang Hsi. The group -derives its name from its most conspicuous members, a series of rose -pinks graduating from pale rose to deep crimson, all derived from gold, -the use of which as a colouring agent for vitreous enamel was only at -this period mastered by the Chinese potters. It includes besides a -number of other colours distinguished from those of the _famille verte_ -palette by their relative opacity. They display, moreover, a far wider -range of tints, owing to scientific blending of the various enamels -and to the judicious use of the opaque white to modify the -positive colours. Most of the opaque colours have considerable body, -and stand out on the porcelain like a rich incrustation, and they -are laid on not in broad washes, but with careful brush strokes and -miniature-like touches. - -The _famille rose_ colours are known to the Chinese as _juan ts’ai_ -(“soft colours,” as opposed to the _ying ts’ai_, or hard colours of the -_famille verte_), _fên ts’ai_ (pale colours), or _yang ts’ai_ (foreign -colours). Their foreign origin is generally admitted, and T’ang Ying -in the seventeenth of his descriptions of the processes of manufacture -alludes to them under the heading, “Decorating the round ware and -vases with foreign colouring.”[389] Painting the white porcelain in -polychrome (_wu ts’ai_) after the manner of the Europeans (_hsi yang_), -he tells us, is called foreign colouring, and he adds that the colours -employed are the same as those used for enamels on metal (_fo lang_). -Taking this statement with the note on “foreign coloured wares” in the -Imperial list,[390] where reference is made to painting on enamels (_fa -lang_) “landscapes and figure scenes, flowering plants and birds,” -it is evident that _fa lang_ is used here not in the usual sense of -cloisonné enamel, but for the painted enamels on copper which we -distinguish as Canton enamels. These, we are told elsewhere,[391] were -first made in the kingdom of Ku-li, which is washed by the Western sea. -Ku-li is identified as Calicut, but it does not necessarily follow that -the Chinese associated the origin of the painted enamels with India. -The expression was probably used quite vaguely in reference to European -goods which came by way of India, and does not really conflict with the -other phrase, _hsi yang_ (Western foreigners), which is always rendered -“Europeans.” - -There is quite a number of references to the foreign or European -colours in the Imperial list,[392] e.g. “porcelain in yellow after the -European style,” which Bushell considers to be the lemon yellow which -originated in this reign; “porcelain in purple brown (_tzŭ_) after -the European style”; “European red-coloured wares,” i.e. rose pink; -“European green-coloured wares,” which Bushell explains as pale bluish -green or _eau de nil_ enamel; and “European black (_wu chin_) wares.” -In fact the words, “foreign or European,” seem to be practically -synonymous with “opaque enamel.”[393] - -The most complete display of the foreign colouring is given by a -special group of porcelain which is painted in a characteristic -and mannered style. It is best known as “eggshell” or “ruby-back” -porcelain, from the fact that it is usually very thin and translucent -and beautifully potted, and that the exterior of the dishes and plates -is often coated with a gold pink enamel varying from pale ruby pink to -deep crimson. It usually consists of saucer-shaped dishes, plates, and -tea and coffee wares, obviously intended for European use. Occasionally -there are vases and lanterns of exquisite lightness and translucency, -but the vase forms usually required a more substantial construction, -and such specimens as Plate 120, are strongly built, though decorated -in the same style as the eggshell wares. - -The decoration of these porcelains is scarcely less distinctive than -their colouring. The central design usually consists of one of the -following: a Chinese interior with figures of ladies and children, -groups of vases and furniture, baskets of flowers and dishes of -fruit, a pheasant on a rock, two quails and growing flowers, a cock -and peonies, etc.; and these designs are enclosed by rich borders, -sometimes totalling as many as seven in number, composed of hexagon -and square, lozenge, trellis or matting diapers, in varying colours, -and broken by small irregular panels of flowers or archaic dragons. -There are, of course, many other kinds of decoration on these wares. -Sometimes the whole design is executed in opaque blue enamel, sometimes -it is black and gold. On some the borders are simpler, merely -delicately gilt patterns; on others they are ruby pink, plain or -broken by enamelled sprays. On the vase forms the ruby either covers -the entire ground or is broken, as in Plate 121, Fig. 3, by fan-shaped -or picture-shaped panels with polychrome designs. The painting is, as -a rule, very finely and carefully executed, but almost always in a -distinctive style which is closely paralleled by the Canton enamels. - -Indeed, it is impossible to resist the conclusion that much of this -ware was actually decorated in the enamelling establishments at Canton, -the porcelain itself being sent in the white from Ching-tê Chên. The -same designs are found on both the porcelain and the enamels, and there -is one instance at least of an artist whose paintings were used on -both materials, as is testified by his signature. This is the painter -whose art-name is _Pai shih shan jên_ (hermit of the white rock), or -in a shortened form, Pai-shih (see vol. i., p. 223). He was evidently -a Cantonese, for one of his designs on a saucer in the British Museum -is inscribed _Ling nan hui chê_ (a Canton picture), the subject being a -vase of flowers and a basket of fruit. His signature is also attached -to a dish with cock and peonies in the Victoria and Albert Museum,[394] -and to a similar design figured by Jacquemart,[395] which also bears -the date corresponding to 1724. It occurs, besides, fairly frequently -on Canton enamels, though in this case usually attached to landscape -designs. In all these instances, however, it is placed in the field of -the design appended, as a rule, to a stanza of verse or a descriptive -sentence. This is a usual position for the signature of a painter on -silk or paper, and we can hardly be wrong in inferring that Pai-shih -was the artist whose designs were copied on the wares, perhaps one who -was specially employed to design for the enamellers, rather than an -actual pot-painter or enameller. The proper place for the signature -of the latter is underneath the ware, on the base; and here we find -on a cup and saucer in the British Museum the name apparently of the -real decorator whose painting is not to be distinguished from that -on the piece with the Pai-shih signature, just mentioned as in the -same collection. Under the saucer (Plate 119, Fig. 2) is the seal _Yü -fêng yang lin_, i.e. Yang Lin of Yü-fêng, an old name for the town of -K’un-shan; and under the cup is the seal _Yu chai_ (quiet pavilion), -which is no doubt the studio name of Yang-lin.[396] K’un-shan Hsien is -situated between Su-chou and Shanghai, in the province of Kiangsu, and -we are to understand that Yang-lin was either a native of K’un-shan -or that he resided there--more probably the former, for his work is -typical of the Canton enamellers. It is, however, probable enough that -there were decorating establishments working for the European markets -in the neighbourhood of Shanghai as well as at Canton, just as there -are still decorating kilns not only at Ching-tê Chên but “at the other -towns on the river.”[397] - -It is highly probable that the brushwork of the Canton enamellers, like -the enamels themselves, was copied at Ching-tê Chên, and even that -some of the enamellers migrated thither. A tankard among the armorial -porcelain in the British Museum, bearing the arms of Yorke and Cocks, -combines a few touches of underglaze blue with passages of _famille -rose_ decoration in the Canton style. The blue can only have been -applied at the place of manufacture, and as no porcelain of this kind -was actually made at Canton, it is evident that the piece was made and -decorated elsewhere (which can only mean at Ching-tê Chên), unless we -assume the improbable alternative that the tankard travelled from the -factory, bare save for a faintly outlined shield with a saltire in -blue, to be finished off at Canton. - -Needless to say there is much _famille rose_ porcelain in which -the Cantonese style is not apparent, and this we assume without -hesitation to have been decorated at Ching-tê Chên. - -It only remains to say a few words on the dating of the _famille rose_ -wares and for this we must return to the ruby-back porcelains. Dated -pieces are rare, but the British Museum is fortunate in possessing a -few documentary specimens. The most interesting of these is a bowl with -pale ruby enamel covering the exterior, and a dainty spray of flowers -in _famille rose_ enamels inside. It is marked in blue under the glaze -with the cyclical date “made in the _hsin chou_ year recurring” (see -p. 213). The only year to which this can be referred is 1721, when -the _hsin chou_ year came round for the second time in the long reign -of K’ang Hsi.[398] It is of course possible that this bowl was not -enamelled in the year of its manufacture, but there are two other -pieces in the same case, an octagonal plate with ruby border and a -dish, both with the mark of the Dresden collection, and therefore -not later than the early years of Yung Chêng. A fourth document is a -ruby-back saucer dish delicately painted with a lady and boys, vases -and furniture in typical style, which has the mark of the Yung Chêng -period. - -Unfortunately it is no longer possible to regard the year 1724, to -which the signature Pai-shih is attached on the plate mentioned above, -as conclusive evidence of the date of decoration.[399] It is certainly -the date of the design, and it is probable enough that the porcelain -was painted within a few years of the original picture, but beyond -that no further inferences can be drawn.[400] The Yorke-Cocks tankard, -however, to which we have also alluded, must for heraldic reasons have -been painted between the years 1720 and 1733; and there is an eggshell -cup and saucer in the British Museum painted in rose pink and other -enamels of this type, with the arms of the Dutch East India Company and -the date 1728. - -From this cumulative evidence it is clear that the manufacture of -eggshell dishes and services with _famille rose_ enamels in the -Canton style and with “ruby backs” was in full swing in the Yung Chêng -period, and the general tendency to label them all Ch’ien Lung errs on -the side of excessive caution. - -Passing from this particular group, which was affected by special -influences, the general character of the Yung Chêng enamelled -decoration is one of great refinement in design and execution. The -over-elaboration and the overcrowding which are observable on the later -Ch’ien Lung _famille rose_ are absent at this period. The tendency -was on the contrary towards elegant and restrained effects, such as a -flowering spray thrown artistically across the field, birds on a bough -and other graceful designs which left plenty of scope for the fine -quality of the white background. It is this nicely balanced decoration -coupled with the delicacy of the painting and the beautiful finish of -the porcelain itself, which gives the Yung Chêng enamelled wares their -singular distinction and charm. - -There are still a few special types of painted wares to be noticed -before passing to the monochromes. One of these is named in the -Imperial list,[401] under the heading “Porcelain painted in ink -(_ts’ai shui mo_),” a figurative expression, for Indian ink could -not stand the heat even of the enamelling kiln, and could never have -served as a true ceramic pigment. The material used was a dry black or -brown black pigment derived from manganese, and closely allied to the -pigment which had long served in a subordinate position for tracing -outlines. Evidently this material was now greatly improved, and could -be used for complete designs which resembled drawings in Indian ink or -in sepia. It is certain, however, that the Chinese, whose methods were -necessarily empirical, had first experimented with actual ink, for Père -d’Entrecolles wrote in 1722[402]--“an attempt made to paint in black -some vases with the finest Chinese ink met with no success. When the -porcelain had been fired, it turned out white. The particles of this -black had not sufficient body, and were dissipated by the action of the -fire; or rather they had not the strength to penetrate the layer of -glaze or to produce a colour differing from the plain glaze.” Between -that date and about 1730 when the Imperial list was drawn up, the -secret of the proper pigment seems to have been mastered, and we find -the black designs effectively used on Yung Chêng eggshell and other -wares, alone or brightened by a little gilding. Among other uses it was -found to be admirably suited for copying the effect of European prints -and line engravings, a _tour de force_ in which the proverbial -patience and imitative skill of the Chinese are well exemplified. -Another effect sometimes mistaken for black painting is produced by -silvered designs which become rapidly discoloured; but it is generally -possible to see a slight metallic sheen even on the blackened silver if -the porcelain is held obliquely to the light. - -Another refined and unobtrusive decoration was effected by pencilling -in pale iron red supplemented with gilding. There is a large series of -this red and gold porcelain in the Dresden collection, and it seems -to belong to the late K’ang Hsi or the Yung Chêng period. Another -telling combination, including black, red and gold, dates from this -time. The black and gold variety is well illustrated by an interesting -plate in the British Museum which represents European figures in early -eighteenth-century costume in a Chinese interior (Plate 131, Fig. 1). -The Imperial list[403] alludes to the use of silver and gold both to -cover the entire surface like a monochrome (_mo yin_ and _mo chin_), -and in painted designs (_miao yin_ and _miao chin_).[404] Three of -these decorations are said to have been in Japanese style, but the -precise significance of this is not clear. Gilding was freely used in -combination with red and blue, and especially over the blue, on Arita -porcelain, but the application of it does not seem to differ from the -ordinary Chinese gilding. The one feature common to the Chinese and -Japanese gilding is its lightness and restraint as compared with the -heavy gilding of European porcelains. - -Plate 125 illustrates a peculiar ware which belongs in part to the -reign of Yung Chêng and in part to that of Ch’ien Lung. It attempts to -reproduce the soft colouring on the enamelled glass made by Hu,[405] -whose studio-name was Ku-yüeh-hsüan (“ancient moon pavilion”). A small -brush holder[406] of this glass is shown on Fig. 125, an opaque white -material, not unlike our old Bristol glass, delicately painted in -_famille rose_ colours with groups of the Seven Worthies of the Bamboo -Grove. It is said that[407] the Emperor admired the soft colouring on -this ware, and expressed a wish to see the same effect produced in -porcelain. T’ang Ying thereupon set out to solve the problem by making -a highly vitreous body with glassy glaze on which the enamels assumed -the soft tints of the original model. This type of porcelain, known as -_fang ku yüeh hsüan_ (“imitation of Ku-yüeh-hsüan”), is greatly prized. -Mr. A. E. Hippisley has described a small group in the catalogue of his -collection from which I have been permitted to illustrate an example -(Plate 125). Mr. Hippisley states that the earlier specimens of the -glass are marked with the four characters _ta ch’ing nien chih_ (made -in the great Ch’ing period), the reign name Yung Chêng being omitted; -the later pieces, of which the brush pot in our illustration is one, -have the Ch’ien Lung mark in four characters. Bushell[408] has figured -a yellow glazed snuff bottle with the actual mark _Ku yüeh hsüan chih_ -(see vol. i. p. 219). - -The reigns of Yung Chêng and Ch’ien Lung were prolific in monochromes. -Never since the Sung dynasty had these wares been produced in such -quantity, and the tale of the glazes was swollen to an unprecedented -extent by the accumulated traditions of the past centuries, and by the -inventive genius of T’ang Ying. It is scarcely practicable to attempt -to distinguish very closely between the Yung Chêng monochromes and -those of the early years of Ch’ien Lung. The activities of T’ang-ying -extended from 1728–1749, and we are expressly told that many of the -types enumerated in the Imperial list were his inventions, besides -which there was nothing made by the potters of the past which he could -not reproduce. To enumerate all the colours now used would be merely -to repeat what has been said under the heading of monochrome porcelain -in the previous chapters. Moreover, the Imperial list given on page -223 serves to draw attention to the principal types, and it is only -necessary here to supplement it with a few comments. - -A special feature of the time was the reproduction of the glazes made -in the classical periods of the Sung and Ming dynasties, and in many -cases these copies were based on originals lent to the factory from the -Imperial collections. Thus the Ju, Kuan, Ko, Lung-chüan, Tung-ch’ing, -Chün and Ting wares, all the specialities of the Sung dynasty, are -included in the list, and though one type of Kuan glaze is specifically -stated to have been laid on a white porcelain body, many of the others, -we read, were provided with special bodies imitating the copper-and -iron-coloured wares of antiquity. But experience shows that in the -majority of cases the potters were content to simulate the “brown -mouth and iron foot” of the dark-bodied Sung wares by dressing the -mouth and the exposed part of the base with ferruginous clay. This is -observable on the lavender crackles which imitate the Kuan, and the -stone grey crackles of the Ko type, by which the Sung originals were -until recent years represented in most Western collections. - -In other cases coarse clays of impure colour, and even earthenware -bodies were used in the reproductions. The admirable imitations of the -mottled and _flambé_ Chün glazes which were apparently a special -triumph of T’ang-ying appear both on a white porcelain which had to be -carefully concealed by the coloured glazes, and on a soft earthenware -body. Both these kinds are found with the Yung Chêng mark stamped in -the paste, and so correct are the glaze effects that even collectors of -considerable experience have been deceived by specimens from which the -mark in question has been ground away. - -In addition to the copies of the high-fired Chün glazes, there was the -“Chün glaze of the muffle kiln” (_lu chün yu_) which is described as -something between the glaze applied to the Yi-hsing stoneware and the -Kuangtung glazes. The items immediately following this information in -the Imperial list[409] make it clear that the writer refers to the -glazes of Ou on the Yi-hsing pottery, and to the blue mottled glazes -of the Canton stoneware. The enamel which most closely answers to -the description of this Chün glaze of the muffle kiln[410] is that -illustrated in Fig. 4 of Plate 128, a vase with dark-coloured foot rim, -and an opaque greenish blue enamel flecked with dark ruby pink. This -enamel varies considerably in appearance according to the preponderance -of the red or the blue in the combination; but it is an enamel of the -muffle kiln and its markings recall the dappled Chün glazes. I have, -moreover, seen this glaze actually applied to a teapot of Yi-hsing red -stoneware. This glaze seems to belong to a type, which was largely -developed in the Ch’ien Lung period, of glazes resembling if not -actually imitating the mottled surface of certain birds’ eggs, e.g. -the robin, the lark, the sparrow, etc. In these instances one colour -seems to have been powdered or blown on to another, the commonest kind -having a powdering of ruby pink on pale blue or green. This glaze -differs from the Chün glaze, described above, only in the size of -the pink specks. It was probably in experimenting for the effect of -the _flambé_ Chün glazes that T’ang Ying acquired the mastery of the -furnace transmutations (_yao pien_) which made it possible for him and -his successors to produce at will the variegated glazes. These had -been described by Père d’Entrecolles a few years earlier as accidental -effects in his time, but the French father already foresaw the day when -they would be brought under control. - -Of the celebrated Ting Chou wares only the fine ivory white Ting -(_fên ting_) was copied at the Imperial factory; but this does -not preclude the reproduction of the other kind, the creamy crackled -_t’u-ting_, in the other potteries. There are, at any rate, many -lovely porcelains in both styles which appear to belong to the Yung -Chêng and early Ch’ien Lung periods. Coloured glazes with crackle and -crackled grey-white of the Ko type were made in great quantity, and -most of the choicer crackles in our collections, especially those of -antique appearance but on a white and neatly finished porcelain body, -date from this time. - -The reproductions of Ming monochromes include the underglaze red and -the purplish blue as in the previous reign, and the eggshell and pure -white of the Yung Lo and Hsüan Tê periods. The purplish blue or _chi -ch’ing_ of this time is illustrated by a large dish in the British -Museum which is further enriched with gilding. It is covered with a -splendid deep blue of slightly reddish tinge, varying depth and rather -stippled appearance, and it was found in Turkey, where this colour has -been much prized. Turquoise green, aubergine purple and yellow of the -_demi-grand feu_, and the lustrous brown (_tzŭ chin_) in two -shades, brown and yellow, are all mentioned in the Imperial list as -used with or without engraved and carved designs under the glaze. - -As for the K’ang Hsi porcelains it may be assumed that practically -all their glaze colours were now reproduced. A few only are specified -in the list, eel yellow, snake-skin green, spotted yellow, _soufflé_ -red, _soufflé_ blue (powder blue) and mirror black (_wu chin_). The -term _soufflé_ red may refer to the underglaze red from copper or the -overglaze iron red. The latter is further subdivided into _mo hung_ -or _ta hung_, the deep red of Ming origin, and the _tsao’rh hung_ or -jujube red, a softer and more vitreous[411] variety of the same colour -which Dr. Bushell considered to have originated in the Yung Chêng -period. On the _soufflé_ red under the glaze we may quote Bushell’s -remarks[412]: “Two of the colours especially characteristic of the -Nien yao or 'Nien porcelain’ of this epoch are the _clair de lune_ -or _yüeh pai_, and the bright _soufflé_ copper red.” The latter is -further described on a vase in the Walters collection “exhibiting the -characteristic monochrome glaze of bright ruby red tint, and stippled -surface. The _soufflé_ glaze is applied over the whole surface with the -exception of a panel of irregular outline reserved on one side, where -it is shaded off so that the red fades gradually into a nearly white -ground.” This panel was afterwards filled in with a design in overglaze -enamels. A tazza in the British Museum has this same red covering -three-quarters of the exterior, and fading into the white ground. This -red also occurs in its beautiful translucent ruby tints on a pair of -small wine cups in the same collection, and on a set of larger cups -belonging to Mr. Eumorfopoulos. One would say it was the “liquid dawn” -tint of the celebrated wine cups of the late Ming potter, Hao Shih-chiu. - -The _clair de lune_ or moon white (_yüeh pai_), an exquisite glaze -of palest blue, is illustrated on Plate 130. It is often faintly -tinged with lavender which bears out its description in the Imperial -list[413]: “This colour somewhat resembles the Ta Kuan glaze, but the -body of the ware is white. The glaze is without crackle, and there are -two shades--pale and dark.” The Kuan glaze, it should be explained, was -characterised by a reddish tinge. - -In addition to the foreign colours which were capable of being used as -monochromes as well as in painted designs, there are a few other new -glazes named in the Imperial list. The _fa ch’ing_ (cloisonné blue) -which “resulted from recent experiments to match” the deep blue of the -enamellers on copper, is identified by Bushell with the dark sapphire -blue known as _pao shih lan_ (precious stone blue). It was, we are -told, darker and bluer than the purplish _chi ch’ing_, and it had not -the orange peel and palm eye markings of the latter. It has, however, -a faint crackle, and is apparently a glaze of the _demi-grand feu_. -We learn elsewhere that this cloisonné blue was one of T’ang-ying’s -inventions. - -Among the yellows are “porcelain with yellow after the European style” -which is identified by Bushell with the opaque lemon yellow enamel -introduced at this time, and there are two kinds of _mi sê_ (millet -colour) glazes,[414] pale and dark, which we are told “differed from -the Sung _mi sê_.” Bushell’s explanation of the term _mi sê_ given in -Monkhouse’s _Chinese Porcelain_,[415] traverses his rendering of the -terms as rice colour in other books: “The Chinese term used here is _mi -sê_, which Julien first translated _couleur du riz_, and thereby misled -us all. It really refers to the colour (_sê_) of the yellow millet -(_huang mi_), not of rice (_pai mi_). _Mi sê_ in Chinese silks is a -full primrose yellow; in Chinese ceramic glazes it often deepens from -that tint to a dull mustard colour when the materials are less pure. -It has often been wondered why the old “mustard crackle” of collectors -is apparently never alluded to in “L’Histoire des Porcelaines de -King-tê-chin.” It is necessary to substitute yellow for “rice coloured” -in the text generally, remembering always that a paler tone is -indicated than that of the Imperial yellow, which Mr. Monkhouse justly -likens to the yolk of an egg.” - -In Giles’s Dictionary _mi sê_ is rendered “straw colour, the colour of -yellow millet,” and all my inquiries among Chinese collectors as to -the tint of the _mi sê_ glaze have led to the same conclusion. One of -the Chinese experts indicated a bowl with pale straw yellow glaze of -the K’ang Hsi period as an example of _mi sê_, and this I take to be -the _mi sê_ which “differed from the Sung colour,” being, in fact, an -ordinary yellow glaze, following the type made in the Ming dynasty, and -entirely different in technique from the Sung glazes. - - [Illustration: PLATE 120 - - Covered Jar or _potiche_ painted in _famille rose_ or - “foreign colours” (_yang ts’ai_) with baskets of flowers: - deep borders of ruby red enamel broken by small panels and floral - designs. On the cover is a lion coloured with enamels on the - biscuit. From a set of five vases and beakers in the collection - of Lady Wantage. Late Yung Chêng period (1723–1735) - - Height 34 inches.] - -The precise nature of the Sung _mi sê_ which is included among the Ko -yao, Chün yao and Hsiang-hu wares reproduced by the Yung Chêng potters -according to the Imperial list is a little doubtful. Possibly one type -was illustrated by the “shallow bowl with spout: grey stoneware with -opaque glaze of pale sulphur yellow,” which Mr. Alexander exhibited at -the Burlington Fine Arts Club in 1910.[416] Another is indicated in the -Pierpont Morgan collection[417] in a “shallow bowl with greenish -yellow crackled glaze,” apparently of the type found occasionally in -Borneo, where such wares are still treasured by the Dyaks. The vase in -the Victoria and Albert Museum which is figured by Monkhouse (op. cit., -Fig. 22) as a specimen of old _mi sê_, appears for reasons already -given[418] to be a Yung Chêng reproduction of this type. The “mustard -yellow” which Bushell included under the description _mi sê_ is an -opaque crackled enamel which can hardly have originated before the Yung -Chêng period, and it is possible that it resulted from an attempt to -reproduce the old Sung _mi sê_ crackle. - -The following list of the decorations used at the Imperial factory was -compiled by Hsieh Min, the governor of the province of Kiangsi from -1729 to 1734.[419] It was translated by Bushell in his _Oriental -Ceramic Art_; but reference has been made to it so often in these -pages, and its importance is so obvious, that no apology is necessary -for giving it in full. The following version is taken from the -_Chiang hsi t’ung chih_, bk. 93, fols. 11 to 13, and in most cases -Bushell’s rendering has been followed:-- - - 1. Glazes of the Ta Kuan period (i.e. Sung Kuan yao) on an - “iron” body, including moon white (_yüeh pai_), pale blue - or green (_fên ch’ing_) and deep green (_ta lü_).** - - 2. Ko glaze on an “iron” body, including millet colour (_mi - sê_) and _fên ch’ing_.** - - 3. Ju glaze without crackle on a “copper” body: the glaze - colours copied from a cat’s food basin of the Sung dynasty, and - a dish for washing brushes moulded with a human face. - - 4. Ju glaze with fish-roe crackle on a “copper” body.** - - 5. White Ting glaze. Only the _fên Ting_ was copied, and - not the _t’u Ting_. - - 6. Chün glazes. Nine varieties are given, of which five were - copied from old palace pieces and four from newly acquired - specimens; see p. 000. - - 7. Reproductions of the _chi hung_ red of the Hsüan Té - period: including fresh red (_hsien hung_) and ruby red - (_pao shih hung_). - - 8. Reproductions of the deep violet blue (_chi ch’ing_) of - the Hsüan Tê period. This glaze is deep and reddish (_nêng - hung_), and has orange peel markings and palm eyes. - - 9. Reproductions of the glazes of the Imperial factory: - including eel yellow (_shan yü huang_), snake-skin green - (_shê p’i lü_), and spotted yellow (_huang pan tien_). - - 10. Lung-ch’üan glazes: including pale and dark shades. - - 11. Tung-ch’ing glazes: including pale and dark, shades. - - 12. Reproductions of the Sung millet-coloured (_mi sê_) - glaze: copied in form and colour from the fragmentary wares dug - up at Hsiang Hu (q.v.). - - 13. Sung pale green (_fên ch’ing_) glaze: copied from wares - found at the same time as the last. - - 14. Reproduction of “oil green” (_yu lü_) glaze: “copied - from an old transmutation (_yao pien_) ware like green - jade (_pi yü_), with brilliant colour broken by variegated - passages and of antique elegance.” - - 15. The Chün glaze of the muffle stove (_lu chün_). “The - colour is between that of the Kuangtung wares and the Yi-hsing - applied glaze[420]; and in the ornamental markings (_hua - wên_) and the transmutation tints of the flowing glaze it - surpasses them.” - - 16. Ou’s glazes, with red and blue markings. - - 17. Blue mottled (_ch’ing tien_) glazes: copied from old - Kuang yao. - - 18. Moon white (_yüeh pai_) glazes. “The colour somewhat - resembles the Ta Kuan glaze, but the body of the ware is white. - The glaze is without crackle, and there are two shades--pale and - dark.” - - 19. Reproductions of the ruby red (_pao shao_) of Hsüan Té: - in decoration consisting of (1) three fishes, (2) three fruits, - (3) three funguses, or (4) the five Happinesses (symbolised by - five bats). - - 20. Reproductions of the Lung-ch’üan glaze with ruby red - decoration of the types just enumerated. “This is a new style of - the reigning dynasty.” - - 21. Turquoise (_fei ts’ui_) glazes. Copying three sorts, - (1) pure turquoise, (2) blue flecked, and (3) gold flecked - (_chin tien_).[421] - - 22. _Soufflé_ red (_ch’ui hung_) glaze. - - 23. _Soufflé_ blue (_ch’ui ch’ing_) glaze. - - 24. Reproductions of Yung Lo porcelain: eggshell (_t’o - t’ai_), pure white with engraved (_chui_) or embossed - (_kung_) designs. - - 25. Copies of Wan Li and Chêng Tê enamelled (_wu ts’ai_) - porcelain. - - 26. Copies of Ch’èng Hua enamelled (_wu ts’ai_) porcelain. - - 27. Porcelain with ornament in Hsüan Tê style in a yellow ground. - - 28. Cloisonné blue (_fa ch’ing_) glaze.[422] “This glaze - is the result of recent attempts to match this colour (i.e. the - deep blue of the cloisonné enamels). As compared with the deep - and reddish _chi ch’ing_, it is darker and more vividly - blue (_ts’ui_), and it has no orange peel or palm eye - markings.” - - 29. Reproductions of European wares with lifelike designs carved - and engraved. “Sets of the five sacrificial utensils, dishes, - plates, vases, and boxes and the like are also decorated with - coloured pictures in European style.” - - [Illustration: Plate 121.--Two Beakers and a Jar from sets of - five, _famille rose_ enamels. Late Yung Chêng Porcelain. - - Fig. 1.--Beaker with “harlequin” ground. Height 15¾ inches. _S. - E. Kennedy Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Jar with dark blue glaze gilt and leaf-shaped reserves. - Height 21½ inches. _Burdett-Coutts Collection._ - - Fig. 3.--Beaker with fan and picture-scroll panels, etc., - in a deep ruby pink ground. Height 14½ inches. _Wantage - Collection._] - - 30. Reproductions of wares with incised green decoration in a - yellow glaze (_chiao huang_). - - 31. Reproductions of yellow-glazed wares: including plain and - with incised ornament. - - 32. Reproductions of purple brown (_tzŭ_) glazed wares: - including plain and with incised ornament. - - 33. Porcelain with engraved ornament: including all kinds of - glazes. - - 34. Porcelain with embossed (_tui_) ornament: including all - kinds of glazes. - - 35. Painted red (_mo[423] hung_): copying old specimens. - - 36. Red decoration (_ts’ai hung_): copying old specimens. - - 37. Porcelain in yellow after the European style.[424] - - 38. Porcelain in purple brown (_tzŭ_) after the European - style. - - 39. Silvered (_mo yin_) porcelain. - - 40. Porcelain painted in ink (_shui mo_): see p. 214. - - 41. Reproductions of the pure white (_t’ien pai_)[425] - porcelain of the Hsüan Tê period: including a variety of wares - thick and thin, large and small. - - 42. Reproductions of Chia Ching wares with blue designs. - - 43. Reproductions of Ch’êng Hua pale painted (_tan miao_) - blue designs. - - 44. Millet colour (_mi sê_) glazes. “Differing from the - Sung millet colour.” In two shades, dark and light. - - 45. Porcelain with red in the glaze (_yu li hung_): - including (1) painted designs exclusively in red, (2) the - combination of blue foliage and red flowers.[426] - - 46. Reproductions of lustrous brown (_tzŭ chin_) glaze: - including two varieties, brown and yellow. - - 47. Porcelains with yellow glaze (_chiao huang_) decorated - in enamels (_wu ts’ai_). “This is the result of recent - experiments.” - - 48. Reproductions of green-glazed porcelain: including that with - plain ground and with engraved ornament. - - 49. Wares with foreign colours (_yang ts’ai_). “In - the new copies of the Western style of painting in enamels - (_fa-lang_) the landscapes and figure scenes, the flowering - plants and birds are without exception of supernatural beauty - and finish.”[427] - - 50. Porcelain with embossed ornament (_kung hua_): - including all kinds of glazes. - - 51. Porcelain with European (_hsi yang_) red colour. - - 52. Reproductions of _wu chin_ (mirror black) glazes: - including those with black ground and white designs and those - with black ground and gilding. - - 53. Porcelain with European green colour. - - 54. European _wu chin_ (mirror black) wares. - - 55. Gilt (_mo chin_) porcelain: copying the Japanese. - - 56. Gilt (_miao chin_)[428] porcelain: copying the Japanese. - - 57. Silvered (_miao yin_) porcelain: copying the Japanese. - - 58. Large jars (_ta kang_) with Imperial factory (_ch’ang - kuan_) glazes. “Dimensions: diameter, at the mouth, 3 ft. - 4 or 5 in. to 4 ft.; height, 1 ft. 7 or 8 in. to 2 ft. Glaze - colours, (1) eel yellow, (2) cucumber (_kua p’i_) green, - and (3) yellow and green mottled (_huang lü tien_).” - -This last item, which is not included in Bushell’s list, appears to -be almost a repetition of No. 9, with slightly different phrasing. -_Huang lü tien_, which is used instead of the difficult phrase -_huang pan tien_, may perhaps be taken as a gloss on the latter, -indicating that the spots in the mottled yellow were green. In this -case it would appear that the “spotted yellow” was a sort of tiger skin -glaze, consisting of dabs of green and yellow (and perhaps aubergine as -well). Bushell interpreted it in this sense. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - - CH’IEN LUNG [chch 2] (1736–1795) - - -The brief reign of Yung Chêng was followed by that of his son, who -ruled under the title of Ch’ien Lung for a full cycle of sixty years, -at the end of which he abdicated in accordance with his vow that he -would not outreign his grandfather, K’ang Hsi. Ch’ien Lung was a -devotee of the arts, and they flourished greatly under his long and -peaceful sway. He was himself a collector, and the catalogue of the -Imperial bronzes compiled under his orders is a classic work; but more -than that, he was personally skilful in the art of calligraphy, which -ranks in China as high as painting; and he was a voluminous poet. It -is no uncommon thing to find his compositions engraved or painted on -porcelain and other artistic materials. Bushell[429] quotes an example -from a snuff bottle in the Walters Collection; there is a bowl for -washing wine cups in the Eumorfopoulos Collection with a descriptive -verse engraved underneath, and entitled, “Imperial Poem of Ch’ien -Lung”; and a beautiful coral red bowl in the British Museum has a -similar effusion pencilled in gold in the interior. - -His interest in the ceramic art is further proved by the command given -in 1743 to T’ang Ying to compose a description of the various processes -of manufacture as a commentary on twenty pictures of the industry which -belonged to the palace collections; and one of the earliest acts of his -reign was to appoint the same celebrated ceramist in 1736 to succeed -Nien Hsi-yao in the control of the customs at Huai-an Fu, a post which -involved the supreme control of the Imperial porcelain manufacture. - -There is little doubt that T’ang Ying[430] was the most distinguished -of all the men who held this post. He is, at any rate, the one whose -achievements have been most fully recorded. He was himself a prolific -writer, and a volume of his collected works has been published with a -preface by Li Chü-lai. His autobiography is incorporated in the _Chiang -hsi t’ung chih_; his twenty descriptions of the processes of porcelain -manufacture are quoted in the _T’ao shuo_ and the _T’ao lu_, and in -themselves form a valuable treatise on Chinese porcelain; and before -taking up his post at Huai-an Fu in 1736 he collected together, for -the benefit of his successors at Ching-tê Chên, the accumulated notes -and memoranda of eight years. This last work is known as the _T’ao -ch’êng shih yu kao_ (“Draughts of Instructions on the Manufacture of -Porcelain”), and the preface[431] quoted in the Annals of Fou-liang -furnishes some interesting details concerning Tang’s labours. We learn, -for instance, that when he was appointed to the factory at Ching-tê -Chên in 1728, he was “unacquainted with the finer details of the -porcelain manufacture in the province of Kiangsi,” having never been -there before. He worked with heart and strength, however, sleeping and -eating with the workmen during a voluntary apprenticeship of three -years, until in 1731 “he had conquered his ignorance of the materials -and processes of firing, and although he could not claim familiarity -with all the laws of transformation, his knowledge was much increased.” - -The commissionership of the customs was transferred in 1739 from -Huai-an Fu to Kiu-kiang, which is close to the point of junction -between the Po-yang Lake and the Yangtze, and considerably nearer to -the Imperial factory at Ching-tê Chên, the control of which remained in -T’ang’s hands until 1749. - -The _Ching-tê Chên T’ao lu_[432] is almost verbose on the subject of -T’ang’s achievements. He had a profound knowledge, it tells us, of -the properties of the different kinds of clay and of the action of -the fire upon them, and he took every care in the selection of proper -materials, so that his wares were all exquisite, lustrous, and of -perfect purity. In imitating the celebrated wares of antiquity he never -failed to make an exact copy, and in the imitation of all sorts of -famous glazes there were none which he could not cleverly reproduce. -There was, in fact, nothing that he could not successfully accomplish. -Furthermore, his novelties[433] included porcelains with the following -glazes and colours: foreign purple (_yang tzŭ_), cloisonné blue (_fa -ch’ing_), silvering (_mo yin_), painting in ink black (_ts’ai shui -mo_), foreign black (_yang wu chin_), painting in the style of the -enamels on copper (_fa lang_), foreign colouring in a black ground -(_yang ts’ai wu chin_), white designs in a black ground (_hei ti pai -hua_), gilding on a black ground (_hei ti miao chin_), sky blue (_t’ien -lan_), and transmutation glazes (_yao pien_). The clay used was white, -rich (_jang_) and refined, and the body of the porcelain, whether thick -or thin, was always unctuous (_ni_). The Imperial wares attained their -greatest perfection at this time. - -The preface to T’ang’s collected works, which is quoted in the same -passage, singles out as special triumphs of his genius the revival of -the manufacture of the old dragon fish bowls (_lung kang_) and of the -Chün yao, and the production of the turquoise and rose (_mei kuei_) -colours in “new tints and rare beauty.” It is obvious from these -passages that T’ang was responsible for many of the types enumerated -in Hsieh Min’s list in the preceding chapter, not only among the -reproductions of antiques but among the new inventions of the period, -such as the cloisonné blue, foreign purple, silvering, painting in ink -black, and foreign black. It follows, then, that these novelties could -not have been made much before 1730, for T’ang was still at that time -occupied chiefly with learning the potter’s art. It is equally certain -that he continued to make a specialty of imitating the older wares -during the reign of Ch’ien Lung, so that we may regard the best period -of these reproductions as extending from 1730–1750. - -In reading the list of T’ang’s innovations the reader will perhaps be -puzzled by the varieties of black decoration which are included. Before -attempting to explain them it will be best to review the different -kinds of black found on Chinese porcelain of the Ch’ing dynasty. There -is the high-fired black glaze, with hard shining surface likened to -that of a mirror and usually enriched with gilt traceries. This is the -original _wu chin_ described by Père d’Entrecolles.[434] The other -blacks are all low-fired colours of the muffle kiln applied over the -glaze and ranking with the enamel colours. They include at least five -varieties: (1) The dry black pigment, derived from cobaltiferous ore -of manganese, applied like the iron red without any glassy flux. (2) -The same pigment washed over with a transparent green enamel. This is -the iridescent greenish black of the _famille verte_, and it continued -in use along with the _famille rose_ colours in the Yung Chêng and -Ch’ien Lung periods and onwards to modern times. (3) A black enamel -in which the same elements--manganese black and copper green--are -compounded together. This is the modern _wu chin_, of which a sample -in the Sèvres Museum (from the collection of M. Itier) was described -by Julien[435] as “noir mat; minerai de manganese cobaltifère et oxyde -de cuivre avec céruse.” It appears on modern Chinese porcelain as a -sticky greenish black enamel, inferior in depth and softness to the -old composite black of the _famille verte_; but for all that, this -is the _yang wu chin_ (foreign black) of the Yung Chêng and Ch’ien -Lung periods. In the days of T’ang Ying it was a far superior colour. -(4) A mottled greenish black occurs as a monochrome and as a ground -colour with reserved discs enamelled with _famille rose_ colours on the -exterior of two bowls in the British Museum, both of which have the -cyclical date, _wu ch’ên_, under the base, indicating the year 1748 or -1808, probably the latter. (5) An enamel of similar texture but of a -purplish black colour is used on a snuff bottle in the same collection -to surround a figure design in underglaze blue. This piece has the Yung -Chêng mark in red, but from its general character appears to be of -later date. - -In the list of T’ang’s innovations there is _yang wu chin_ (foreign -black), which is doubtless the same as the _hsi yang wu chin_ (European -black) of Hsieh Min’s list. It is clear that this is something -different from the old green black of the _famille verte_ porcelain, -and we can hardly be wrong in identifying it with the _wu chin_ enamel -described above in No. 3. Compared with the original mirror black _wu -chin_ glaze this enamel has a dull surface, and we can only infer that -the term _wu chin_ had already lost its special sense of metallic -black, and was now used merely as a general term for black. - -Assuming this inference to be correct, the term yang _ts’ai wu chin_ -(foreign painting in a black ground) should mean simply _famille rose_ -colours surrounded by a black enamel ground of the type of either No. -2 or No. 3. It is, of course, possible that the _wu chin_ here is the -old mirror black glaze on which enamelling in _famille rose_ colours -would be perfectly feasible; but I do not know of any example, whereas -there is no lack of choice porcelains answering to the alternative -description. - -The two remaining types, _hei ti pai hua_ (white decoration in a black -ground) and _hei ti miao chin_ (black ground gilt), apparently leave -the nature of the black undefined, but as the expressions appear -verbatim in the note attached to No. 52 of Hsieh Min’s list, which is -“reproductions of _wu chin_ glaze,” we must regard the black in this -case, too, as of the _wu chin_ type. The black ground with gilding can -hardly refer to anything but the well-known mirror black glaze with -gilt designs; and the white designs in black ground is equally clearly -identified with a somewhat rarer type of porcelain in which the pattern -is reserved in white in a ground of black enamel of the type of No. -3. There are two snuff bottles in the British Museum respectively -decorated with “rat and vine,” and figure subjects white with slight -black shading and reserved in a sticky black enamel ground. Both these -are of the Tao Kuang period, but there are earlier and larger examples -elsewhere with a black ground of finer quality. Such a decoration -is scarcely possible with anything but an enamel black, and though -there is some inconsistency in the grouping of an enamel and a glaze -together in Hsieh Min’s list, they were apparently both regarded as -“reproductions” of the old mirror black _wu chin_. - -Out of the remaining innovations ascribed to T’ang’s directorate, -the _fa ch’ing_ (cloisonné or enamel blue) and the _fa long hua fa_ -(painting in the style of the enamels on copper) have already been -described in connection with Hsieh Min’s list. The latter expression -occurs verbatim in the note attached in the Annals of Fou-liang[436] -to No. 49 of the list, which is “porcelain with foreign colouring,” -and it clearly refers to the free painting on the Canton enamels for -reasons already given.[437] It is true that _fa lang_ (like _fo lang_, -_fu lang_, and _fa lan_, all phrases suggestive of foreign and Western -origin) is commonly used in reference to cloisonné enamel, but the -idea of copying on porcelain “landscapes, figure subjects, flowering -plants, and birds” from cloisonné enamels is preposterous to anyone who -is familiar with the cramped and restricted nature of work bounded by -cloisons. It is a pity that Bushell has confused the issue by rendering -this particular passage “painting in the style of cloisonné enamel” in -his _Oriental Ceramic Art_.[438] - -But, it will be objected, the painting in foreign colours has been -already shown to have been in full swing some years before T’ang’s -appointment at Ching-tê Chên. The inconsistency is only apparent, -however, for it is only claimed that T’ang introduced this style of -painting on the Imperial porcelain, and it may--and indeed must--have -been practised in the enamelling establishments at Canton and elsewhere -for some time before. Indeed, when one comes to consider the list of -T’ang innovations which we have discussed so far, they are mainly -concerned with the adaptation of various foreign colours and of -processes already in use in the previous reign. - -Of those which remain, the _t’ien lan_ or sky blue may perhaps be -identified with a light blue verging on the tint of turquoise, a -high-fired glaze found occasionally in the Ch’ien Lung monochromes. -But probably the greatest of T’ang’s achievements was the mastery of -the _yao pien_ or furnace transmutation glazes, which were a matter -of chance as late as the end of the K’ang Hsi period. These are the -variegated or _flambé_ glazes in which a deep red of _sang de bœuf_ -tint is transformed into a mass of streaks and mottlings in which blue, -grey, crimson, brown and green seem to be struggling together for -pre-eminence. All these tints spring from one colouring agent--copper -oxide--and they are called into being by a sudden change of the -atmosphere of the kiln, caused by the admission of wood smoke at the -critical moment and the consequent consumption of the oxygen. Without -the transformation the glaze would be a _sang de bœuf_ red, and in -many cases the change is only partial, and large areas of the deep red -remain. Fig. 1 of Plate 123 illustrates a small but characteristic -specimen of the Ch’ien Lung _flambé_. It will be found that in -contrast with the K’ang Hsi _sang de bœuf_ these later glazes are -more fluescent, and the excess of glaze overrunning the base has been -removed by grinding. - - [Illustration: Plate 122.--White Porcelain with designs in low - relief. - - Fig. 1.--Vase, peony scroll, _ju-i_ border, etc. Ch’ien Lung - period. Height 7 inches. _O. Raphael Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Bottle with “garlic mouth,” Imperial dragons in clouds. - Creamy crackled glaze imitating Ting ware. Early eighteenth - century. Height 9½ inches. _Salting Collection._ - - Fig. 3.--Vase with design of three rams, symbolising - Spring. Ch’ien Lung period. Height 3½ inches. _W. Burton - Collection._] - -Another development of the _yao pien_ at this time is the use of a -separate “transmutation” glaze which could be added in large or small -patches over another glaze, and which assumed, when fired, the usual -_flambé_ appearance. When judiciously applied the effect of this -superadded _flambé_ was very effective, but it is often used in a -capricious fashion, with results rather curious than beautiful. There -are, for instance, examples of blue and white vases being wholly or -partially coated with _flambé_, which have little interest except as -evidence that the potters could now produce the variegated effect at -will and in more ways than one. - -The use of double glazes to produce new and curious effects is -characteristic of the period. The second glaze was applied in various -ways by blowing, flecking, or painting it over the first. The Chün -glaze of the muffle kiln belongs to this type if it has, as I think, -been correctly identified with the blue green dappled with crimson on -Fig. 4 of Plate 128; and the bird’s egg glazes mentioned on p. 217 -belong to the same class.[439] Others of a similar appearance, though -not necessarily of the same technique, are the tea dust (_ch’a yeh -mo_) and iron rust (_t’ieh hsiu_). - -The tea dust glaze has a scum of dull tea green specks over an ochreous -brown or bronze green glaze, applied either to the biscuit or over an -ordinary white glazed porcelain; and it seems to have been a speciality -of the Ch’ien Lung period, though there are known specimens with the -Yung Chêng mark and many fine examples were made in later reigns. But -neither this glaze nor double glazes in general are inventions of -this time. It would be more correct to speak of them as revivals, for -the early Japanese tea jars, which are based on Chinese originals, -illustrate the principle of the double glaze, and there are specimens -of stoneware as old as the Sung if not the T’ang dynasty, with dark -olive glaze flecked with tea green, and scarcely distinguishable -from the Ch’ien Lung tea dust. It is stated on the authority of M. -Billequin (see Bushell, _O. C. A._, p. 518) that a “sumptuary law -was made restricting the use of the tea dust glaze to the Emperor, to -evade which collectors used to paint their specimens with imaginary -cracks,[440] and even to put in actual rivets to make them appear -broken.” - -The iron rust is a dark lustrous brown glaze strewn with metallic -specks (due to excess of iron), and in the best examples clouded -with passages of deep red. But these are only two examples of skill -displayed by the Ch’ien Lung potters in imitating artistic effects in -other materials. Special success was attained in reproducing the many -tints of old bronze and its metallic surface. Bright-coloured patina -was suggested by touches of _flambé_, and the effects of gilding -or gold and silver inlay were rendered by the gilder’s brush. The -appearance of inlaid enamels was skilfully copied. “In fact,” to quote -from the _T’ao shuo_,[441] “among all the works of art in carved -gold, embossed silver, chiselled stone, lacquer, mother-of-pearl, -bamboo and wood, gourd and shell, there is not one that is not now[442] -produced in porcelain, a perfect copy of the original piece.” Nor is -this statement much exaggerated, for I have seen numerous examples in -which grained wood, red lacquer, green jade, bronze, and even _mille -fiori_ glass have been so closely copied that their real nature was -not detected without close inspection. - -Reverting to T’ang’s achievements, we find special mention made of -the reproductions of Chün yao which have been already discussed in -detail,[443] and of the revived manufacture of the large dragon fish -bowls. The latter are the great bowls which caused such distress -among the potters in the Wan Li period. They are described in the -_T’ao lu_[444] as being fired in specially constructed kilns, and -requiring no less than nineteen days to complete their baking. The -largest size is said to have measured 6 ft.[445] in height, with a -thickness of 5 in. in the wall, one of them occupying an entire kiln. -The old Ming dragon bowl found by T’ang Ying[446] at the factory was -one of the smaller sizes, and measured 3 ft. in diameter and 2 ft. in -height. They were intended for the palace gardens for keeping gold-fish -or growing water-lilies, and the usual decoration consisted of Imperial -dragons. They are variously described as _lung kang_ (dragon -bowls), _yü kang_ (fish bowls), and _ta kang_ (great bowls). - - [Illustration: PLATE 123 - - Eighteenth Century Glazes - - Fig. 1.--Square Vase with tubular handles, and apricot-shaped - medallions on front and back. _Flambé_ red glaze. Ch’ien - Lung period (1736–1795). Height 6¾ inches. - - _British Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Bottle-shaped Vase with deep blue (_ta ch’ing_) - glaze: unglazed base. Early eighteenth century. Height 15¾ inches. - - _British Museum._ - - Fig. 3.--Vase with fine iron red enamel (_mo hung_) on the - exterior. Ch’ien Lung period (1736–1795). Height 5 inches. - - _Salting Collection (V. & A. Museum)._] - -Owing to the tremendous difficulty of firing these huge vessels the -order for their supply in the reign of Shun Chih was eventually -cancelled, and no attempt was made to resume their manufacture until -T’ang’s directorate. The usual fish bowl of the K’ang Hsi period is -a much smaller object, measuring about 20 in. (English) in diameter -by 1 ft. in height; but from the note appended to Hsieh Min’s list -in the _Chiang hsi t’ung chih_ on the Imperial _ta kang_, it appears -that already (about 1730) the manufacture had been resumed on the old -scale,[447] for the dimensions of those described are given as from 3 -ft. 4 or 5 in. to 4 ft. in diameter at the mouth, and from 1 ft. 7 or -8 in. to 2 ft. in height. An example of intermediate size is given on -Plate 133, one of a pair in the Burdett-Coutts Collection measuring 26½ -in. in diameter by 20 in. in height. - -It remains to notice two glaze colours to which T’ang Ying appears -to have paid special attention: the _fei ts’ui_ (turquoise) and the -_mei kuei_ (rose colour). The former has already been dealt with in -connection with Ming, K’ang Hsi, and Yung Chêng porcelain, and it is -only necessary to add that it occurs in singularly beautiful quality -on the Ch’ien Lung porcelains, often on vases of antique bronze form, -but fashioned with the unmistakable “slickness” of the Ch’ien Lung -imitations. Occasionally this glaze covers a body of reddish colour -due to admixture of some coarser clay, which seems to have assisted -the development of the colour, and it is worthy of note that there -are modern imitations on an earthen body made at the tile works near -Peking which, thanks to the fine quality of their colour, are liable -to be passed off as old. I have noticed that Ch’ien Lung monochrome -vases--especially those which have colours of the _demi-grand feu_ like -the turquoise--are often unglazed under the base. The foot is very -deeply cut, and the biscuit is bare or skinned over with a mere film of -vitreous matter, which seems to be an accidental deposit. - -The _mei kuei_ is the colour of the red rose (_mei kuei hua_), and -it is obviously to be identified with the rose carmines derived from -gold which were discussed in the last chapter. These tints are found -in considerable variety in the early Ch’ien Lung porcelains, from -deep crimson and scarlet or rouge red to pale pink, and they are used -as monochromes, ground colours, and in painted decoration. A superb -example of their use as ground colour was illustrated on the border -of Plate 120, which is probably a Yung Chêng piece. Among the gold red -monochromes of the the Ch’ien Lung period one of the most striking is a -dark ruby pink with uneven surface of the “orange peel” type. Mr. S. E. -Kennedy has a remarkable series of these monochromes in his collection. - -Speaking generally, the Ch’ien Lung monochromes repeat the types in -vogue in the previous reigns of the dynasty with greater or less -success. Among the greens, the opaque, crackled glazes of pea, apple, -sage, emerald, and camellia leaf tints described on p. 187 were a -speciality of the time, and the snake-skin and cucumber tints were -also made with success. There were, besides, beautiful celadon glazes -of the _grand feu_, and an opaque enamel of pale bluish green _eau de -nil_ tint. Underglaze copper red was used both for monochromes and -painted wares, but with the exception of the liver or maroon colour -the former had not the distinction of the K’ang Hsi _sang de bœuf_ or -the Yung Chêng _soufflé_ red. There is a jug-shaped ewer with pointed -spout in the British Museum which has a fluescent glaze of light liver -red deepening into crimson, and known in Japan as _toko_. It has the -Hsüan Tê mark, but I have seen exactly similar specimens with the mark -of Ch’ien Lung, to which period this colour evidently belongs. On the -other hand, great improvement is observable in the overglaze coral red -monochrome derived from iron, whether it be the thin lustrous film of -the _mo hung_ or the richly fluxed “jujube” red which attains the depth -and fullness of glaze. Fig. 3, Plate 123, is a worthy example of the -iron red monochrome of the period. As a thick, even and opaque colour -this enamel was used in small pieces which wonderfully simulate the -appearance of red cinnabar lacquer. - -An endless variety of blue glazes were used, the pure blue in dark and -light shades, _soufflé_ or plain, the purplish blues and violets, the -lavenders and _clair de lunes_. These are mainly high-fired glazes, -but a favourite blue of this period is a deep purplish blue of soft, -fluescent appearance and minutely crackled texture which is evidently a -glaze of the _demi-grand feu_. The “temple of heaven” blue is of this -nature, though of a purer and more sapphire tint. It is the colour of -the ritual vessels used in the worship of heaven and of the tiles with -which the temple was roofed. Another variety of this glaze has the -same tint, but is harder and of a bubbly, pinholed texture, apparently -a high-fired colour. The _t’ien ch’ing_ (sky blue) has already been -mentioned--a lighter colour between lavender and turquoise. And among -the blue enamels which were sometimes used as monochromes at this time -is an opaque deep blue of intense lapis lazuli tone. - -Among the yellows, in addition to the transparent glazes of the older -type, there are opaque enamels, including the lemon yellow with rough -granular texture, the waxen[448] sulphur yellow which often displays -lustrous patches, and the crackled mustard yellow. - -Among the purples and browns there are few changes to note, though much -of the greenish brown crackle probably belongs to this time; and there -is little to be said about the white wares except that both the true -porcelain, whether eggshell or otherwise, and the opaque crackled wares -of the Ting yao type were still made with exquisite refinement and -finish. The uneven glaze surface, happily compared to “orange peel,” -was much affected on the Ch’ien Lung whites in common with many other -wares of the time. But there were many new enamel monochromes formed by -blending the _famille rose_ colours, shades of opaque pink, lavender, -French grey, and green, which are sometimes delicately engraved with -close scroll patterns all over the surface, a type which is known -by the clumsy name of _graviata_. These enamel grounds are often -interrupted by medallions with underglaze blue or enamelled designs, -as on the vase illustrated in Plate 125, Fig. 4, and on the so-called -Peking bowls; or, again, they are broken by reserved floral designs -which are daintily coloured in _famille rose_ enamels. But we are -already drifting from the monochromes into the painted porcelains of -the period, and we shall return to the Peking bowls presently. - -With regard to the Ch’ien Lung blue and white, little need be added -to what was said of this kind of ware in the last chapter. It was -still made in considerable quantity, and T’ang Ying, in his twenty -descriptions of the manufacture of porcelain, supplies a commentary to -three pictures[449] dealing with the “collection of the blue material,” -“the selection of the mineral,” and “the painting of the round ware -in blue.” From these we learn that large services were made in blue -and white, and the decoration was still rigidly subdivided, one set -of painters being reserved for the outlining of the designs and -another for filling them in, while the plain blue rings were put on -by the workman who finished the ware on the polishing wheel, and the -inscriptions, marks and seals were added by skilful calligraphers. The -blue material was now obtained in the province of Chêkiang, and close -attention was paid to the selection of the best mineral. There was one -kind of blue “called onion sprouts, which makes very clearly defined -strokes, and does not run in the fire, and this must be used for the -most delicate pieces.” This latter colour is to be looked for on the -small steatitic porcelains and the fine eggshell cups. - -In common with the other Ch’ien Lung types, the blue and white vases -are often of archaic bronze form, and decorated with bronze patterns -such as borders of stiff leaves, dragon feet and ogre heads. Another -favourite ornament is a close pattern of floral scrolls studded with -lotus or peony flowers, often finely drawn but inclined to be small -and fussy. These scrolls are commonly executed in the blotchy blue -described on p. 13, and the darker shades are often thickly heaped up -in palpable relief with a marked tendency to run into drops. On the -other hand, one sometimes finds the individual brush strokes, as it -were, bitten into the porcelain body, and almost suggesting scratched -lines. Both peculiarities, the thick fluescent blue and the deep brush -strokes, are observable on a small vase of unusually glassy porcelain -in the Franks Collection. Two other pieces in the same collection may -be quoted. One is a tazza or high-footed bowl with a band of Sanskrit -characters and deep borders of close lotus scrolls, very delicately -drawn in a soft pure blue, to which a heavily bubbled glaze has given a -hazy appearance. This piece (Plate 93, Fig. 1) has the six characters -of the Ch’ien Lung seal-mark in a single line inside the foot. The -other is a jar which bears the cyclical date corresponding to 1784. -Like the last, it has a decoration of Buddhistic import, viz. the four -characters [chch 4] _t’ien chu ên po_ (propitious waves from India), -each enclosed by formal cloud devices. It is painted in a soft but -rather opaque blue, and the glaze is again of bubbly texture. - - [Illustration: Plate 124.--Miscellaneous Porcelain. - - Fig. 1.--Magnolia Vase with _flambé_ glaze of crackled - lavender with red and blue streaks. Ch’ien Lung period. Height 7 - inches. _Alexander Collection._ - - Fig. 2.--Bottle with elephant handles, yellow, purple, green - and white glazes on the biscuit. Ch’ien Lung period. Height 8¼ - inches. _British Museum._ - - Fig. 3.--Dish with fruit design in lustrous transparent glazes on - the biscuit, covering a faintly etched dragon pattern. K’ang Hsi - mark. Diameter 9⅞ inches. _British Museum._] - - [Illustration: Plate 125.--Ch’ien Lung Wares. _Hippisley - Collection._ - - Fig. 1.--Brush Pot of enamelled Ku-yüeh-hsüan glass. Ch’ien Lung - mark. Height 2⅜ inches. - - Fig. 2.--Bottle, porcelain painted in Ku-yüeh style, after a - picture by the Ch’ing artist Wang Shih-mei. Height 7 inches. - - Fig. 3.--Imperial Presentation Cup marked _hsü hua t’ang chih - tsêng_. Height 2 inches. - - Fig. 4.--Medallion Vase, brocade ground with bats in clouds, etc. - Ch’ien Lung mark. Height 7¼ inches.] - - [Illustration: Plate 126.--Vase with “Hundred Flower” design in - _famille rose_ enamels. - - Ch’ien Lung period (1736–1795). Height 19¼ inches. _Grandidier - Collection_ (_The Louvre_).] - - [Illustration: Plate 127.--Vase painted in mixed enamels. The - Hundred Deer. _Grandidier Collection_ (_Louvre_). - - Late Ch’ien Lung period. Height 18 inches.] - -In the commoner types of Ch’ien Lung blue and white, the blue is -usually of a dullish indigo tint, wanting in life and fire. There is, -in fact, none of the character of the K’ang Hsi ware; the broad washes, -the clear trembling sapphire, and the subtle harmony existing between -the glaze and blue, are all missing. Moreover, the decoration, with its -careful brushwork and neat finish, has none of the freedom and -breadth of the older types. On the whole, it is small wonder that the -collector finds little to arouse enthusiasm in the blue and white of -this period, if we except the steatitic[450] or “soft pastes,” which -are eagerly acquired. - -Underglaze red painting, and the same in combination with blue or with -high-fired glazes and coloured slips, celadon, white, golden brown, -olive brown and coffee brown, were perpetuated from the previous -reigns; and underglaze blue designs are found accompanied by yellow -or coral red enamel grounds in old Ming style, and even by _famille -rose_ painting. - -Decoration in transparent glazes of three colours--green, yellow and -aubergine--applied direct to the biscuit is not common on Ch’ien Lung -porcelain, but when used it displays the characteristic neatness and -finish of the period. I suspect that many of the trim rice bowls with -neatly everted mouth rim and dragon designs etched in outline and -filled in with aubergine in a green ground, yellow in an aubergine, -or the other combinations of the three colours, belong to this reign, -in spite of the K’ang Hsi mark under the base. At any rate, the body, -glaze and form can be exactly paralleled in other bowls which have a -Ch’ien Lung mark. - -This criticism applies equally to a striking group of porcelain of -which Fig. 3 of Plate 124 is an example. It consists of bowls and -dishes, so much alike in decoration that one might suppose all existing -examples to be parts of some large service. The body is delicately -engraved with five-clawed dragons pursuing pearls, and somewhat -inconsequently over these are painted large and boldly designed -flowering sprays (rose, peony, etc.) or fruiting pomegranate branches -with black outlines filled in with fine, transparent aubergine, full -yellow and green in light and dark shades. The remaining ground space -is coated with the thin greenish wash which does duty for white in -this colour scheme, but in these particular pieces it is unusually -lustrous and iridescent. In fact, on the back of a dish in the British -Museum it has developed patches of golden lustre of quite a metallic -appearance and similar to those noted on the sulphur yellow monochrome -described on p. 239. This lustrous appearance, however, is probably no -more than an exaggerated iridescence, for there is no reason to suppose -that the Chinese ever used metallic lustre of the Persian or European -kind.[451] This group of porcelain always bears the K’ang Hsi mark, but -a comparison with the bowls of later date, both in material and in the -general finish of the ware and the style of the colouring, irresistibly -argues a later period of manufacture, unless, indeed, we admit that the -Imperial bowls of the late K’ang Hsi and the Ch’ien Lung periods are -not to be differentiated. The finish of these wares, in fact, compares -more closely with that of the finer Tao Kuang bowls than with the -recognised types of K’ang Hsi porcelain. - -Another kind of on-biscuit decoration of the Ch’ien Lung--and perhaps -the Yung Chêng--period is best described from a concrete example, viz., -Fig. 2 of Plate 124, a pear-shaped bottle in the British Museum with -sides moulded in shallow lobes, an overlapping frill or collar with -scalloped outline on the neck, and above this two handles in shape of -elephants’ heads. The ground colour is a deep brownish yellow relieved -by borders of stiff leaves with incised outline filled in with smooth -emerald green; and the collar and handles are white with cloud scroll -borders of pale aubergine edged with blue. The general colouring, as -well as the form of this vase, is closely paralleled in fine pottery of -the same period. - -It may be added that _famille rose_ enamels are sometimes used -in on-biscuit polychrome decoration, but the effect is not specially -pleasing. Some of the opaque colours serving as monochromes are also -applied in this way, but here the absence of a white glaze beneath is -scarcely noticeable, owing to the thickness and opacity of the enamels. - - * * * * * - -But all the other forms of polychrome decoration at this period must -yield (numerically, at any rate) to the on-glaze painting in _famille -rose_ enamels, or, as the Chinese have named them, “foreign -colours.” The nature of these has been fully discussed, but there is -no doubt that their application was widely extended in the Ch’ien Lung -period, and one point of difference, at least, is observable in their -technique, viz. the mixing of the tints in the actual design so as to -produce the European effect of shading. By this means the graded tints -in the petals of a flower, and the stratified surface of rocks and -mountains, are suggestively rendered. - -It would be impossible to enumerate the endless varieties of design -employed in this large group. Contrasting the decoration of his own -time with that of the Ming porcelain, the author of the _T’ao -shuo_,[452] which was published in 1774, says: “Porcelain painted -in colours excelled in the Ming dynasty, the majority of the patterns -being derived from embroidery and brocaded satins, three or four only -out of each ten being from nature and copies of antiques. In modern -porcelain, out of ten designs you will get four of foreign colouring, -three taken from nature, two copies of antiques, one from embroidery or -satin brocade.” - -In their ordinary acceptation the terms are not mutually exclusive, and -the last three types might be, and indeed are, all expressed in foreign -colouring; but presumably the writer refers especially to that kind of -“foreign colouring” which was directly based on the Canton enamels and -is illustrated in the ruby-back eggshell dishes. - -The designs taken from nature would include figure subjects -representing personages and interiors, landscapes, growing flowers and -fruit, and the like, good examples of which are shown on Plates 126 and -127. The one represents the “Hundred Flowers,” the vase being, as it -were, one great bouquet and the flowers being drawn naturalistically -enough to be individually recognised. The other recalls the -celebrated picture of the “Hundred Deer” by the late Ming artist, Wên -Chêng-ming.[453] - -The copies of antiques would comprise bronze patterns and designs -borrowed from old porcelain, examples of which are not uncommon. And -the brocade patterns, in spite of the low proportion assigned to them -in the _T’ao shuo_, occur in relatively large numbers in Western -collections. They mostly consist of flowers or close floral scrolls -in colour, and reserved in a monochrome ground of yellow, blue, pink, -etc. This is the characteristic Ch’ien Lung scroll work which is used -both in borders and over large areas such as the exterior of a bowl -or the body of a vase. The reserved pattern, highly coloured and -winding through a ground of solid opaque enamel, suggests analogy with -the scroll grounds of the contemporary cloisonné enamel; but this -incidental likeness has nothing to do with the question of “painting in -_fa lang_ style,” which was discussed among T’ang’s innovations. -The finer Ch’ien Lung porcelains, and especially those enamelled with -brocade designs, are frequently finished off with a coating of opaque -bluish green enamel inside the mouth and under the base, a square panel -being reserved for the mark. Needless to say, with all this weight of -enamelling little or nothing is seen of the porcelain itself, the fine -quality of which is only indicated by the neatness of the form and the -elegance of the finish. - -The green black which was discussed earlier in the chapter is used with -striking effect, both in company with _famille rose_ colours (as -on Fig. 2 of Plate 131) and without them. An effective decoration of -the latter kind is shown on a beautiful bottle-shaped vase with wide, -spreading mouth in the Salting Collection, which is covered with close -floral scrolls reserved in a ground of black pigment, the whole surface -being washed over with transparent green. The result is a peculiarly -soft and rich decoration of green scrolls in a green black ground. - -Nor was the iron red--a colour much employed in monochromes at this -time--neglected in the painted wares. Indeed, it occurs as the sole -pigment on many pieces, and on others it forms a solid brick red or -stippled _soufflé_ ground for floral reserves, medallions and panels of -_famille rose_ enamelling. - -Among the opaque enamels a few shades of blue are similarly used, while -the others, as already mentioned, form plain or engraved backgrounds -for floral reserves and panel decoration as on Fig. 2 of Plate 125, -and on the Peking bowls. The latter are so named not because they -were made at Peking, but because the specimens acquired by Western -collectors have been chiefly obtained from that source. Many of them -have the Ch’ien Lung mark, and their ground colours comprise a variety -of pinks, yellow, green, French grey, dark blue, slaty blue, amaranth, -lavender, bluish green,[454] delicate greenish white and coral red. -The medallions on the bowls--usually four in number--are commonly -decorated with growing flowers, such as the flowers of the four seasons -in polychrome enamels, while others have figure subjects, frequently -European figures in landscape setting and with Chinese attributes, -such as a _ju-i_ or _ling-chih_ fungus. The finish of these bowls is -extremely fine, and they are well worthy of the Imperial use to which -they were mostly destined. - -The mention of a delicate greenish white enamel on these medallion -bowls reminds us that this colour is used with exquisite effect for -borders of floral design, or even for the main decoration of tea -and coffee wares; and there is a little plate in the British Museum -with Ch’ien Lung mark on which it appears with a peculiar chilled or -shrivelled surface as a background for painted designs in iron red. - -There is a large class of enamelled porcelain, doubtless made chiefly -for export, which found its way into our country houses in the last -half of the eighteenth century. It is painted with panels of figure -subjects in which rose pink and iron red are uncompromisingly blended, -and the space surrounding the panels is filled with composite designs -of blue and white with passages of pink scale diaper or feathery -gilt scrolls broken by small vignettes in which a bird on a bough, -insects, growing plants or fragments of landscape are painted in -_camaieu_ pink, red or sepia. In some cases the panels are framed -with low, moulded reliefs, which extend into the border spaces, and the -groundwork in these parts is powdered with tiny raised dots. The wares -include large punch bowls, bottle-shaped ewers with their basins, and -sets of five vases, two of which are beakers and three covered jars -with lion knobs, ovoid or square, and sometimes of eggshell thinness. -Others again have their panels enclosed by wreaths of flowers and -foliage or “rat and vine pattern” in full relief, and many of them -have a glaze of lumpy, “orange peel” texture. The name “Mandarin” has -been given to these wares because the central figure subjects usually -contain personages in official dress; and the large punch bowls -brought back by the tea-merchants are included in this group, though -the mandarin figures in the panels are in this case often replaced by -European subjects. - -Elaborately moulded and pierced ornament coloured in _famille -rose_ enamels often appears on the table ware of this period, a -familiar example being the lotus services in which the motive of -the pink lotus flower is expressed partly by moulding and partly by -painting, the tendrils and buds being utilised for feet and handles; -and there are elegant _famille rose_ teapots which have outer -casings with panels of prunus, bamboo and pine carved in openwork in -the style of the Yi-hsing pottery. - -Gilding was, of course, freely employed, and, to a lesser extent, -silvering. Elaborate gilt patterns are found covering dark blue, -powder blue, lustrous black, bronze green, pale celadon, and iron red -monochrome grounds; and the finer enamelled vases and bowls are often -finished off with gilt edging, which does not seem to have been much -used before this period, though traces of gilding are sometimes seen on -the lustrous brown edges of the older plates and bowls. - -The manual dexterity of the Ch’ien Lung potters is shown in openwork -carving and pierced designs on lanterns, perfume boxes, insect cages, -spill vases, etc., but more especially on the amazing vases with -free-working belts, revolving necks, or decorated inner linings which -can be turned round behind a pierced outer casing, chains with movable -links, and similar _tours de force_. - -There are, beside, two types of ornament dating from this period which -demand no little manual skill. These are the lacework and rice grain. -In the former the design is deeply incised in the body and the whole -covered with a pale celadon green glaze, and it is usually applied to -small vases and tazza-shaped cups, the pattern consisting of close and -intricate Ch’ien Lung scrollwork. The resultant effect is of a very -delicate green lace pattern, which appears as a partial transparency -when held to the light (Plate 128, Fig. 2). The rice-grain ornament -carries the same idea a step farther, for the incised pattern is cut -right through the body, leaving small perforations to be filled up by -the transparent glaze. Only small incisions could be made, and these -generally took the lenticular form which the French have likened to -grains of rice (Plate 128, Fig. 1). The patterns made in this fashion -are naturally limited. Star-shaped designs or flowers with radiating -petals are the commonest, though occasionally the transparencies are -made to conform to the lines of painted decoration and even of dragon -patterns. - -Both ordinary and steatitic porcelain are used for this treatment; and -the ware is either plain white or embellished with underglaze blue -borders and designs, and occasionally with enamels. The effect is light -and graceful, especially when transmitted light gives proper play to -the transparencies. - -As to the antiquity of this decoration in China, I can find no evidence -of its existence before the eighteenth century, and I am inclined to -think it was even then a late development. There are two cups in the -Hippisley Collection with apocryphal Hsüan Tê dates, but the majority -of marked examples are Ch’ien Lung or later. Out of fourteen pieces in -the Franks Collection five have the Ch’ien Lung mark, two have palace -marks of the Tao Kuang period,[455] and one has a long inscription -stating that it was made by Wang Shêng-Kao in the fourth month of -1798.[456] The rest are unmarked. The manufacture continues to the -present day, and the same process has been freely used in Japan, where -it is called _hotaru-de_, or firefly decoration. In this type of -ornament the Chinese were long forestalled by the potters of Western -Asia, for the rice-grain transparencies were used with exquisite effect -in Persia and Syria in the twelfth century if not considerably earlier. - -It remains to mention a species of decoration which is not strictly -ceramic. It consists of coating the porcelain biscuit with black -lacquer in which are inlaid designs in mother-of-pearl, the _lac -burgauté_ of the French (Plate 128, Fig. 3). This porcelain is known -by the French name of _porcelaine laquée burgautée_, and it seems -to have been originally a product of the Ch’ien Lung period; at any -rate, I can find no evidence of its existence before the eighteenth -century. - -In the Ch’ien Lung period Chinese porcelain reaches the high-water -mark of technical perfection. The mastery of the material is complete. -But for all that the art is already in its decline. By the middle of -the reign it is already overripe, and towards the end it shows sure -signs of decay. At its best the decoration is more ingenious than -original, and more pretty than artistic. At its worst it is cloying -and tiresome. The ware itself is perfectly refined and pure, but -colder than the K’ang Hsi porcelain. The _famille rose_ painting -is unequalled at its best for daintiness and finish, but the broken -tints and miniature touches cannot compare in decorative value with the -stronger and broader effects of the Ming and K’ang Hsi brushwork. The -potting is almost perfect, but the forms are wanting in spontaneity; -and the endless imitation of bronze shapes becomes wearisome, partly -because the intricate forms of cast metal are not naturally suited to -the ceramic material, and partly because the elaborate finish of the -Ch’ien Lung wares makes the imitation of the antique unconvincing. In -detail the wares are marvels of neatness and finish, but the general -impression is of an artificial elegance from which the eye gladly -turns to the vigorous beauty of the earlier and less sophisticated -types. - - [Illustration: Plate 128.--Ch’ien Lung Porcelain. _British - Museum._ - - Fig. 1.--Vase with “rice grain” ground and blue and white design. - Height 7¾ inches. - - Fig. 2.--Vase with “lacework” designs. Ch’ien Lung mark. Height - 7¾ inches. - - Fig. 3.--Vase with the Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove in - _lac burgauté_. Height 14½ inches. - - Fig. 4.--Vase with “robin’s egg” glaze. Height 4⅛ inches.] - - [Illustration: Plate 129.--Octagonal Vase and Cover, painted in - _famille rose_ enamels. Ch’ien Lung period (1736–1795). - - Height 35 inches. _One of a pair in the Collection of Dr. A. E. - Cumberbatch._] - -As already mentioned, T’ang Ying was commanded by the Emperor in 1743 -to arrange and explain twenty pictures of the manufacture of porcelain -which were sent to him from the palace. In twelve days he completed -the descriptions which have since been incorporated in various books -on porcelain, including the _T’ao shuo_ and the _T’ao lu_. -They have been translated by Julien[457] and by Bushell,[458] and -as most of their facts have been embodied in the previous pages, it -would be superfluous to give a verbatim translation of them. The -following summary, however, will give the drift of them, and Bushell’s -translation of the _T’ao shuo_ can be consulted for a full -rendering. - -_Illustration_ - - I.--COLLECTION OF THE STONES AND FABRICATION OF THE PASTE. - - The porcelain stone (_petuntse_) was obtained at this - time from _Ch’i-mên_, in the province of Kiangnan. - “That of pure colour and fine texture is used in the - manufacture of bowls and vases of eggshell (_t’o-t’ai_), - pure white (_t’ien pai_), and blue and white porcelain.” - Other earths, including _kaolin_, were mined within the - limits of Jao-chou Fu. - - II.--WASHING AND PURIFICATION OF THE PASTE. - - III.--BURNING THE ASHES AND PREPARING THE GLAZE. - - The ashes of burnt lime and ferns were mixed with - _petuntse_ in varying proportions to form the glazing - material. - - IV.--MANUFACTURE OF SEGGARS. - - The seggars, or fireclay cases, by which the porcelain - was protected in the kiln were made of a coarse clay - from Li-ch’un, near Ching-tê Chên, and we are told that - the seggar-makers also manufactured rough bowls for the - use of the workmen from the same material. - - V.--PREPARING THE MOULDS FOR THE ROUND WARE. - - VI.--FASHIONING THE ROUND WARE ON THE WHEEL. - - VII.--FABRICATION OF THE VASES (_cho ch’i_). - - VIII.--COLLECTION OF THE BLUE COLOUR. - - The mineral was obtained at this time from Shao-hsing - and Chin-hua in Chêkiang. - - IX.--SELECTION OF THE BLUE MATERIAL. - - X.--MOULDING THE PASTE AND GRINDING THE COLOURS. - - XI.--PAINTING THE ROUND WARE IN BLUE. - - XII.--FABRICATION AND DECORATION OF VASES. - - XIII.--DIPPING THE WARE INTO THE GLAZE OR BLOWING THE GLAZE - ON TO IT. - - Three methods of glazing are described: the old method - of painting the glaze on with goat’s-hair brush; dipping - the ware into a large jar of glaze; and blowing on the - glaze with a bamboo tube covered at the end with gauze. - - XIV.--TURNING THE UNBAKED WARE AND HOLLOWING OUT THE - FOOT. - - This turning or polishing was done on a wheel. For - convenience of handling the foot of the vessel was left - with a lump of clay adhering until all the processes, - except firing, were complete; the foot was then trimmed - and hollowed out, and the mark painted underneath. - - XV.--PUTTING THE FINISHED WARE INTO THE KILN. - - XVI.--OPENING THE KILN WHEN THE WARE IS BAKED. - - XVII.--DECORATING THE ROUND WARE AND VASES IN FOREIGN - COLOURING. See p. 242. - - XVIII.--THE OPEN STOVE AND THE CLOSED STOVE. - - Two types of small kiln used to fire the on-glaze enamels. - - XIX.--WRAPPING IN STRAW AND PACKING IN CASKS. - - XX.--WORSHIPPING THE GOD AND OFFERING SACRIFICE. - -There are a few illustrations appended to the _T’ao lu_ which -cover much the same field, but they are roughly drawn. A much better -set of coloured pictures is exhibited in frames in the Franks -Collection in the British Museum, showing most of the processes -described by T’ang. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - - EUROPEAN INFLUENCES IN THE CH’ING DYNASTY - - -Hitherto the references to European influence on Chinese porcelain -have been of an incidental nature. But the use of Western designs on -the porcelains of the Ch’ing dynasty, and especially in the eighteenth -century, attained such large proportions that it is necessary to -treat the wares so decorated as a class apart. A highly instructive -collection of this type of porcelain is exhibited in the British -Museum, where it has been subdivided in groups illustrating porcelain -painted in China with European armorial designs, porcelain painted in -China after pictures, engravings and other patterns of European origin, -European forms in Chinese porcelain, and, lastly, Chinese porcelain -decorated in Europe. - -The un-Chinese nature of these decorations, which is apparent at the -first glance, justifies their segregation. Indeed, the foreign features -are in many cases so conspicuous that it is small wonder if in days -when little was known of Chinese ceramic history these wares were -often attributed to European manufacture. We now know so much of the -intercourse between China and Europe in the past, and of the enormous -trade carried on by the various East India companies, that no surprise -is felt at the idea of orders for table services sent out to China -with armorial and other designs for their decoration. Not that anyone -whose eye was really trained to appreciate the peculiarities of Chinese -porcelain could ever mistake the nature of these wares. The paste and -glaze are, with few exceptions, uncompromisingly Chinese, no matter -how closely the decorator with his proverbial genius for imitation may -have rendered the European design. And even here, if the Oriental touch -is not betrayed in some detail, the Chinese colours and gilding will -disclose themselves to the initiate. - -It is hardly necessary here to allude to the absurd notion that any -of this group was made at the little English factory of Lowestoft. If -an error which has once had currency is ever completely dissipated, -Chaffers’s great blunder on the subject of Chinese armorial porcelain -should be forgotten by now. But it is high time that those who are -fully aware of the facts of the case should abandon the equally -stupid and wholly illogical expression, “Oriental Lowestoft,” not -for Lowestoft porcelain decorated in Chinese style, which would be -reasonable enough, but (save the mark!) for Chinese porcelain decorated -with European designs. As if, indeed, an insignificant Suffolk pottery, -which made no enamelled porcelain[459] until about 1770, had any -influence on the decoration of a Chinese ware which was distributed all -over Europe during the whole of the century. - -The European style of flower painting and the European border patterns -were used by the Chinese decorators on this class of ware in the last -half of the century, but they were the patterns which originated at -Meissen and Sèvres, and which were adopted and developed at Chelsea, -Derby and Worcester. Any of these wares might have found their way to -China and served as models to the Canton decorators, but the likelihood -of Lowestoft porcelain exerting any appreciable influence in the Far -East is simply laughable. - -But to return to the subject of this chapter, the actual European -shapes found in Chinese porcelain can be dismissed in a few words. -There are a few figures, such as the well known pair reputed to -represent Louis XIV. and his queen. These are of K’ang Hsi type, and -decorated with enamels on the biscuit. And there are numerous groups -or single figures of the same period in the white Fukien porcelain, -discussed on p. 111. A few vase forms, copied apparently from Italian -wares and belonging to a slightly later date, and a curious pedestal -in the British Museum, modelled in the form of a tree trunk with two -Cupids in full relief near the top, are purely Western.[460] Needless -to say, the bulk of the useful ware, being intended for European -consumption, was made after European models, which speak for themselves. - -Much might be written on the painted designs of this class if space -permitted, but we must be content with citing a few typical instances, -most of which may be seen in the Franks Collection. To the K’ang Hsi -period belong some curious imitations of Dutch Delft, in which even -the potter’s marks are copied, the designs having been, oddly enough, -borrowed in the first instance from Oriental wares by the Dutch -potters. There are the so-called “Keyser cups,” tall, covered cups with -saucers, painted in blue with kneeling figures surrounding a king and -queen, who probably represent St. Louis of France and his consort; and -in the border is the inscription, L’EMPIRE DE LA VERTU EST ESTABI -JUSQ’AU BOUT DE L’UNERS. Another cup has a design of a ship and a -syren, with legend, GARDES VOUS DE LA SYRENE; and there are -small plates with the siege of Rotterdam[461] copied in blue from a -Dutch engraving. - - [Illustration: PLATE 130 - - Vase with pear-shaped body and wide mouth; tubular handles. - Porcelain with delicate _clair de lune_ glaze recalling the - pale blue tint of some of the finer Sung celadons. About 1800 - - Height 7¾ inches. _British Museum_.] - -But the group which probably commands the greatest interest is that -known as “Jesuit china,” decorated with subjects bearing on the -Christian religion. The earliest examples are painted in underglaze -blue, the Christian designs being accompanied by ordinary Chinese -ornaments. An early (to judge from the general style of the piece, -late Ming) example is a pear-shaped ewer, with elongated spout and -handle, in the Kunstgewerbe Museum, Berlin. On the side is the sacred -monogram IHS, surrounded by formal ornament, and it has been plausibly -suggested that the little vessel had been used for Communion purposes. -A bowl with fungus mark in the Franks Collection has a Crucifixion on -the exterior, framed in a pattern of cloud-scrolls, and inside with -truly Chinese tolerance is painted a Buddhist pearl symbol in flames -and clouds. A cup in the same series with the “jade” mark[462] has a -Crucifixion half lost among the surrounding arabesque scrolls. These -two are of the K’ang Hsi period, and were probably made with the pieces -to which Père d’Entrecolles[463] alludes, in his letter dated 1712, as -follows: “From the debris at a large emporium they brought me a little -plate which I treasure more than the finest porcelain made during the -last thousand years. In the centre of the plate is painted a crucifix -between the Virgin and St. John, and I am told that this kind -of porcelain was shipped sometimes to Japan, but that this commerce -came to an end sixteen or seventeen years ago. Apparently the Japanese -Christians took advantage of this manufacture at the time of the -persecution to obtain pictures of our mysteries, and these wares, -mingled with others in the crates, eluded the vigilance of the enemies -of our religion. This pious artifice was no doubt eventually discovered -and rendered useless by more stringent investigation, and that is why -the manufacture of this kind of ware has ceased at Ching-tê Chên.” - -These early types, which are rare to-day, have a special interest -because they were decorated at Ching-tê Chên, and their general style -indicates that they were made for Oriental use. - -After an interval of some years the Jesuit china reappeared in a -more sophisticated form, probably the work of Canton decorators. The -designs, various Biblical scenes, are copied in black and gold from -European engravings, and they occur on plates with rims, tea and coffee -services, and other articles of European use. The earliest may date -from the Yung Chêng period, but they are mostly Ch’ien Lung, and the -same designs are occasionally executed in enamel colours. In addition -to the Christian china there are plates and dishes decorated with rings -of Koranic inscriptions in Arabic, surrounding magic squares, and -destined for the Mussulman markets. - -The Franks Collection includes, besides, numerous examples of -profane subjects[464] copied in black or in colours from European -engravings and designs. A striking instance of the patient skill of -the Chinese copyist is given by two large plates completely covered -with the designs--the Triumph of Mordecai and Achilles dipped in the -Styx--copied line for line, apparently, from Le Sueur’s engravings. -The effect of the fine lines and cross-hatching is perfectly rendered, -and one would say at first that they had been transfer-printed if -this process had ever been used by the Chinese. It is amusing, too, -to find English topical and political subjects rendered on Chinese -porcelain, mugs and punch bowls, with busts of the Duke of Cumberland, -Prince Charles Edward, and John Wilkes with appropriate inscriptions. -There are, too, satirical pictures in the style of Hogarth, and a few -popular but not overrefined subjects which gain an additional drollery -from the obviously Chinese rendering of the figures. Many large punch -bowls still survive decorated to suit their owner’s tastes, with a -full-rigged ship for the sea captain, a hunting scene for the master -of hounds, and agricultural designs for the farmer, often proudly -inscribed with the name of the destined possessor and the date of the -order. The Chinese touch is usually betrayed in these inscriptions, -which are obviously reproduced mechanically, and with no compunction -felt for a letter here and there inverted or misplaced. - -These porcelains with European pictorial designs are, as a rule, more -curious than beautiful, but it cannot be denied that the next group -with European coats of arms emblazoned in the centre is often highly -decorative. This is particularly true of the earlier examples in -which the shields of arms are not disproportionately large, and are -surrounded with tasteful Chinese designs. The heraldry is carefully -copied and, as a rule, the tinctures are correct. In the older -specimens the blue is usually under the glaze, and from this, and from -the nature of the surrounding decoration in _famille verte_ or -transition colours, one may assume that the pieces in question were -decorated at Ching-tê Chên. From the middle of the Yung Chêng period -onwards a large and constantly increasing proportion of the ware was -decorated at Canton, in the enamelling establishments which were in -close touch with the European merchants, and from this time European -designs begin to encroach on the field of the decoration. Finally, -in the last decades of the century the Chinese armorial porcelain is -decorated in purely European style. An important though belated witness -to the Canton origin of this decoration is a plate in the Franks -Collection with the arms of Chadwick in the centre, a band of Derby -blue, and a trefoil border on the rim, and on the reverse in black the -legend, _Canton in China, 24th Jan^y, 1791_. - -Side by side with this armorial porcelain, and apparently also -decorated at Canton, there was painted a large quantity of table -ware for Western use with half-European designs in which small pink -rose-sprays are conspicuous. These are the cheaper kinds of useful ware -which are found everywhere in Europe, and must have formed a large -percentage of the export trade in the last half of the eighteenth -century. The decoration, though usually slight and perfunctory, is -quite inoffensive and suitable to the purpose of the ware. - -But to return to the armorial porcelain: apart from its heraldic and -decorative value, it is often important to the student of Chinese -ceramics, because there are specimens which can be dated very -precisely from the armorial bearings and other internal evidence. -In the British Museum series there are some twenty pieces belonging -to the K’ang Hsi period, including an early underglaze blue painted -dish with arms of Talbot, and one or two specimens of pure _famille -verte_, including the plate dated 1702, which has already been -mentioned as being of a peculiar white and glassy-looking ware. There -are examples with underglaze blue and enamel decoration in the Chinese -Imari style, and there is a very distinctive group which can be dated -armorially[465] to the late K’ang Hsi and early Yung Chêng period. -These latter pieces are usually decorated with a shield of arms in the -centre in enamel colours, with or without underglaze blue; the sides -are filled with a band of close floral scrolls or brocade diaper in red -and gold, broken by small reserves containing flowers and symbols; on -the rim are similar groups of flowers and symbols and a narrow border -of red and gold scrolls; and on the reverse are a few floral sprays in -red. The enamels are of the transition kind, _famille verte_ with -occasional touches of rose pink and opaque yellow. The porcelain is -the crisp, sonorous, well potted ware with shining oily glaze of K’ang -Hsi type, and the accessory ornament is of purely Chinese character. -A border of trefoil cusps, not unlike the strawberry leaves of the -heraldic crown, but traceable to a Chinese origin, makes its first -appearance on this group. It is a common feature of subsequent armorial -wares, like the narrow border of chain pattern which seems to have come -into use about 1730. - -Dated specimens of Yung Chêng armorial, with painting in the “foreign -colours,” have been already described.[466] Other examples of this -period have the decoration in underglaze blue outlines washed with -thin transparent colours, in black pencilling and in black and gold. -The border patterns of lacework, vine scrolls, bamboos wreathed with -foliage and flowers, and fine floral scrolls, are often beautifully -executed in delicate gilding or in brown and gold. - -In the Ch’ien Lung period there was an ever-increasing tendency to -displace the Chinese patterns in favour of European ornament. About -the middle of the century small bouquets and scattered floral sprays -in the well-known Meissen style of painting made their appearance, and -the gradual invasion of the border patterns by European motives is -apparent. It may be of interest to note a few of the latter as they -occur on dated specimens: - -1. Light feathery scrolls, gilt or in colours: first half of Ch’ien -Lung period. - -2. Rococo ornaments combined with floral patterns: first half of Ch’ien -Lung period. - -3. Large shell-like ornaments and scroll edged frames of lattice work, -loosely strung together: early Ch’ien Lung period. - -4. Similar motives with more elaborate framework, enclosing diapers, -and interrupted by four peacocks at regular intervals and generally -black and gold: about 1740 to 1760. - -5. Black and brown hexagon diaper, edged with dragon arabesques in -gold: an early type of border, but lasting as late as 1780. - -6. Composite borders with diapers, symbols, flowers, etc., and -sometimes including butterflies, half Chinese and half European: on -specimens ranging from 1765 to 1820. - -This last border pattern was adopted at Coalport and in other English -factories to surround the willow pattern.[467] - -In the last decades of the century, such purely European borders as the -swags of flowers used at Bow and Bristol, floral and laurel wreaths -and husk festoons; the pink scale patterns of Meissen; ribbons and -dotted lines winding through a floral band, feather scrolls, etc., of -Sèvres origin, and afterwards adopted at Worcester, Bristol, Lowestoft -and elsewhere in England; blue with gilt edges and gilt stars, as on -the Derby borders, which also derive from Sèvres; and the corn-flower -sprigs of the French hard-paste porcelains. - -A conspicuous feature of the Ch’ien Lung export porcelain in general -is the use of a thin, washy pink in place of the thick carmine of the -early _famille rose_. This is a colour common to European porcelain -of the period, and it may have been suggested to the Chinese by -specimens of Western wares. We may, perhaps, note here a design -of Oriental figures (as on the Mandarin porcelain) in pink and red -surrounded by borders of pink scale diaper, broken by small panels of -ornament. It has no connection with the armorial group, but it has -apparently been bandied back and forward from East to West. Based on -a Chinese original, it was largely copied on English porcelain, such -as Worcester, Lowestoft, etc., and apparently services of the English -make found their way east and were copied again at some coast factory, -or even in Japan, for the export trade. Much of this hybrid ware is -found in Australia and on the east coast of Africa, and though the -material and the colours are obviously Oriental, the drawing of the -faces reflects a European touch. The porcelain is coarse and greyish, -and the decoration roughly executed, probably in the first decades of -the nineteenth century. - -The trade in Chinese armorial porcelain seems to have gradually died -out in the nineteenth century, for reasons which are not far to seek. -As far as England was concerned, the improvements in the manufacture -both of porcelain and fine earthenware changed her position from that -of a consumer to that of a producer. In addition to which, a high -protective duty must have adversely affected the import trade, for we -read[468] in the notes of Enoch Wood, the Staffordshire potter, that -alarm was felt in 1803 in the potteries at the “proposed reduction of -£59 8s. 6d. per cent. from the duty on the importation of Oriental -porcelain, leaving it at 50 per cent.” - -Not the least interesting part of the Franks Collection is the section -devoted to Chinese porcelain decorated in Europe. In the early years -of the eighteenth century a number of enamelling establishments -appeared in Holland and in other countries where glass and pottery were -decorated in the enamel colours which were then coming into play. As -the supply of home-made porcelain was as yet practically non-existent, -the enamellers had to look for this material in the Oriental market. -Chinese porcelains with slight decoration, plain white wares, or those -mainly decorated with incised and carved design under the glaze, and -white Fukien porcelain offered the most suitable surface; and these -we find treated by Dutch enamellers with the decoration then in vogue -among the Delft potters. In the British Museum there are plates with -portraits of Dutch celebrities, with designs satirising John Law’s -bubble, and even with Japanese and Chinese patterns, especially those -which the Delft potters were in the habit of copying from the “old -Imari.” Thus we find the curious phenomenon of Chinese porcelain -decorated in Europe with Oriental patterns, and, as may be imagined, -these pieces have caused much perplexity to collectors. They are, -however, to be recognised by the inferior quality of the enamels and -the stiff drawing of the copyists. In the case of the Fukien porcelain -with relief ornament, the decorators often confined themselves to -touching the raised pattern with colour. - -As a rule, these added decorations are crude and unsightly, but there -were artists of great skill among the German _chambrelans_ -(as these unattached enamellers were called), such men as Ignatius -Bottengruber and Preussler of Breslau,[469] who flourished about 1720 -to 1730. Their designs of figures, mythical subjects, etc., enclosed by -baroque scrollwork, were skilfully executed in _camaieu_ red or -black, heightened with gilding, and their work, which is very mannered -and distinctive, is highly prized at the present day. Occasionally -we find the handiwork of the Dutch lapidary on Chinese porcelains, a -design of birds and floral scrolls being cut through a dark blue or -brown glaze into the white biscuit. - -About the middle of the eighteenth century a more legitimate material -was found for the European decorator in small quantities of Chinese -porcelain sent over “in the white.” Regular supplies in this state -must have been forwarded from Ching-tê Chên to Canton for the -enamellers there, and, no doubt, the European merchants were able to -secure a small amount of this. Thus it was that Chinese porcelain is -occasionally found with decoration by artists whose touch is recognised -on Chelsea and other wares. It is not necessary to assume that such -pieces were painted in the Chelsea factory. That may have been the -case, but we know of important enamelling establishments, such as -Duesbury’s in London, where Chelsea, Bow and Worcester porcelains -obtained in the white were decorated to order. It is probable that the -painters trained in this work afterwards passed into the porcelain -factories. There are rare examples of Chinese porcelain with transfer -prints executed at Battersea or even at Worcester, and apparently one -or two pieces have had inscriptions added at Lowestoft; but, after -all, this group of decorated Oriental is a very small one, and the -specimens painted in the style of any particular English factory -except Chelsea could be counted on one’s fingers. No doubt the same -proceedings were repeated in various parts of the Continent, and there -are certainly specimens decorated in the Meissen style, and in one -piece in the Franks Collection the Meissen mark has been added. - -But besides this more or less legitimate treatment of Chinese -porcelain, there is a large group of hideously disfigured wares known -by the expressive name of “clobbered china.” On these pieces Chinese -underglaze decoration has been “improved” by the addition of green, -yellow, red, and other enamels and gilding, which fill up the white -spaces between the Chinese painting and even encroach on the blue -designs themselves. This malpractice dates from the early years of the -eighteenth century, and we find even choice specimens of K’ang Hsi blue -and white among the victims. Possibly there was a reaction at this time -against the Chinese blue and white with which the Dutch traders had -flooded the country, but it is pitiful to find nowadays a fine vase or -bottle of this ware plastered with meaningless daubs of inferior colour. - -Strange to say, the clobberer became an established institution, and -he was at work in London in the last century, and maybe he is not yet -extinct; and, stranger still, his wretched handiwork has been actually -taken as a model for decoration in English potteries, even to the -ridiculous travesties of Oriental marks which he often added as the -last insult to the porcelain he had defaced. As a rule, the clobbered -decoration occurs on blue and white and follows more or less the lines -of the original, though it is at once betrayed by its clumsiness and -the wretched quality of the enamels used. Occasionally the clobberer -was more ambitious, as on a bottle in the British Museum decorated -with three spirited monsters in underglaze red. Into this admirably -spaced design the clobberer has inserted graceless trees and three -ridiculous figures in classical dress standing in Jack-the-giant-killer -attitudes with brandished swords over the Chinese creatures. The effect -is laughable, but it was vandal’s work to deal in this way with choice -K’ang Hsi porcelain. - - - - - CHAPTER XV - - NINETEENTH CENTURY PORCELAINS - - _Chia Ch’ing_ [chch 2] (1796–1820) - - -There is little to distinguish the porcelain of this reign from that of -Ch’ien Lung. The old traditions were followed and the high standard of -technical skill was maintained to a great extent, though in the absence -of original ideas the natural tendency was towards a gradual decline. -The blue and white is a mere echo of the Ch’ien Lung blue and white, as -is shown by a square jar in the Franks Collection, which bears the date -corresponding to 1819. Another dated specimen in the same collection -is a little bowl with design of the “Eight Ambassadors of the Tribes -of Man” mounted on strange beasts, painted in thin garish blue under a -bubbly glaze. There are well-finished monochromes of the Ch’ien Lung -type, conspicuous among which is an intense brick red (derived from -iron), which has all the depth and solidity of a glaze. The enamelled -wares are in no way inferior to their late Ch’ien Lung models, and the -medallion bowls with engraved enamel grounds are particularly choice. -Plate 132, a richly decorated vase belonging to the Lady Wantage, -illustrates a type common to both periods. The design of ladies of the -harem in an Imperial pleasure ground is carefully painted in mixed -colours and enclosed by rich borders of dark ruby pink enamel, brocaded -with polychrome floral scrolls. Another vase in the same collection -(marked Chia Ch’ing) has a movable inner lining and pierced outer shell -richly enamelled in the same style. The blue green enamel of the Ch’ien -Lung porcelain was freely used to finish off the base and mouth of the -vases of this time. - -Bushell[470] describes as a speciality of the Chia Ch’ing period, vases -with elaborate scrollwork of various kinds in underglaze blue enhanced -by a richly gilded background; and the mark of this reign will be found -on many of the choicer snuff bottles, including those sumptuous little -vessels with richly carved and pierced outer casing as finely tooled as -Su Chou or Peking lacquer. - -We have already seen that rice-grain decoration was effectively used at -this time, and no doubt many specimens of the kindred “lacework” were -also made. In fact in a general classification of Chinese porcelain it -would be almost superfluous to separate the Chia Ch’ing from the Ch’ien -Lung groups. - - - _Tao Kuang_ [chch 2] (1821–1850) - -The reign of Tao Kuang is the last period of which collectors of -Chinese ceramics take any account. It is true that the general -deterioration which was already remarked in the previous reign became -more and more conspicuous towards the middle of the nineteenth century. -It seemed as though the wells of inspiration in China had dried up and -the bankrupt arts continued to exist only by virtue of their past. -Curiously enough the same wave of decadence was felt all the world over -at this period, and if we compare the porcelain of Tao Kuang with the -contemporary English and Continental productions we must confess that -the decadence of China was Augustan beside the early Victorian art. -The Tao Kuang porcelain in the main is saved from utter banality by -the high traditions on which it was grounded and by the innate skill -of the Chinese potters. Indeed there are not a few out of the numerous -specimens of this period in our collections which have a certain -individuality and distinction entitling them to a place beside the -eighteenth-century wares. - -But, speaking generally, the porcelain is a weak edition of the Yung -Chêng types. The forms are correct but mechanical, the monochromes -are mere understudies of the fine old colours, and the enamels are of -exaggerated softness and weak in general effect. - -There are numerous marked specimens of all varieties in the Franks -Collection. These include a blue and white vase with bronze designs of -ogre heads, etc., in the K’ang Hsi style, but painted in pale, lifeless -grey blue, and a bowl with lotus designs and symbols surrounding four -medallions with the characters _shan kao shui ch’ang_[471] neatly -painted in the same weak blue and signed by Wen Lang-shan in the year -1847. Among the monochromes is a dignified vase of bronze form with -deep turquoise glaze dated 1844, besides coffee brown bowls, full -yellow bowls, vases with curiously bubbled glaze of dark liver red, and -a coral red jar and cover. There is also a large bowl with “tiger skin” -glaze patched with yellow, green, aubergine and white. All of these -pieces are lacking in quality and distinction, though I have seen far -superior specimens of lemon yellow monochrome and tea dust glaze. - -The enamelled wares are much more attractive, and many of the rice -bowls are prettily decorated in soft colours. The Peking or medallion -bowls, for instance, are little if anything below the standard of -previous reigns, and in addition to the medallions in engraved enamel -grounds of pink, green, grey, etc., outside, the interior is often -painted in underglaze blue. There are tasteful bowls with white bamboo -designs reserved in a ground of coral red, and there are dishes with -blackthorn boughs with pink blossom in a white ground. The Yung Chêng -style of underglaze blue outlines with washes of thin-transparent -enamels was also affected, but the most characteristic enamelling of -the period is executed in a mixture of transparent and opaque enamels, -a blend of _famille verte_ and _famille rose_. This colouring, soft -and subdued, but often rather sickly in tone, is frequently seen on -bowls and tea wares with Taoist subjects, such as the Eight Immortals, -the fairy attendants of Hsi Wang Mu in boats, or the goddess herself -on a phœnix passing over the sea to the _t’ien t’ang_ or cloud-wrapt -pavilions of Paradise, preceded by a stork with a peach of longevity in -its beak. The sea is usually rendered by a conventional wave pattern -delicately engraved in greenish white, and sometimes the ground of -the design is washed with the same thin, lustrous, greenish white, -which was remarked on a group of porcelains described on page 151. -The porcelain of these bowls has a white, if rather chalky, body and -a greenish white glaze of exaggerated oily sheen, and of the minutely -bubbled, “muslin-like” texture which is common to Japanese porcelains. -But the ordinary Tao Kuang wares are of poor material, greyish in tone -and coarser in grain, with the same peculiarities in the texture of the -glaze in an exaggerated degree. - - [Illustration: Plate 131.--Eighteenth Century Painted Porcelain. - - Fig. 1.--Plate painted in black and gold, European figures - in a Chinese interior. Yung Chêng period. Diameter 9 inches. - _British Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Dish with floral scrolls in _famille rose_ - enamels in a ground of black enamel diapered with green foliage - scrolls. Ch’ien Lung period. Diameter 23¼ inches. _Wantage - Collection._] - - [Illustration: Plate 132.--Vase painted in mixed enamels, an - Imperial park and a bevy of ladies. _Wantage Collection._ - - Deep ruby pink borders with coloured floral scrolls and symbols. - Ch’ien Lung mark. About 1790. Height 30 inches.] - -A typical example of the fine Tao Kuang rice bowl with Taoist design -in the Franks Collection, delicately painted in mixed colours, which -recall the Ku-yüeh-hsüan ware of the early Ch’ien Lung period, has -the palace mark, _Shên tê t’ang_,[472] in red under the base. A -specimen with this mark in the Hippisley Collection[473] is inscribed -with a poem by the Emperor Tao Kuang, definitely fixing the date of -this hall mark, which is found on choice porcelains made for Imperial -use. It occurs on a vase of fine workmanship in the British Museum, -decorated with polychrome five-clawed dragons in a lavender enamel -ground, of which the base and interior are coated with blue green -enamel; and we have already[474] commented on an interesting dish with -archaic designs in Ming red and green, which is explained in the mark -as an “imitation of the antique made for the _Shên-tê_ Hall.” - -It is worthy of note that most of the porcelain with hall and studio -marks in red belong to the nineteenth century, chiefly to the Tao -Kuang period. Several of these marks are figured and explained on -p. 220 (vol. i.), but it may be useful if we describe here a few of -the specimens on which they occur. The hall mark, _Ch’êng tê t’ang_, -appears on a shallow bowl in the Franks Collection painted inside with -a coiled dragon in green and a border of bats in red, while outside -is a landscape carefully painted in mixed colours in a style similar -to Plate 125, Fig. 3. The latter has the Imperial hall mark, _Hsü hua -t’ang_, with addition of the word _tsêng_ (for presentation), and it -has besides an inscription proclaiming that it is the “cup of him who -departed as General and returned as Grand Secretary” (_ch’u chiang ju -hsiang chih pei_). It is painted with a scene in the palace grounds -with the Emperor receiving a military officer.[475] A pretty bowl in -the Franks Collection with rockery, flowering plants, fungus, etc., in -colours has the palace mark, _ssŭ pu t’ang_; and there are two saucer -dishes with Buddhist decoration of palmettes in cruciform arrangement, -and a border of Sanskrit characters painted in underglaze blue with -washes of transparent enamels marked respectively _Ts’ai jun t’ang_, -and _Ts’ai hua t’ang_ (hall of brilliant colours and hall of brilliant -decoration), which are probably synonymous. - -A distinctive group of porcelain, which seems to belong to the Tao -Kuang period, consists of small boxes and of vases with landscapes -and similar elaborate ornament deeply carved in the manner of red -lacquer. The surface is usually covered with an opaque green or yellow -monochrome enamel, but occasionally it is left in white biscuit. These -pieces have almost always a maker’s mark, such as Wang Ping-jung, Wang -Tso-t’ing (see vol. i., p. 223), and probably come from one factory. -Bushell[476] also alludes to white unglazed porcelain made at this -time, and recalling the English Parian ware. It is chiefly seen on -small objects for the writing table. - -The collector will always be glad to secure specimens of the palace -porcelains of the Tao Kuang period, and of the smaller objects on -which the weakness of the colouring is not noticeable. There are, for -instance, many exquisite snuff bottles with the mark of this reign, -with carved, monochrome and enamelled ornament. On the other hand -quantities of these little objects coarsely manufactured and sketchily -decorated were made at this time, and among them the crude specimens -with a floral spray on one side, a line of verse in grass characters -on the other, and a granulated border coated with opaque yellowish or -bluish green enamel, whose supposed discovery in ancient Egyptian tombs -made a sensation some sixty years ago. It is not difficult to guess how -these objects traded among the Arabs found their way into the tombs -which were in course of excavation, but for a time they were believed -to prove the existence of Chinese porcelain in the second millennium -before Christ.[477] - -Three other types of indifferent ware may be mentioned here in passing. -They belong to the middle of the nineteenth century, and in part -at least to the Tao Kuang period. One is painted with a large pink -peony and foliage in a bright green enamel ground; the second has cut -flowers, butterflies and insects in strong rose colours on a celadon -green glaze; and the third has rectangular panels with crowded figure -subjects in red and pink enclosed by a brocade pattern of flowers, -fruit and insects as in the second type. This third class is often -represented by large and rather clumsily shaped vases with two handles -of conventionalised dragon form, and the border patterns are sometimes -backed with gilding; but it also occurs in quite recent manufacture in -tea and toilet services made for the export trade. The porcelain in all -these cases is of a rough, coarse-grained make, and the reader might -have been spared a description of them were it not that in spite of -their inferior quality they are the subject of frequent inquiries. - - - _Hsien Fêng_ [chch 2] (1851–1861) - -In the third year of Hsien Fêng the T’ai p’ing rebels captured Ching-tê -Chên and burnt down the Imperial factory, which was not rebuilt till -1864. The potters themselves were killed or scattered; and, naturally, -marked examples of this reign are scarce. Such, however, as do exist -are of little account, and may be regarded as continuations of the Tao -Kuang manufacture. Bushell[478] mentions vases of good form painted -in soft colours with nine five-clawed dragons on a white background, -which is etched in the paste with scrolled waves, and a dinner service -of bowls, cups and saucer dishes painted in colours with processional -figures of the eighteen Lohan. And in the British Museum there is a -large globular bowl on a high foot painted with green dragon designs -and a bowl with medallions of lanterns and vases separated by lotus -ornament, neither of which are in any way different from the Tao Kuang -wares. No doubt a good deal of porcelain was made at the private -factories even during this troubled period, but the specimens which I -have seen are not worthy of description. - - - _T’ung Chih_ [chch 2] (1862–1873) - -When the T’ai p’ing rebels had been expelled from the province of -Kiangsi by the celebrated viceroy, Li Hung-chang, in 1864, the Imperial -factory was rebuilt on the old lines by the new director, Ts’ai -Chin-ch’ing. In the same year a list of the porcelain forwarded to the -Emperor was drawn up, and it is published in the _Chiang hsi t’ung -chih_[479] immediately after Hsieh Min’s list. It consists mainly of -bowls, wine and tea cups, saucer dishes and plates classified as _yüan -ch’i_ (round ware), and a few vases under the general heading, _cho -ch’i_; and though there is little originality in the designs, lists of -this kind are so rare and so instructive that I have no hesitation in -giving it in full below, following Bushell’s[480] renderings in most -cases. - -Actual examples of T’ung Chih porcelain are not inspiring. Those in -the British Museum include a covered bowl with coloured sprays in a -ground of red diaper; a bowl with enamelled sprays on a pale brown -(_tzŭ chin_) glaze; a saucer with dragons etched under a transparent -green glaze, the exterior in unglazed biscuit painted in black; a -cup with red dragons in a ground of black enamel and the cyclical -date 1868; a low, octagonal bowl with the Eight Trigrams in relief -outside, the interior of this and of the preceding specimen as well -being coated with blue green enamel; and a basin enamelled with the -Eight Ambassadors of the Tribes of Man. The most favourable specimen -of the ware in the same collection is a carefully painted wedding bowl -with canary yellow ground and medallions of appropriate symbols, the -peach-and dragon-headed staff of longevity, the double fish symbol -of conjugal felicity, and the group of pencil brush, cake of ink and -_ju-i_ sceptre forming the rebus _pi ting ju i_, “may things be as you -wish.” - - - LIST OF IMPERIAL PORCELAINS SUPPLIED IN THE THIRD YEAR OF T’UNG - CHIH (1864) - - VASES (_cho ch’i_) - - 1. Quadrangular vases with apricot medallions and two tubular - handles with Chün glaze. [For the shape see Plate 123, and for - the glaze see p. 1.] - - 2. Vases of the same form with Ko glaze. - - 3. Quadrangular vases with the Eight Trigrams (_pa kua_), - and Ko glaze. [The form is quadrangular body with round neck and - foot, moulded in relief with the trigrams; for the Ko glaze see - vol. i., p. 71.] - - 4. Vases in form of jade ewers (_yü hu ch’un_) with _chi - hung_ (or copper red) glaze. - - 5. Vases of the same form, with blue and white decoration and - raised threads. [Bushell explains that the surface is divided - into patterns or sections by raised rings.] - - 6. Vases of the same form, with blue and white decoration with - balcony (_lan kan_). [Bushell explains, “garden scenes - enclosed by railings.”] - - 7. Paper-beater (_chih ch’ui_) vases with the _t’ai - chi_ symbol and the glaze of the Imperial factory decorated - in colours. [The form is the club-shape or _rouleau_; and - the symbol is apparently the _yin-yang_, the Confucian - symbol for the Absolute.] - - 8. Quadrangular vase with elephant symbol of great peace - (_t’ai ping yu hsiang_, a rebus meaning “augury of great - peace”). [These are apparently square vases with two handles in - form of elephant (_hsiang_) heads.] - - ROUND WARES (_yüan ch’i_) - - 9. Medium-sized bowls with dragons in purple brown (_tzŭ_). - - 10. Medium-sized bowls with _chi hung_ glaze. - - 11. Large bowls (_wan_) with Indian lotus (_hsi lien_) - in blue. - - 12. Five-inch dishes (_p’an_), similarly decorated. - - 13. Medium-sized bowls with storks and Eight Trigrams (_pa - kua_). - - 14. Wine cups with narcissus flowers (_shui hsien hua_) in - enamels. - - 15. Wine cups with spreading rim painted with dragons in red. - - 16. Dishes (_p’an_) a foot in diameter decorated in blue with a - pair of dragons filling the surface. - - 17. Soup bowls (_t’ang wan_) with incised dragons under a dark - yellow monochrome glaze. [These, according to Bushell, are - smaller and shallower than rice bowls.] - - 18. Medium-sized bowls, barrel shaped, with dragons engraved - under a yellow monochrome glaze. - - 19. Yellow monochrome tea cups. - - 20. Medium-sized bowls with dragons engraved under a yellow - monochrome glaze. - - 21. Medium-sized bowls with the three fruits in groups (_pan - tzŭ_[481]) painted in blue. [The fruits are peach, pomegranate - and finger citron.] - - 22. Soup bowls with expanding rim and dragons incised under - yellow monochrome glaze. - - 23. Six-inch bowls with a pair of dragons in blue. - - 24. One-foot dishes painted in blue with silkworm scrolls - (_ts’an wên_) and longevity characters. - - 25. Tea cups decorated in blue with _mu hsi_ flowers (a - small variety of the _olea fragrans_). - - 26. Medium-sized bowls with precious lotus in enamel colours. - - 27. Tea cups with white bamboo on a painted red ground. - - 28. Six-inch dishes painted in blue with the “three friends” - (_san yu_) and figure subjects. [The three friends in floral - language are the pine, bamboo and prunus. It is also a name - given to the group of Confucius, Buddha, and Lao-tzŭ, who are - often represented examining a picture scroll or standing in - conversation.] - - 29. Tea dishes (_ch’a p’an_) with a pair of dragons in blue. - [Bushell describes these as “little trays with upright borders, - of oblong, four-lobed, and fluted outline.” They must in fact - have closely resembled the old teapot stands of European - services.] - - 30. Six-inch dishes with green dragons on a ground of engraved - water-pattern painted in colour. - - 31. One-foot dishes painted in blue with archaic phœnixes - (_k’uei fêng_). [These designs are ornaments of bird form, - terminating in scrolls such as appear on ancient bronzes.] - - 32. Nine-inch dishes with blue ground and dragons in clouds - painted in yellow. - - 33. Medium-sized bowls with pure white glaze and ruby red (_pao - shao_) phœnix medallions. - - 34. Tea cups with dragons and clouds painted in yellow in a blue - ground. - - 35. Six-inch dishes with _chi hung_ (copper red) glaze. - - 36. Medium-sized bowls with _chi ch’ing_ (deep violet blue) - glaze. - - 37. Nine-inch dishes with _chi hung_ glaze. - - 38. Soup bowls, barrel shaped, with lustrous brown glaze. - - 39. Medium-sized bowls with red phœnix medallions in a celadon - (_tung ch’ing_) glaze. - - 40. Nine-inch dishes with silkworm scrolls and _ju-i_[482] - ornament in enamel colours. - - 41. Tea cups enamelled in colours with mandarin ducks and lotus - flowers. - - 42. Tea bowls (_ch’a wan_) with _chi ch’ing_ glaze. - - 43. Tea bowls decorated in colours with the _pa pao_ (eight - attributes of the Taoist Immortals; see p. 287). - - 44. Large bowls with the Eight Immortals in blue on red - enamelled waves. - - 45. Medium-sized bowls, blue and white inside, and with coloured - lotus flowers outside. - - 46. Bowls with the Eight Buddhist symbols of happy augury (_pa - chi hsiang_). - - 47. Porcelain bowls with green designs and peach yellow ground. - - 48. Five-inch dishes with purple and green dragons in a yellow - monochrome ground. - - 49. Three-inch platters with similar ornament. - - 50. Soup bowls of the fourth size (_ssŭ hao_) with green - monochrome glaze. - - 51. Five-inch dishes with phœnixes in clouds. - - 52. Medium-sized bowls with dragons and phœnixes among flowers - in coloured enamels. - - 53. Four-inch platters (_tieh_) with purple and green dragons in - yellow monochrome ground. - - 54. Nine-inch dishes painted in colours with the eight Buddhist - symbols among flowers. - - 55. Large bowls painted in colours with archaic phœnixes - (_k’uei fêng_) among flowers. - - - _Kuang Hsü_ [chch 2] (1875–1909) - -Marked examples of this modern ware in the Franks Collection include a -saucer with coloured sprays in a cloudy pink enamel ground; a covered -cup with spout decorated in red with cartouches of seal characters -accompanied by translations in the ordinary script, and a dish with -blackthorn bough and pink blossoms in Tao Kuang style. In every case -the ware is coarse-grained and rough to the touch, while the glaze is -of the lustrous surface and “musliny” texture, which is characteristic -of the nineteenth century porcelains; and the painting is mechanical -and devoid of any distinction. There are two little saucers of better -quality both in material and painting, with stork and lotus designs in -mixed enamels and marks[483] which show that they are palace pieces -made for the Empress Dowager. - -But the collector’s interest in Kuang Hsü porcelain is of a negative -kind. When it is frankly marked he sees and avoids it. But the Chinese -potters towards the close of the century evidently recovered some part -of the skill which the ravages of the T’ai p’ing rebels seemed to have -effectually dissipated; for they succeeded in making many excellent -_sang de bœuf_ reds and crackled emerald green monochromes which -have deceived collectors of experience. Even the best, however, of -these wares should be recognised by inferiority of form and material, -and in the case of red the fluescent glaze will be found in the modern -pieces to have overrun the foot rim, necessitating grinding of the base -rim. There are also fair imitations of the K’ang Hsi blue and white and -the enamelled vases of _famille verte_ or on-biscuit colours, and -even of the fine black and green grounds. But here again the inferior -biscuit, the lack of grace in the form and the stiffness of the designs -will be at once observed by the trained eye. When marked most of these -imitations have the _nien hao_ of K’ang Hsi, and this is almost -invariable on the modern blue and white. - -There is, of course, a great quantity of modern porcelain, chiefly -enamelled and blue and white, made for the export trade and sold at -prices which compete successfully with those of the European wares. -It is chiefly in the style of the K’ang Hsi and Ch’ien Lung wares, -and is marked accordingly; but the ware is coarse-grained, and the -decorations summary, and there is no excuse for mistaking these obvious -reproductions for anything but what they are and, in fact, what they -pretend to be. - -The brief reign of Hsüan T’ung [chch 2] (1909–1911) is a blank so -far as ceramic history is concerned; and with the fall of the Ch’ing -dynasty in 1912 the Imperial works ceased its activity, and it remains -to be seen whether Ching-tê Chên will again have the advantage of a -state factory to set a standard for the industry in general. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - - PORCELAIN SHAPES IN THE CH’ING DYNASTY - - -A considerable number of the forms which Chinese porcelain assumes have -been described in the chapters dealing with the Ming wares; but these -may be usefully supplemented by a rapid survey of those employed by -the potters of the Ch’ing dynasty. The latter will, of course, include -many of the former because the Chinese delight in reproducing the older -types. - -The brief summary of the eighteenth-century porcelain forms given in -the opening pages of the _T’ao shuo_[484] begins in the correct style -with the reproductions of the ancient ritual vessels _tsun_, _lei_, -_yi_, _ting_, _yu_ and _chüo_. These are all bronze forms, _tsun_ being -applied to wine vessels, _lei_ to vases ornamented with the meander -pattern known as “cloud and thunder” scrolls,[485] _yi_ to bowl-shaped -vessels without feet, _ting_ to cauldrons with three or four legs and -two handles, _yu_ to wine jars with covers, and large loop handles for -suspension, and _chüo_ to libation cups of helmet and other shapes. -The bronze forms are commonly decorated with bronze patterns such as -the key-fret, archaic dragon and phœnix scrolls, cicada pattern, ogre -heads and bands of stiff (banana) leaves, either painted, moulded, -engraved, or carved in relief; and the complicated bronze shapes are -usually fashioned in moulds, and in many cases furnished with ring -handles attached to monster heads. Another ritual type manufactured -in porcelain as well as bronze is the altar set of five pieces (_wu -kung_), which consists of a _ting_ or tripod incense vase, two flower -vases, and two pricket candlesticks. A humbler altar set was composed -of a single censer or a tazza-shaped cup (Plate 93, Fig. 1) for -flowers, and a pair of lions on stands fitted with tubes for holding -sticks of incense. The bronze forms have always been used by the -Chinese potters, but they were specially affected in the archaising -period of Ch’ien Lung. - -In the Western judgment, however, which is unbiased by the associations -of these antique forms, the true pottery shapes, made on the wheel, -will appear far more attractive; for nothing can surpass the simple -rounded forms which sprang to life beneath the deft fingers of the -Chinese thrower. Their simplicity, grace, and perfect suitability -for their intended uses have commended them as models to the Western -potter far more congenial than the cold perfection of the Greek -vases. Naturally they vary in quality with the skill and taste of the -individual, but a high level of manual skill ruled among the Chinese -potters, and their wheel-work rarely fails to please. - -It would be useless to attempt to exhaust all the varieties of -wheel-made forms. Many of them are due to slight alterations of line -according to the caprice of the thrower. It will be enough to enumerate -the principal types and to note a few of the more significant changes -which came in at ascertained periods. By comparing the illustrations -in different parts of this book, and better still, by comparing the -specimens in some well classified collection, the reader will soon -learn to notice the periodical changes of shape. To take the familiar -bottle-shaped vases as an instance, there is probably no shape on which -more numerous changes have been rung, nor one which is more susceptible -to the individual touch; and yet the trained eye will generally -distinguish the K’ang Hsi bottle from the later forms, though the -distinction is often more subtle than that which separates the typical -K’ang Hsi form (Plate 123, Fig. 2) from that with depressed body and -straight wide neck (Plate 128, Fig. 3), which is characteristic of the -Ch’ien Lung period. - -The K’ang Hsi bottles vary in themselves in length and slenderness -of neck, and in the form of the body, which may be globular, ovoid, -barrel shaped or pear shaped. Again they are often of double or even -triple gourd shape, or plain with a bulbous swelling on the upper part -of the neck or actually at the mouth. The last variety are called -“garlic-shaped” bottles by the Chinese. The normal types are used to -hold a single spray or a flowering branch, but there are others with -slender necks tapering to a point which are designed for sprinkling -perfumes and are generally known as sprinklers. - -Of flower vases there are numerous varieties: egg-shaped vases; -baluster-shaped vases with spreading mouth; high-shouldered vases -with small mouth, the _mei p’ing_ of the Ming period; beakers (_ku_) -with slender body, swelling belt in the middle and flaring mouth; -the so-called _yen yen_ vase with ovoid body and high neck with -trumpet mouth,[486] which is used for some of the choicest K’ang -Hsi decorations (Plate 101); the _Kuan yin_[487] vase of ovoid form -with short neck and spreading mouth; the cylindrical vase with short -straight neck and spreading mouth (Plate 103), called by the French -_rouleau_ and by the Chinese “paper-beater” (_chih ch’ui p’ing_), -whence our name “club-shaped.” A smaller form of the same is known to -the Chinese as _yu ch’ui p’ing_ (oil-beater vase). - -There is besides the wide oval jar or _potiche_ with dome-shaped cover -(_tsun_), and the more slender form known as _t’an_, which often has a -lion or _ch’i-lin_ on the cover serving as a knob; the tall cylinder -to hold arrows and the low cylinder for brushes, and numerous pots and -jars for various uses. - -Most of these rounded forms have counterparts among the square and -polygonal vases which are made in moulds or built up by the difficult -process of joining together flat bats of clay. The square vases made -by the latter method were a source of much trouble to the potters -owing to the danger of imperfect jointing or of warping in the kiln. -Fig. 1 of Plate 104 illustrates an effective type of the square -vase with gracefully tapering body, the four sides of which are so -often appropriately decorated with the flowers of the four seasons. -Occasionally the angles are flattened, giving an irregular octagonal -form. Another form selected for sumptuous decoration is the square vase -with pendulous body and two dragon handles figured on Plate 97; and -another is the arrow stand and square tube with deeply socketed stand -and railed border (Plate 118). - -The pilgrim bottle supplies an effective model with a flattened -circular body, small neck and foot, and loops on the periphery to carry -a cord. These loops tended to disappear when the form had lost its -first significance and was only regarded as a vase. - -The list of Imperial wares made in the reign of T’ung Chih includes -vases for divining rods of square form with low round neck and base, -ornamented with _pa kua_ designs in relief; vases with apricot -medallions and tubular handles like Fig. 1 of Plate 123. Other familiar -types are the bag-shaped vases with the mouth tied with silk, melon -and gourd forms, and the vase shaped like a double fish erect on its -tail or a single fish rising from waves. - -To quote a few of the types named in the _T’ao shuo_[488]:--“For -holding flowers there are vases from two or three inches to five or -six feet high, round like a _hu_, round and swelling below like a -gallbladder (_tan_), round and with spreading mouth and contracted -below like a _tsun_, with flat sides and full angles like a ku, upright -like bamboo joints, square like a corn measure (_tou_), with contracted -mouth and flattened sides, with square and round flutings, and cut in -halves with flat backs for hanging on walls.” - -For pot-pourri and for fragrant flowers to perfume the rooms various -covered jars were provided, hanging vases with reticulated sides -(Plate 114), and boxes with perforated covers. For growing plants -there were deep flower pots and shallow bulb bowls, and the large and -small fish bowls were used for growing water-lilies as well as for -keeping gold-fish; and shallow bowls were apparently used as arenas for -fighting crickets.[489] As for the vessels in which the crickets were -kept, various suggestions have been made in reference to the “cricket -pots” mentioned in Chinese books, and the name is sometimes given to -reticulated vases and boxes; but we are told that the cricket prefers a -damp dwelling, and that their pots were consequently made as a rule of -absorbent earthenware. There is a snuff bottle decorated with crickets -in the British Museum, and one is represented perched on an overturned -pot from which he has apparently escaped, the lid having fallen off. -This pot is of ordinary ovoid jar form apparently ornamented with -incised fret pattern. - -The apparatus of the library table is peculiarly Chinese; and -as calligraphy and painting were regarded as among the highest -accomplishments, so the potter lavished on the implements of the writer -his most ingenious fancies and his most beautiful workmanship. There -were porcelain handles for the pencil brush called _pi kuan_; a brush -rest (_pi ko_) of many fanciful forms (see Fig. 3 of Plate 60) of which -a miniature range of hills was the commonest; a bed (_pi ch’uang_) -for it to lie down on, and a cylindrical jar (_pi t’ung_) for it to -stand up in; vessels called _hsi_ to wash it in, usually of shallow -bowl form or shaped like crinkled lotus leaves or in some such dainty -design. There were rests for the writer’s wrist and paper weights of -fantastic form. For the ink (_mo_), there is the pallet (_mo yen_) for -rubbing (Plate 94, Fig. 2), and a bed for the ink-cake (_mo ch’uang_), -a screen (_yen p’ing_) behind which it was rubbed, small water pots -(_shui ch’êng_) in innumerable shapes and served by a tiny ladle, and -water droppers (_shui ti_) of quaint and ingenious designs.[490] There -were rollers for picture scrolls (_hua chou_) with porcelain ends, and -stands for books in the form of small elegantly shaped tables with -three or four legs often beautifully painted in enamels on the biscuit. - -With these is the incense-burning apparatus which consists of incense -box (_hsiang ho_), the vase to hold the tiny tongs and shovel used for -the charcoal and incense, and the urn or burner (_shao hsiang lu_). -The last appears in very varied shapes, of which the most usual is -the tripod cauldron (_ting_) with upright ear-handles. Others take -the purely fantastic form of figures of animals, birds and even human -beings with open mouth or nostrils to emit the smoke. Tiny vases for a -single flower are usually placed upon the writing table, the furniture -of which is completed by seals (_yin_), which are commonly modelled -after Han dynasty jades with handles in form of camels, tortoises, -dragons, tigers, etc., and small boxes to contain the seal vermilion -(_yin sê ch’ih_). - -Other porcelain objects which combined use and ornament were plaques -(_pan_) for screens and slabs for inlaying in pillows, beds, couches -and verandah partitions; actual pillows of oblong or semicircular shape -with concave surface, the inside hollow and capable of being filled -with fragrant herbs; bowls, shaped like the Buddhist alms bowl, for -holding black and white chess pieces, and the other requisites for -chess (_wei-ch’i_) or _gô_. - -With regard to the plaques, we learn that the Emperor Shun Chih gave -an order in 1659 for oblong plaques 3 feet by 2½ feet and 3 inches in -thickness, but these like the large fish bowls were beyond the powers -of the potters at that time. Indeed Père d’Entrecolles tells us that -in 1712, the date of his first letter,[491] the potters had much -difficulty in executing the orders given by the European merchants for -plaques for table tops, etc., and that the largest practicable size -was only about a foot square. No advantage was obtained by giving them -additional thickness to prevent the fatal warping in the kiln, and -it was found better to make the two faces in separate slabs united -by cross pieces. Bushell points out that these double plaques were -frequently sawn apart and mounted in screens, etc., as separate panels. -The complete plaque is usually decorated on one side with a figure -subject and on the other with flowers. - -We should mention also among miscellaneous objects the beautiful -hanging lanterns of eggshell thinness or perforated in openwork -patterns; the barrel-shaped garden seats; the curious hat stands, -a sphere on top of a tall stem or a little box mounted on long -curved legs, the top in either case being hollow and perforated to -hold perfumes or ice or charcoal according to the season; boxes of -all kinds; small personal ornaments such as hair-pins, ear-rings, -girdle-clasps, rosary beads, thumb rings, fingernail covers, tubes for -mandarin feathers, buttons and pendants; the little bottles or flasks -originally intended for drugs but afterwards consecrated to snuff when -the Spaniards or Portuguese had introduced the tobacco plant into China -at the end of the sixteenth century; and finally the ornamental heads -of opium pipes made chiefly in pottery. - -For household use the _T’ao shuo_ enumerates rice spoons, tea spoons -(_ch’a shih_), sets of chop sticks, vessels for holding candle snuffs, -wax pots, vinegar droppers, washing basins (_tsao p’ên_), pricket -candle sticks (_têng ting_), pillows (_chên_), square and round, tubs -(_p’ên ang_), jars (_wêng_) with small mouth, alms bowls (_po_) with -globular body and contracted mouth, plates (_tieh_), and bowls (_wan_); -and for tea and wine parties and dinner services, tea pots, wine -vessels, bowls, and dishes of every sort. - -Bowls (wan) are found in many sizes and shapes, the commonest being the -small rice bowl; the shallower type was used for soup (_t’ang wan_). -There are deep bowls with covers which might almost be described as -jars, and there are tea bowls with covers used for infusing tea in the -absence of a tea pot. In drinking from these it was usual to tilt the -cover very slightly so as to leave only a narrow egress for the tea and -to prevent the leaves accompanying it. - -When a tea pot was used, the liquid was served in a tea cup (_ch’a -chung_) of tall upright form without handle[492] or cover. The -Chinese cup is not furnished with a saucer in European style, but -there are straight-edged trays which serve a similar purpose, holding -one or more cups, and the old tea bowls and wine cups used to be -provided with a circular stand with hollow ring in which the base of -the cup could be inserted. The tea pot itself does not seem to be older -than the Ming dynasty, and before that time tea bowls only had been -used, the vessels with spouts and handles being reserved for wine and -other liquids. - -A tiny bowl is the usual form of wine cup, but beside these there are -goblets with deep bowl, and the shallow-bowled _tazze_ with high -stems, like the early Ming “stem cups.” For ceremonial purposes, the -wedding cups and libation cups were shaped after bronze ritual vessels -or rhinoceros horn cups; and wine cups for ordinary use sometimes -take the ornamental form of a lotus leaf or a flower. The commonest -form of wine ewer is the Persian type with pear-shaped body, long -graceful handle and spout. Others take fanciful forms like that of a -peach or aubergine fruit, a gourd or melon. The peach-shaped ewer with -opening under the base is the original of our Cadogan tea pot, and we -need be surprised at nothing in Chinese art when we find this same -principle and practically the same form in a ewer of T’ang date in the -Eumorfopoulos collection. The tall cylindrical ewers with body jointed -like a bamboo, and the front shaped at the top like a tiara, are used -for sweet syrups. - -The Chinese dish is for the most part saucer-shaped. When over half a -foot in diameter it is called _p’an_, the smaller dishes or platters -being named _tieh_. There are large dishes for fragrant fruits to -perfume the room, and lotus-leaf shaped dishes for sweetmeats and -various small trays of fanciful form for the dinner table; and there -are the “supper sets” consisting of a varying number of ornamental -trays which can be used separately, or joined together to form a -pattern suggesting a lotus or some other many-petalled flower. - -In addition to the native Chinese forms there is a host of specialised -objects made for export and designed in foreign taste; such as the deep -bowls with pagoda covers for Siam; weights to hold down the corners of -a mat for India, in form like a door knob mounted on a circular base; -narghili bowls and ewers for Persia, besides the bottle-shaped pipes -with mammiform mouthpieces, which sometimes take animal or bird forms -such as those of the elephant or phœnix; round covered dishes for -Turkey; and all the familiar objects to meet European requirements. The -sets of five vases (three covered jars and two beakers) are a purely -European garniture intended for the mantelpiece or the sideboard. - -There are, besides, all manner of figures--human, animal, or -mythical--but they belong rather to the chapter on ornamental motives. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - - MOTIVES OF THE DECORATION - - -Chinese decoration, its motives and its meaning, might form the subject -for a substantial and very interesting volume. But it can only be -treated here in a summary fashion by enumerating a few of the motives -which occur most frequently in porcelain. The designs on the earlier -wares have already been discussed in the chapters dealing with the -Ming and the preceding periods, but in view of the conservatism of the -Chinese artists a certain amount of repetition will be inevitable in -discussing the ornament of the Ch’ing dynasty porcelain. - -If we except some of the hybrid designs on the export wares which were -made for people unfamiliar with Chinese thought, we may assume that -there is a meaning in all Chinese decoration apart from its ornamental -intention; and this applies not only to the central motives but also -as a rule to the subsidiary ornament such as borders and formal -patterns. Consequently it is clear that a study of this inner meaning -is a necessary condition for the full appreciation of the decorated -porcelain. - -Figure subjects and symbolical ornaments probably require the most -explanation for the Western student; but unfortunately the former are -often so difficult to identify that we have to be content with general -headings such as court scenes, military scenes, dramatic subjects, -illustrations of romance, etc. Possibly to the unusually well-read -native most of these scenes would recall some known story, but the -European can only hope to identify one here and there by a lucky -chance. He can, of course, take a book of Chinese legends and by the -exercise of a little imagination find a story for every scene; but such -methods are not to be recommended, and it is infinitely preferable to -give the design no label at all unless the identification is fully -established. That at least leaves the question open. - - [Illustration: Plate 133.--Late _famille rose_ Enamels. - - Fig. 1.--Bowl painted in soft enamels, attendants of Hsi Wang - Mu in boats. Mark, _Shên tè t’ang chih_. Tao Kuang period. - Diameter 6⅞ inches. _British Museum._ - - Fig. 2.--Imperial Fish Bowl with five dragons ascending and - descending, borders of wave pattern, _ju-i_ pattern, etc., - _famille rose_ enamels. Late eighteenth century. Height 20 - inches. _Burdett-Coutts Collection._] - - [Illustration: Plate 134.--Porcelain Snuff Bottles. Eighteenth - Century. _British Museum._ - - Fig. 1.--Subject from the drama, black ground. Yung Chêng mark. - Height 2¾ inches. - - Fig. 2.--Battle of demons, underglaze blue and red. Mark, - _Yung-lo t’ang_. Height 3¾ inches. - - Fig. 3.--Blue and white “steatitic” ware. Height 2½ inches. - - Fig. 4.--Crackled cream white _ting_ glaze, pierced casing - with pine, bamboo and prunus. Height 3¼ inches. - - Fig. 5.--“Steatitic” ware with Hundred Antiques design in - coloured relief. Chia Ch’ing mark. Height 2½ inches.] - -These scenes from history and romance were favourite subjects with -the K’ang Hsi decorators of blue and white and _famille verte_ -porcelains. To instance a few types: the scene of the half-legendary -Yao with his cavalcade coming to greet the Emperor Shun who is engaged, -like the Roman Cincinnatus, in ploughing; the episodes of the three -heroes of the Han dynasty, Chang Liang, Ch’ên P’ing and Han Hsin[493]; -the heroes of the romantic period of the Three Kingdoms (221–265 -A.D.) whose stories may be compared with those of our knights -of the Round Table; the stories of brigands in the reign of Hui Tsung -of the Sung dynasty.[494] The story of Su Wu, the faithful minister of -Han Wu Ti, tending cattle in captivity among the Hiung-nu, is depicted -on a bowl in the British Museum, and a dish in the same collection -shows an emperor (perhaps Kao Tsu, the first of the T’ang dynasty) -surrounded by his captains. - -Processional scenes and subjects illustrating the life and customs of -the times, peaceful domestic scenes with interiors of house or garden -peopled by women and children, are more common in the _famille -rose_ period when the warlike tastes of the Manchus had already been -softened by a long period of peace. A civil procession and a military -procession sometimes balance each other on two vases, the one being -the _wên p’ing_ (civil vase), and the other the _wu p’ing_ -(military vase). A mock dragon-procession formed by children at play is -a not uncommon motive. Indeed playing children (_wa wa_) have been -from the earliest times a subject frequently and most sympathetically -depicted on Chinese porcelain. A historical child-scene is that in -which the boy Ssŭ-ma Kuang broke the huge fish bowl with a stone to let -out the water and save his drowning companion. - -There are many motives intended to appeal to the Chinese literatus, -and specially suited to ornament the furniture of the writing table. -Symposia of literary personages, for instance, make an appropriate -design for a brush pot, or again, the meeting of the celebrated -coteries, the Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove who lived in the -third century, and the worthies of the Orchid Pavilion, including the -famous calligrapher, Wang Hsi-chih, who met in the fourth century to -drink wine, cap verses, and set their cups floating down the “nine-bend -river” (see Plate 104, Fig. 1). The Horace of China, Li T’ai-po, the -great T’ang poet, is represented in drunken slumber leaning against an -overturned wine jar or receiving the ministrations of the Emperor and -his court. He also figures among the Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup, a -suitable subject for an octagonal bowl. Poets, painters, and sages are -often seen in mountain landscapes contemplating the beauties of Nature; -two sages meeting on a mountain side is a frequent subject and is known -as the “happy meeting,” or again, it is a single sage, with attendant -carrying a bowl, book, and fan, or sometimes bringing an offering of a -goose. In rare instances these figures can be identified with Chinese -worthies such as Chiang Tzŭ-ya, who sits fishing on a river bank, or -Chu Mai-ch’ên, the wood-cutter, reading as he walks with his faggots on -his back. - -The stories of the _Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety_ provide a -complete series of popular subjects, which may be seen in the panels -of Plate 91, Fig. 3. Women are represented by the Virtuous Heroines; -by celebrated beauties such as Yang Kuei-fei, consort of the T’ang -ruler Ming Huang,[495] and Hsi Shih, the Chinese Delilah who was the -undoing of Fu Ch’ai, prince of Wu, in the fifth century B.C.; by the -poetess Tan Hui-pan, and by a hundred nameless figures which occur -in genre designs, and by the idealised beauties, _mei jên_ (graceful -ladies), which the Dutch ungallantly dubbed with the name of _lange -lijsen_ or long Elizas. The domestic occupations of a lady form another -series of subjects for polygonal vessels; and women are sometimes -seen engaged in the Four Subjects of Study--Poetry, Rites, History, -and Music--or in the Four Liberal Accomplishments--Writing, Painting, -Music, and Checkers--but the groups who make up these scenes are more -often composed of men. The game of checkers or _gô_, which is so often -loosely rendered chess,[496] is _wei ch’i_ the “surrounding game,” a -favourite Chinese amusement, which figures in two well-known subjects -of porcelain decoration. One of these is the legend of Wang Chih, the -Taoist patriarch, watching the game played by two old men, the spirits -of the Pole Stars, in a mountain retreat; the other is the story of the -general Hsieh An, who refused to allow the news of an important victory -to disturb his game. - -Ladies of the court picking lotus flowers from boats on an ornamental -lake in the presence of the Emperor and Empress represent the annual -Lotus Fête at Peking, and there are numerous scenes in the Imperial -pleasure grounds in which bevies of ladies from the harem are depicted. - -The Eight Ambassadors of the Tribes of Man, the barbarian nations from -the eight points of the compass, form a processional subject suitable -for the exterior of bowls and cups. The ambassadors are grotesquely -drawn figures, sometimes mounted on strange beasts, and carrying gifts -as tribute to the Emperor. Dreams and visions are depicted in the -usual Oriental manner by a cloud issuing from the dreamer’s head and -expanding into a scene which represents the subject of the dream. Thus -the youthful scholar is seen asleep with a vision of his future dignity -floating above his head. Divine apparitions are differentiated by the -presence of clouds around or below the main figures. - -Deities and deified mortals are favourite subjects for porcelain -decoration as well as for figures and groups modelled in the round. -The three principal Chinese religions--Confucianism, Buddhism, and -Taoism--exist side by side with perfect mutual toleration. Indeed the -principles of the one are in many cases incorporated in the others. -Buddhist and Taoist emblems are freely mingled in decorative art, -and the three founders--Confucius, Buddha, and Lao-tzŭ--are grouped -together in friendly conversation or examining a scroll on which is -drawn the Yin-yang symbol of the duality of Nature.[497] - -Confucianism is the religious or rather philosophical system officially -recognised in China, but its adherents are chiefly among the literati. -Though it inculcates ancestor-worship, it is not in itself concerned -with an after life, and it contains few romantic superstitions -calculated to fire the popular imagination or to suggest motives for -decorative art. Confucius himself is frequently represented both in -painting and sculpture, and his meeting with Lao-tzŭ is familiar in -pictorial art. Confucianism recognises certain canonised mortals, the -logical outcome of ancestor-worship, and among these the best known -in art is Kuan Yü, a warrior famous at the end of the Han dynasty, -who was not, however, canonised until the Sung period, and only in -1594 raised to the rank of a god (of War) under the title of Kuan -Ti. It is reasonable to suppose that most of the numerous statuettes -of this popular deity were made after the latter date. He is usually -represented as a dignified personage with flowing beard seated in -full armour with right hand raised in a speaking attitude; but he -figures also on horseback or beside his charger, and with his faithful -squires--Chou Ts’ang, who carries a halberd, and Kuan P’ing, his own -son. Occasionally he is seen seated with a book in his hand, in which -case he is regarded as a literary rather than a military power. - -The gods of Literature have a very large following in China, where -scholarship has been the key to office for upwards of two thousand -years, the chief deity of the cult being Wên Ch’ang, or in full, Wên -Ch’ang ti chün. He is the star god who resides in one of the groups of -the Great Bear, a dignified bearded figure in mandarin dress seated -with folded hands or mounted on a mule. A lesser but more popular -divinity is the demon-faced K’uei Hsing, who was canonised in the -fourteenth century. Originally a scholar, who though successful in the -examinations was refused office on the ground of his preternatural -ugliness, he threw himself in despair into the Yangtze and was carried -up to heaven on a fish-dragon. He is easily recognised as a demon-like -person, poised with one foot on the head of a fish-dragon (_yü -lung_) which is emerging from waves. He brandishes triumphantly in -his hands a pencil brush and a cake of ink.[498] The fish-dragon is -itself a symbol of literary aspiration, from the legend that when the -salmon come every year up the river to the famous falls of Lung-mên -(the dragon gate), those which succeed in leaping up the falls are -transformed into fish-dragons. This metamorphosis of the fish as it -emerges from the water into the dragon is a favourite motive for -porcelain decoration. - -Buddhism, which was officially recognised in China by the Emperor -Ming Ti in 67 A.D., had a far-reaching influence over the -arts of sculpture and painting, and the revolution which it worked in -the greater arts was naturally reflected in the lesser handicrafts. -Buddhistic motives appear early in the Chinese pottery, and in the -period with which we are at present concerned, the Buddhist religion -supplied a great number of motives for the porcelain painter and the -figure modeller. Sakyamuni himself is depicted or sculptured in various -poses: (1) As an infant standing on the lotus and proclaiming his -birth; (2) as an ascetic returning from his fast in the mountains; -(3) seated cross-legged on a lotus throne with right hand raised in -teaching attitude, the most frequent representation; (4) recumbent on -a lotus pillow, in Nirvana; (5) in the Buddhist Trinity holding the -alms bowl or patra between the Bodhisattvas Manjusri and Samantabhadra. -These two last when represented singly are usually mounted, Manjusri on -a lion, and Samantabhadra on an elephant. - -But by far the most popular figure of the Buddhist theogony in China -is Kuan-yin, the Compassionate, and Kuan-yin, the Maternal; in the -latter capacity she holds a child in her arms and displays a wonderful -likeness to our images of the Virgin. But a full account of her has -been given on p. 110, and need not be repeated. Next in popularity -perhaps is the jolly monk with the hempen bag, Pu-tai Ho-shang, a -semi-nude, corpulent person, with smiling face, and a large bag full -of the “precious things.” He is also a great favourite in Japan, where -he is known as Hotei, and worshipped as the god of Contentment. By the -Chinese he is also regarded as Mi-lo Fo, the Maitreya or coming Buddha, -and he has been added by them to the list of Arhats or apostles of -Buddha. He is often represented surrounded by playful children to whom -he is devoted. - -The Arhats, or Lohan, are all known by their several attributes, but -in porcelain decoration they usually appear in groups consisting of -the whole or a large part of their number, which, originally sixteen, -was increased in China to eighteen by the inclusion of Ho-shang and -Dharmatrata. The latter is a long-haired individual who carries a vase -and a fly whisk in his hands and a bundle of books on his back while he -sits gazing at a small image of Buddha. - -He is not to be confused with Tamo, the Indian Bodhidharma, the -first Chinese patriarch, who came to Lo-yang and remained there in -contemplation for nine years. The legend is that after his death (about -530 A.D.) he was seen returning to India wrapped in his shroud -and carrying one shoe in his hand, the other having been left behind -in his tomb. This is the guise in which he frequently appears in art -(Plate 86), and he is often depicted crossing the Yangtze on a reed. - -Many of the symbolical ornaments on porcelain have a Buddhistic -significance, such as the eight emblems (see p. 298), the crossed -dorjes or thunderbolts of Vajrapani,[499] the Buddhist jewel in a -leaf-shaped halo of flames; and Sanskrit characters of sacred import -are used as decoration for bowls and dishes, made no doubt for the use -of the faithful. The principal animals associated with Buddhist designs -are the elephant, who carries the jewel vase on his back, the white -horse (_pai ma_), who brought the Buddhist scriptures across the -desert from India, the hare, who offered himself as food to Buddha, and -the Chinese lion who, under the name of the “dog of Fo” (Buddha), acts -as guardian of Buddhist temples and images. - -But the religion which has taken the greatest hold on Chinese -imagination and which consequently has supplied the largest number of -motives for their decorative art is undoubtedly Taoism. As originally -taught by Lao-tzŭ, a contemporary of Confucius, in the sixth century -B.C., the doctrine of Tao (the Way) pointed to abstraction -from worldly cares and freedom from mental perturbation as the highest -good. But just as the later but closely analogous doctrine of Epicurus -degenerated into the cult of pleasure, so the true teaching of Lao-tzŭ -was afterwards lost among the adventitious beliefs and superstitions -which were grafted on to it by his followers. The secret of transmuting -metals into gold and of compounding the elixir of life became the -chief preoccupations of the Taoist sages, the latter quest appealing -particularly to the Chinese with their proverbial worship of longevity; -and a host of legends grew up concerning mortals who won immortality -by discovering the elixir, about fairies and the denizens of the Shou -Shan or Hills of Longevity, about the Isles of the Blessed and the -palace of Hsi Wang Mu in the K’un-lun mountains. It is this later and -more popular phase of Taoism which figures so largely in porcelain -decoration. - -Lao-tzŭ is represented as a venerable old man with bald, protuberant -forehead, who rides upon an ox, the same in features as the god of -Longevity, Shou Lao, who is in fact regarded as his disembodied spirit. -Shou Lao, however, is more commonly shown enthroned upon a rocky -platform in the Hills of Longevity, holding in one hand a curious -knotted staff, to which are attached rolls of writing, and in the -other a peach, and surrounded by his special attributes, the spotted -deer, the stork, and the _ling chih_ fungus. Thus seated he -receives homage from the Eight Immortals and the other Taoist genii or -_hsien_, who are as numerous as the fairies of our countryside. -Other designs represent Shou Lao riding on a deer or flying on the -back of a stork, or simply standing with his staff and peach, his -robes embroidered with seal forms of the character _shou_ -(longevity). In this last posture he is often grouped with two other -popular deities, one in mandarin robes and official hat holding a -_ju-i_ sceptre, which fulfils every wish, and the other also in -official robes but holding a babe who reaches out for a peach in his -other hand. Together they form the Taoist triad, Shou-hsing, Lu-hsing, -and Fu-hsing, star-gods (_hsing_) of Longevity, Preferment, and -Happiness. Fu-hsing in addition has sometimes two boy attendants -carrying respectively a lotus and a hand-organ. - -The Eight Taoist Immortals (_pa hsien_) are:-- - -1. Chung-li Ch’üan, also known as Han Chung-li, represented as a fat -man, half-draped, who holds a _ling chih_ fungus in one hand and a -fly-whisk or fan in the other. - -2. Lü Tung-pin, a figure of martial aspect armed with a sword to slay -dragons and evil spirits. He is the patron of barbers. - -3. Li T’ieh-kuai, Li with the iron crutch, a lame beggar with a crutch -and pilgrim’s gourd from which issue clouds and apparitions. He is -patron of astrologers and magicians. - -4. Ts’ao Kuo-ch’iu, in official robes, wearing a winged hat, and -carrying a pair of castanets. He is patron of mummers and actors. - -5. Lan Ts’ai-ho, of uncertain sex, carrying a hoe and a basket of -flowers. Patron of gardeners and florists. - -6. Chang Kuo Lao, the necromancer with the magic mule, of which he kept -a picture folded up in his wallet. He would make the beast materialise -from the picture by spurting water on to it; and at other times he -would conjure it out of a gourd. His attribute is a musical instrument -consisting of a drum and a pair of rods. He is patron of artists and -calligraphers, and ranks as one of the gods of Literature. - -7. Han Hsiang Tzŭ, who gained admission to the Taoist paradise and -climbed the peach-tree of Immortality. He is shown as a young man -playing on a flute, and is specially worshipped by musicians. - -8. Ho Hsien Ku, a maiden who wears a cloak of mug-wort leaves and -carries a lotus. She is patroness of housewives. - -The Immortals are commonly represented in a group paying court to Shou -Lao, or crossing the sea on the backs of various strange creatures or -other supernatural conveyances on their way to the Islands of Paradise. -Grouped in pairs they lend themselves to the decoration of quadrangular -objects. - -Other frequenters of the Shou Shan are the twin genii[500] of Union -and Harmony (_ho ho êrh hsien_), an inseparable pair, depicted as -ragged mendicants with staff and broom, or as smiling boyish figures, -the one with a lotus and the other holding a Pandora box of blessings, -from which a cloud is seen to rise; Tung-fang So, who stole the peaches -of Hsi Wang Mu and acquired thereby a longevity of nine thousand -years, is represented as a smiling bearded old man, not unlike Shou -Lao himself, carrying an enormous peach, or as a boy with a peach to -recall his youthful exploit. Liu Han, with his familiar three-legged -toad, a wild-looking person, who waves a string of cash in the air, and -very closely resembles the Japanese Gama Sennin (the Hou Hsien Shêng -of China); Wang Tzŭ-ch’iao, who rides on a crane playing a flute, and -Huang An, the hermit, whose steed is a tortoise. The god of Alchemy is -figured, according to the identification of a statuette in the Musée -Guimet, as a tall, draped person with beard and moustaches flowing down -in five long wisps, a leaf-shaped fan in his left hand, and beside -him a small figure of a devotee who holds up a book with questioning -gesture. - -The Queen of the Genii is Hsi Wang Mu (Queen Mother of the West). Her -home is in the K’un-lun mountains, and the peach tree of Longevity -grows in her gardens. In the tenth century B.C., the Emperor -Mu Wang is reputed to have visited her palace, and the reception forms -a pleasing subject for the artist, as does also her return visit paid -to the Emperor Wu Ti of the Han dynasty. She also figures frequently on -porcelain with her fair attendants crossing the sea on a raft, flying -on the back of a phœnix or standing with a female attendant who carries -a dish of peaches. Her messengers are blue-winged birds like the doves -of Venus, who carry the fruit of longevity to favoured beings. With -her attendant phœnix she presents a strong analogy with Juno and her -peacock; and her Western habitat has favoured the theories which would -connect her with Græco-Roman mythology, though her consort Hsi Wang -Fu (King Father of the West and a personage obviously invented _ad -hoc_) is quite insignificant and has nothing in common with the -cloud-compelling Jove. - -There is a female figure which is scarcely distinguishable from one of -the attendants of Hsi Wang Mu on the one hand and from Lan Ts’ai-ho -on the other. This is the Flower Fairy (_Hua hsien_) who carries a -basket of flowers suspended from a hoe. And there are besides numerous -magicians of more or less repute, such as Chang Chiu-ko, who is seen -transforming pieces cut from his scanty garments into butterflies; -and a host of nameless _hsien_ of local fame who figure in mountain -retreats, such as the _Ssŭ hao_ or four hoary hermits.[501] - -The animals connected with Taoist lore include the eight fabulous -horses of Mu Wang which brought him to the palace of Hsi Wang Mu. They -are usually seen at pasture frisking about in wild gambols. The deer, -the familiar of Shou Lao, is depicted usually with a _ling chih_ -fungus in his mouth; the toad and hare live in the moon where they -pound the elixir of immortality; and the tortoise develops a long bushy -tail after a thousand years of existence. All these are suggestive of -longevity, as is also the crane and a number of flowers, fruits and -trees such as the pine, bamboo and prunus (the three friends), the -chrysanthemum, the willow, the peach, the gourd, and more especially -the _ling chih_ fungus, the _polyporus lucidus_, which was -originally an emblem of good luck, but afterwards of longevity. - -The head of the _ling chih_ closely resembles[502] that of the familiar -_ju-i_ sceptre which grants every wish, an auspicious object commonly -seen in the hands of Taoist genii; and the same form occurs in a -decorative border (see Plate 77, Fig. 2) which is variously known as -the _ju-i_ head border, the _ju-i_ cloud border, or the cloud-scroll -border, the conventional cloud being commonly rolled up in this form. -It will also be found that formal ornaments, pendants and lambrequins -often take the form of the _ju-i_ head in Chinese decoration. - -The attributes of the Eight Immortals occur among the many symbols -used in porcelain ornament; and among the landscapes will be found -the gardens of Hsi Wang Mu and Mount P’êng-lai,[503] one of the three -islands of the blessed, situated in the ocean east of China. Here the -fountain of life flows in a perpetual stream: “the pine, the bamboo, -the plum, the peach, and the fungus of longevity grow for ever on its -shores; and the long-haired tortoise disports in its rocky inlets, -and the white crane builds her nest on the limbs of its everlasting -pines.”[504] Presumably, too, the Shou Shan is situated on this -delectable island; and perhaps also the heavenly pavilion (_t’ien -t’ang_), which appears among clouds as the goal to which a crane -is often seen guiding some of the Taoist genii. Possibly, too, the -conventional border of swirling waves punctuated by conical rocks -carries a suggestion of the rocky islands of paradise rising from the -sea. - - [Illustration: Fig. 1.--The Yin-yang and Pa-kua] - -There are besides many primitive beliefs traceable for the most part -to Nature-worship, which prevailed in China long before the days of -Confucius, Lao-tzŭ or Buddha. Some of these have been incorporated -in the later religious systems, especially in that of Taoism, which -was ready to adopt any form of demonology. The oldest system is -that expounded by the legendary Fu Hsi, in which the phenomena of -Nature were explained by reference to the mystic diagrams revealed -to him on the back of a dragon horse (_lung ma_) which rose from the -Yellow River. These are the _pa-kua_ or eight trigrams formed by the -permutations of three lines, broken and unbroken, as in Fig. 1. A more -common arrangement of them is according to the points of the compass, -and enclosing another ancient device, the Yin-yang, a circle bisected -by a wavy line, which symbolises the duality of Nature, _yin_ being the -female and _yang_ the male element. - -Demons abound in Chinese superstitions, and the demon face appears -early in art on the ancient bronzes, from which it was sometimes -borrowed by the porcelain decorator. This is the face of the _t’ao -t’ieh_ (the gluttonous ogre) supposed originally to have represented -the demon of the storm, and as such appropriately appearing against -a background of “cloud and thunder” pattern, as the key-fret is -called by the Chinese. Afterwards the _t’ao t’ieh_ seems to have been -regarded, on homœopathic principles, as a warning against greed. Demons -also appear in complete form in certain battle scenes and conflicts, -such as the combat of the demons of the water and of air which proceeds -in front of a group of Chinese dignitaries seated in the Kin-shan -temple on the Yangtze river (see Plate 134, Fig. 2). - -The sky and the stars of course contribute their quota of divinities. -Beside the Taoist star-gods of Longevity, Honours and Happiness, there -is the Jade Emperor or supreme lord of the universe, Yü wang shang -ti, who is represented in mandarin dress holding a _ju-i_ sceptre and -closely resembling Lu Hsing, the star-god of Honours. There is, too, -the goddess of the Moon with a butterfly ornamenting the front of her -robes, and a mirror in her right hand, besides the other denizens of -the moon--Liu Han, the moon-hare and the moon-toad. A cassia tree also -grows in the moon, and the “cassia of the moon” is a symbol of literary -success. - -The Sun is represented as a disc on which is a three-legged bird; and -it is probable that the sun-disc is represented also in the so-called -“pearl”[505] which is pursued or grasped by dragons; but this idea -of the power of the storm threatening the sun was lost sight of in -later art, and “a dragon pursuing a pearl” was considered a sufficient -description of the motive. A curious scene depicting a mandarin -shooting arrows at a dog in the sky alludes to the dog who devours the -sun and so causes the eclipse. - -The zodiacal animals are named on p. 211 (vol. i), and the four points -of the compass are symbolised by the azure dragon for the East, the -white tiger for the West, the black tortoise for the North, and the red -bird for the South. The romance of two stars is embodied in the story -of the Spinning Maiden (_Chih Nü_) and her lover, the Cowherd (_Ch’ien -Niu_), who are separated for all the year save on one night when the -“magpies fill up the Milky Way and enable the Spinning Damsel to cross -over.” - -Chang Ch’ien, the celebrated minister of Han Wu-ti, was one of the -first great travellers of China, and among the legends which grew -around his exploits is one which makes him ascend the Milky Way and -meet the Spinning Damsel herself. This story arose because he was -reputed to have discovered the source of the Yellow River, which had -hitherto been supposed to rise in heaven, being in fact a continuation -of the Milky Way. Chang Ch’ien is sometimes represented in Chinese art -as floating on a log-raft on the Yellow River, and carrying in his hand -a shuttle given to him by the Spinning Maiden.[506] The poet Li T’ai-po -is also figured in the same kind of craft, but he is distinguished by a -book in place of the shuttle. - -Motives borrowed from the animal world are frequent on porcelain, -though they represent to a large extent mythical creatures, first and -foremost of which is the dragon. We need not enter into the conflicting -theories as to the origin of the Chinese dragon. Whether he sprang -from some prehistoric monster whose remains had come to light, or was -evolved from the crocodile, he appears in any case to have belonged -to Nature-worship as the power of the storm and the bringer of -fertilising rain. There, are, however, various kinds of dragons--those -of the air, the sea, the earth--and the monster takes many different -forms in Chinese art. The archaic types borrowed by the porcelain -decorators from ancient bronzes and jades are the _k’uei lung_ [chch -2] or one-legged dragon, and the _ch’ih lung_ [chch 2], the former a -tapir-like creature which is said to have been, like the _t’ao t’ieh_, -a warning against greed,[507] the latter a smooth, hornless reptile of -lizard-like form with divided tail, who is also described as a _mang_. - -But the dragon (_lung_) _par excellence_ is a formidable monster with -“bearded, scowling head, straight horns, a scaly, serpentine body, with -four feet armed with claws, a line of bristling dorsal spines, and -flames proceeding from the hips and shoulders.” Such is the creature -painted by the great master of dragon painting, Chang Sêng-yu, of the -sixth century, and as such he is the emblem of Imperial power and the -device of the Emperor. The Imperial dragon in the art of the last two -dynasties has been distinguished by five claws on each of his four -feet[508]; the four-clawed dragon was painted on wares destined for -personages of lesser rank. The dragons are usually depicted flying in -clouds, and pursuing the disc or pearl, which was discussed above, or -rising from waves. Nine dragons form a decoration specially reserved -for the Emperor; and on the palace porcelain the dragon and the phœnix -(_fêng_) frequently appear together as emblems of the Emperor and -Empress. - -The _fêng-huang_,[509] a phœnix-like bird, is usually shown with the -“head of a pheasant and the beak of a swallow, a long flexible neck, -plumage of many gorgeous colours, a flowing tail between that of an -argus pheasant and a peacock, and long claws pointed backward as it -flies.” It is the special emblem of the Empress. In archaic designs -there is a _k’uei fêng_ or one-legged phœnix, a bird-like creature -terminating in scrolls, which, like the corresponding _k’uei lung_, -occasionally appears in porcelain designs. Another bird-like creature -scarcely distinguishable from the _fêng_ is the _luan_; the former -being based, as it is said, on the peacock of India, and the latter -on the argus pheasant. Another creature of dual nature is the _ch’i -lin_, commonly called the kylin, which consists of the male (_ch’i_) -and the female (_lin_). It is in itself a composite animal with the -“body of a deer, with the slender legs and divided hoofs; the head -resembles that of a dragon, the tail is curled and bushy, like that -of the conventional lion, and the shoulders are adorned with the -flame-like attributes of its divine nature. It is said to attain the -age of a thousand years, to be the noblest form of animal creation, -and the emblem of perfect good; and to tread so lightly as to leave -no footprints, and so carefully as to crush no living creature.” -Its appearance was the sign of the coming of a virtuous ruler. It -is important to note that the _ch’i lin_ is quite distinct from the -Chinese lion, and is also to be carefully separated from the other -chimera-like creatures known in Chinese art under the general title -_hai shou_ or sea monsters. - -The lion in Chinese art (_shih_ or _shih tzŭ_, the Japanese _shishi_), -though of qualified ferocity in appearance, is in reality a peaceful, -docile creature who expends his energy on a ball of silk brocade, -the streamers from which he holds in his massive jaws. In general -aspect (Plate 95), in his tufts of hair and his bushy tail, he closely -resembles the Peking spaniel, who is in fact called after him the lion -dog (_shih tzŭ kou_). He is usually represented in pairs, the one with -one foot on a ball of brocade, and the other, presumably the lioness, -with a cub. The larger lion figures are placed as guardians by the -gates of Buddhist temples, from which function the lion has earned the -name of “dog of Fo” (i.e. Buddha); the smaller sizes, usually mounted -on an oblong base with a tube attached to hold an incense-stick, have -a place on the domestic altar. Another mythical creature not unlike the -lion is the _pi hsieh_ of archaic art which is supposed to ward off -evil spirits.[510] - -The king of beasts in China is the tiger (_hu_), whose forehead is -marked by Nature with the character _wang_ [chch] (prince). He is -the solar animal, the lord of the mountains, and the chief of all -quadrupeds. The white tiger represents the western quadrant and the -autumn; and images of tigers in ancient times served many purposes, -such as guarding the graves of the dead and summoning the living to -battle. - -In addition to the sea monsters there are sea horses, who speed at a -flying gallop over waves; and there are the _pai ma_ and _lung ma_ -and the eight horses of Mu Wang, already described, to represent the -horse in art. The deer is a Taoist emblem of longevity, and also in -its name _lu_ suggests the auspicious word _lu_ (preferment); and -there is a fabulous one-horned creature distinct from the _ch’i lin_, -and known as the _t’ien lu_ or deer of heaven. Rams are sometimes -represented as personifying the revivifying powers of spring; and the -monkey occasionally figures in decoration, his name _hou_ suggesting -another word _hou_, which means to expect (office), and providing -an appropriate design for presentation to a candidate in the State -examinations. Another motive suitable for the same purpose is the -fish leaping from waves, which has been already explained; and fish -in general are cleverly depicted by the porcelain decorators swimming -among water plants. The fish has always been a favourite motive in -China, and in ancient art it appears to have symbolised power and rank. -The double fish is one of the Buddhist emblems, and also symbolises -conjugal felicity. The tortoise has already been mentioned among the -emblems of longevity. - -Birds are drawn with wonderful skill and spirit by Chinese artists, -and they provide a frequent motive both for the painter and figure -modeller. The crane is the companion of Shou Lao and a symbol of long -life; a pair of mandarin ducks suggest conjugal affection; egrets among -lotus plants, geese, and wild duck in marshy landscapes also pleased -the Chinese fancy. The magpie is an emblem of happiness, and two -magpies foretell a happy meeting; the cock is the bird of fame, and he -is often associated with the peony, which is the _fu kuei_ flower, to -suggest the phrase _kung ming_ (fame), _fu kuei_ (riches and honours!). -There are other birds which are associated with special trees and -flowers; the pheasant is often seen perched on a rock beside the peony -and magnolia; partridges and quails go with millet; swallows with -the willow; sparrows on the prunus, and so on. A comprehensive group -represents the “hundred birds” paying court to the phœnix. - -The bat is a symbol of happiness from its name _fu_ having the same -sound as _fu_ (happiness). Among insects, the cicada (at one time -regarded as a symbol of life renewed after death) is a very ancient -motive; and the praying mantis who catches the cicada is an emblem -of courage and perseverance.[511] Fighting crickets are the fighting -cocks of China, and supply a sporting motive for the decorator; and -butterflies frequently occur with floral designs or in the decoration -known as the Hundred Butterflies, which covers the entire surface of -the vessel with butterflies and insects. - -Flower painting is another forte of the Chinese decorator, and some -of the most beautiful porcelain designs are floral. Conventional -flowers appear in scrolls, and running designs, especially the lotus -and peony scrolls and the scrolls of “fairy flowers,” the _pao hsiang -hua_ of the Ming blue and white. But the most attractive designs are -the more naturalistic pictures of flowering plants and shrubs, or of -floral bouquets in baskets or vases. The flowers on Chinese porcelain -are supple, free, and graceful; and, though true enough to nature to -be easily identified, are never of the stiff copy-book order which -the European porcelain painter affected at one unhappy period. A long -list of the Chinese porcelain flowers given by Bushell includes the -orchid (_lan_), rose, jasmine, olea fragrans, pyrus japonica, gardenia, -syringa, several kinds of peony, magnolia (_yü lan_), iris, hydrangea, -hibiscus, begonia, pink and water fairy flower (_narcissus tazetta_). -Many more no doubt can be identified, for the Chinese are great -cultivators as they are great lovers of flowers. In fact, the word -_hua_ [chch] flowery is synonymous with Chinese, and _chung hua_ [chch -2] is China. Plate 126 is an example of the Hundred Flower design, -known by the French name _mille fleurs_, in which the ground of the -vase is a mass of naturalistic flowers so that the porcelain looks like -a bouquet. - -There are special flowers for the months[512]:--(1) Peach (_t’ao_) for -February, (2) Tree Peony (_mu tan_) for March, (3) Double Cherry (_ying -t’ao_) for April, (4) Magnolia (_yü lan_) for May, (5) Pomegranate -(_shih liu_) for June, (6) Lotus (_lien hua_) for July, (7) Pear -(_hai t’ang_) for August, (8) Mallow (_ch’iu k’uei_) for September, -(9) Chrysanthemum (_chü_) for October, (10) Gardenia (_chih hua_) -for November, (11) Poppy (_ying su_) for December, (12) Prunus (_mei -hua_) for January. From these are selected four to represent the -seasons--_mu-tan_ peony for spring, lotus for summer, chrysanthemum for -autumn, and prunus for winter--which supply charming motives for panel -decoration or for the sides of quadrangular vases. - -The chrysanthemum besides is associated with its admirer T’ao -Yüan-ming, and the lotus with Chou Mao-shu and the poet Li T’ai-po. But -as a rule the floral designs carry some hidden meaning, the flowers -being grouped so as to suggest some felicitous phrase by a play on -their names.[513] The peony we have seen to be the _fu kuei_ (riches -and honours) flower; the chrysanthemum, as Dr. Laufer has suggested, -being the flower of the ninth (_chiu_) month, may connote longevity -through the word _chiu_ (long-enduring); the prunus (_mei hua_) carries -the obvious suggestion of _mei_ (beautiful), and instances might easily -be multiplied. - -Among the trees, the cassia suggests literary honours, the willow -longevity, as also the pine, bamboo and plum, who are called the “three -friends,”[514] faithful even in the “winter of our discontent.” Among -the fruits the gourd is an emblem both of long life and of fertility, -and the three fruits (_san kuo_)--peach, pomegranate and finger -citron--symbolise the Three Abundances of Years, Sons and Happiness. -The orange is a symbol of good luck, and no doubt the others which -occur less frequently contain similar suggestions. - -Landscape (_shan shui_) is one of the four main divisions of Chinese -pictorial art, and it is well represented in porcelain decoration. The -Sung and Ming masters provided designs which were freely copied, and -views of the beauty spots of China and of the celebrated parks and -pleasure grounds were frequently used. It is one of these landscapes -which the English potters borrowed for the familiar “willow pattern” -design, and the sentimental tale which some fanciful writer has -attached to the pattern is a mere afterthought. Figure subjects and -landscapes are combined in many designs, such as the meeting of sages, -romantic incidents, besides the more homely motives of field work, -fishing, rustics returning from the plough mounted on their oxen, and -the like. The four seasons, too, are represented in landscape with -appropriate accessories, such as blossoming peach trees in a mountain -scene for spring, a lake scene with lotus gatherers for summer, a -swollen river and autumn tints for autumn, and a snowstorm for winter. - -A great variety of symbols and emblematical devices appear in the -porcelain decoration of all periods, whether interwoven with the -designs, grouped in panels, or placed under the base in lieu of a mark. -Bushell[515] classifies the most familiar of them under the following -headings:-- - -1. Symbols of Ancient Chinese Lore: _Pa-kua_ and _Yin-yang_ (see p. -290); _Pa yin_ (eight musical instruments); _Shih êrh chang_ (twelve -ornaments embroidered upon sacrificial robes). - -2. Buddhist symbols: _Pa chi hsiang_ (eight emblems of happy augury). -_Ch’i pao_ (seven paraphernalia of the _chakravartin_ or universal -sovereign). - -3. Taoist symbols: _Pa an hsien_ (attributes of the Eight Immortals). - -4. The Hundred Antiques (_Po ku_). _Pa pao_ (the Eight Precious -Objects). - -The _pa-kua_ (eight trigrams) and the _Yin-yang_ symbol of the duality -of Nature have been described. The eight musical instruments are: (1) -_Ch’ing_, the sounding stone, a sort of gong usually in form of a -mason’s square. It forms a rebus for _ch’ing_ (good luck). (2) _Chung_, -the bell. (3) _Ch’in_, the lute. (4) _Ti_, the flute. (5) _Chu_, the -box, with a metal hammer inside. (6) _Ku_, the drum. (7) _Shêng_, the -reed organ. (8) _Hsüan_, the ocarina, a cone with six holes. - -The twelve _chang_ or ancient embroidery ornaments are: (1) _Jih_, -the Sun, a disc in which is a three-legged bird, and sometimes, the -character _jih_ [chch]. (2) _Yüeh_, the moon; a disc with hare, toad -and cassia tree, and sometimes the character _yüeh_ [chch]. (3) _Hsing -ch’ên_, the stars: represented by three stars connected by straight -lines. (4) _Shan_, mountains. (5) _Lung_, dragons. (6) _Hua ch’ung_, -the “flowery creature,” the pheasant. (7) _Tsung yi_, the temple -vessels: one with a tiger design and the other with a monkey. (8) -_Tsao_, aquatic grass. (9) _Huo_, fire. (10) _Fên mi_, grains of rice. -(11) _Fu_, an axe. (12) _Fu_, a symbol of distinction[516] (see vol. -i., p. 227). - -The Eight Happy Omens (_pa chi hsiang_) were among the signs on the -sole of Buddha’s foot. They are usually drawn with flowing fillets -attached (Fig. 2), and they are as follows: (1) _Lun_, the wheel or -chakra, sometimes replaced by the bell (_chung_). (2) _Lo_, the shell. -(3) _San_, the State umbrella. (4) _Kai_, the canopy. (5) _Hua_, the -(lotus) flower. (6) _P’ing_, the vase. (7) _Yü_, the fish; a pair of -them.[517] (8) _Ch’ang_, the angular knot representing the entrails; an -emblem of longevity.[518] - - [Illustration: Fig. 2.--The Pa chi hsiang] - -The Seven Gems (_ch’i pao_) are: (1) _Chin lun_, the golden wheel. (2) -_Yü nü_, the jade-like girl. (3) _Ma_, the horse. (4) _Hsiang_, the -elephant. (5) _Chu ts’ang shên_, divine guardian of the treasury. (6) -_Chu ping ch’ên_, general in command of the army. (7) _Ju i chu_ the -jewels which fulfil every wish; a bundle of jewelled wands bound round -with a cord. - -The _Pa an hsien_, Attributes of the Eight Immortals, as detailed above -(p. 287), are: (1) _Shan_, the fan of Chung-li Ch’üan. (2) _Chien_, -the sword of Lü Tung-pin. (3) _Hu lu_, the gourd of Li T’ieh-kuai. (4) -_Pan_, the castanets of Ts’ao Kuo-chiu. (5) _Hua lan_, the basket of -flowers of Lan Ts’ai-ho. (6) _Yu ku_, the bamboo tube and rods of Chang -Kuo Lao. (7) _Ti_, the flute of Han Hsiang Tzŭ. (8) _Lien hua_, the -lotus flower of Ho Hsien Ku. - -The _Po ku_, or Hundred Antiques, is, as its name implies, a -comprehensive group including all manner of symbols and symbolical -ornaments, which were frequently grouped together in panel decoration. -Bushell[519] describes two typical panels on specimens in the Walters -collection. One contained the apparatus of the scholar and painter, -viz. books on tables, brushes in vases, water pots and scroll -pictures, all enveloped with waving fillets mingled with tasselled -wands and double diamonds, which are symbols of literary success. The -other contained a tall vase with peonies; a low vase with peacock -feather, an emblem of high rank; a lion-shaped censer on a four-legged -stand, the incense smoke from which rises in form of a pair of storks; -a set of incense-burning implements, a bundle of scroll pictures, a -_ju-i_ sceptre, a musical stone, a sword, and a paper weight. - -A favourite set of _Po-ku_ emblems is the _Pa pao_ (Fig. 3) or Eight -Precious Objects: (1) _Chu_, the pearl, which grants every wish. (2) -_Ch’ien_, the “cash,” a copper coin used to symbolise wealth. (3) -Lozenge, or picture (_hua_). (4) _Fang shêng_, the open lozenge, symbol -of victory.[520] (5) _Ch’ing_, the musical stone. (6) _Shu_, a pair of -books. (7) _Chüeh_, a pair of horn-like objects. (8) _Ai yeh_, the leaf -of the artemisia, fragrant plant of good omen and a preventative of -disease. - -A branch of coral, a silver ingot, a pencil brush and cake of ink -are common emblems; and the swastika occurs both by itself (vol. i., -p. 227) or interwoven with the character _shou_ (vol. i., p. 227), -or even as a fret or diaper pattern. The swastika is a world-wide -symbol; in China it is called _wan_, and used as a synonym for _wan_ -(ten thousand), and as such it is regarded as a symbol of _wan shou_ -(endless longevity). A lyre wrapped in an embroidered case, a chess-or -_gô_-board with round boxes for the white and black pieces, a pair -of books, and a pair of scroll pictures symbolise the “four elegant -accomplishments,” _ch’in_, _ch’i_, _shu_, _hua_ (music, chess, writing -and painting). - - [Illustration: Fig. 3.--The Pa pao] - -The figurative aspect of Chinese decoration has been repeatedly -noticed, and occasional examples of direct play upon words or rebus -devices have been given incidentally. The Chinese language is -peculiarly suited for punning allusions, one sound having to do duty -for many characters; but it is obvious that a fair knowledge of the -characters is required for reading these rebus designs. There is, -however, a certain number of stock allusions with which the collector -can easily make himself familiar. The commonest of these is perhaps -the bat (_fu_) which symbolises happiness (also pronounced _fu_ in -Chinese). The Five Blessings (_wu fu_), which consist of longevity, -riches, peacefulness and serenity, love of virtue and an end crowning -the life, are suggested by five bats; and a further rebus is formed -of red bats among cloud scrolls, reading _hung fu ch’i t’ien_, “great -happiness equally heaven” (_t’ien_); _hung_ being the sound of the -character for “great, vast,” as well as for red, and red being, so to -speak, the colour of happiness in Chinese eyes. - -Other common rebus designs are suggested by such words as _lu_ (deer), -_lu_ (preferment); _yü_ (fish), _yü_ (abundance); _ch’ing_ (sounding -stone), _ch’ing_ (good luck); _ch’ang_ (the intestinal knot), _ch’ang_ -(long); and the composition of the rebus phrase often includes such -ideas as _lien_ (lotus), _lien_ (connect, combine); _tieh_ (butterfly), -_tieh_ (to double). But almost every sound in the Chinese spoken -language represents a considerable number of characters, and it would -be possible with a little ingenuity to extract several rebus sentences -out of any complicated decoration. It is well to remember, however, -that most of the ordinary allusions have reference to some good wish -or felicitous phrase bearing on the five blessings, on the three -abundances or on literary success. - -To quote a few further instances: the design of nine (_chiu_) lions -(_shih_) sporting with balls (chü) of brocade has been read[521] _chiu -shih t’ung chü_, “a family of nine sons living together.” An elephant -(_hsiang_) carrying a vase (_p’ing_) on its back (_pei_) is read[522] -_hsiang pei tai p’ing,_ “Peace (p’ing) rules in the north (_pei_).” A -tub full of green wheat is read[523] _i t’ung ta ch’ing_, “the whole -empire (owns) the great Ch’ing dynasty.” Three crabs holding reeds is -read[524] _san p’ang hsieh ch’uan lu_, “three generations gaining the -first class at the metropolitan examinations.” Two pigeons perched on a -willow tree is read[525] _êrh pa_ (_k’o_) _t’eng t’ê_, “at eighteen to -be successful in examinations.” - -A group of three objects consisting of a pencil brush (_pi_), a cake -of ink (_ting_) and a _ju-i_ sceptre crossed one over the other (Fig. -4), occurs both in the field of the decoration and as a mark under the -base. It is a pure rebus, reading _pi ting ju i_, may things be fixed -(_ting_) as you wish (_ju i_, lit. according to your idea). Another -obvious rebus which occurs as a mark (Fig. 5) consists of two peaches -and a bat (double longevity and happiness), and floral designs are very -commonly arranged so as to suggest rebus phrases. - - [Illustration: Fig. 4] - - [Illustration: Fig. 5] - -But the Chinese decorator did not always express himself in riddles. -Inscriptions are frequent on all forms of decorative work, as is -only natural in a country where calligraphy ranks among the highest -branches of art. To the foreign eye Chinese writing will not perhaps -appear so ornamental as the beautiful Neshky characters which were -freely used for decorative purposes on Persian wares; but for all -that, its decorative qualities are undeniable, and to the Chinese -who worship the written character it is a most attractive kind of -ornament. Sometimes the surface of a vessel is almost entirely occupied -by a long inscription treating of the ware or of the decoration which -occupies the remaining part; but more often the writing is limited to -an epigram or a few lines of verse. The characters as a rule are ranged -in columns and read from top to bottom, the columns being taken from -left to right; and rhyming verse is written in lines of three, five -or seven characters each. The inscriptions are often attested by the -name or the seal of the author. The Emperor Ch’ien Lung, a prolific -writer of verses, indited many short poems on the motives of porcelain -decoration, and these have been copied on subsequent pieces. - -As for the style of writing, the ordinary script is the _k’ai shu_, -which dates from the Chin dynasty (265–419 A.D.), but there are besides -many inscriptions in which the archaic seal characters _chuan tzŭ_ are -employed, or at least hybrid modern forms of them; and there is the -cursive script, known as _ts’ao shu_ or grass characters, which is said -to have been invented in the first century B.C. The seal and the grass -characters are often extremely difficult to translate, and require a -special study, which even highly educated Chinese do not profess to -have mastered. - -Single characters and phrases of auspicious meaning in both seal -form and in the ordinary script occur in the decoration and also in -the place of the mark. Many instances have already been noted in the -chapters dealing with Ming porcelains, such as _fu kuei k’ang ning_ -(riches, honours, peace and serenity), _ch’ang ming fu kuei_ (long -life, riches and honours), etc., see vol. i., p. 225. The most frequent -of these characters is _shou_ (longevity), which is written in a great -variety of fanciful forms, mostly of the seal type. The “hundred forms -of shou” sometimes constitute the sole decoration of a vase; and as -already observed[526] the swastika (_wan_) is sometimes combined -with the circular form of the seal character _shou_ to make the _wan -shou_ symbol of ten thousand longevities. _Fu_ (happiness) and _lu_ -(preferment) also occur, though less frequently. - -Buddhistic inscriptions are usually in Sanskrit characters, but we find -occasional phrases such as _Tien chu en po_ [chch 4] (propitious waves -from India) and _Fo ming ch’ang jih_ [chch 4] (the ever bright Buddha) -in ordinary script or seal, one character in each of four medallions; -and the sacred name of _O mi t’o fo_ [chch 4], Amida Buddha, similarly -applied, would serve as a charm against evil. - -In addition to the central designs, there is a number of secondary -ornaments which round off the decoration of a piece of porcelain. -Chief of these are the border patterns, of which a few favourites -may be exemplified. At the head of the list comes the Greek key-fret -or meander (see Plate 12, Fig. 1), which, like the swastika, is of -world-wide use. On the ancient bronze this pattern was freely used both -in borders and as a diaper background, and it is described by Chinese -archæologists as the “cloud and thunder pattern.” It is sometimes -varied by the inclusion of the swastika, in which case it is known -as the swastika fret. Another bronze pattern freely borrowed by the -porcelain decoration is the border of stiff plantain leaves which -appears appropriately on the neck or stem of an upright vase (see Plate -89, Fig. 1). - -The border of small “S” shaped scrolls is apparently derived from -silkworm cocoons; but the curled scrolls and another scroll pattern -with more elaborate curves are intended to suggest clouds. A further -development of the cloud pattern is scarcely distinguishable from the -_ju-i_ head border (see Plate 77, Fig. 2). Indeed the terms, “connected -cloud” pattern, _ju-i_ cloud pattern, and _ju-i_ head pattern, are used -almost interchangeably by Chinese archæologists. - -Conventional waves are represented by a kind of shaded scale pattern -or a diaper of spiral coils, and the more naturalistic “crested wave” -border, punctuated by conical rocks, has already been mentioned. There -are besides narrow borders of zig-zag pattern with diagonal hatching, -and the ordinary diaper designs, in addition to the familiar gadroons -and arcaded borders. - -The wider borders are usually borrowed from brocade patterns with -geometrical or floral ornament, broken by three or four oblong panels -containing symbols or sprays of flowers; and when a similar scheme is -followed in some of the narrow edgings, the flowers are unhesitatingly -cut in half, as though the pattern were just a thin strip taken from a -piece of brocade. - -A few special borders have been described on the pages dealing with -armorial porcelain,[527] among which were the well-known “rat and vine” -or “vine and squirrel” pattern (see Plate 119, Fig. 3), reputed to have -first appeared on a picture by the Sung artist, Ming Yüan-chang.[528] A -rare border formed of red bats side by side occurs on a few plates of -fine porcelain which are usually assigned to the K’ang Hsi period, but -are probably much later. - -On the whole, the Chinese border patterns are comparatively few in -number, being in fact a small selection of well-tried designs admirably -suited to fill the spaces required and to occupy the positions assigned -to them on the different porcelain forms. - -As to the sources from which these and the other designs described in -this chapter were borrowed by the porcelain decorator, we can only -speak in general terms. Ancient bronze vessels, metal mirrors, carved -jades, stamped cakes of ink, embroideries, brocades, handkerchiefs, -and illustrated books no doubt provided the greater part of them. The -purely pictorial subjects would be based on the paintings in silk and -paper which the Chinese arrange in four chief categories: (1) figures -(_jên wu_),(2) landscape (_shan shui_),(3) nature subjects (_hua niao_, -lit. flowers and birds), and (4) miscellaneous designs (_tsa hua_). -Selections of desirable designs from various sources were no doubt -arranged in pattern books, and issued to the porcelain painters. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII - - FORGERIES AND IMITATIONS - - -With their intense veneration for the antique, it is only natural -that the Chinese should excel in imitative work, and a great deal -of ingenuity has been quite legitimately exercised by them in this -direction. The amateur will sometimes have difficulty in distinguishing -the clever copies from the originals, but in most cases the material -and the finish of the work frankly belong to a later period, and -sometimes all doubt is removed at once by a mark indicating the true -period of manufacture. But the collector has to be on his guard against -a very different kind of article, the spurious antique and the old -piece which has been “improved” by the addition of more elaborate -decoration or by an inscription which, if genuine, would give it -historic importance. The latter kind of embellishment is specially -common on the early potteries of the Han and T’ang periods. Genuine -specimens taken from excavated tombs have often been furnished with -dates and dedicatory legends cut into the body of the ware and then -doctored, to give the appearance of contemporary incisions. But a -careful examination of the edges of the channelled lines will show -that they have been cut subsequently to the firing of the ware, when -the clay was already hard. Had the inscription been cut when the pot -was made, it would have been incised in a soft unfired substance, -like the writing of a stylus in wax, and the edges of the lines would -be forced up and slightly bulging; and if the ware is glazed, some -of the glaze will be found in the hollows of the inscription. There -are, besides, minor frauds in the nature of repairs. Pieces of old -pottery, for instance, are fitted into a broken Han jar; the lost heads -and limbs of T’ang figures are replaced from other broken specimens, -and defective parts are made up in plaster. Such additions are often -carefully concealed by daubs of clay similar to that with which the -buried specimen had become encrusted. Further than this, Han and T’ang -figures have been recently manufactured in their entirety, and mention -has already been made (Vol. I., p. 27) of a factory at Honan Fu, where -figures and vases with streaked and mottled glazes, fantastic ewers -with phœnix-spouts and wing-like excrescences, and the like, are made -with indifferent skill. - -The collector of Sung and Yüan wares, too, has many difficulties to -surmount. The fine imitations made from the Yung Chêng period onwards, -both in pottery and porcelain, fortunately are often marked; but -sometimes the mark has been carefully removed by grinding, and the scar -made up to look like the natural surface. The imitative wares made in -Kuangtung, at Yi-hsing, and in various Japanese factories have been -already discussed in the sections concerned; and there is pottery with -lavender blue, “old turquoise” and splashed glazes resembling the Chün -types, but made at the present day in Honan and elsewhere, which is -likely to deceive the beginner. The commonest kind has a buff earthen -body which is usually washed with a dull brown clay on the exposed -parts. But such obstacles as these add zest to the collector’s sport, -and they are not really hard to surmount if a careful study be made of -the character of authentic specimens. The eye can be easily trained to -the peculiarities both of the originals and of the various imitative -types, and no one who is prepared to take a little trouble need be -afraid of attacking this fascinating part of Chinese ceramics. - -The _T’ao lu_[529] quotes an interesting note on the repairing of -antique wares: “In the _Chu ming yao_ it is stated with regard to old -porcelain (_tz’ŭ_), such as (incense-) vessels which are wanting in -handles or feet, and vases damaged at the mouth and edge, that men -take old porcelain to patch the old, adding a glazing preparation, and -giving the piece one firing. When finished it is like an old piece, -and all uniform, except that the patched part is dull in colour. But -still people prefer these specimens to modern wares. If the process of -blowing the glaze on to (the joint of the repair) is used in patching -old wares, the patch is still more difficult to trace. As for specimens -with flaws (_mao_), I am told that on the Tiger Hill in Su-chou there -are menders who have earned the name of _chin_ (close-fitters).” The -collector knows only too well that there are “close-fitters” in Europe -as well as in China. - -Apart from the numerous instances in which early Ming marks[530] -have been indiscriminately added to later wares, the careful copies -and imitations of true Ming types are comparatively few. Among the -imitative triumphs of the Yung Chêng potters a few specialties are -named, such as blue and white of the Hsüan Tê and the Chia Ching -periods, and the enamelled decoration of the Ch’êng Hua and Wan Li, but -reference has already been made to these in their respective chapters. -The modern Chinese potters make indifferent reproductions of Ming -types; and the most dangerous are those of the Japanese, who from the -eighteenth century onward seem to have taken the sixteenth century -Chinese porcelains as their model. The Chia Ching and Wan Li marks are -common on these reproductions, which often catch the tone and spirit -of the Ming ware with disquieting exactitude. A well-trained eye and -a knowledge of the peculiarities of Japanese workmanship are the only -protection against this type of imitation. - -The high esteem in which the K’ang Hsi porcelains are now held has -naturally invited imitation and fraud. The ordinary modern specimen -with a spurious K’ang Hsi mark is, as a rule, feeble and harmless, and -even the better class of Chinese and Japanese imitations of the blue -and white and enamelled porcelains of this period are, as a rule, so -wide of the mark as to deceive only the inexperienced. Many frauds, -however, have been perpetrated with French copies of _famille verte_, -of _famille rose_ “ruby-back” dishes, and of vases with armorial -decoration. These are cleverly made, but the expert will see at once -that the colours and the drawing lack the true Oriental quality, and -that the ware itself is too white and cold. Clever copies of Oriental -porcelain, especially of the _famille rose_, have also been made at -Herend, in Hungary. But perhaps the most dangerous Continental copies -are some of the French-made monochromes of dark blue and lavender -colours, with or without crackle, fitted with ormolu mounts in -eighteenth century style, which conceal the tell-tale base. Monochromes -are, as a rule, the most difficult porcelains to date, and the -well-made modern Chinese and Japanese _sang de bœuf_, apple green, and -peach bloom are liable to cause trouble, especially when the surface -has been carefully rubbed and given the appearance of wear and usage. -The expert looks to the truth of the form, the finish of the base, and -the character of the clay exposed at the foot rim, and judges if in -these points the piece comes up to the proper standard. - -But without doubt the most insidious of all the fraudulent wares are -those which have been redecorated. I do not refer to the clobbered[531] -and retouched polychromes or to the powder blue and mirror black on -which the gilding has been renewed, but to the devilish ingenuity -which takes a piece of lightly decorated K’ang Hsi porcelain, removes -the enamelling, and even the whole glaze if the original ornament -has been in underglaze blue, and then proceeds to clothe the denuded -surface in a new and resplendent garb of rich enamel. Naturally, it -is the most sumptuous style of decoration which is affected in these -frauds, such as the prunus tree and birds in a ground of black, -green, or yellow enamel on the biscuit; and the drawing, execution -and colours are often surprisingly good. The enormous value of this -type of vase, if successful, repays the expense and trouble involved -in the _truquage_; and the connoisseur who looks at the base for -guidance is disarmed because that critical part has been undisturbed, -and has all the points of a thoroughbred K’ang Hsi piece. If, however, -his suspicion has been aroused by something unconvincing in the design -or draughtsmanship, he will probably find upon minute examination some -indication of the fraud, some trace of the grinding off of the glaze -which the enamels have failed to cover, suspicious passages at the edge -of the lip where the old and new surfaces join, or traces of blackening -here and there which are rarely absent from a refired piece. But if the -work is really successful, and no ingenuity or skill is spared to make -it so, his suspicions may not be aroused until too late. Frauds of this -kind belong to the most costly types, and concern the wealthy buyers. -The poorer collectors have to deal with small deceits, the adding -of a _famille verte_ border to a bowl or dish, the retouching -of defective ornament, the rubbing of modern surfaces to give them -fictitious signs of wear, the staining of new wares with tobacco juice, -and other devices easily detected by those who are forewarned. Against -all these dangers, whether they be from wilful frauds or from innocent -imitations, I can only repeat that the collector’s sole defence is -experience and a well-trained eye. - - - - - INDEX - - - Accomplishments, Four, ii. 133, 282, 299 - - Adams, H., ii. 136 - - Akahada, i. 123 - - Alamgir, ii. 13 - - Alchemy, god of, ii. 288 - - Alexander Collection, i. 51, 56, 57, 68, 115, 121, 125; ii. 49, - 119, 171, 205, 220 - - Alms bowl, ii. 285 - - Altar cups, ii. 7, 8, 35, 93 - - Altar sets, i. 206; ii. 272 - - Ambassadors of the Tribes of Man, eight, ii. 262, 268, 283 - - Amida Buddha, ii. 302 - - Amoy, i. 184, 202; ii. 112 - - Ancestor worship, ii. 283 - - Anderson, W., ii. 111, 281, 303 - - _An hua_ (secret decoration), ii. 6, 8, 17, 37, 52, 56, 63 - - Animal forms, ii. 159 - - Animal motives, ii. 292 - - Annals of Fou-liang, i. 141, 153, 155; ii. 35, 228, 231 - - Annals of Han Dynasty, i. 144 - - Annals of the Sui Dynasty, i. 143 - - Anthropological Museum at Petrograd, i. 101 - - Antiques, the Hundred, ii. 134, 181, 297, 298 - - “Ant tracks,” i. 117 - - Arabesques, ii. 130, 131, 133 - - Arabic writing, ii. 31 - - Architectural pottery, i. 201, 205, 206 - - Ardebil, ii. 69 - - Arhats, i. 35; ii. 43, 285 - - Arita, ii. 173 - - Armorial porcelain, ii. 202, 203, 251, 256, 257, 258 - - Arrow cylinder, ii. 274 - - Ary de Milde, i. 178 - - Ash colour, _see_ Hui sê. - - “Ashes of roses,” ii. 124 - - Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, i, 193; ii. 68 - - Astbury ware, i. 178 - - Aster pattern, ii. 134 - - Attiret, i. 205 - - Augustus the Strong, i. _xxiii_, 178; ii. 113, 134 - - “Awns,” i. 92 - - - “Baba ghouri,” i. 87 - - Bahr, A. W., i. 32, 124, 171 - - Bamboo grove, ii. 208, 215, 281 - - Bamboo pattern, ii. 149, 264, 269 - - Bamboo thread brush marks, i. 92 - - Barrel-shaped seats, ii. 8, 15, 17, 97, 277 - - Basket of flowers, ii. 67 - - Batavian porcelain, ii. 191 - - Bats, five, ii. 11, 204, 224, 295, 300, 301 - - Battersea, ii. 260 - - Bear, the, i. 12 - - Bell, Hamilton, i. 114 - - Benson Collection, i. 56, 104, 169; ii. 27 - - Biddulph, Sir R., ii. 23 - - Bijapur, i. 87; ii. 78 - - Billequin, M., ii. 233 - - Binyon, L., i. 44; ii. 242 - - Bird, the red, i. 20, 56 - - Birds, ii. 294 - - Birds, the Hundred, ii. 295 - - “Birthday plates,” ii. 169, 207 - - Birthday, the Emperor’s, ii. 63 - - Biscuit, ii. 18, 75, 77, 100, 196, 197 - - Biscuit figures in high relief, ii. 89 - - Black and gold decoration, ii. 215 - - Black, brown, ii. 155 - - Black, _famille rose_, ii. 210 - - Black glaze, varieties of, ii. 156, 159, 192, 229 - - Black ground gilt, ii. 231 - - Black ground, white decoration in, ii. 231 - - Black, mirror, ii. 192, 193, 218, 226, 230 - - Black Rock Hill, i. 16 - - Blackthorn, ii. 264 - - Black Warrior, the, i. 20 - - _Blanc de Chine_, ii. 109, 112 - - Blessings, five, ii. 300 - - “Blue and white,” i. 164; ii. 3, 8, 9, 11, 13, 24, 26, 29, 36, 38, - 47, 56, 89, 92, 203, 239, 240, 263, 268, 271 - - Blue and white, K’ang Hsi, ii. 67, 128–144 - - Blue and white porcelain, Ming, ii. 105 - - Blue, cloisonné, ii. 219, 220, 224, 229, 231 - - Blue, lapis lazuli, ii. 239 - - Blue, mazarine, ii. 183 - - Blue, mottled, ii. 204 - - “Blue of the sky after rain,” i. 41, 42, 52, 54, 62; ii. 10, 179 - - Blue painting on Sung wares, i. 99, 104, 158 - - Blue, powder, ii. 127, 170, 180, 181, 183, 218 - - Blue “put in press,” ii. 143 - - Blue, ritual significance of, ii. 195 - - Blue, scratched, ii. 144 - - Blue, sky, ii. 232, 238 - - Blue, soufflé, ii. 127, 180, 218, 224 - - Blue, sponged, ii. 180, 183 - - Blue, Temple of Heaven, ii. 238 - - Blue, turquoise, ii. 99, 184, 185, 229, 237 - - Bock, Carl, i. 87 - - Bodhidharma, ii. 110, 285 - - Book stands, ii. 276 - - Border patterns, ii. 67, 257, 258, 302 - - Borneo, i. 68, 87, 99, 189, 190, 193; ii. 70, 99, 223 - - Börschmann, Herr Ernst, i. 8 - - Bottengruber, ii. 260 - - Böttger ware, i. 178; ii. 192 - - Bow, ii. 112, 258, 260 - - Bowls, ii. 277 - - Bowls, alms, ii. 285 - - Bowls, brinjal, ii. 151 - - Bowls, bulb, i. 109, 110, 114 - - Bowls, double-bottomed, ii. 115 - - Bowls, fish, ii. 36, 59, 117, 229, 234, 275, 281 - - Bowls, hookah, ii. 97 - - Bowls, medallion, ii. 264 - - Bowls, Ming, ii. 97 - - Bowls, narghili, ii. 77, 278 - - Bowls, Peking, ii. 239, 244, 264 - - Bowls, Polynesian khava, i. 129 - - Bowls, “press-hand,” ii. 93 - - Bowls, rice, ii. 148 - - Bowls, soup, ii. 269 - - Bowls, swordgrass, i. 110 - - Bowls, tea, ii. 5, 278 - - Bowls, wedding, ii. 268 - - Boxes, ii. 56, 57, 60, 68, 85, 160, 246, 265, 275, 276, 288 - - Boy holding a branch, ii. 57 - - Boys, Hundred, ii. 62 - - Boys in branches, design of, i. 85, 150 - - Branches, the Twelve, i. 210 - - Bretschneider, i. 62 - - Bricks, i. 201, 202, 205 - - Brighton Museum, i. 193 - - Brinjal bowls, ii. 151 - - Brinkley, F., i. 97, 102, 104, 131, 163, 168, 171, 174, 175, 176, - 190; ii. 111, 113, 114, 190 - - Bristol, ii. 141, 258 - - British Museum, _passim_ - - Brocade designs, ii. 38, 165, 167, 170, 243, 244, 303 - - Bronze forms, ii. 272 - - Bronze patterns, ii. 240, 243, 247 - - Brooke, Lieutenant, i. 10 - - Brown, coffee, i. 103 - - “Brown mouth and iron foot,” i. 60, 61, 66, 68, 72, 78, 83; ii. - 188, 217 - - Brush pot, ii. 32, 60 - - Brush rest, ii. 14, 60, 76, 275 - - Brush washers, i. 165 - - “Buccaro,” i. 120, 178, 181 - - Buddha, ii. 40 - - Buddhism, i. 6, 36; ii. 284 - - Buddhist emblems, eight, ii. 25, 38, 42, 298 - - Bulb bowls, i. 109, 110, 114 - - Burdett-Coutts Collection, ii. 164 - - Burial customs, i. 14 - - Burlington Fine Arts Club Exhibition, catalogue of, i. 104, 114, - 130, 149, 150, 167, 193, 209; ii. 6, 27, 33, 60, 68, 77, 78, 85 - - _Burlington Magazine_, i. 12, 34, 50, 68, 72, 79, 88, 102, 106, - 123, 163, 168, 171; ii. 14, 17, 23, 70, 73, 75, 89, 90, 105, - 209, 212, 213, 292 - - Burman, A., ii. 43, 145, 164 - - Burton, W., i. 47, 49, 50, 154; ii. 127 - - Burton and Hobson, ii. 247 - - Bushell, S. W., i. _xviii_, 1, 39, 50, 54, 55, 68, 102, 104, 140, - 143, 145, 154, 159, 160, 162, 165, 168, 206, 218; ii. 1, 2, 8, - 18, 19, 22, 26, 35, 39, 40, 42, 43, 121, 176, 188, 190, 196, 212, - 223, 242, 248, 267 - - Butterflies, ii. 266, 289, 295 - - Butterfly cages, ii. 160 - - - Cadogan Teapot, ii. 278 - - Caffieri, ii. 194 - - Cairo, i. 87 - - Calicut, ii. 209 - - Candle design, ii. 25, 133, 203 - - Candlesticks, ii. 272 - - Canton, i. 166, 184, 188; ii. 202, 212, 251, 260 - - Canton Chün, i. 127, 172 - - Canton enamels, i. 166, 167; ii. 209, 211, 243 - - Canton merchants, ii. 140 - - Canton, porcelain decorated at, ii. 211, 256 - - Canton ware, i. 167, 171, 172, 179, 190, 193, 194, 198 - - Cash, ii. 76, 288 - - Cassia tree, ii. 291, 296 - - Castiglione, i. 205 - - Catalogue of Boston Exhibition, i. 104 - - Catalogue of Burlington Fine Arts Club Exhibition, _See_ Burlington - Fine Arts Club. - - Catalogue of Loan Exhibition, New York, i. 110, 124 - - Catalogue of Morgan Collection, i. 140 - - Celadon, i. 32, 39, 46, 54, 76, 77, 80, 81, 84, 85, 87, 88, 114; - ii. 77, 146, 188, 266, 270 - - Celadon, brownish, i. 85 - - Celadon, Corean, i. 51 - - Celadon, inlaid, i. 84 - - Celadon, Japanese, i. 85 - - Celadon, Ming, i. 81 - - Celadon, Siamese, i. 88 - - Celadon, spotted, i. 80 - - Celadon, Sung, i. 81 - - Celadon wares, traffic in, i. 88 - - _Celadonfrage_, i. 86 - - _Ch’a Ching_, i. 37, 40 - - Cha no yu, i. 131 - - _Ch’a Su_, i. 93 - - Ch’a yeh mo, ii. 233 - - Chadwick, arms of, ii. 256 - - Ch’ai ware, i. 40, 41, 42, 48, 49, 50, 52, 54, 124 - - Chain pattern border, ii. 257 - - Chalfant, F. H., i. 4 - - _Chambrelans_, ii. 260 - - Chang, potter, i. 105 - - Chang brothers, i. 67, 76 - - Chang Ch’ien, i. 6; ii. 14, 291, 292 - - Chang Chiu-ko, ii. 289 - - _Ch’ang ming fu kuei_, ii. 53 - - _Ch’ang nan chih_, i. 156 - - Chang-kuo Lao, ii. 284 - - Chang Sêng-yu, ii. 292 - - _Chang wu chih_, ii. 94 - - Chang yao, i. 77 - - Chang Ying-wên, i. 41, 60 - - Ch’ang-chou Chên, i. 202 - - Ch’ang-nan, i. 45 - - Chang-tê Fu, i. 101, 105 - - Chantilly, ii. 173 - - Chao, ii. 59 - - Chao family, i. 107 - - Chao Ju-kua, i. 86, 188, 189 - - Chao-ch’ing Fu, i. 172 - - Ch’ao-chou Fu, i. 184 - - Characters, grass, ii. 301 - - Characters, Sanskrit, ii. 66, 240, 286, 302 - - Characters, seal, i. 208, 209; ii. 301 - - Characters, the Hundred Shou, ii. 61 - - Charles Edward, Prince, ii. 255 - - Charlotte, Queen of Prussia, ii. 133, 155 - - Charlottenberg Palace, ii. 90, 133, 155, 193 - - Charteris, Hon. E., ii. 33 - - Chavannes, Prof. E., i. 7, 17 - - Chelsea, ii. 112, 140, 173, 183, 251, 260 - - Ch’ên Chün, i. 175 - - Ch’ên Chung-mei, i. 175, 176 - - Ch’ên-lin, i. 82 - - Chên Tsai, ii. 110 - - Ch’ên Wên-ching, ii. 78 - - Chêng Chou, i. 40 - - Chêng Ho, ii. 12 - - Ch’êng Hua mark, ii. 155, 189, 252 - - Ch’êng Hua wares, ii. 22–29, 203, 207, 224, 225 - - Ch’êng ni, i. 61 - - _Ch’êng tê t’ang_, ii. 265 - - Ch’êng Tê wares, ii. 29–33, 207, 208, 224 - - Chêng T’ung, ii. 27, 28 - - _Chêng tzŭ t’ung_, the, i. 15 - - Ch’êng-tu, i. 13, 199 - - Chên-ting Fu, i. 53, 89, 94, 156, 199; ii. 107 - - Chess, ii. 276, 282 - - _Chi Ch’ing_ (dark violet blue), ii. 99, 218, 219, 223, 270 - - Chi Chou ware, i. 71, 98, 157 - - _Chi hung_ (red), ii. 9, 10, 11, 29, 59, 79, 101, 118, 123, 145, - 223, 268 - - _Ch’i sung t’ang shih hsiao lu_, i. 37 - - Chia Ching wares, ii. 11, 34–55, 203, 225 - - Chia Ch’ing wares, ii. 262, 263 - - _Chiang hsia pa chün_, ii. 40 - - _Ch’iang hsi t’ung chih_, i. 53, 60, 118, 141, 153, 154, 159, 181; - ii. 223, 228, 237, 267 - - Chiang, Memoirs of, i. 92, 155, 156, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, - 164; ii. 20 - - _Chiang-t’ai_, ii. 141 - - _Chiang t’ang_, ii. 34 - - Chicago, i. 146 - - Chicken cups, ii. _xvii_, 23, 24, 26 - - Ch’ien family, i. 38 - - _Ch’ien k’un ch’ing t’ai_, ii. 56 - - Ch’ien Lung, i. 31; ii. 33, 227–249 - - Ch’ien Lung, Imperial poems of, ii. 227, 301 - - Ch’ien Lung monochromes, ii. 216 - - Ch’ien Niu, ii. 291 - - Chien yao, i. 8, 31, 93, 94, 103, 130–135; ii. 109 - - Chien-an, i. 130, 131 - - Chien-ning Fu, i. 130, 132, 133; ii. 291 - - Chien-yang, i. 130, 164; ii. 109 - - _Chih lung_, ii. 157, 292 - - _Ch’i-hsia-lei-k’ao_, i. 67 - - Chih-t’ien, i. 136 - - Children playing with branches of flowers design, ii. 56 - - Children (_wa wa_), ii. 40, 281 - - _Ch’i-lin_, ii. 67, 293 - - _Ch’i-lin_ reclining before fountain, ii. 67 - - Chin dynasty, i. 16 - - _Chin huang_ (golden yellow), ii. 37 - - _Chin lü_, ii. 34 - - _Ch’in ting ku chin t’u shu chi ch’êng_, i. 127, 187 - - _Ch’in ying wên_, i. 113 - - Chinese and Japanese porcelain, the distinction between, ii. 174 - - _Chinese Commercial Guide_, i. 184, 187 - - Chinese porcelain decorated in Europe, ii. 259 - - _Ch’ing_, i. 16, 41, 46, 52, 60 - - _Ch’ing pi tsa chih_, i. 38 - - _Ch’ing pi ts’ang_, i. 41, 53, 54, 60, 77, 79, 92, 93, 109; ii. 9, - 11, 13 - - _Ch’ing po tsa chih_, i. 52, 96, 97, 157 - - Ching T’ai, ii. 27 - - _Ch’ing tien_, ii. 142, 201 - - _Ch’ing ts’ung_, i. 62 - - _Ch’ing tz’ŭ_, i. 46 - - _Ch’ing_ ware, i. 76 - - _Ch’ing wei t’ang_, ii. 247 - - _Ch’ing yi lu_, i. 131 - - Ching-tê Chên, i. _xv_, 40, 45, 71, 83, 84, 89, 92, 94, 95, 96, - 99, 109, 119, 120, 147, 152, 162; ii. 1, 12, 212, 228 - - _Ching-tê Chên t’ao lu, passim_ - - Ch’ing-yün, ii. 108 - - Chini-hane, ii. 69 - - Chin-shih, i. 167 - - Chin-ts’un, i. 76, 80 - - Chipped edges of plates, ii. 140 - - _Chiu_, wine, ii. 34 - - _Cho kêng lu_, i. 55, 60, 61, 66, 109, 134 - - Chou dynasty, i. 3, 44; ii. 41 - - Chou, Hui, i. 157 - - Chou kao-ch’i, i. 174 - - Chou Mao-shu, ii. 25, 296 - - Chou Tan-ch’üan, i. 94, 95, 96; ii. 65 - - Chou Ts’ang, ii. 284 - - Chrome tin, ii. 177 - - Chrysanthemum plant, ii. 25, 296 - - Ch’üan-chou Fu, i. 86, 188; ii. 108 - - _Chü chai tsa chi_, i. 98 - - Ch’ü Chih-kao, i. 201 - - _Chu fan chih_, i. 86 - - Chu Hsi, i. 20 - - Chu Mai-chên, ii. 282 - - _Chu ming yao_, ii. 305 - - _Chü pao shan_, i. 202 - - _Chu shih chü_, ii. 167 - - _Ch’ŭ yao_, i. 76, 80 - - Ch’ŭ-Chou Fu, i. 76, 77, 80, 83, 201 - - _Ch’ui ch’ing_, ii. 180, 181 - - _Ch’ui hung_, ii. 125 - - Chün chou, i. 179, 198 - - _Ch’un fêng t’ang sui pi_, i. 77 - - Chün glaze of the muffle kiln, i, 120, 177; ii. 217 - - Chün-t’ai, i. 109 - - Chün wares, i. 41, 42, 48, 62, 109–130, 157, 167, 179, 181; ii. 18, - 19, 94, 220, 229 - - _Ch’ung Chên_, ii. 86 - - _Chung-ho-t’ang_, ii. 145 - - Church, Sir A., i. 167 - - Ch’ü-yang Hsien, i. 199 - - Cicada, ii. 73, 295 - - _Cicerone_, i. 87 - - Citron dishes, ii. 8 - - Civil and military vases, ii. 281 - - _Clair de lune_, i. 60; ii. 179, 219, 252 - - Clays, ferruginous, i. 80 - - “Clobbered china,” ii. 261 - - Clennell, W. J., i. 155, 156 - - Cloisonné blue, ii. 219, 220 - - Cloisonné enamels, i. 167; ii. 17, 82, 209, 232, 243 - - Cloud and thunder pattern, ii. 272, 290, 302 - - Cloud pattern, ii. 302 - - “Cloud scroll,” i. 113; ii. 42 - - Club shaped, ii. 274 - - Cobalt, ii. 12, 98 - - Cochin China, i. 144 - - Cock, ii. 294 - - Cole, Fay-Cooper, i. 87, 189 - - Colouring agents, i. 49 - - Colours, _famille verte_, ii. 163 - - Colours, foreign, ii. 221, 225, 229, 232, 242, 243 - - Colours iridescent, ii. 241, 264 - - Colours, mixed, ii. 264, 271 - - Combed patterns, i. 85, 150 - - Confucius, i. 7, 18, 79; ii. 40, 43, 283 - - Constantinople, i. 87 - - Convex centre, bowls with, ii. 51 - - Cope Bequest, ii. 149 - - Copper oxide, i. 118, 137; ii. 10, 177, 232 - - Copper red, ii. 6, 11, 55 - - Coral red, ii, 6, 48, 51 - - Corea, i. 39, 134, 148, 150, 151 - - Corean design, i. 34, 107; ii. 56 - - Corean wares, i. 39, 42, 54, 59, 84, 85, 102, 107, 149, 150, 151; - ii. 115 - - Cornaline, i. 53; ii. 123 - - Cornelian, ii. 10 - - Cornflower sprigs, ii. 258 - - Corpse pillows, i. 105 - - Cotton cultivation, ii. 164 - - _Couleurs de demi grand feu_, ii. 18, 20 - - _Couleurs de grand feu_, ii. 98 - - _Couleurs de petit feu_, ii. 20 - - “Crab’s claw” crackle i. 53, 60, 67, 96 - - Crab-shell green, i. 117 - - Cracked specimens, ii. 233 - - Crackle, i. 67, 68, 99, 171; ii. 9, 37, 99, 121, 142, 180, 189, - 197, 198, 199, 218 - - Crackle, apple green, ii. 121, 125, 187 - - Crackle, buff, ii. 145 - - Crackle, fish roe, i. 53, 67 - - Crackle, green, ii. 170 - - Crackle, millet, ii. 197 - - Crackle, oatmeal, ii. 199 - - Crackle, plum blossom, i. 61; ii. 244 - - Crane, ii. 288 - - “Crane cups,” i. 17 - - Cranes, six, ii. 61 - - Cricket pots, fighting, i, 188; ii. 21, 160, 275 - - Crickets, fighting, ii. 295 - - Crucifixion, ii. 252 - - Crusader plate, ii. 113 - - Crutch, ii. 287 - - Cumberbatch Collection, ii. 49 - - Cups floating on river, ii. 168, 281 - - Cups, Keyser, ii. 252 - - Cups, libation, ii. 278 - - Cycles, table of, i. 211 - - Cyclical dates, i. 210, 213; ii. 213, 230, 240, 268 - - Cyclical dates, table of, i. 212 - - - Dana Collection, i. 11 - - Date marks, i. 210 - - Date marks prohibited, i. 208 - - Dated porcelain, ii. 213, 257, 263 - - Deer, ii. 286, 294 - - Deer, the Hundred, ii. 61, 243 - - de Groot, Dr. J. J. M., i. 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 105; ii. 25, 110 - - Delft, i. 178; ii. 139, 251, 252 - - Demons, ii. 290 - - _Denkmäler Persischer Baukunst_, ii. 69 - - Derby, i. 114; ii. 251, 258 - - Deshima, ii. 173 - - Dharmatrata, ii. 285 - - Dillon, E., ii. 26, 51 - - Dinner table sets, ii. 36, 267 - - Dishes, ii. 278 - - Divining rod vases, ii. 274 - - Dodder, i. 113 - - Dog, ii. 291 - - “Dog of Fo,” ii. 39, 149, 160, 293 - - Double gourd shape, ii. 94 - - Double ring under base, ii. 69 - - Dour-er-Raçibi, i. 87 - - Dragon, ii. 5, 32, 33, 39, 144, 292 - - Dragon and phœnix design, ii. 8, 30, 37, 39, 67, 81 - - Dragon and sea waves, ii. 37 - - Dragon, azure, i. 20; ii. 291 - - Dragon boat design, ii. 25 - - Dragon horse, ii. 41, 290 - - Dragon medallions, ii. 38, 39 - - Dragon of the East, i. 56 - - Dragon procession, ii. 281 - - Dragon rising from waves, ii. 170 - - Dreams, ii. 283 - - Dresden collection, i. 178; ii. 48, 51, 80, 112, 133, 134, 147, - 148, 151, 155, 164, 167, 179, 215, 243; - mark of, ii. 213 - - Drucker, J. C. J., ii. 139, 170 - - Drums, pottery, i. 137 - - Ducks on water design, i. 90 - - Duesbury, ii. 260 - - Dukes, E. J., ii. 114, 115 - - Dutch, ii. 89, 111, 191 - - Dutch East India Company, ii. 89, 128, 213 - - Dutch enamellers, ii. 259 - - Dutch pictures, ii. 73, 89 - - Dwight, i. 37, 178; ii. 112 - - Dyaks, i. 189, 193; ii. 223 - - - Eagle, heraldic, ii. 139 - - Eagle on a rock, ii. 73 - - Earth, symbol of, ii. 41 - - “Earthworm marks,” i. 113, 117 - - East India Company, British, ii. 133, 155 - - East Indies, ii. 70 - - East, symbol of, ii. 41 - - Edwards, Mr., i. 148 - - “Eel’s blood,” i. 61 - - “Egg and tongue” pattern, i. 35 - - Egg green, i. 61 - - “Egg shell” porcelain, ii. 4, 20, 64, 168, 169, 195, 202, 207, 210, - 224, 243, 248 - - “Egg white,” i. 53, 54, 61, 71 - - Egypt, i. 2, 86, 88; ii. 30, 44 - - Egyptian tombs, i. 140 - - “Eight Ambassadors of the Tribes of Man,” ii. 262, 283 - - Eight Emblems of Happy Augury, ii. 297 - - Eight Immortals, attributes of, ii. 297 - - Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup, ii. 282 - - Eight Musical Instruments, ii. 297 - - Eight Precious Objects, ii. 297, 298 - - _Ei raku_, ii. 6 - - Elephants, ii. 61, 242, 269, 286 - - Elephant checkers, ii. 282 - - Elers, i. 178 - - Elixir of life, ii. 286, 289 - - _Emaillé sur biscuit_, ii. 152 - - Emblematic motives, ii. 41, 62 - - Embossed ornament, ii. 37, 102, 224 - - Embroidery ornaments, twelve, ii. 297 - - Empress Dowager, ii. 271 - - Enamel, apple green, ii. 103 - - Enamel, _famille rose_, ii. 210 - - Enamel glaze, ii. 21 - - Enamel on biscuit, ii. 21, 79, 80, 152, 153, 160 - - Enamel, white, ii. 163, 245 - - Enamelled ornament, i. 161, 162, 163 - - Enamelling establishments, ii. 260 - - Enamels, Canton, i. 166 - - Enamels, mixed, ii. 242 - - Enamels on glaze, ii. 18, 48, 160, 161, 170 - - Enamels, transition, ii. 169, 257 - - Engraved background, ii. 244 - - Engraved designs, i. 106; ii. 102, 224 - - d’Entrecolles’ letters, Père, i. 83, 84, 147, 154; ii. 77, 112, - 114, 122, 124, 126, 127, 129, 130, 140, 141, 143, 148, 151, 161, - 162, 163, 182, 183, 188, 189, 192, 193, 195, 196, 198, 218, 252, - 276 - - Ephesus, i. 87 - - Epicurus, ii. 286 - - _Erh shih lu_, i. 138 - - Etched design, ii. 183, 195 - - Eumorfopoulos Collection, i. 29, 31, 34, 35, 42, 57, 59, 63, 69, - 73, 107, 111, 114, 115, 131, 149, 171, 179, 191, 197, 203, 218; - ii. 27, 31, 52, 78, 79, 85, 115, 139, 204, 219, 227, 278 - - European influence, i. 205; ii. 90, 135, 209, 250–261 - - European merchants, ii. 139 - - European shapes, ii. 98, 128, 251 - - European subjects, ii. 244, 245, 255, 257 - - Ewers, i. 165 - - Excavations in Honan, i. 132 - - Exports forbidden, i. 88, 189 - - Export wares, ii. 44, 68, 70, 73, 78, 81, 85, 108, 128, 167, 202, - 245, 258, 266, 271, 280 - - - _Fa ch’ing_, ii. 219, 224, 231 - - _Fa lan_, ii. 231 - - _Fa lang_, ii. 209, 229, 231 - - Factories at Peking, ii. 126 - - Fairies, ii. 286 - - Falkner, Frank, ii. 259 - - _Famille noire_, ii. 101, 159 - - _Famille rose_, i. 177; ii. 163, 169, 191, 202, 203, 207, 208, 209, - 210, 213, 214, 221, 242, 247 - - _Famille verte_, ii. 85, 121, 125, 136, 137, 160, 161, 162, 163, - 167, 168, 173, 183, 193, 207, 256 - - _Famille verte_, dated examples of, ii. 168 - - _Famille verte_ enamels, over blue outlines, ii. 207 - - _Fan_, ii. 288 - - Fan Ching-ta, i. 136 - - _Fan hung_, ii. 10, 34, 35, 37, 48, 52, 55, 101 - - _Fan tz’ŭ_, ii. 196 - - Fat-shan Chün, i. 123, 171, 172, 179 - - Feet, cramping of, i. 24 - - _Fei ts’ui_, i. 38; ii. 237 - - Fei-kuan, i. 107 - - _Fên ch’ing_, i. 53, 54, 59, 60, 67, 71, 99 - - _Fên hung_, i. 60, 65 - - _Fên ting_, i. 90; ii. 218 - - Fêng-kan, i. 56 - - _Fêng-huang_, ii. 293 - - Field Museum, Chicago, i. 128, 182, 189, 194, 198, 199, 200 - - Figures, i. 107, 108, 197, 201; ii. 110, 151, 152, 197, 251, 279, - 283 - - Figures in European costumes, ii. 111, 251 - - Figures in high relief, ii. 102 - - Firefly decoration, ii. 247 - - Fish bowls, ii. 36, 59, 117, 229, 234, 275, 281 - - Fish, double, ii. 294 - - Fish roe crackle, i. 53, 67 - - Fish roe design, ii. 167 - - Fish-dragon, ii. 284 - - Fishes, i. 78; ii. 7, 9, 11, 40, 204, 224 - - FitzWilliam Museum, i. 125, 127 - - Five blessings, ii. 300 - - Five colours, ii. 19, 20 - - Florentine porcelain, ii. 44 - - Flower Fairy, ii. 289 - - Flower pots, i. 109, 110, 113, 114, 197; ii. 19, 275 - - Flower vases, ii. 273, 275 - - Flowers, ii. 295 - - Flowers, basket of, ii. 67 - - Flowers, celestial, ii. 38 - - Flowers, fairy, ii. 295 - - Flowers for the months, ii. 295 - - Flowers, the Hundred, ii. 243 - - Flute, ii. 287, 288 - - “Flying gallop,” i. 12 - - Fly-whisk, ii. 287 - - _Fo lang_, ii. 209, 231 - - _Fo t’ou ch’ing_, ii. 30, 98 - - Foot, finishing off the, ii. 92, 202, 249 - - Foot rim, grooved, ii. 26, 92, 129 - - Forgeries, ii. 304–307 - - Forms, ii. 60, 272–279 - - Fou-liang, i. 140, 152 - - Fou-liang, Annals of, i. 141, 153, 155; ii. 35, 228, 231 - - Franks Collection, i. _xxiii_; ii. 4, 5, 14, 17, 21, 26, 27, 121 - - Franks, Sir Wollaston, ii. 212 - - Freer Collection, i. 33, 71, 114, 129 - - French, A. B., ii. 212 - - “Fresh red,” ii. 35, 36, 123 - - Fretwork, incised, ii. 76 - - Friends, three, ii. 269, 289, 296 - - Frog wares, ii. 66 - - Frog’s spawn, ii. 167 - - Fruits, three, ii. 11, 204, 224, 296 - - _Fu_ (happiness), ii. 11 - - Fu Chou, i. 16 - - _Fu fan chih ts’ao_, ii. 108 - - Fu Hsi, ii. 41, 290 - - _Fu ju tung hai_, ii. 62 - - _Fu kuei_ flower, ii. 294 - - _Fu lang_, ii. 231 - - Fu, Lu, Shou, ii. 62 - - _Fu sê_, ii. 24, 26 - - _Fu shou k’ang ning_, ii. 43, 75 - - Fu-hsing, ii. 287 - - Fukien porcelain, i. 8; ii. 78, 108, 110, 251, 259 - - Fulham, i. 178 - - “Funeral vases,” i. 56, 147 - - Fungus design, ii. 11, 95, 204, 224 - - Furnace transmutations, i. 137, 156, 175; ii. 18, 192, 218, 232 - - - G (mark), ii. 136, 137, 167 - - Gama Sennin, ii. 288 - - Gandhara, i. 17 - - Garlic-shaped vases, ii. 273 - - Gems, seven, ii. 298 - - General, the chess-playing, i. 79 - - Genghis Khan, i. 159 - - Genii of Mirth and Harmony, Twin, ii. 159, 288 - - Gilding, i. 163, 177; ii. 37, 102, 162, 164, 173, 183, 215, 226, - 231, 246 - - Giles, H. A., i. 24 - - Ginger jar, i. 182; ii. 134 - - Glass, i. 200; ii. 215 - - Glass, Bristol, ii. 215 - - Glass, _mille fiori_, ii. 234 - - Glaze, bird’s egg, i. 177; ii. 217, 233 - - Glaze, black, i. 11, 31, 42, 93, 103, 106, 131; ii. 192 - - Glaze, chocolate brown, i. 31 - - Glaze, crystalline, i. 171, 178 - - Glaze, donkey’s liver and horse’s lung, i. 119 - - Glaze, dragon skin, i. 110, 113 - - Glaze, first use of, i. 8 - - Glaze, _flambé_, i. 50, 118, 119, 168, 205; ii. 85, 124, 193, 218, - 232, 233, 235 - - Glaze, Han, i. 10 - - Glaze, hare’s fur, i. 93 - - Glaze, iron rust, ii. 233 - - Glaze, lavender, i. 48, 63, 109, 168 - - Glaze, lavender grey, i. 49 - - Glaze, lemon yellow, ii. 264 - - Glaze, leopard skin, ii. 192 - - Glaze, liver, ii. 238 - - Glaze, maroon red, ii. 178, 179, 238 - - Glaze, Ming, ii. 93 - - Glaze, moon white, ii. 224 - - Glaze, oil green, ii. 224 - - Glaze, old turquoise, i. 48 - - Glaze, opalescent, i. 50, 51, 62, 110, 118 - - Glaze, peach bloom, ii. 99, 146, 176, 177, 178, 179 - - Glaze, pea green, ii. 37, 99 - - Glaze, preparing the, ii. 248 - - Glaze, red, i. 117; ii. 10, 11, 64, 79 - - Glaze, red Chün, i. 117 - - Glaze, robin’s egg, i. 120; ii. 217 - - Glaze, shrivelled, i. 110; ii. 31, 245 - - Glaze, sun-stone, i. 200 - - Glaze, T’ang, i. 24, 31 - - Glaze, turquoise, i. 48, 103; ii. 18, 99, 127, 184, 185, 224 - - Glaze, varieties of black, ii. 229 - - Glaze, yellow, ii. 28, 126 - - Glaze. _See also_ Black, Blue, Red, Yellow, Green, etc. _Also_ - _Clair de lune_, _Sang de bœuf_, Crackle, Hare’s fur, - Kingfisher’s feathers, Tea dust, Iron rust. - - Glazes, Chün, i. 114, 118, 120 - - Glazing, methods of, ii. 92, 249 - - Glazing mixture, ii. 163 - - Gods of longevity, rank, and happiness, ii. 159 - - Goff Collection, i. 193 - - Golden brown, ii. 65 - - Gombroon ware, i. 148; ii. 173 - - Gotha Museum, i. 71, 79 - - Gourd shape, ii. 94, 273, 287 - - Gouthière, ii. 194 - - Graceful ladies, ii. 40, 136 - - Græco-Buddhist influence, i. 34 - - Græco-Roman influence, i. 35 - - _Graffiato_, i. 106, 107, 135 - - “Grains of millet,” ii. 13 - - Grain pattern, i. 44 - - Grandidier Collection, Louvre, i. _xxiii_, 185, 195; ii. 75, 163, - 168 - - Grape vine cup, ii. 24 - - Grass characters, ii. 301 - - Grasshoppers, ii. 24 - - _Graviata_, ii. 239 - - Great Bear, ii. 284 - - Great Wall of China, i. 202 - - Green, ii. 238 - - Green, apple, ii. 177, 188 - - Green, cucumber tint, ii. 157, 238 - - Green, _eau de nil_ tint, ii. 238 - - Green, emerald, ii. 37, 51, 52, 271 - - “Green of a thousand hills,” i. 82 - - Green, opaque bluish, ii. 244 - - Green, snake skin, ii. 127, 187, 223, 238 - - Grœneveldt, W. P., ii. 12 - - Grotto pieces, i. 197; ii. 151 - - Grünwedel Expedition, i. 16, 23 - - Gulland, W., ii. 29 - - Gypsum, ii. 77, 196 - - - _Haarlem_, ii. 136 - - Hainhofer, Philipp, ii. 48, 73 - - _Hai shou_, ii. 61, 293 - - _Hakugorai_, i. 151 - - Hall marks, i. 217; ii. 265 - - Halsey, Mrs., ii. 13, 47, 78 - - Hamburg Museum, ii. 90 - - Han dynasty, the, i. 5–22 - - Han glaze, i. 10 - - _Han hsing_, i. 97 - - Handles, i. 165; ii. 277 - - Hang Chou, i. 43, 45, 60, 67, 72 - - Hang Chou Kuan ware, i. 61, 134 - - _Han Kan_, i. 25 - - Han Lin College, i. 218 - - Han-tan, i. 147 - - Hao Shih-chiu, ii. 64, 178, 219 - - “Happy meeting,” ii. 282 - - Hare mark, ii. 67, 82 - - Hare, the, ii. 286, 289, 291 - - “Hare’s fur” glaze, i. 93, 94, 113, 131, 133, 164; ii. 108 - - Hâriti, ii. 111 - - Hat stand, ii. 31, 97, 277 - - Hawthorn design, ii. 134 - - Heaven, symbol of, ii. 41 - - Heaven, Temple of, i. 205; ii. 195, 238 - - _Hei chê shih_, ii. 98 - - Hêng fêng, i. 201 - - Herend, ii. 306 - - Heroes of Han dynasty, the three, ii. 281 - - “Hill censer,” i. 12 - - “Hill jar,” i. 12 - - Hippisley, A. E., ii. 64, 122, 216, 290, 292, 300 - - Hippisley Collection, ii. 99, 207, 215, 246, 265 - - Hirado, ii. 14, 25, 76, 147 - - Hirth and Rockhill, i. 86, 88, 188 - - Hirth Collection, i. 71 - - Hirth, Prof., i. 5, 67, 81, 86, 89, 143, 145, 146, 188; ii. 30 - - _Ho_ (colour), i. 40 - - Ho Chou, i. 32, 94, 97 - - Ho Ch’ou, i. 17, 143, 144, 147 - - Ho Chung-ch’u, i. 153 - - Ho Hsien-ku, ii. 152 - - Honan, i. 193 - - Honan Fu, i. 27, 130; ii. 305 - - “Honeysuckle” pattern, i. 35 - - Hookah bowl, ii. 97 - - Ho-pin, i. 1 - - Horses of Mu Wang, the eight, ii. 289 - - Horses, sea, ii. 294 - - Horse, the white, ii. 286 - - Hose and McDougall, i. 193 - - Ho-shang, ii. 285 - - Hotei, ii. 285 - - Hou Hsien Shêng, ii. 288 - - Hsi Shih, ii. 282 - - Hsi Wang Fu, ii. 288 - - Hsi Wang Mu, i. 7; ii. 107, 141, 264, 286, 288, 289 - - Hsi yao, i. 97 - - Hsi Yung Chêng, i. 135 - - Hsi-an Fu, i. 15 - - Hsiang, i. 105 - - _Hsiang Ch’i_, ii. 282 - - Hsiang family, i. 199 - - _Hsiang ling ming huan chih_, i. 24 - - Hsiang yao, i. 96 - - Hsiang Yüan-p’ien, i. 50, 54; ii. 14 - - Hsiang-hu, i. 71; ii. 220, 224 - - Hsiang’s Album, i. _xviii_, 62, 71, 77, 90, 93, 94, 118, 161, 175; - ii. 7, 9, 12, 13, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 32, 127 - - Hsiao Hsien, i. 97 - - _Hsiao nan_, ii. 65 - - Hsieh An, ii. 282 - - Hsieh Min, ii. 223, 229, 230, 231, 237 - - _Hsien_, ii. 40, 289 - - Hsien Fêng, ii. 267 - - _Hsien hung_, ii. 3, 6, 10, 11, 34, 37, 52, 55, 59, 99, 123, 223 - - _Hsin Chou_ year, ii. 213 - - Hsin-p’ing, i. 141, 152, 156 - - _Hsin ting_, i. 94 - - Hsing Chou, i. 37, 147 - - _Hsiu hua_, i. 91, 101, 161 - - _Hsiu nei ssŭ_, i. 59, 60, 61 - - Hsü Ch’ih, ii. 35, 55 - - Hsü Ching, i. 39, 54, 151 - - Hsü Chou, i. 107, 108, 166 - - _Hsü hua t’ang_, ii. 265 - - _Hsü Shui Hu_, ii. 281 - - Hsü Tz’ŭ-shu, i. 93 - - Hsü wares, i. 66 - - Hsü Yu-ch’üan, i. 175 - - Hsüan Chou, i. 201 - - _Hsüan ho po ku t’u lu_, i. 44 - - Hsüan Tê, ii. 6, 7–21, 22, 24, 32, 204, 246 - - Hsüan T’ung, ii. 271 - - Hsü-chên, ii. 35 - - Hsün-wares, i. 66, 134 - - Hu kung, ii. 64 - - _Hu yin tao jên_, ii. 64, 65 - - _Hua_ (ornament), i. 91; ii. 43, 130 - - _Hua hua_ (carved ornament), i. 91, 106 - - _Hua shih_ (steatite), i. 99; ii. 141, 196, 198, 201 - - Huai-ch’ing Fu, i. 201 - - Huang An, ii. 288 - - Huang Ti, i. 1 - - Huang-chih, i. 143 - - Huang-ssŭ, i. 205 - - Hua-ting Chou, ii. 107 - - _Hui hui ch’ing_, ii. 12, 98 - - _Hui hui hua_, ii. 31 - - _Hui hui wên_, ii. 31 - - _Hui hu ta ch’ing_, ii. 13 - - _Hui sê_ (ash colour), i. 61, 67, 71; ii. 199 - - Hui Tsung, ii. 164 - - Hulagu Khan, ii. 30 - - Hundred Antiques, the, ii. 297, 298 - - Hundred Birds, ii. 295 - - Hundred Deer, the, ii. 61, 243 - - Hung Chih, ii. 28, 29 - - Hung-chien, i. 108 - - Hung Chou, i. 38 - - _Hung fu ch’i t’ien_, ii. 62, 300 - - Hung Wu, ii. 1, 2 - - _Huo yen ch’ing_, i. 113 - - Hu-t’ien, i. 160, 163; ii. 28 - - - _I chih_, i. 208; ii. 35, 38 - - IHS, ii. 252 - - _I shou_, ii. 61 - - Imari, ii. 171, 173, 174 - - Imari, Chinese, ii. 161, 173, 174 - - Imitation of Chia Ching ware, ii. 225 - - Imitation of Chün glazes, ii. 217, 268, 223, 224 - - Imitation of Chün yao, ii. 234 - - Imitation of five colour porcelain, ii. 208 - - Imitation of Hsüan Te and Chêng Hua wares, ii. 55, 224 - - Imitation of Ko, Kuan, Ju and Lung-ch’üan glazes, ii. 223, 268 - - Imitation of mother-of-pearl, ii. 234 - - Imitation of peach bloom, ii. 178 - - Imitation of Sung wares, ii. 216, 224 - - Imitation of the antique, ii. 201, 203, 243 - - Imitation of Ting ware, ii. 65, 74, 142, 197, 223 - - Imitation of Tung-ch’ing and Lung-ch’üan glazes, ii. 224 - - Imitation of various substances in porcelain, ii. 234 - - Imitations, i. 83, 117, 119, 120; ii. 11, 43, 82, 156, 203, 304–307 - - Immortals, Eight Taoist, i. 79; ii. 40, 110, 134, 141, 159, 287, - 289 - - Immortals of the Wine Cup, Eight, ii. 130, 282 - - Imperial colours, ii. 189 - - Imperial factory, i. 123, 153; ii. 1, 29, 30, 64, 105 - - Imperial porcelains, lists of, ii. 223, 267, 268 - - Imperial vases, ii. 81 - - Imperial wares, ii. 148, 195, 207, 229 - - Incense burners, i. 128, 161, 194, 198, 206; ii. 108, 112, 113, 276 - - Incised designs, ii. 112 - - Incised fret pattern, ii. 275 - - India, i. 88, 193; ii. 44, 76, 278 - - Indian lotus, ii. 25, 38 - - Indian market, wares for, ii. 73, 76, 78, 81 - - Ink pallet, ii. 80, 155, 276 - - Ink, porcelain painted in, ii. 214, 225, 229 - - Ink screens, ii. 160, 276 - - Ink slab, ii. 31 - - Inlaid designs, i. 84 - - Inlaid ornament, i. 107 - - Insect cages, ii. 246 - - Inscriptions, i. 177; ii. 62, 112, 252, 301 - - Inscriptions, Koranic, ii. 255 - - Inscriptions, posthumous, i. 9, 12 - - Iridescent colours, ii. 241, 242 - - Iron oxide, ii. 189 - - _Islam_, i. 148 - - Isles of the blessed, ii. 286 - - Ispahan, ii. 30 - - Italian wares, i. 106; ii. 44 - - Itier, M., ii. 10, 230 - - I-yang, i. 201 - - I-yang Hsien, i. 201 - - - Jacquemart, ii. 160, 211 - - Jade Emperor, ii. 291 - - Jade, green, i. 82 - - Jade Hall, ii. 75 - - “Jade” mark, ii. 252 - - Jade, ware turned to, i. 99 - - Jao-chou Fu, i. 152; ii. 34, 107 - - “Jao-chou jade,” i. 156, 157 - - Jao-chou wares, old, i. 161 - - Japan Society of New York, exhibition of, i. 72, 113 - - Japanese patterns, ii. 174 - - Japanese porcelains, ii. 264 - - _Japanese Temples and their Treasures_, i. 36 - - Jesuit china, ii. 252, 255 - - Jesuits, ii. 122, 123 - - Jewel, Buddhist, ii. 286 - - Jewel Hill, i. 154; ii. 1 - - Jewels, set with, ii. 51, 113 - - Jih-nan, i. 144 - - “Joyous meeting” design, ii. 56 - - Ju-chou, i. 52, 56 - - Ju-chou wares, i. 39, 42, 45, 48, 49, 51, 52–59, 61, 67, 89, 90, - 92; ii. 9, 10, 123 - - _Ju shih wo wên_, i. 41 - - _Ju-i_ head or cloud border, i. 113; ii. 289 - - _Ju-i_ pattern, ii. 71, 83, 130, 131 - - _Ju-i_ sceptre, ii. 42, 287, 289 - - Julien, i. 143, 145, 162; ii. 10, 24, 127, 228, 230, 234, 248, 266 - - Ju-ning Fu, i. 198 - - Junk, ii. 151 - - - Kaga ware, ii. 155 - - K’ai-fêng Fu, i. 43, 52, 59, 60, 82, 109 - - Kaiser Friederik Museum, i. 148 - - Kakiemon ware, ii. 173, 174 - - _Kaki temmoku_, i. 31 - - Kan Chou, i. 135 - - K’ang Hsi, ii. 14, 27, 47, 77, 79, 80, 118, 122, 126, 128–199 - - K’ang Hsi blue and white, ii. 67, 128–144 - - _K’ang Hsi Encyclopædia_, i. 127, 187; ii. 107, 109, 197 - - K’ang Hsi mark, ii. 155, 177, 242, 271 - - K’ang Hsi monochromes, ii. 176 - - _Kao chai man lu_, i. 38 - - Kao Chiang-ts’un, ii. 23, 24, 25 - - _K’ao kung chi_, i. 1 - - Kao Tan-jên, ii. 23 - - Kao Tsung, i. 19 - - Kaolin, i. 123, 148; ii. 91, 123, 248 - - Karabacek, Professor, i. 86 - - Ka-shan, i. 206 - - Kennedy Collection, ii. 149, 194, 238 - - Kenzan, i. 103 - - Kershaw, F. S., i. 12 - - Key-fret, ii. 291 - - “Keyser cups,” ii. 252 - - Khotan, i. 23 - - Kichimojin, ii. 111 - - Kiln supports, tubular, i. 85 - - Kilns, Chinese, ii. 100 - - Kilwa, i. 87 - - “Kingfisher’s feathers,” i. 82 - - _Kinrande_, ii. 6 - - Kinsai, i. 22 - - Kin-shan, Temple of, i. 205; ii. 291 - - _Kinuta seiji_, i. 57 - - Kirk, Sir John, i. 87, 88 - - Kishiu, i. 197 - - Ko Ming-hsiang, i. 168, 171 - - Ko ware, i. 45, 48, 49, 65, 67–72, 73, 76, 77, 98, 99, 134, 181; - ii. 65, 199, 220 - - Ko Yüan-hsiang, i. 168 - - _Kochi yaki_, i. 190 - - Koranic inscriptions, ii. 255 - - _Ku chin t’u shu chi ch’êng_, ii. 107 - - _Ku ch’u_, i. 92 - - Ku Liu, i. 68 - - Ku Ying-t’ai, i. 40 - - _Ku yü t’u p’u_, i. 44 - - Kua Chou, i. 202 - - Kuan Chung, i. 16 - - _Kuan ku_, i. 54 - - Kuan P’ing, ii. 284 - - Kuan Ti, ii. 159, 284 - - Kuan wares, i. 45, 48, 49, 51, 59–67, 72, 77, 82, 124, 134, 181; - ii. 9, 65, 223 - - Kuan Yü, i. 203; ii. 110, 283 - - Kuang Hsi, ii. 271 - - Kuang Wu, i. 18 - - Kuang yao, i. 166, 172; ii. 224 - - Kuangtung, i. 123; ii. 78 - - Kuangtung wares, i. 166–173; ii. 217, 224 - - _Kuan-tzŭ_, the, i. 3 - - Kuan-yin, i. 176; ii. 18, 29, 110, 111, 156, 285 - - Kuan-yin vase, i. 55 - - Kublai Khan, i. 159 - - _K’uei fêng_, ii. 269, 293 - - _Kuei hai yü hêng chih_, i. 136 - - Kuei Hsing, ii. 159, 284 - - _Kuei lung_, ii. 292 - - Ku-li, ii. 209 - - Kümmel, Dr., i. 85 - - Kung-ch’un, i. 175, 176 - - Kung Hsien, i. 107 - - _Kung ming fu kuei_, ii. 294 - - Kunstgewerbe Museum, Berlin, i. _xxiii_, 100; ii. 51, 252 - - K’un-wu, i. 1 - - Kuo Tao-yüan, i. 39, 147 - - _Ku-yuëh-hsüan_, ii. 202, 215, 264 - - Kylin. See _Ch’i-lin_. - - - _Lac burgauté_, ii. 247 - - Lacework, ii. 246, 263 - - Lacquer, ii. 234, 263, 265 - - Laffan, Mr., ii. 118 - - Lambert, arms of Sir John, ii. 257 - - Lamp, porcelain, ii. 200 - - Lancastrian pottery, i. 49, 200 - - Landscape, ii. 296 - - Lang Shih-ning, ii. 122 - - Lang T’ing-tso, ii. 118, 121, 122 - - _Lang yao_, ii. 118, 119, 121, 122, 123, 124, 170, 176, 188 - - _Lange lijsen_, ii. 40, 136, 282 - - Lanterns, ii. 246, 277 - - Lan Tsa’i-ho, ii. 287, 289 - - Lao Yang, i. 26 - - Lao-tzŭ, ii. 40, 159, 283, 286 - - Lapidary, designs cut by, ii. 260 - - _L’Astrée_, i. 78 - - Laufer, Berthold, i. 3, 4, 6, 9, 10, 11, 15, 27, 44, 55, 65, 103, - 144, 182, 188, 189; ii. 41, 289, 294, 295, 296 - - Law’s bubble, John, ii. 260 - - Le Sueur, ii. 255 - - Leaf stencilling, i. 106 - - _Lei kung ch’i_, i. 199 - - Lei-hsiang, i. 199 - - _Lettres édifiantes et curieuses_, ii. 127 - - _Li_, a, i. 155 - - Li Chü-lai, ii. 228 - - _Li Chung-fang_, i. 175 - - Li Fêng-ming, i. 62 - - _Li hsi yai_, i. 91 - - Li Hung-chang, ii. 267 - - Li Jih-hua, ii. 65 - - _Li ki_, i. 44 - - Li Po, i. 23 - - _Li t’a k’an k’ao ku ou pien_, i. 41, 127; ii. 115 - - _Liang ch’i man chih_, i. 107 - - Libation cups, ii. 278 - - Library table apparatus, ii. 275 - - Life movement, i. 136 - - Lin-ch’ing, i. 200, 202 - - Lin-ch’uan, i. 164 - - _Ling chih_, ii. 38, 95, 286, 289 - - _Ling lung_ (pierced work), ii. 59, 63, 74, 76, 102 - - _Ling nan hui chê_, ii. 211 - - _Ling piao lu i_, i. 166 - - Lin-kuei, i. 136 - - Lin-tzŭ, i. 4 - - Lions, ii. 39, 68, 272, 286, 293 - - Lions, Buddhist, ii. 149, 159 - - Lions in peony scrolls, ii. 81 - - “Liquid dawn cups,” ii. 64, 219 - - Li-shui Hsien, i. 76 - - Li T’ai-po, ii. 160, 177, 185, 282, 292, 296 - - Literary success, symbol of, ii. 291, 299 - - Literature, gods of, ii. 284, 287 - - _Liu ch’ing jih cha_, i. 52, 60, 92, 96, 113, 132, 133 - - Liu Han, ii. 288, 291 - - Liu t’ien, i. 67, 76 - - Liu Yen-t’ing, i. 55, 56 - - Liu-hsün, i. 166 - - _Liu-li_, i. 17, 143, 144, 161 - - Liu-li-chü, i. 200, 202 - - Li-shui Hsien, i. 80 - - Liu-t’ien Shih, i. 80 - - Liverpool, ii. 141 - - Lograft, ii. 292 - - Lohan, i. 35; ii. 285 - - _Lo kan ma fei_, i. 118 - - Lokapalas, i. 27 - - Long Elizas, ii. 136, 282 - - Longevity, ii. 286 - - Longevity, emblems of, ii. 62, 289 - - Longevity, god of, ii. 40, 108, 159 - - Longevity, hills of, ii. 286 - - Lorenzo de Medici, i. 87 - - Lorenzo, Magalotti, Count, i. 178 - - Lotus, ii. 25, 287, 288, 296 - - Lotus, Indian, ii. 25 - - Lotus service, ii. 245 - - Louis XIV., ii. 252 - - Love chase, ii. 134 - - Lowestoft, i. 187; ii. 173, 250, 251, 258, 259, 260 - - Lo-yang, i. 16, 143; ii. 62, 285 - - Lu, i. 188 - - Lu Hung-chien, i. 107 - - Lu Kuei-mêng, i. 37 - - Lu Yü, i. 37 - - _Luan_, ii. 293 - - _Luan ch’ing_, i. 62 - - _Luan pai_, i. 53, 61, 62, 71 - - Lu-hsing, ii. 287 - - Lung Ch’ing, ii. 55, 56, 57 - - _Lung kang_, ii. 229 - - _Lung ma_, ii. 41, 294 - - Lung Nü, ii. 110 - - Lung Shang, i. 201 - - Lung-ch’üan wares, i. 45, 46, 48, 49, 61, 72, 76–88, 134, 156, 189; - ii. 94, 189 - - Lung-mên, ii. 284 - - Lustre, golden, ii. 241 - - Lyman’s Collection, ii. 78 - - - Ma-Chuang, i. 194 - - _Ma-chün_, i. 124 - - Ma-k’êng, i. 201 - - _Ma nao_, ii. 10, 123 - - Ma-ts’ang, ii. 35, 59, 91 - - Magnolia blossom cups, i. 95 - - Magnolia design, ii. 134 - - Magpies, ii. 291, 294 - - _Man_, i. 31 - - Manchu, ii. 86 - - Mandarin porcelain, ii. 245, 259 - - Mandarin ducks, ii. 294 - - _Mang_, ii. 292 - - Manganese, ii. 98, 184 - - Manjusri, ii. 110, 285 - - Mantis, praying, ii. 295 - - Marbling, i. 33, 107; ii. 78 - - Marco Polo, i. 22, 43, 86, 188; ii. 113 - - Mark, spider, ii. 140 - - Marks, i. 207–224 - - Marks and symbols, miscellaneous, i. 227 - - Marks, cyclical, i. 210 - - Marks, date, i. 210 - - Marks, hall, i. 217–219; ii. 265 - - Marks, imperial, ii. 244 - - Marks, numerals as, i. 109 - - Marks of commendation, i. 187, 224, 226; ii. 6, 136 - - Marks of dedication, i. 224 - - Marks of felicitation, i. 224, 225 - - Marks of painters, ii. 212 - - Marks, palace, ii. 264 - - Marks, palace hall, i. 220 - - Marks, potters’, i. 221–222 - - Marks, prohibited date, i. 208 - - Marks, shop, i. 220; ii. 89, 113, 152 - - Martaban, i. 77, 88 - - _Martabani_, i. 77 - - Martin, Dr., i. 34 - - Massagetae, i. 144 - - “Mat marking,” i. 3 - - Mazarin, Cardinal, ii. 183 - - “Mazarine blue,” ii. 183 - - Measures, Chinese, ii. 234 - - Medallion bowls, ii. 264 - - Medici porcelain, ii. 44 - - _Mei hua_ (prunus), ii. 153 - - _Mei jên_, ii. 136, 282 - - _Mei p’ing_, ii. 79, 94, 95, 274 - - Meissen, i. _xvi_; ii. 112, 173, 251, 258, 261 - - Melon-shaped vases, i. 32, 97; ii. 47, 94 - - Metal band on mouth, i. 90 - - Metallic specks, i. 200 - - Metropolitan Museum, New York, i. _xxiii_; ii. 251 - - Meyer, A. B., i. 86, 87, 193 - - _Mi sê_ (millet colour), i. 68, 71, 99; ii. 28, 190, 199, 220, - 223, 224, 225 - - _Miao hao_, i. 213 - - Milky way, ii. 291 - - _Mille fiori_ glass, ii. 234 - - _Mille fleurs_, ii. 295 - - Millet colour. See _Mi sê_. - - Millet markings in glaze, ii. 9, 13, 93 - - _Ming ch’ên shih pi chou chai yü t’an_, ii. 52, 57 - - Ming colours, ii. 98 - - Ming period, porcelain assigned to, ii. 151, 155 - - Ming pottery, i. 194 - - Ming shapes, ii. 94 - - Ming Ti, i. 6; ii. 284 - - Ming Tombs, near Nanking, i. 205 - - Ming Yüan-Chang, ii. 303 - - Minister, the Chinese, ii. 233 - - Minoan pottery, i. 2 - - Mirror black, ii. 192 - - Miscellaneous marks and symbols, i. 227 - - Miscellaneous potteries, i. 184–206 - - Mitford Collection, ii. 121, 122 - - _Mo hung_, ii. 179, 225 - - Mohammedan blue, ii. 3, 12, 21, 29, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 43, 44, 45, - 52, 59, 66, 70, 98 - - Mohammedan design, ii. 31 - - Mohammedan flowers, ii. 31 - - Mombasa, i. 87 - - Mongols, i. 159, 165; ii. 1, 27 - - Monkey in design, ii. 82, 294, 297 - - Monkhouse, Cosmo, i. _xviii_, 55, 68, 124; ii. 26, 90, 220, 223 - - Months, flowers for, ii. 295 - - Monochrome, lustrous brown, ii. 191 - - Monochromes, blue, ii. 179 - - Monochromes, dating of, ii. 176 - - Monochromes, green, ii. 187, 238 - - Monochromes, red, ii. 177 - - Monochromes, yellow, ii. 189 - - Moon, goddess of, ii. 291 - - Morgan Collection, Pierpont, i. _xxiv_; ii. 29, 51, 69, 70, 79, 81, - 116, 118, 156, 168, 220 - - Mortuary wares, i. 24 - - Mosaic, ii. 133 - - Mother-of-pearl, ii. 234, 247 - - Motives for painted decoration, ii. 60, 280 - - Mott, Mr., i. 168; ii. 177 - - Moulds, i. 2, 27 - - Mounts, metal, on porcelain, ii. 68, 69, 77 - - Mu Wang, Emperor, ii. 288 - - Mu Wang, the eight horses of, ii. 289 - - Muffle kiln, i. 120, 177; ii. 20, 79, 101 - - Munich, National Museum at, ii. 73 - - Musée Cernuschi, i. _xxiii_, 56 - - Musée Guimet, i. _xxiii_; ii. 288 - - Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst, i. 133 - - “Musical cups,” i. 39, 146 - - Musical instruments, eight, ii. 297 - - Musical instruments, porcelain, ii. 201 - - “Mustard crackle,” ii. 220 - - - Nagasaki, ii. 173 - - Nail heads, i. 53 - - _Namako_, i. 167 - - Names, potters’, i. 223 - - Nan (-ning Fu), i. 137 - - Nan-Ch’ang, i. 152 - - Nan-fêng Hsien, i. 98, 164 - - _Nan ting_, i. 89 - - Nanking, i. 153, 187, 202, 206 - - Nanking, Old, ii. 173 - - Nanking Pagoda, i. 202; ii. 4, 20 - - Nan Shan, i. 15 - - Nara Collection, i. 23, 25, 32 - - Narghili bowls, ii. 77, 278 - - Natural History Museum, New York, i. _xxiv_, 182 - - Nature worship, ii. 290, 292 - - Nei yao, i. 61 - - _Neue Rundschau_, i. 35 - - Neuwenhais, i. 193 - - New Year, Chinese, ii. 134 - - New York Exhibition, i. 72, 113 - - _Ni ku lu_, i. 218 - - Nicholls, Dr., i. 15, 146 - - _Nien hao_, i. 213, 214 - - Nien Hsi-yao, ii. 121, 200, 227 - - Nien yao, ii. 121 - - Nightingale Collection, ii. 75 - - Ninagawa, Mr., ii. 115 - - _Ning chai ts’ung hua_, i. 136 - - Ning-kuo Fu, i. 201 - - Ningyo-de, i. 164 - - North, symbol of, ii. 41 - - Northern Sung, i. 52, 54 - - Nose drinking, i. 136 - - Numerals as marks, i. 109, 110, 113, 114 - - Nur-ed-din, i. 87 - - Nyo-fu ware, i. 97 - - - O. C. A. (_Oriental Ceramic Art_, by S. W. Bushell), _passim_. - - _Oesterreichische Monatschrift_, i. 86 - - O-fu. i. 2 - - _O-t’u_ (white earth), ii. 107 - - Ogre design, ii. 133, 263, 290 - - Old Imari, ii. 174, 260 - - “Old Kochi,” i. 190 - - _O mi t’o fo_ (Amitabha Buddha), i. 100; ii. 302 - - On-biscuit decoration, ii. 242 - - On-glaze enamels, ii. 18, 48 - - “Onion green,” i. 62 - - Opalescence, i. 50 - - Openwork designs, i. 177; ii. 102, 245, 246 - - Opium pipes, i. 177; ii. 277 - - Orange, ii. 296 - - Orange peel markings, ii. 8, 9 - - Orchid Pavilion, ii. 281 - - _Orientalisches Archiv_, i. 145 - - “Oriental Lowestoft,” ii. 251 - - Ormolu mounts, French, ii. 146, 194 - - Ornament, symbolical, ii. 285 - - Orrock Collection, ii. 134 - - _Ostasiatischer Zeitschrift_, i. 27 - - Ou, i. 17, 37, 120, 181; ii. 65, 217 - - Ou, Eastern, ii. 108 - - Owen, ii. 76 - - Ox, ii. 286 - - Oxide of copper, i. 118, 137 - - Oxides, metallic, i. 49 - - - _Pa chi hsiang_, ii. 25, 42 - - _Pa kua_ (Eight Trigrams), ii. 39, 41, 67, 274, 290 - - Pa-kwoh, i. 187 - - _Pa pao_ (Eight Precious Symbols), ii. 42 - - _Pa pei_ (handle cups), ii. 7, 23 - - Pa Shan, waterfalls of, ii. 43 - - Pagoda, porcelain, i. 202; ii. 4, 20 - - _Pai ma_, ii. 286, 294 - - _Pai-o_, i. 146 - - Pai-shih, ii. 211, 212, 213 - - _P’ai-shih-lei-p’ien_, i. 68 - - Pai-shui, i. 199 - - _Pai-ting_, i. 92, 96 - - Pai-t’u Chên, i. 97 - - _Pai-tz’ü_, ii. 109 - - Painted decoration, i. 161 - - Painted T’ang wares, i. 34 - - Painted ornament, i. 91 - - Painted red flowers, i. 136 - - Painted Tz’ŭ ware, i. 101, 103 - - Painters’ signatures and seals, ii. 164, 212 - - Painting, i. 33 - - Painting in enamels, i. 46 - - Painting in gold, ii. 21 - - Painting porcelain, system of, ii. 63, 105, 106, 163, 239 - - Painting, red and green, i. 104 - - Pak-hoi, i. 172, 173, 184 - - Palace hall marks, i. 220 - - Palace porcelain, ii. 1, 271, 293 - - “Palm eye” markings, i. 53; ii. 9, 93, 219 - - Palmette-like ornaments, i. 28 - - Panel decoration, ii. 133 - - Pan Fei, i. 24 - - _Pan t’o tai_ (“half bodiless”), ii. 3, 195 - - P’an Yo, i. 16 - - _Pao hsiang hua_, ii. 39, 87, 295 - - Pao kuo ssŭ temple, ii. 18 - - _Pao shao_, ii. 24, 224 - - _Pao shih hung_, ii. 10, 24, 59, 99, 123, 223 - - _Pao shih lan_, ii. 219, 224 - - Paper-beater, shape, ii. 268, 274 - - _Paragons of Filial Piety, the Twenty-Four_, ii. 134, 282 - - Paraphernalia, seven, ii. 297 - - Parian ware, ii. 266 - - Paris Exhibition, i, 173, 184, 187, 188, 202 - - Parthian coffins, i. 9 - - Parthians, i. 5 - - “Partridge cups,” i. 93, 103, 131, 132, 164 - - Partridges, ii. 295 - - _Pâte sur pâte_, ii. 77, 196 - - Pattern books, ii. 105, 303 - - Peach, ii. 286, 288, 301 - - “Peach bloom,” ii. 99, 146, 176, 177, 178, 179, 185 - - Peacocks, ii. 39, 258 - - “Pear skin” clay, i. 174 - - Pearl or jewel, ii. 291 - - Peking, i. 200, 205, 206; ii. 126 - - Peking bowls, ii. 239, 244, 264 - - Peking lacquer, ii. 263 - - Pekingese spaniel, ii. 39, 293 - - Peking, tile works near, ii. 237 - - Pen rest, ii. 32 - - P’êng Chün-pao, i. 94, 97 - - P’êng ware, i. 164 - - Pêng-lai mount, i. 7; ii. 156, 290 - - Peony, ii. 294 - - Perfume vase, ii. 68 - - Persia, i. 86, 193; ii. 12, 29, 30, 31, 44, 69, 247, 278 - - Persian forms, ii. 67 - - Persian glazed bricks, i. 9 - - Persian Gulf, i. 149 - - Persian market, wares for, ii. 73, 77, 81 - - Persian monsters, i. 27 - - Persian ware, i. 34, 103, 104, 148; ii. 30, 48 - - Perzynski, F., i. 27, 35; ii. 43, 70, 73, 74, 75, 89, 90, 105 - - Peters Collection, S. T., i. 12; ii. 18, 190, 191, 192 - - Peters, S. T., i. 114 - - _Petuntse_, i. 148; ii. 91, 123, 248 - - Pheasant, ii. 295, 297 - - Philippines, i. 87, 189 - - Phillips, Rev. H. S., i. 132 - - Phœnix, i. 90; ii. 39, 269, 288, 293 - - Phœnix ewer, i. 149 - - Phœnix Hill, i. 59, 61, 72, 134 - - _Pi chuang so yü_, i. 72 - - _P’i hsieh_, ii. 294 - - P’i-ling, i. 91, 95 - - _Pi liu li_, i. 144 - - _Pi sê_ (secret colour), i. 38, 39, 40, 54 - - _Pi ting ju i_, ii. 301 - - _Pi t’ung_, ii, 275 - - _P’iao tz’ŭ_, i. 16, 143 - - Pictures of manufacture of porcelain, ii. 248 - - _P’ieh_, i. 165; ii. 5 - - Pierced design, i. 194; ii. 59, 75, 76, 79, 196, 246 - - Pigments, unfired, i. 3 - - Pilgrim bottles, ii. 274 - - Pilkington Tile Works, i. 200 - - Pillows, i. 104, 105, 107; ii. 97, 276 - - Pine, bamboo and plum design, ii. 47 - - _P’ing hua p’u_, i. _xvi_; ii. 94 - - _P’ing shih_, ii. 94 - - P’ing-ting Chou, i. 97; ii. 107 - - P’ing-yang Fu, i. 32, 97 - - Pink, ruby, ii. 238 - - Pipes, ii. 278 - - Plaques, ii. 97, 117, 277 - - Plates, ii. 97 - - Plates, seven border, ii. 211 - - Plum blossom crackle, ii. 244 - - Plum blossom design, i. 133 - - P’o-hai, i. 148 - - _Po shan lu_, i. 12 - - _Po t’ang_ blue, ii. 98 - - Points of compass, ii. 41 - - Polynesian khava bowls, i. 129 - - Pomegranate-shaped pots, i. 198 - - Pools of glass, i. 171 - - Porcelain, archaic specimens of translucent, i. 163 - - Porcelain, beginnings of, i. 15, 39, 89, 141–151 - - Porcelain, decorated, at Canton, ii. 211 - - Porcelain, special kinds of, ii. 201 - - Porcelain, white, ii. 195 - - Portuguese, ii. 68, 89 - - Po-Shan Hsien, i. 103, 107, 188, 200 - - _Po wu yao lan_, i. 61, 224 - - Po-yang Lake, i. 152 - - Pot-hook-like herbage, ii. 90 - - Potter Palmer Collection, i. 34, 35 - - Potters’ marks, i. 221 - - Potters’ names, i. 220, 223; ii. 64 - - Pottery, origin of, i. 2 - - Precious Objects, Eight, ii. 297, 298 - - Precious stone red, ii. 11, 122 - - Precious Symbols, Eight, ii. 42 - - “Press-hand” bowls, ii. 93 - - Preussler, ii. 260 - - Pricket candlesticks, ii. 60 - - Prints, copying effect of European, ii. 214 - - Prunus design, ii. 134, 135, 152 - - _P’u shu t’ing chi_, ii. 23 - - Puzzle jug, ii. 251 - - - Quails, ii. 295 - - - Radiating lines under base, ii. 92 - - Ram, ii. 294 - - Rams design, three, ii. 43 - - Raphael Collection, i. 63 - - “Rat and vine” pattern, ii. 231, 245, 303 - - Read, Sir C. Hercules, i. _xxv_, 31 - - Rebus designs, ii. 299, 300 - - Red and gold decoration, ii. 6 - - Red and green family, i. 104 - - Red biscuit, ii. 9 - - Red, copper, ii. 6, 11, 55 - - Red, coral, ii. 6, 48, 51, 160, 238 - - Red family of Wan Li porcelain, ii. 81 - - Red, _flambé_, ii. 124 - - Red in the glaze, ii. 204 - - Red, iron, ii. 51, 55, 165, 179, 215, 235, 244 - - Red, jujube, ii. 210, 219, 238 - - Red, liver, ii. 99, 178, 194, 238 - - Red, maroon, ii. 178, 179, 194 - - Red, crushed strawberry, ii. 119, 125 - - Red, ox-blood, ii. 124 - - Red, ritual significance of, ii. 195 - - Red, ruby, ii. 221, 224 - - Red, soufflé, ii. 127, 193, 194, 218, 219, 224, 238 - - Red, underglaze, ii. 10, 79, 99, 119, 145, 146, 204, 205, 241 - - Relief work, ii. 74, 196 - - Revolving necks, ii. 246, 262 - - Rhages, i. 87 - - Rhinoceros jars, ii. 36 - - de Ricci, M. Seymour, ii. 194 - - Rice grain pattern, ii. 246, 247, 263 - - Richard’s Geography, i. 56, 172 - - Rijks Museum, Amsterdam, ii. 75 - - Ring under base, double, ii. 69 - - Ritual vessels, ii. 272 - - Rock and wave design, ii. 81, 87, 290 - - Rockery and flowering plants, ii. 164 - - Rococo ornaments, ii. 258 - - Rome, i. 5 - - Roof tiles, i. 201 - - Rookwood Potteries, i. 200 - - Rose and ticket pattern, ii. 133 - - Rose pinks, ii. 210, 229, 237 - - Roth, Ling, i. 87, 193 - - Rotterdam, siege of, ii. 252 - - _Rouge de fer_, ii. 101, 160 - - _Rouleau_ shape, ii. 165, 269, 274 - - Rubbing with sand, ii. 159 - - “Ruby-back” porcelain, ii. 210, 213, 243 - - Rush pattern, i. 44 - - Ryoben, i. 36 - - - Sages meeting in landscape, ii. 95 - - St. Cloud, ii. 112, 173 - - St. Louis of France, ii. 252 - - St. Mark’s, Venice, ii. 113 - - Sakyamuni, ii. 284 - - Saladin, i. 87 - - Salting Collection, i. _xxiii_, 197; ii. 81, 83, 90, 95, 145, 156, - 160, 165, 168, 170, 179, 181, 185, 187, 235, 244 - - Salt glaze, ii. 144 - - Salvétat, M., ii. 10 - - Samantabhadra, ii. 285 - - Samarra, i. 101, 148, 149 - - Samian ware, i. 31 - - _San kuo_, ii. 11 - - _San ts’ai_ (three colours), i. 197; ii. 26, 33, 79, 100, 151, 152, - 153 - - _San yang k’ai t’ai_, ii. 43 - - _Sang de bœuf_ red, ii. 11, 99, 121, 123, 124, 125, 146, 176, 194, - 232, 271 - - Sanscrit characters, ii. 62, 66, 240, 286, 302 - - Sanuki, i. 200 - - Sarre, Professor, i. 101, 148; ii. 69 - - Sassanian, i. 34 - - Sassanian monsters, i. 27 - - Satsuma faience, i. 103 - - Saucers, ii. 278 - - Sawankalok, i. 81, 85, 88 - - Scale pattern, ii. 158, 259 - - Scholar design, famous, ii. 25 - - “Scratched blue,” ii. 144 - - Screens, ii. 277 - - Seagulls, little, i. 97 - - Sea-horses design, ii. 80 - - Sea waves, ii. 42 - - Seal characters, ii. 301 - - Seals, ii. 276 - - Seasons, flowers of four, ii. 38, 56, 134, 156, 296 - - Seasons, landscape, ii. 297 - - Seats, barrel-shaped, ii. 8, 15, 17, 60, 97, 277 - - “Secret colour” ware, i. 38, 59 - - Seggars, i. 156; ii. 248 - - Self-warming cups, i. 138 - - Seligmann, Dr. C., ii. 51, 67 - - Sepulchral furniture, i. 19 - - Sepulchral pottery, Han, i. 14 - - Sesamum design, i. 53 - - Seto, i. 123, 132 - - Sets, dinner-table, ii. 36, 267 - - Sets of five vases, ii. 97, 134, 279 - - Seven border plates, ii. 211 - - Sèvres, i. _xvi_; ii. 140, 251 - - Sèvres Museum, i. _xxiii_; ii. 230 - - _Sha t’ai_, i. 110, 123, 124, 128; ii. 141 - - Shah Abbas, ii. 30, 69 - - Shakuan, i. 172 - - Shan Chou, i. 201 - - _Shan kao shui ch’ang_, ii. 263 - - _Shan yü huang_, ii. 126 - - Shang dynasty, i. 44 - - Shanghai, i. 174, 188; ii. 212 - - Shansi, i. 97, 98 - - Shantung glass works, ii. 210 - - Shao Ch’êng-shang, i. 59 - - _Shao yao_, i. 61 - - Shao-wu Fu, ii. 108 - - _Shê p’i lü_, ii. 126 - - _Shên tê t’ang_, ii. 247, 264 - - _Shên tê t’ang po ku chih_, ii. 81 - - Shêng Tsung, i. 22 - - Shên-nung, i. 1 - - _Shih ch’ing_ (stone blue), ii. 9 - - _Shih ch’ing jih cha_, ii. 93, 305 - - Shin Huang Ti, i. 5 - - Shih Ta-pin, i. 175, 176, 177 - - Shih Tsung, i. 40, 41 - - Shih-kao, ii. 196 - - Shih-ma, i. 187 - - _Shih-mo_ (powdered stone), ii. 91 - - _Shih-tzŭ ch’ing_, ii. 98 - - Shih-wan, i. 172 - - _Shih wu kan chu_, ii. 30, 34 - - _Shin sho sei_, i. 94 - - Shop marks, i. 220; ii. 89, 113, 152 - - Shoso-in, i. 23, 25 - - _Shou_, ii. 33, 42, 302 - - Shou Characters, the Hundred, ii. 61 - - Shou Ch’êng, i. 25 - - Shou Chou, i. 40 - - Shou-hsing, ii. 287 - - Shou Lao, i. 185; ii. 286, 287, 289 - - Shou Shan, ii. 286, 288, 290 - - _Shou shan fu hai_, ii. 38 - - Shu, i. 98, 198 - - Shu chiao, i. 98 - - _Shu fu_ (mark), i. 161, 162, 163 - - _Shu wêng_, i. 98 - - _Shuko-yaki_, i. 85 - - Shun, the Emperor, i. 1; ii. 281 - - Shun Chih, ii. 117, 237 - - Shun-tê Fu, i. 39 - - _Shuo Wên_, i. 141 - - Siam, i. 81; ii. 278 - - Silkworm scrolls, ii. 270 - - Silvering, i. 161, 163; ii. 20, 175, 192, 215, 225, 226, 229 - - Slip decoration, ii. 77 - - Smith, Lieut. C., i. 87 - - Snuff bottles, ii. 202, 203, 216, 227, 262, 266, 277 - - “Soft Chün,” i. 121, 124, 127, 128 - - “Soft-paste” porcelain, i. 150; ii. 65, 75, 140, 142, 197, 241 - - Soleyman, i. 148 - - “Solid agate,” i. 33 - - Solon, M. L., i. 181 - - Southern Sung, i. 43, 67, 99 - - South, symbol of, ii. 41 - - Spanish, ii. 89, 252 - - Spanish dollar, ii. 90 - - Spider mark, ii. 140 - - Spinning Maiden, ii. 291, 292 - - Spirits of the Doorway, i. 20 - - “Spotted blue,” i. 166 - - “Spring painting,” ii. 57 - - Sprinklers, ii. 273 - - “Spur-marks,” i. 11, 53, 118 - - Square vases, ii. 274 - - Ssŭ Chou, i. 96 - - Ssŭ-hao, ii. 289 - - Ssŭ-ma Ch’ien, i. 1 - - Ssŭ-ma-kuang, ii. 281 - - _Ssŭ pu t’ang_, ii. 265 - - Ssŭ-t’iao, i. 144 - - Ssŭ-tu, ii. 108 - - Staff, knotted, ii. 286 - - Staffordshire, i. 33, 178 - - Stars, ii. 297 - - Statuettes, i. 24, 105; ii. 159 - - Steatite, ii. 77, 141, 196, 198, 201 - - Steatitic porcelain, ii. 141, 142, 203, 240, 246 - - Stein, Sir Aurel, i. 23, 25, 28, 31, 32, 107, 134, 149, 193 - - Stem-cups, ii. 7, 8, 202, 208 - - Stems, the Ten, i. 210 - - Storks, ii. 39, 286 - - Storks, the Hundred, ii. 61 - - Strawberry leaves border, ii. 257 - - Stübel Collection, i. _xxiii_, 84 - - Studio names, ii. 167, 215 - - Study, Four Subjects of, ii. 282 - - Su Chou, i. 96, 187, 188, 202 - - Su Chou lacquer, ii. 263 - - Su Shih, ii. 5 - - Su Wu, ii. 281 - - _Sui ch’i yao_, i. 99 - - Sui dynasty, i. 16, 17 - - Sulphate of iron, ii. 101 - - “Sulphuring,” ii. 146 - - Sultan of Egypt, i. 87 - - Sultan’s treasure, i. 87 - - _Su-ma-ni_, ii. 12 - - Sumatra, ii. 12 - - Summer Palace, i. 205 - - Sumptuary law, ii. 233 - - Sun, Mr., i. 91 - - Sun, the, ii. 291 - - _Su-p’o-ni_, ii. 12, 13 - - _Sung hsiang_, i. 187 - - Sung Pharmacopœia, i. 146 - - _Sung shih_, ii. 12 - - Sung wares, i. 43–51, 104 - - _Su-ni-p’o_, ii. 12, 22, 98 - - Supper sets, ii. 160, 278 - - Swallows, ii. 295 - - Swastika, ii. 76, 299, 302 - - Swatow, i. 184 - - Sword-grass bowls, i. 110 - - Symbol of literary success, ii. 6 - - Symbols, ii. 268, 297 - - Syria, ii. 247 - - Syrian pottery, i. 103; ii. 12, 30, 44 - - Syrup pots, ii. 278 - - - Table Bay, ii. 136 - - _Ta chiao_, ii. 34 - - Ta-ch’in, i. 144 - - _Ta ch’ing_, ii. 179 - - Ta-yi bowls, i. _xvi_ - - Ta Yüeh-chih, i. 144 - - Tael, i. 175 - - Ta-hsin, i. 177 - - _T’ai ch’ang_, i. 91; ii. 86 - - _T’ai chi_, ii. 268 - - T’ai-ming, ii. 108 - - T’ai p’ing rebellion, i. 154, 155; ii. 267, 271 - - _T’ai p’ing yu hsiang_, ii. 268 - - T’ai-po tsun, ii. 177, 185 - - T’ai-yüan Fu, i. 97, 194 - - Takatori, i. 31 - - Taklamakan Desert, i. 25 - - _Ta kuan_, i. 59, 60 - - Talbot, arms of, ii. 257 - - _Ta lü_, i. 65 - - Tamo, ii. 285 - - Tan, i. 202 - - Tan Hui-pan, ii. 282 - - _Tan kuei_ (red cassia), ii. 6, 51, 53 - - _Tan pai_, i. 61, 67, 71 - - _T’an yung_, ii. 34 - - Tanagra, i. 24 - - _Tan ch’ing_, i. 53, 54 - - _T’ang chien kung t’ao yeh t’u shuo_, i. 113 - - T’ang, district, i. 55 - - T’ang dynasty, i. 166, 201; ii. 233 - - _T’ang kuo shih pu_, i. 39 - - _T’ang ming_, i. 217 - - _T’ang pên ts’ao_, i. 89 - - T’ang Pharmacopœia, i. 89, 146 - - T’ang polychrome pottery, i. 33 - - _T’ang shih ssŭ k’ao_, i. 90, 142; ii. 59 - - _T’ang Shu_, i. 201 - - T’ang, the President of the Sacrifices, i. _xvii_, 91, 95 - - T’ang tomb, i. 101 - - T’ang wares, i. _xx_, 11, 16, 23–42, 56, 132; ii. 28, 78 - - T’ang wares, base of, i. 26 - - _T’ang yao_, ii. 121 - - T’ang Ying, i. 71, 141, 166, 167, 181; ii. 59, 121, 126, 200, 201, - 202, 209, 215, 216, 217, 220, 227, 228, 229, 230, 234, 237, 239, - 248 - - _T’ang ying lung kang chi_, ii. 58 - - T’ang’s manufactory, i. 166 - - T’ang’s white incense vase, i. 92 - - Tantalus cup, ii. 276 - - _T’ao_, i. 141, 142 - - _T’ao chêng chi shih_, i. 166 - - _T’ao Ch’êng shih yü kao_, i. 71; ii. 228 - - _T’ao chi lüo_, i. 159 - - Tao kuang, ii. 263 - - _T’ao lu_, the, _passim_ - - _T’ao shuo_, the, _passim_ - - _T’ao t’ieh_, ii. 290 - - T’ao yin-chü, i. 146 - - T’ao yü, i. 147, 153 - - T’ao Yüan-ming, ii. 25, 296 - - Taoism, i. 7; ii. 286 - - Taoist Immortals, Eight, ii. 38 - - Tassie, ii. 251 - - Tattooed design, ii. 144 - - Ta-yi, i. 32, 40, 147 - - Tazza-shaped cup, ii. 272 - - Tea bowls, ii. 5, 278 - - Tea competitions, i. 94, 131 - - Tea cup handles, ii. 277 - - Tea drinking, i. 178 - - “Tea dust,” i. 31, 135; ii. 233, 264 - - Tea green, i. 31, 133 - - Tea leaves, staining with, ii. 197, 198 - - Tea pot, i. 176, 178; ii. 278 - - Tear stains, i. 90, 101, 113 - - Tê-hua porcelain, i. _xv_; ii. 107, 108, 109, 111, 112, 113, 114, - 115 - - _Temmoku_ ware, i. 31, 131, 132, 133 - - Têng, district of, i. 55, 56 - - Têng-fêng Hsien, i. 201 - - “Three colours,” i. 104, 197; ii. 26, 100, 147, 151, 190, 207, 241 - - Three heroes of Han dynasty, ii. 281 - - Three kingdoms, ii. 281 - - Three-legged bird, ii. 291 - - _Ti_ (saucers), i. 110 - - _T’ieh hsin_, ii. 233 - - _T’ien Ch’i_ ii. 86 - - _T’ien ch’ing_, i. 62, 65; ii. 238 - - _T’ien chu ên po_, ii. 240 - - _T’ien kung k’ai wu_, ii. 107 - - _T’ien lan_, i. 117; ii. 232 - - _T’ien lu_, ii. 294 - - T’ien Ming, ii. 117 - - _T’ien pai_, ii. 37, 248 - - T’ien Shun, ii. 28 - - _T’ien t’ang_, ii. 264, 290 - - T’ien Tsung, ii. 117 - - Tiger, ii. 294 - - Tiger lily design, ii. 131, 134 - - Tiger of the West, i. 56 - - “Tiger skin,” i. 31; ii. 80, 89, 127, 148, 190, 226, 264 - - Tiger, the white, i. 20; ii. 291 - - Tiles, i. 187, 194, 201, 202, 205 - - Tiles, lustred, ii. 30 - - Tin, in the glaze, i. 182 - - Ting Chou, ii. 107 - - Ting Chou ware, red, i. 158 - - Ting Chou wares, i. _xvi_, 40, 45, 52, 85, 89–96, 105, 146, 147 - - _Ting chuang_, ii. 63, 74 - - Ting type of ware, ii. 86 - - Ting ware, i. 45, 78, 89–96, 101, 102, 146 - - Ting ware, black, i. 92, 93, 133 - - Ting ware, new, i. 94 - - Ting ware, Northern, i. 90, 162 - - Ting ware, purple, i. 92, 93, 98 - - Ting ware, red, i. 92 - - Ting ware, Southern, i. 90 - - Ting ware, white, i. 146, 149; ii. 201, 218 - - Ting yao, imitation of old, ii. 142, 197, 201 - - Toad, ii. 289, 291 - - _Tobi seiji_, i. 80 - - _Toko_, ii. 238 - - Tomb wares, i. 17, 24 - - Tombs, i. 9, 13, 101 - - Tombs, Egyptian, ii. 266 - - Torrance, Rev. Thomas, i. 10, 13, 14 - - Tortoise, i. 95; ii. 288, 289 - - Tortoise of the North, i. 56; ii. 291 - - _T’o t’ai_ (“bodiless”), ii. 3, 5, 195, 248 - - _Tou ch’ing_, ii. 37, 99 - - _Toyei Shuko_, i. 25 - - Trade between China and West, mediæval, i. 86 - - Tradescant Collection, i, 193; ii. 68 - - Trading station, i. 86 - - Transfer prints, ii. 260 - - Transition enamels, ii. 257 - - Translucent porcelain, i. 148 - - Transmutation ware, i. 137, 156, 175; ii. 18, 192, 218, 232 - - Trenchard bowls, ii. 29 - - Trigrams, Eight, ii. 39, 41, 62, 268, 290 - - Trumpeter service, ii. 255 - - Ts’ai, i. 198 - - Ts’ai Chin-ch’ing, ii. 267 - - T’sai-hsiang, i. 131 - - _Ts’ai hua t’ang_, ii. 265 - - _Ts’ai hung_, ii. 179 - - _Ts’ai jun t’ang_, ii. 265 - - _Ts’ang yao_, ii. 121 - - Ts’ang Ying-hsüan, ii, 121, 126, 168, 180, 187, 190 - - Ts’ao-chao, i. 40 - - Ts’ao Chiung, i. 75 - - _Tsao’rh hung_, ii. 218 - - _Tsao t’ang_, ii. 34 - - _Ts’ao tien yu chi_, ii. 58 - - _Tso Ch’uan_, the, i. 2 - - _Tsou_, i. 97, 188 - - Tsou Hsien, i. 201 - - _Ts’ui_, i. 77; ii. 161 - - _Ts’ui kung yao_, ii. 52 - - Ts’ui, Mr., ii. 52, 64 - - _Ts’ui sê_, i. 37 - - Ts’ung Tê, ii. 116 - - _Ts’ung ts’ui_, i. 109 - - Tu, i. 40, 147 - - _Tu shu_, i. 76, 166, 201; ii. 197 - - _T’u ssŭ wên_, i. 113 - - _T’u ting_, i. 90, 91, 92, 94, 97, 98, 135, 164, 168, 190; ii. 113, - 218 - - Tu Yü, i. 16 - - Tu-chiu, i. 95 - - _T’u k’uai_, i. 27 - - _Tu kung t’an tsüan_, i. 62 - - Tulip-like flower pattern, ii. 90 - - Tun-huang, i. 28 - - T’ung, ii. 58, 59, 117 - - T’ung Chih, ii. 267 - - _Tung ch’ing_, i. 48, 75; ii. 189 - - T’ung-chou Fu, i. 199 - - Tung-fang So, ii. 133, 159, 288 - - Tung-han, i. 176 - - _Tung hsiang t’ang_, i. 198 - - Tung-p’o, i. 137 - - _Tung ya_, ii. 18, 19, 92 - - Tung ware, i. 66, 82 - - Turfan, i. 16, 23, 31, 36, 101, 107, 130, 134, 149 - - Turkestan, i. 86, 193 - - Turkey, ii. 218, 279 - - Twelve embroidery ornaments, ii. 297 - - _Tz’ŭ_ (porcelain), i. 140, 141, 142 - - _Tzŭ_ (purple), i. 93, 109 - - _Tzŭ chin_ (golden brown), ii. 37, 38, 65, 99, 191, 192 - - Tzŭ-ching, ii. 14 - - Tz’ŭ Chou ware, i. 46, 91, 101–108, 128, 133, 135, 149, 166, 193, - 198, 218; ii. 30 - - Tz’ŭ-jén Temple, ii. 23 - - _Tz’ŭ_ stone, i. 101, 107, 147 - - _Tz’ŭ t’ai_ (Chün ware), i. 110, 113, 123, 128 - - _Tz’ŭ-tsao_, ii. 108 - - - Urfe, d’, Honoré, i. 78 - - Ushaktal, i. 134 - - - Vaidurya, i. 144 - - Vajrapani, ii. 286 - - Van Eenhorn, i. 178 - - Vase organ, i. 138 - - Vases, bottle shaped, ii. 273 - - Vases, civil and military, ii. 281 - - Vases, divining rod, ii. 274 - - Vases, flower, ii. 273, 275 - - Vases, perfume, ii. 68 - - Vases, square, ii. 274 - - Vash-shahri, i. 130, 134 - - Venetian glass, ii. 139 - - Vermilion boxes, ii. 35 - - Vermilion pigment, ii. 148 - - Victoria and Albert Museum, _passim_ - - Violet blue, dark, ii. 99 - - Virgin and Child, images of, ii. 111, 285 - - Virtuous Heroines, ii. 282 - - Voretzsch, i. 206 - - - _Wa wa_(children), ii. 25, 281 - - Wall of China, great, i. 5 - - Wall vases, ii. 275 - - Walters Collection, ii. 227 - - _Wan_, ii. 76 - - _Wan fu yu t’ung_, ii. 51 - - _Wan ku ch’ang ch’un ssŭ hai lai chao_, ii. 62 - - Wan Li wares, ii. 24, 57, 58–81, 161, 208, 224 - - _Wan Li wu ts’ai_, ii. 48, 81, 82, 100, 160 - - _Wan shih chü_, ii. 167 - - _Wan shou_, ii. 82 - - _Wan shou am chiang_, ii. 169 - - Wang Ch’iao, ii. 288 - - Wang Chih, ii. 110, 133, 282 - - Wang Ching-min, ii. 59 - - Wang Hsi Chih, ii. 281 - - Wang Ping-jung, ii. 266 - - Wang Shêng-kao, ii. 247 - - Wang Shih-chêng, i. 201 - - Wang-tso, i. 40 - - Wang Tso-t’ing, ii. 266 - - Wang Wei, i. 23 - - Wang-yu, ii. 164 - - Wantage Collection, Lady, ii. 221, 262 - - Warham bowl, i. 88 - - Warner, Langdon, i. 36 - - Water droppers, ii. 276 - - Waterfall, ii. 68 - - Water pots, ii. 276 - - Wave and rock pattern, ii. 63 - - Wave pattern, i. 137; ii. 56, 302 - - Waves and plum blossoms design, ii. 56, 63, 80, 155 - - Wedding bowl, ii. 268 - - Wei, i. 27 - - _Wei ch’i_, ii. 282 - - Wei dynasty, i. 16 - - Wei Hsien, i. 103, 104 - - Weights, ii. 97 - - Well-head, i. 12 - - Wells Williams, S., i. 172, 184 - - Wên, Prince, i. 25 - - Wên (Sung minister), i. 99 - - Wên Ch’ang, ii. 159, 284 - - Wên Chêng-ming, ii. 243 - - Wên-chou, i. 143; ii. 108 - - _Wên fang ssŭ k’ao_, i. 60 - - Wên Lang-shan, ii. 263 - - _Wên p’ing_(civil vase) and _wu p’ing_ (military vase), ii. 281 - - _Wên-wang_ censers, i. 94 - - West, symbol of, ii. 41 - - Wheel, potter’s, i. 2 - - Whieldon wares, i. 25, 33 - - Whitechapel Art Gallery, ii. 233 - - “White earth village,” i. 97 - - White earth, where found, ii. 107 - - White in blue ground design, ii. 130 - - White porcelain, ii. 195 - - White slip, ii. 5 - - White ware, dead, ii. 201 - - Wilkes, John, ii. 255 - - Williams, Mrs., i. 110, 123 - - Willow, ii. 296 - - Willow pattern, ii. 258, 296 - - Wine cup, ii. 278 - - Wine Cup, Eight Immortals of the, ii. 282 - - Wine pot, i. 161, 162 - - Winter Palace, i, 205 - - Winthrop, Mr., ii. 29 - - Wolfsbourg, de, ii. 260 - - Wood, Enoch, ii. 259 - - Worcester, i. 187; ii. 76, 136, 141, 183, 251, 258, 259, 260 - - _Wu chên_, ii. 230 - - _Wu chin_, ii. 192, 193, 210, 218, 226, 229, 230, 231 - - Wu-ch’ing Hsien, i. 200, 202 - - Wu chou, i. 40 - - _Wu fu_, ii. 11 - - Wu I-shan, i. 175 - - _Wu kung yang_, ii. 24 - - _Wu lao_, ii. 283 - - Wu-mên-t’o, ii. 59, 91 - - _Wu ming_ tzŭ, ii. 12, 98 - - _Wu ming yi_, i. 187; ii. 12, 98 - - _Wu-ni_ wares, i. 61, 66, 67, 133, 134, 164 - - Wu San-kuei, i. 154; ii. 125 - - Wu _sê_, i. 162; ii. 20 - - Wu Tao-tzŭ, i. 23, 137 - - Wu Ti, i. 7, 11, 15; ii. 288 - - _Wu ts’ai_ (“decorated in five colours”), ii. 8, 9, 17, 20, 22, 23, - 26, 55, 63 - - - Yacut, i. 87 - - _Ya ku ch’ing pao shih_, i. 62 - - _Ya shou_ pei, ii. 3, 4, 5 - - Yang-Chiang, i. 84, 166, 172 - - _Yang-hsien ming hu hsi_, i. 139, 174, 176 - - Yang Kuei-fei, ii. 282 - - _Yang ts’ai_ (foreign colours), ii. 209, 225 - - Yangtze, i. 89 - - _Yang tz’ŭ_ ware, i. 166, 167 - - _Yao_, i. 142 - - Yao, ii. 281 - - Yao, district of, i. 55, 56 - - Yao Niang, i. 24 - - _Yao pien_, i. 137, 139, 157, 175; ii. 18, 193, 218, 224, 232 - - Yeh-chih, i. 55 - - Yellow, eel, ii. 127, 190, 218, 223 - - Yellow, European style, ii. 220 - - Yellow, mustard, ii. 190, 223 - - Yellow, Nanking, ii. 145, 170, 191, 192 - - Yellow, ritual significance of, ii. 195 - - Yellow, spotted, ii. 126, 127, 190, 218, 223, 226 - - Yellow, sulphur, ii. 220, 239 - - Yellow ware, i. 160, 163, 187; ii. 28, 190, 239 - - Yen-shên Chên, i, 200 - - Yen Shih-ku, i. 144 - - _Yen yen_ vase, ii. 156 - - Yesdijird, i. 34 - - Yetts, Dr., ii. 292 - - Yi, Prince of, ii. 200 - - Yi-chên, i. 200, 202 - - Yi Hsien, i. 201 - - Yi-hsing, ii. 65, 187 - - Yi-hsing Chün, i. 120, 179 - - Yi-hsing wares, i. _xv_, 120, 123, 127, 171, 172, 174–183, 188, - 190, 198; ii. 217, 224, 245 - - _Yin hua_, i. 91, 161 - - _Yin Yang_, ii. 62, 268, 283, 290 - - _Yin yang tsa tsu_, the, i. 19 - - Yo Chou, i. 40, 199 - - _Yo fu tsa lu_, i. 39 - - Yorke and Cocks, arms of, ii. 212, 213 - - Yoshitsune, flute of, ii. 113 - - _Yu chai_, ii. 212 - - _Yü chih kêng chih t’u_, ii. 164 - - Yü Chou, i. 109, 124, 128, 147; ii. 107 - - _Yü fêng yang lin_, ii. 212 - - Yü-hang Hsien, i. 67 - - Yü-hang wares, i. 66, 134 - - _Yü lan_, i. 53 - - _Yu li hung_, ii. 122, 125, 204, 225 - - _Yu lü_, ii. 224 - - _Yu po lo_, ii. 25 - - _Yü t’ang chia ch’i_ mark, i. 218; ii. 75, 77, 79, 82 - - _Yu t’u_ (glaze earth), ii. 91 - - Yu-tzŭ Hsien, i. 97 - - Yü wang shang ti, ii. 291 - - Yü-yao, i. 38 - - _Yüan chai pi hêng_, i. 55 - - Yüan Ming Yüan, i. 205 - - Yüan tz’ŭ, i. 110, 124, 128, 129, 130, 164 - - Yüan wares, i. 41, 50, 155, 159–165 - - Yüeh Chou, i. _xvi_, 17, 37, 38, 39, 40, 54 - - _Yüeh pai_, ii. 224 - - Yüeh ware, i. 59 - - Yuima, the, i. 36 - - _Yün hsien tsa chi_, i. 138 - - Yün-mên, i. _xvi_ - - _Yün shih chai pi t’an_, i. 91, 95 - - _Yün tsao_, i. 83 - - Yung-ch’ang, ii. 30 - - Yung Chêng, i. 45 - - Yung Chêng imitations, i. 117, 119, 120; ii. 11, 43, 82 - - Yung Chêng list, i. 120 - - Yung Chêng mark, ii. 217 - - Yung Chêng monochromes, ii. 216 - - Yung Chêng wares, ii. 169, 200–226 - - Yung-Chou, i. 136 - - Yung-ho Chên, i. 98, 99 - - Yung Lo bowl, ii. 86 - - Yung Lo wares, ii. 3–6, 9, 12, 224 - - Yunnan, ii. 29 - - - Zanzibar, i. 86, 87 - - _Zeitschrift für Ethnologie_, the, i. 8 - - Zengoro Hozen, ii. 6 - - Zimmermann, E., i. 87, 145; ii. 5 - - Zinc, i. 168, 182 - - - PRINTED BY CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED, LA BELLE SAUVAGE, LONDON, - E.C. F 15.115 - - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] See vol. i, p. 153. - -[2] _fêng huo_. Bushell renders “blast furnaces.” - -[3] [chch 2] _lan kuang_, lit. “burn tube.” Omitting the radical [chch] -(_huo_, fire) in both cases, Bushell takes the characters as _lan_ -(blue) and _huang_ (yellow). Possibly Bushell’s edition had variant -readings. - -[4] Bk. vii., fol. 25 recto. - -[5] Or, perhaps, “greenish black,” taking the two words together. - -[6] [chch 2] lit. “omit body.” A slightly thicker porcelain is known -as _pan t’o t’ai_, or “half bodiless.” - -[7] [chch 2] _ts’ai chui_. These words seem to have been taken to mean -“decorated with an awl”; but they are better translated separately to -mean “bright coloured” and “(engraved with) an awl,” the suggestion -being that _ts’ai_ refers to enamelled porcelain. - -[8] Bk. ii., fol. 8 verso. - -[9] [chch 3] _Ya shou pei_, lit. “press hand cups.” - -[10] “Made in the Yung Lo period of the great Ming dynasty.” - -[11] The reading in the British Museum copy is [chch] _pai_ (white), -which seems to be an error for [hch] _ssŭ_ (four): taken as it stands, -it would mean written in white slip. - -[12] [chch] _hua_, lit. “slippery.” The meanings include “polished, -smooth, ground,” etc., from which it will be seen that the word could -equally refer to a glazed surface or an unglazed surface which had been -polished on the wheel. - -[13] This conical form of bowl was by no means new in the Ming period. -In fact, we are told in the _T’ao shuo_ that it is the _p’ieh_ of the -Sung dynasty, the old form of tea bowl. See vol. i, p. 175. - -[14] There are several others of this type in Continental museums; cf. -Zimmermann, op. cit. Plate 23. - -[15] _Cat._, F 6. - -[16] Bk. v., fol. 5. - -[17] Bk. ii., fol. 8. - -[18] _pa pei_, lit. handle cups. This type, as illustrated in -Hsiang’s Album (op. cit., No. 54) is a shallow cup or tazza on a tall -stem which was grasped by the hand. - -[19] An example of the figure subjects on Hsüan Tê blue and white is -given in the _T’ao shuo_, “teacups decorated with figures armed -with light silk fans striking at flying fire-flies”; see Bushell’s -translation, op. cit., p. 136. - -[20] “Citron dishes” are specially mentioned in the _Wên chên hêng -ch’ang wu chi_ (_T’ao lu_, bk. viii., fol. 4). - -[21] _Ch’ang k’ou_, lit. “shed mouth.” - -[22] Lit. “pot-bellied.” - -[23] Lit. “cauldron (_fu_) base.” - -[24] _an hua_, secret decoration (see p. 6). - -[25] “Made in the Hsüan Tê period of the great Ming dynasty.” - -[26] Lit. “orange-peel markings (_chü p’i wên_) rise in the glaze.” - -[27] i.e. red lines coloured by rubbing ochre into the cracks. See vol. -i, p. 99. - -[28] _O. C. A._, p. 371. - -[29] Unfortunately the term _pao shih hung_ has been loosely -applied in modern times to the iron red. See Julien, op. cit., p. -91 note: “Among the colours for porcelain painting which M. Itier -brought from China and offered to the Sèvres factory, there is one -called _pao shih hung_, which, from M. Salvétat’s analysis, is -nothing else but oxide of iron with a flux.” In other words, it is a -material which should have been labelled _fan hung_. This careless -terminology has led to much confusion. - -[30] _T’ao lu_, bk. v., fol. 7 recto. - -[31] The _Ch’ing pi tsang_ mentions “designs of flowers, birds, -fish and insects, and such like forms” as typical ornaments on the red -painted Hsüan porcelain. - -[32] The three fruits (_san kuo_) are the peach, pomegranate, and -finger citron, which typify the Three Abundances of years, sons and -happiness. - -[33] _Wu fu._ This may, however, be emblematically rendered by five -bats, the bat (_fu_) being a common rebus for _fu_ (happiness). - -[34] See p. 122. - -[35] According to Bushell, _O. C. A._, p. 130, “cobalt blue, as we -learn from the official annals of the Sung dynasty (_Sung shih_, bk. -490, fol. 12), was brought to China by the Arabs under the name of -_wu ming yi_.” This takes it back to the tenth century. _Wu ming yi_ -(nameless rarity) was afterwards used as a general name for cobalt -blue, and was applied to the native mineral. The name was sometimes -varied to _wu ming tzŭ_. Though we are not expressly told the source of -the _su-ni-p’o_ blue, it is easily guessed. For the Ming Annals (bk. -325) state that among the objects brought as tribute by envoys from -Sumatra were “precious stones, agate, crystal, carbonate of copper, -rhinoceros horn, and [chch 3] _hui hui ch’ing_ (Mohammedan blue).” See -W. P. Groeneveldt, _Verhandelingen van het Bataviaasch Genootschap van -Kunsten en Wetenschappen_, vol. xxxix., p. 92. These envoys arrived -in 1426, 1430, 1433, 1434, and for the last time in 1486. Sumatra was -a meeting-place of the traders from East and West, and no doubt the -Mohammedan blue was brought thither by Arab merchants. Possibly some of -the mineral was brought back by the celebrated eunuch Chêng Ho, who led -an expedition to Sumatra in the Yung Lo period. See also p. 30. - -[36] See _Cat. B. F. A._, 1910, L 23; a pilgrim bottle belonging -to Mrs. Halsey, inscribed after export to India with the word Alamgir, -a name of the famous Aurungzib. Cf. also the fine cylindrical vase in -the Victoria and Albert Museum (Case 2), with floral scrolls in this -type of blue combined with underglaze red, and the Hsüan Tê mark. - -[37] Op. cit., Nos. 9, 31, 37, 39, 48, 69 and 83. - -[38] _Hui hu_ is a variant for _hui hui_ (Mohammedan). - -[39] Probably due to over-firing. - -[40] On the parallelism between this type of porcelain decoration and -cloisonné enamel, see _Burlington Magazine_, September, 1912, p. -320. It is worthy of note that missing parts of these vases, such as -neck rim or handles, are often replaced by cloisonné enamel on metal, -which is so like the surrounding porcelain that the repairs are often -overlooked. - -[41] The yellow of this group is usually of a dull, impure tint, but -there is a small jar in the Peters Collection in New York on which the -yellow is exceptionally pure and brilliant, and almost of lemon colour. - -[42] In these cases the porcelain would be first fired without glaze -and the colours added when it was in what is called the “biscuit” -state. In the blue and white ware, on the other hand, and the bulk of -Chinese glazed porcelain, body and glaze were baked together in one -firing. - -[43] Bushell, _O. C. A._, p. 152. - -[44] Translation of the _T’ao shuo_, op. cit., p. 51. - -[45] This is the verdict of the _Po wu yao lan_, and it is -repeated in the _T’ao lu_, see Bushell, op. cit., p. 60. - -[46] Painted decoration is mentioned in Chiang’s Memoir of the Yüan -dynasty (see vol. i, p. 160), but without any particulars; and the -_Ko ku yao lun_ speaks of _wu sê_ decoration of a coarse kind -at the end of the Yüan period (see vol. i, p. 161). The latter may, of -course, refer to the use of coloured glazes. - -[47] Op. cit., fig. 77. - -[48] The application of these enamels in large washes puts them -practically in the category of glazes, but for the sake of clearness -it is best to keep the terminology distinct. After all, the difference -between a high-fired glaze which is applied to the biscuit and a -low-fired enamel applied in the same way is only one of degree, but if -we use the term enamel or enamel-glaze for the colours fired in the -muffle kiln as distinct from those fired in the porcelain kiln, it will -save further explanations. - -[49] A late Ming writer quoted in the _T’ao lu_ (bk. viii., fol. -18) says, “At the present day Hsüan ware cricket pots are still very -greatly treasured. Their price is not less than that of Hsüan Ho pots -of the Sung dynasty.” - -[50] Bushell, op. cit., p. 140. - -[51] _Po wu yao lan_, bk. ii., fol. 9 verso. - -[52] [chch] _hsien_. The emperor Ch’êng Hua was canonised as Hsien -Tsung. - -[53] See p. 12. - -[54] [chch 2] _ch’ien tan_. The _T’ao shuo_, quoting this passage, -uses a variant reading, _ch’ien shên_ [chch], which Bushell renders -“whether light or dark.” - -[55] _yu hua i_, lit. “have the picture idea.” - -[56] See Bushell, _O. C. A._, p. 385. - -[57] See Hsiang’s Album, op. cit., fig. 38. - -[58] Bk. vi., fols. 7–9, and Bushell’s translation, op. cit., pp. 141–3. - -[59] Op. cit., fig. 55. - -[60] _Burlington Magazine_, December, 1912, pp. 153–8. - -[61] The author of the _P’u shu t’ing chi_ (_Memoirs of the -Pavilion for Sunning Books_), quoted in the _T’ao shuo_, loc. -cit. - -[62] Op. cit., fig. 64. - -[63] Bushell (_T’ao shuo_, p. 142) gives the misleading version, -“bowls enamelled with jewels” and “jewel-enamelled bowls,” omitting in -his translation the note in the text which explains their true meaning -as _pao shih hung_ or ruby red. - -[64] [chch 2] _ts’ao ch’ung_ can equally well mean “plants and -insects” or “grass insects,” i.e. grasshoppers. In fact, Julien -translated the phrase in the latter sense. - -[65] _Chin hui tui_, lit. brocade ash-heaps. - -[66] Not as Bushell (_T’ao shuo_, op. cit., p. 143), “medallions -of flower sprays and fruits painted on the four sides”; _ssŭ mien_ -(lit. four sides) being a common phrase for “on all sides” does not -necessarily imply a quadrangular object. - -[67] _Shih nü_, strangely rendered by Bushell “a party of young -girls.” - -[68] The dragon boats raced on the rivers and were carried in -procession through the streets on the festival of the fifth day of the -fifth month. See J. J. M. de Groot, _Annales du Musée Guimet_, -vol. xi., p. 346. A design of children playing at dragon boat -processions is occasionally seen in later porcelain decoration. - -[69] Cf. the favourite design of children under a pine-tree on Japanese -Hirado porcelain. - -[70] Op. cit., figs. 38, 49, 55, 56, 63, 64, 65, 66 and 76. - -[71] [chch 2] Bushell has translated it “diffused colours,” but _fu_ is -also used for “applying externally” in the medicinal sense, which seems -specially appropriate here. - -[72] [chch 2], lit. “fill up (with) glaze,” the colour of the glaze -being specified in each case. Cf. _lan ti t’ien hua wu ts’ai_ -(blue ground filled up with polychrome painting), a phrase used to -describe the decoration of the barrel-shaped garden seats of the Hsüan -Tê period. See p. 17. - -[73] Fig. 63, a cup in form like the chicken cups (_chi kang_). - -[74] [chch 2] _ch’i shang._ - -[75] Op. cit., Plate ii. - -[76] See E. Dillon, _Porcelain_, Plate xviii. - -[77] See E. Dillon, _Porcelain_, Plate vii. - -[78] See _Cat, B. F. A._, 1910, H 21, I 7. - -[79] [chch 2] - -[80] [chch 2] - -[81] [chch 2]. - -[82] [chch 2]. - -[83] Op. cit., No. 42. - -[84] [chch], delicate, beautiful. - -[85] [chch 2]. - -[86] [chch 2]. - -[87] Vol. ii., p. 277. - -[88] See vol. i, p. 154. - -[89] See p. 12. - -[90] This account is quoted from the _Shih wu kan chu_, published -in 1591. - -[91] See p. 12. - -[92] See Hirth, _China and the Roman Orient_, p. 179. - -[93] The converse is equally true, and Chinese porcelain of this kind -is frequently classed among Persian wares. Indeed, there are not a -few who would argue that these true porcelains of the hard-paste -type were actually made in Persia. No evidence has been produced to -support this wholly unnecessary theory beyond the facts which I have -mentioned in this passage, and the debated specimens which I have had -the opportunity to examine were all of a kind which no one trained -in Chinese ceramics could possibly mistake for anything but Chinese -porcelain. - -[94] This peculiarity occurs on a tripod incense vase in the -Eumorfopoulos Collection, which in other respects resembles this little -group, but it is a peculiarity not confined to the Chêng Tê porcelain, -for I have occasionally found it on much later wares. - -[95] A somewhat similar effect is seen on the little flask ascribed to -the Hsüan Tê period. See p. 14. - -[96] Op. cit., Nos. 52 and 80. These are the latest specimens which are -given by Hsiang Yüan-p‘ien. - -[97] _Cat._, H 8. - -[98] A similar vase is in the Victoria and Albert Museum. - -[99] [chch 3] _hsien hung t’u_, lit. “the earth for the fresh red,” an -expression which would naturally refer to the _clay_ used in making -ware of this particular colour, though Bushell has preferred to take it -in reference to the _mineral_ used to produce the colour itself. See p. -123. - -[100] Bk. ii., fol. 10. - -[101] A Ming writer quoted in the _T’ao lu_, bk. viii., fol. 4, adds -that these cups were marked under the base [chch 2] _chin lu_ (golden -seal), [chch 2] _ta chiao_ (great sacrifice), [chch 2] _t’an yung_ -(altar use). - -[102] _Ch’ing k’ou_, lit. mouth like a gong or sounding stone. - -[103] _Man hsin_, lit. loaf-shaped centre. - -[104] _Yüan tsu_, lit. foot with outer border. - -[105] An extract from the _I Chih_ (quoted in the _T’ao lu_, -bk. viii., fol. 14) states that “in the 26th year of Chia Ching, the -emperor demanded that vessels should be made with 'fresh red’ (_hsien -hung_) decoration; they were difficult to make successfully, and Hsü -Chên of the Imperial Censorate, memorialised the throne, requesting -that red from sulphate of iron (_fan hung_) be used instead.” A -memorial of similar tenor was sent to the emperor by Hsü Ch’ih in the -succeeding reign. - -[106] _O. C. A._, pp. 223–6. - -[107] Bk. vi., fols. 9–15. See also Bushell’s translation op. cit., pp. -145–51, and _O. C. A._, loc. cit. - -[108] Some idea of the quantity supplied may be gathered from the -following items in the list for the year 1546: 300 fish bowls, 1,000 -covered jars, 22,000 bowls, 31,000 round dishes (_p’an_), 18,400 -wine cups. - -[109] See Bushell, _O. C. A._, p. 226. - -[110] There are examples of this work in the British Museum, in which -the blue seems to have been sponged on or washed on, and the decoration -picked out with a needlepoint, and then the whole covered with a -colourless glaze. - -[111] _hsiang yün_, lit. felicitous clouds. - -[112] [chch 2] _t’ieh chin_, lit. stuck-on gold. - -[113] _O. C. A._, p. 221. - -[114] [chch 2] _t’ien pai_, a phrase frequently used in this sense, -though it is not quite obvious how it derives this meaning from its -literal sense of “sweet white.” - -[115] See p. 34. The _fan hung_ is an overglaze colour of -coral tint, derived from oxide of iron; the _hsien hung_ is an -underglaze red derived from oxide of copper. - -[116] _jang hua_, lit. “abundant or luxuriant ornament.” -_Embossed_ is Bushell’s rendering. - -[117] See Bushell’s translation, op. cit., p. 151. - -[118] [chch 3]. - -[119] See p. 298. - -[120] [chch 2] _ling chih_, a species of agaric, at first regarded -as an emblem of good luck, and afterwards as a Taoist emblem of -immortality. - -[121] See Bushell, _O. C. A._, p. 563. - -[122] [chch 2] _shih tzŭ_. The mythical lion is a fantastic animal with -the playful qualities of the Pekingese spaniel, which it resembles in -features. In fact the latter is called the lion dog (_shih tzŭ k’ou_), -and the former is often loosely named the “dog of Fo (Buddha),” because -he is the usual guardian of Buddhist temples and images. - -[123] [chch] _ts’ang_, azure or hoary. - -[124] Named by Bushell mackerel, carp., marbled perch, and another. - -[125] [chch 4]. - -[126] [chch] _chün_, a fleet horse. - -[127] Translation of the _T’ao shuo_ (p. 145). - -[128] _O. C. A._, p. 227. - -[129] [chch 4]. - -[130] See Laufer, _Jade_, p. 120. - -[131] See Mayers, part ii., p. 335. - -[132] _hua_ [chch]. Bushell (_T’ao shuo_, p. 146) has rendered this -with “flowers and inscriptions, etc.” In many cases in these lists it -is almost impossible to say whether the word _hua_ has the sense of -_flowers_ or merely _decoration_. The present passage _fu shou k’ang -ning hua chung_ seems to demand the second interpretation. - -[133] This dark blue Chia Ching ware was carefully copied at the -Imperial factory in the Yung Chêng period. See p. 203. - -[134] See _J. Böttger, Philipp Hainhofer und der Kunstschrank Gustav -Adolfs in Upsala_, Stockholm, 1909, Plate 71. The same interesting -collection includes a marked Wan Li dish with cloud and stork pattern -in underglaze blue, two cups, and a set of Indian lacquer dishes with -centres made of the characteristic Chinese export porcelain described -on p. 70. - -[135] _Cat B. F. A._, D 17. - -[136] A good example of this colouring is a large bowl with Chia Ching -mark in the Kunstgewerbe Museum, Berlin. - -[137] See vol. i, p. 225. - -[138] Figured in F. Dillon, _Porcelain_, Plate v. - -[139] Bk. v., fol. 9 recto. - -[140] [chch 2]. _Ts’ui_ is a fairly common name. It occurs as a mark on -a small figure of an infant in creamy white ware of Ting type in the -Eumorfopoulos Collection; but it is highly improbable that this piece -has anything to do with the Mr. Ts’ui here in question. - -[141] The _Ming ch’ên shih pi chou chai yü t’an_, quoted in the -_T’ao lu_, bk. viii., fol. 4, says, “When we come to Chia Ching -ware then there are also imitations of both Hsüan Tê and Ch’êng Hua -types (they even are said to excel them). But Mr. Ts’ui’s ware is -honoured in addition, though its price is negligible, being only -one-tenth of that of Hsüan and Ch’êng wares.” - -[142] Bk. iii., fol. 7. - -[143] See Bushell, _O. C. A._, p. 235. - -[144] Bk. vi., fol. 16, and Bushell’s translation, p. 152. - -[145] See _Ming ch’ên shih pi chou chai yü t’an_ (quoted in -_T’ao lu_, bk. viii., cf. 4 verso): “For Mu Tsung (i.e. Lung -Ch’ing) loved sensuality, and therefore orders were given to make this -kind of thing; but as a matter of fact 'Spring painting’ began in the -picture house of Prince Kuang Chüan of the Han dynasty....” - -[146] See _T’ao lu_, bk. viii., fols. 10 and 11, quoting from the -_Ts’ao t’ien yu chi_. - -[147] _T’ang ying lung kang chi_, quoted in the _T’ao lu_, -bk. viii., fols. 11 and 12. - -[148] Chao was supposed to have displayed superhuman skill in the -manufacture of pottery in the Chin dynasty (265–419 A.D.). - -[149] Bk. v., fol. 8. - -[150] For explanation of these terms, see p. 10. - -[151] Bushell’s rendering, “cups and saucers,” is misleading if not -verbally incorrect. - -[152] These are Bushell’s renderings. - -[153] [chch 3] _ssŭ hsŭ t’ou_, a phrase which would more usually -refer to the beard than the hair of the head. The above rendering is -Bushell’s. - -[154] [chch 2]. - -[155] [chch 2]. - -[156] [chch 3]. - -[157] [chch 4]. There is an allusion in this name to the story of Hu -Kung, a magician of the third and fourth centuries, who was credited -with marvellous healing powers. Every night he disappeared, and it was -found at length that he was in the habit of retiring into a hollow -gourd which hung from the door post. See A. E. Hippisley, _Catalogue -of a Collection of Chinese Porcelains_, Smithsonian Institute, -Washington, 1900. Hao’s porcelain is also known as _Hu kung yao_ -(the ware of Mr. Pots). - -[158] See _T’ao lu_, bk. v., fol. 10, and bk. viii., fol. 7, and -_T’ao shuo_, bk. vi., fol. 26. - -[159] [chch 2] _luan mu_, “the curtain inside the egg,” which conveys -the idea of extreme tenuity better than the most usual expression, “egg -shell” porcelain. - -[160] Half a _chu_. - -[161] [chch 3]. - -[162] _Tzŭ chin._ Golden brown with reddish tinge (_tzŭ chin tai -chu_), accurately describes one kind of stoneware tea pots made at -Yi-hsing (p. 177); but it is not stated whether Hao’s imitations were -in stoneware or porcelain. - -[163] An allusion to the celebrated orchid pavilion at Kuei-chi, in -Chêkiang, the meeting place of a coterie of scholars in the fourth -century. The scene in which they floated their wine cups on the river -has been popularised in pictorial art. See Plate 104 Fig. 1. - -[164] [chch 2]. - -[165] The _K’ao p’an yü shih_. - -[166] Bk. vi., fol. 16 recto. - -[167] See p. 140. - -[168] Bk. v., fol. 10 verso, under the heading, _Hsiao nan yao_ -(Little South Street wares). - -[169] [chch 2], apparently referring to the size of the vessels and -not necessarily implying that they were shaped like a frog. On the -other hand, small water vessels in the form of a frog have been made in -China from the Sung period onwards. - -[170] [chch 2]. - -[171] A similar ewer in Dr. Seligmann’s collection is marked with one -of the trigrams of the _pa kua_. - -[172] _Cat._, L 24. - -[173] _Cat._, E 19–25. - -[174] _Denkmäler Persischer Baukunst_, Plate lii., Text p. 41 and -Fig. 44. - -[175] The same emperor showed his appreciation for Chinese ceramics by -importing a number of Chinese potters into Persia. See p. 30. - -[176] It is recorded that the Emperor Wan Li sent presents of large -porcelain jars to the Mogul Emperor, and it is likely that similar -presents had arrived at the Persian Court. - -[177] _Cat._, Case X, No. 245, and Plate xv. - -[178] _Burlington Magazine_, October, 1910, p. 40. - -[179] See _Franks Catalogue_, No. 763. - -[180] _Burlington Magazine_, March, 1913, p. 310. See also -_Hainhofer und der Kunstschrank Gustav Adolfs_, op. cit., Plate -69, where a set of dishes of India lacquer is illustrated, each mounted -in the centre with a roundel of this type of porcelain. These dishes -are mentioned in a letter dated 1628. - -[181] Numbered 1191 and 1192. A number of other painters who have -introduced these Chinese porcelains into their work are named by Mr. -Perzynski (_Burlington Magazine_, December, 1910, p. 169). - -[182] See p. 63. - -[183] C 5–7. - -[184] _Cat._, No. 112D. - -[185] _Burlington Magazine_, December, 1910, p. 169. - -[186] The figures sometimes stand out against a background coloured -with washes of green, yellow and aubergine glaze. See Plate 82, Fig. 2. - -[187] See p. 43. - -[188] See vol. i., p. 218. - -[189] See p. 196. - -[190] I have seen occasional specimens with the Wan Li mark. - -[191] See vol. i., p. 218. - -[192] _Cat._, J 21. - -[193] _Cat._, A 33. In the Lymans Collection in Boston there are -several examples of this ware, including specimens with dark and light -coffee brown grounds and a jar in blue and white. - -[194] A collection of these is in the British Museum, and they include -many types of late Ming export porcelains. - -[195] _Cat. B. F. A._, K 37. - -[196] A jar with vertical bands of ornament in a misty underglaze red -of pale tint in the Eumorfopoulos collection probably belongs to this -period. Though technically unsuccessful, the general effect of the bold -red-painted design is most attractive. - -[197] See vol. i., p. 218. - -[198] _Cat._, J 16. - -[199] There is a whole case full of them in the celebrated Dresden -collection, a fact which is strongly in favour of a K’ang Hsi origin -for the group. - -[200] Eight Precious Things. See p. 299. - -[201] See vol. i., p. 219. - -[202] The fact that the enamellers’ shops at Ching-tê Chên to this day -are known as _hung tien_ (red shops) points to the predominance of -this red family in the early history of enamelled decorations. - -[203] See p. 67. - -[204] See vol. i., p. 218. - -[205] See p. 224. - -[206] See p. 90. - -[207] H 17, exhibited by Mr. G. Eumorfopoulos. - -[208] See p. 4. - -[209] See p. 94. - -[210] Other saucers of this kind have a decoration of radiating floral -sprays, and there are bowls of a familiar type with small sprays -engraved and filled in with coloured glazes in a ground of green or -aubergine purple. Some of these have a rough biscuit suggesting the -late Ming period; others of finer finish apparently belong to the K’ang -Hsi period. They often have indistinct seal marks, known as “shop -marks,” in blue. - -[211] _Burlington Magazine_, December, 1910, p. 169, and March, -1913, p. 311. - -[212] Figured in Monkhouse, op. cit., Fig. 2. The date of the mount -is disputed, some authorities placing it at the end of the sixteenth -century. - -[213] Figured by Perzynski, _Burlington Magazine_, March, 1913. A -vase of this style with tulip design in the palace at Charlottenburg -has a cyclical date in the decoration, which represents 1639 or 1699 -(probably the former) in our chronology. - -[214] [chch 3] _pai tun tzŭ_ white blocks. - -[215] A sixteenth-century work. See p. 2. - -[216] Many observers positively assert that the grooved foot rim does -not occur on pre-K’ang Hsi porcelain. If this is true, it provides a -very useful rule for dating; but the rigid application of these rules -of thumb is rarely possible, and we can only regard them as useful but -not infallible guides. - -[217] Quoted in _T’ao lu_, bk. viii., fol. 6. - -[218] _fu ti._ - -[219] _Man hsin._ - -[220] See _T’ao shuo_, bk. iii., fol. 7 verso. “Among other -things the porcelain with glaze lustrous and thick like massed lard, -and which has millet grains rising like chicken skin and displays palm -eyes (_tsung yen_) like orange skin, is prized.” The expression -“palm eyes” occurring by itself in other contexts has given rise to -conflicting opinions, but its use here, qualified by the comparison -with orange peel and in contrast with the granular elevations, -points clearly to some sort of depressions or pittings which, being -characteristic of the classical porcelain, came to be regarded as -beauty spots. - -[221] e.g. The _P’ing shih_, the _P’ing hua p’u_, and the -_Chang wu chih_, all late Ming works. An extract from the second -(quoted in the _T’ao lu_, bk. ix., p. 4 verso) tells us that -“Chang Tê-ch’ien says all who arrange flowers first must choose vases. -For summer and autumn you should use porcelain vases. For the hall and -large rooms large vases are fitting; for the study, small ones. Avoid -circular arrangement and avoid pairs. Prize the porcelain and disdain -gold and silver. Esteem pure elegance. The mouth of the vase should be -small and the foot thick. Choose these. They stand firm, and do not -emit vapours.” Tin linings, we are also told, should be used in winter -to prevent the frost cracking the porcelain; and _Chang wu chih_ -(quoted _ibidem_, fol. 6 verso) speaks of very large Lung-ch’üan -and Chün ware vases, two or three feet high, as very suitable for -putting old prunus boughs in. - -[222] Cobalt, the source of the ceramic blues, is obtained from -cobaltiferous ore of manganese, and its quality varies according to the -purity of the ore and the care with which it is refined. - -[223] _0. C. A._, p. 263. This very dark blue recalls one of the -Chia Ching types noted on page 36. - -[224] See p. 10. - -[225] But see p. 177. - -[226] _Biscuit_ is the usual term for a fired porcelain which has -not been glazed. - -[227] See p. 17. - -[228] It has been suggested by Mr. Joseph Burton that the opacity of -the colours described in the preceding paragraphs may have been due to -the addition of porcelain earth to the glazing material. - -[229] See p. 82. - -[230] See, however, p. 85. - -[231] See p. 2. - -[232] The _T’ao lu_ (bk. ix., fol. 17 verso) quotes an infallible -method for fixing the gold on bowls so that it would never come off; -it seems to have consisted of mixing garlic juice with the gold before -painting and firing it in the ordinary way. - -[233] Loc. cit., and Bushell, _O. C. A._, p. 268. - -[234] See p. 75. - -[235] See _T’ao shuo_, bk. iii., fol. 10 verso. - -[236] See p. 55. - -[237] e.g. The _Chieh tzŭ yüan ma chuan_ of the K’ang Hsi period, -mentioned by Perzynski, _Burlington Magazine_, March, 1913, p. 310. - -[238] Bushell’s translation, op. cit., p. 71. - -[239] _Ku chin t’u shu chi ch’êng_, section xxxii., bk. 248, -section entitled _tz’ŭ ch’i pu hui k’ao_, fol. 13 verso. - -[240] [chch 2] - -[241] The supplies of porcelain earth in the immediate district of Jao -Chou Fu were exhausted by this time. - -[242] The others were the Ch’ing-yün factory at Ssŭ-tu, and the -Lan-ch’i factory in the Chien-ning district. The latter district was -mentioned in vol. i., p. 130, in connection with the hare’s fur bowls -of the Sung period. - -[243] See vol. i., p. 17. - -[244] Tê-hua was formerly included in the Ch’üan-chou Fu, but is now in -the Yung-ch’un Chou. - -[245] See vol. i., p. 131. - -[246] Bk. vii., fol. 13 verso. - -[247] Loc. cit. - -[248] According to de Groot, _Annales du Musée Guinet_, vol. xi., -p. 195. - -[249] Brinkley, _China and Japan_, vol. ix., p. 274. - -[250] See W. Anderson, _Catalogue of the Japanese and Chinese -Paintings in the British Museum_, p. 75. - -[251] _O. C. A._, p. 628. - -[252] In the letter dated from Jao Chou, September, 1712, loc. cit. - -[253] Incised designs on Fukien wares consist of the ordinary -decoration etched in the body of the ware and of inscriptions which -have evidently been cut through the glaze before it was fired. The -latter often occur on wine cups, and are usually poetical sentiments or -aphorisms, e.g. “In business be pure as the wind”; “Amidst the green -wine cups we rejoice.” - -[254] _Japan and China_, vol. ix., p. 273. - -[255] _Everyday Life in China, or Scenes in Fukien_, by E. J. -Dukes, London, 1885, p. 140. The reference is given by Bushell in his -_Oriental Ceramic Art_. - -[256] Loc. cit., p. 273. - -[257] The _Li t’a k’an k’ao ku ou pien_, a copy of which, -published in 1877, is in the British Museum. This book does not inspire -confidence, but I give the passage for what it is worth: “When the -glaze (of the Chien yao) is white like jade, glossy and lustrous, rich -and thick, with a reddish tinge, and the biscuit heavy, the ware is -first quality ... Enamelled specimens (_wu ts’ai_) are second -rate.” - -[258] In the Pierpont Morgan collection (vol. i., p. 78), a specimen -with a blue mark is described as Fukien porcelain; but I should accept -the description with the greatest reserve, white Ching-tê Chên ware -being very often wrongly described in this way. - -[259] _O. C. A._, p. 294. - -[260] In the second volume of the Pierpont Morgan catalogue--which, -unfortunately, had not the benefit of Dr. Bushell’s erudition--the -late Mr. Laffan extended the term _lang yao_ so as to embrace the -magnificent three-colour vases with black ground and their kindred -masterpieces with green and yellow grounds. It is impossible to justify -this extension of the term unless we assume that the pieces in question -were all made between the years 1654–1661 and 1665–1668, while Lang -T’ing-tso was viceroy of Kiangsi. - -[261] _O. C. A._, p. 302. - -[262] Quoted in the Franks _Catalogue_, p. 8. - -[263] _O. C. A._, p. 302 footnote. - -[264] See also Hippisley, _Catalogue_, p. 346, where another -version is given which makes this Lang actually a Jesuit missionary, a -version which Mr. Hippisley afterwards abandoned when research in the -Jesuit records failed to discover any evidence for the statement. - -[265] See p. 11. - -[266] See p. 34. - -[267] Op. cit., Section ix. The paragraph in the first letter runs: “Il -y en a d’entièrement rouges, et parmi celles-là, les unes sont d’un -rouge à l’huile, _yeou li hum_; les autres sont d’un rouge soufflé, -_tschoui hum_ (_ch’ui hung_), et sont semées de petits points à peu -près comme nos mignatures. Quand ces deux sortes d’ouvrages réüssissent -dans leur perfection, ce qui est assez difficile, ils sont infiniment -estimez et extrêmement chers.” - -[268] There is a very beautiful glaze effect known as “ashes of roses,” -which seems to be a partially fired-out _sang de bœuf_. It is a -crackled glaze, translucent, and lightly tinged with a copper red which -verges on maroon. - -[269] The Emperor K’ang Hsi was specially concerned to encourage -industry and art, and in 1680 he established a number of factories -at Peking for the manufacture of enamels, glass, lacquer, etc. -Père d’Entrecolles mentions that he also attempted to set up the -manufacture of porcelain in the capital, but though he ordered workmen -and materials to be brought from Ching-tê Chên for the purpose, the -enterprise failed, possibly, as d’Entrecolles hints, owing to intrigues -of the vested interests elsewhere. - -[270] Bushell, op. cit., p. 3. - -[271] Bk. v., fol. 11. - -[272] [chch] lit. watered. This word has been rendered by some -translators as “pale”; but probably it has merely the sense of “mixed -with the (glaze) water,” i.e. a monochrome glaze. The recipe given in -the _T’ao lu_ (see Julien) is incomplete, only mentioning “crystals -of saltpetre and ferruginous earth (_fer ologiste terreux_).” Another -_chiao_ which signifies “beautiful, delicate,” is applied to the Hung -Chih yellow in Hsiang’s Album. See vol. ii., p. 28. - -[273] Lit. “yellow distribute spots.” See, however, p. 190. - -[274] See O. C. A., p. 317. - -[275] The two letters were published in _Lettres édifiantes et -curieuses_. They are reprinted as an appendix to Dr. Bushell’s -translation of the _T’ao shuo_. They have been well translated -by William Burton, in his _Porcelain_, Chap. ix.; Bushell gave a -_précis_ of them in his O. C. A., Chap, xi., and Stanislas Julien -quoted them extensively in his _Porcelaine Chinoise_. - -[276] Père d’Entrecolles (second letter, section xii.) points out that -the glaze used for the blue and white was considerably softer than that -of the ordinary ware, and was fired in the more temperate parts of the -kiln. The softening ingredient (which consisted chiefly of the ashes of -a certain wood and lime burnt together) was added to the glaze material -(_pai yu_) in a proportion of 1 to 7 for the blue and white as -against 1 to 13 for the ordinary ware. - -[277] On some of the large saucer-shaped dishes of this period the foot -rim is unusually broad and channelled with a deep groove. - -[278] See Bushell, _T’ao shuo_, op. cit., p. 192. It is tolerably -clear that d’Entrecolles in this passage is giving a verbatim rendering -of a Chinese description. The “flowers” is, no doubt, _hua_, and -might be rendered “decoration” in the general sense, and the “water and -the mountains” is, no doubt, _shan shui_, the current phrase for -“landscape.” - -[279] For the shape of the _ju-i_ head, see vol. i., p. 227. - -[280] “Flaming silver candle lighting up rosy beauty,” a Ch’êng -Hua design (see p. 25) but often found in K’ang Hsi porcelain, -which usually has, by the way, the Ch’êng Hua mark to keep up the -associations. - -[281] For further notes on design, see chap. xvii. - -[282] There is a small collection of these porcelains salved from the -sea and presented to the British Museum by H. Adams in 1853; but there -is no evidence to show which, if any, were on board the _Haarlem_. - -[283] This design was copied on early Worcester blue and white -porcelain. - -[284] In spite of Bushell’s translation of a Ming passage which would -lead one to think otherwise; see p. 40. - -[285] See vol. i., p. 226. - -[286] There are frequent allusions to the European trade in the letters -of Père d’Entrecolles. In the first letter (Bushell, _T’ao shuo_, -p. 191) a reference is made among moulded porcelains to “celles qui -sont d’une figure bisarre, comme les animaux, les grotesques, les -Idoles, les bustes que les Europeans ordonnent.” On p. 193: “Pour -ce qui est des couleurs de la porcelaine, il y en a de toutes les -sortes. On n’en voit gueres en Europe que de celle qui est d’un bleu -vif sur un fond blanc. Je crois pourtant que nos Marchands y en ont -apporté d’autres.” On p. 202, to explain the high price of the Chinese -porcelain in Europe, we are told that for the porcelain for Europe new -models, often very strange and difficult to manufacture, are constantly -demanded, and as the porcelain was rejected for the smallest defect, -these pieces were left on the potter’s hands, and, being un-Chinese -in taste, were quite unsaleable. Naturally the potter demanded a high -price for the successful pieces to cover his loss on the rejected. - -On the other hand, we are told (p. 204) that the mandarins, -recognising the inventive genius of the Europeans, sometimes asked -him (d’Entrecolles) to procure new and curious designs, in order that -they might have novelties to offer to the Emperor. But his converts -entreated him not to get these designs, which were often very difficult -to execute and led to all manner of ill-treatment of the unfortunate -workmen. - -On the same page we are told that the European merchants ordered large -plaques for inlaying in furniture, but that the potters found it -impossible to make any plaque larger than about a foot square. In the -second letter (section x.), however, we learn that “this year (1722) -they had accepted orders for designs which had hitherto been considered -impossible, viz. for urns (_urnes_) 3 feet and more high, with a -cover which rose in pyramidal form to an additional foot. They were -made in three pieces, so skilfully joined that the seams were not -visible, and out of twenty-five made only eight had been successful. -These objects were ordered by the Canton merchants, who deal with the -Europeans; for in China people are not interested in porcelain which -entails such great cost.” - -[287] This defect is noticed by Père d’Entrecolles, who mentions -another remedy used by the Chinese potters. They applied, he tells us -in section ii. of the second letter, a preparation of bamboo ashes -mixed with glazing material to the edges of the plate before the -glazing proper. This was supposed to have the desired effect without -impairing the whiteness of the porcelain. - -[288] See p. 74. - -[289] Second letter, section iv. - -[290] See Bushell, O. C. A., p. 320. - -[291] See p. 201. - -[292] The use of crackle glaze over blue (_porcelaine toute -azurée_) is noted by Père d’Entrecolles in his first letter. See -Bushell, op. cit., p. 195. - -[293] See Bushell, _T’ao shuo_, p. 197. - -[294] A somewhat similar but clumsier decoration was the “scratched -blue” of the Staffordshire salt glaze made about 1750. - -[295] On exceptional examples the red seems to have turned almost -black, and in some cases it seems to have penetrated the glaze and -turned brown. - -[296] A similar combination of coloured glazes was effectively used on -the moulded porcelains of the Japanese Hirado factory. - -[297] See pp. 48 and 100. - -[298] Loc. cit., second letter, section xiv. - -[299] Apparently _huang lü huan_, yellow and green (?) circles. -But without the Chinese characters it is impossible to say which -_huan_ is intended. The description seems to apply to the “tiger -skin” ware, where yellow, green and aubergine glazes have been applied -in large patches. Bushell (_O. C. A._, p. 331) makes this -expression refer to the specimens with engraved designs in colour -contrasting with the surrounding ground, such as Fig. 1 of Plate 79; -but this does not seem to suit the word _huan_. - -[300] Loc. cit., section xiv. - -[301] See footnote on p. 89. - -[302] The same technique is employed on some of the Japanese Kaga wares. - -[303] Apparently derived from manganese. - -[304] See p. 80. - -[305] Another favourite form is the ovoid beaker (see Plate 101), -which is sometimes called the _yen yen_ vase, apparently from -_yen_, beautiful. But I only have this name on hearsay, and it is -perhaps merely a trader’s term. - -[306] See p. 110. - -[307] A lotus-shaped set in the Salting collection numbers thirteen -sections. - -[308] The underglaze blue almost invariably suffered in the subsequent -firings which were necessary for the enamels, and, as we shall see, a -different kind of glaze was used on the pure enamelled ware and on the -blue and white. - -[309] Apart from the cases in which the enamel colours were added to -faulty specimens of blue and white to conceal defects. - -[310] See p. 85. - -[311] Op. cit., section vi. “Il n’y a, dit on, que vingt ans ou -environ qu’on a trouvé le secret de peindre avec le _tsoui_ ou en -violet et de dorer la porcelaine.” As far as the gilding is concerned, -this statement is many centuries wrong. The _tsoui_ is no doubt -the _ts’ui_, which is very vaguely described in section xii. -(under the name _tsiu_) of the same letter. Here it is stated to -have been compounded of a kind of stone, but the description of its -treatment clearly shows that the material was really a coloured glass, -which is, in fact, the basis of the violet blue enamel. - -[312] Bushell, op. cit., p. 193. - -[313] Loc. cit., p. 195. - -[314] See d’Entrecolles, second letter, section xii. - -[315] Burnt lime and wood ashes. See p. 92. - -[316] Catalogue of the 1910 exhibition, No. 84. - -[317] These seals are usually difficult to decipher, and the one in -question might be read _shui shih chü_ (water and rock dwelling). -This would be a matter of small importance did not the signature -read by Bushell as _wan shih chü_ occur in the Pierpont Morgan -Collection. Other instances in the same collection are _chu chü_ -(bamboo retreat), _shih chü_ (rock retreat), and _chu shih -chü_ (red rock retreat). The signature _chu chü_ also occurs on -a dish in the Dresden collection. - -[318] See p. 212. - -[319] See p. 64. - -[320] Cat., vol. i., p. 156. - -[321] Similar bottles in the Drucker Collection have the “G” mark. - -[322] _Fang tung yang_, “imitating the Eastern Sea” (i.e. Japan). - -[323] The first specimens (according to Bushell, _O. C. A._, p. -309) to reach America came from the collection of the Prince of Yi, -whose line was founded by the thirteenth son of the Emperor K’ang Hsi. - -[324] The general reader will probably not be much concerned as to -whether the peach bloom was produced by oxide of copper or by some -other process. Having learnt the outward signs of the glaze, he will -take the inner meaning of it for granted. Others, however, will be -interested to know that practically all the features of the peach bloom -glaze, the pink colour, the green ground and the russet brown spots -can be produced by chrome tin fired at a high temperature. I have seen -examples of these chrome tin pinks made by Mr. Mott at Doulton’s, which -exhibit practically all the peculiarities of the Chinese peach bloom. -It does not, of course, follow that the Chinese used the same methods -or even had any knowledge of chrome tin. They may have arrived at the -same results by entirely different methods, and the peach bloom tints -developed on some of the painted underglaze copper reds point to the -one which is generally believed to have been used; but the difference -between these and the fully developed peach bloom is considerable, -and though we have no definite evidence one way or the other, the -possibilities of chrome tin cannot be overlooked. - -[325] The form of this water pot is known (according to Bushell, -_O. C. A._, p. 318) as the _T’ai-po tsun_, because it was -designed after the traditional shape of the wine jar of Li T’ai-po, the -celebrated T’ang poet. In its complete state it has a short neck with -slightly spreading mouth. - -[326] See p. 146. - -[327] See p. 64. - -[328] i.e. lead glass. - -[329] _Chi_, lit. sky-clearing, and _chi ch’ing_ might be -rendered “blue of the sky after rain.” - -[330] There are some bowls and bottles in the Dresden collection with -glazes of a pale luminous blue which are hard to parallel elsewhere. - -[331] Loc. cit., section xvii. In another place (section iii.) we are -told how the Chinese surrounded the ware with paper during the blowing -operation, so as to catch and save all the precious material which fell -wide of the porcelain. - -[332] I cannot recall any example of the powder blue crackle which is -here described. - -[333] See Julien, p. 107. - -[334] P. 170. - -[335] Second letter, section xvii. - -[336] The word “mazarine” has become naturalised in the English -language. Goldsmith spoke of “gowns of mazarine blue edged with fur”; -and “Ingoldsby” says the sky was “bright mazarine.” See R. L. Hobson, -_Worcester Porcelain_, p. 101. - -[337] See p. 99. - -[338] See p. 102. - -[339] These glazes generally have the appearance of being in two coats, -and in some cases there actually seem to be two layers of crackle. - -[340] See p. 125. - -[341] i.e. the strong heavy types. Chinese literature speaks of thinner -and more refined celadons of the Sung period, but few of these have -come down to our day. - -[342] Père d’Entrecolles fully describes these spurious celadons. See -vol. i., p. 83. - -[343] Second letter, section vii. - -[344] The _T’ao lu_ (see Julien, p. 213) gives this recipe for the -kind of celadon known as _Tung ch’ing_, and a similar prescription -with a small percentage of blue added for the variety known as -_Lung-ch’üan_. - -[345] See Bushell, O. C. A., p. 316. - -[346] See p. 147. - -[347] There are some fine examples of orange yellow monochrome in the -Peters Collection in New York. The colour was also used with success -in the Ch’ien Lung period, the mark of which reign occurs on a good -example in the Peters Collection. - -[348] Bushell, _O. C. A._, Plates xxv. and lxxxiii. - -[349] See Monkhouse, op. cit., fig. 22. The crackle on the mustard -yellow glaze is usually small, but there is a fine specimen in the -Peters Collection with large even crackle. Sometimes this yellow has -a greenish tinge, and in a few instances it is combined with crackled -green glaze. - -[350] Second letter, section vi. - -[351] See Père d’Entrecolles, second letter, section xiii.: “L’argent -sur le vernis _tse kin (tzŭ chin_) a beaucoup d’éclat.” - -[352] See p. 145. - -[353] The blue of the cobalt is sometimes clearly visible in the -fracture of the glaze; and in other cases the black has a decided tinge -of brown. - -[354] d’Entrecolles, loc. cit., section viii.: “Le noir éclatant ou le -noir de miroir appellé _ou kim_” (_wu chin_). - -[355] d’Entrecolles declares that it was the result of many -experiments, apparently in his own time. See p. 194. - -[356] Second letter, section xi. - -[357] See M. Seymour de Ricci in the introduction to the _Catalogue -of a Collection of Mounted Porcelain belonging to E. M. Hodgkins, -Paris_, 1911, where much interesting information has been collected -on the subject of French mounts and their designers. He quotes also -from the _Livre-journal de Lazare Duvaux marchand-bijoutier ordinaire -du Roy_ (1748–1758), which includes a list of objects mounted for -Madame de Pompadour and others, giving the nature of the wares and the -cost of the work. - -[358] Persian, Indian, and occasionally even Chinese metal mounts are -found on porcelain; and Mr. S. E. Kennedy has a fine enamelled vase of -the K’ang Hsi period with spirited dragon handles of old Chinese bronze. - -[359] White was also used in the worship of the Year Star (Jupiter). -Other colours which have a ritual significance are _yellow_, used -in the Ancestral Temple by the Emperor, and on the altars of the god -of Agriculture and of the goddess of Silk; _blue_, in the Temple -of Heaven and in the Temple of Land and Grain; and _red_, in the -worship of the Sun. - -[360] Brinkley has aptly described it as “snow-white oil.” - -[361] Cf. Père d’Entrecolles, second letter, section xviii.: “(The -designs) are first outlined with a graving-tool on the body of the -vase, and afterwards lightly channelled around to give them relief. -After this they are glazed.” - -[362] See d’Entrecolles, loc. cit., sections iv. and v. After -describing the preparation of the steatite (_hua shih_) by mixing -it with water, he continues: “Then they dip a brush in the mixture and -trace various designs on the porcelain, and when they are dry the glaze -is applied. When the ware is fired, these designs emerge in a white -which differs from that of the body. It is as though a faint mist had -spread over the surface. The white from _hoa che_ (_hua shih_ -or _steatite_) is called ivory white, _siam ya pe_ (_hsiang -ya pai_).” In the next section he describes another material used -for white painting under the glaze. This is _shih kao_, which has -been identified with fibrous gypsum. - -[363] See p. 74. - -[364] First letter, Bushell, op. cit., p. 195. - -[365] _O. C. A._, p. 533. - -[366] _Ku chin t’u shu_, section xxxii., vol. 248, fol. 15. In -this way, we are told, were produced (1) the thousandfold millet -crackle and (2) the drab-brown (_ho_) cups. The colour of the -latter was obtained by rubbing on a decoction of old tea leaves. The -former is a name given to a glaze broken into “numerous small points.” - -[367] See Bushell, _T’ao shuo_, loc. cit., p. 195. - -[368] The _Tao lu_ (see Julien, p. 214) informs us that the _sui -ch’i yu_ (crackle ware glaze) was made from briquettes formed of the -natural rock of San-pao-p’êng. If highly refined this material produced -small crackle; if less carefully refined, coarse crackle. In reference -to _sui ch’i_ in an earlier part of the same work, we are told -that the Sung potters mixed _hua shih_ with the glaze to produce -crackle. _Hua shih_ is a material of the nature of steatite, and -Bushell (_O. C. A._, p. 447) states that the Chinese potters mix -powdered steatite with the glaze to make it crackle. It is, then, -highly probable that the “white pebbles” of Père d’Entrecolles and the -rock of San-pao-p’êng are the same material and of a steatitic nature. - -[369] [chch 3]. Another name of this official, _Yen kung_, is -mentioned in the _T’ao lu_, bk. v., fol. 11 verso. - -[370] Situated at the junction of the Grand Canal and the Yangtze. - -[371] Loc. cit. - -[372] Silvering the entire surface (_mo yin_), as opposed to -merely decorating with painted designs in silver (_miao yin_), -appears to have been a novelty introduced by T’ang Ying. - -[373] i.e. porcelain services painted with European coats of arms. - -[374] See p. 215. - -[375] See p. 225, Nos. 41 and 42. - -[376] Cf. p. 25, where “high-flaming silver candle lighting up rosy -beauty” is explained in this sense among the Ch’êng Hua designs. - -[377] See p. 13. - -[378] See p. 225, No. 45. - -[379] See p. 224, Nos. 19 and 20. - -[380] A beautiful example of a “stem-cup” in the Eumorfopoulos -Collection, with three fishes on the exterior in underglaze red of -brilliant quality and the Hsüan Tê mark inside the bowl, probably -belongs to this class. - -[381] See p. 148. - -[382] See p. 225, No. 30. - -[383] See p. 224, No. 26. - -[384] See _Catalogue_ 300–303. “On each is a miniature group of -the Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove with an attendant bringing a jar -of wine and flowers. The porcelain is so thin that the design, with all -the details of colour, can be distinctly perceived from the inside.” It -is only right to say that their learned possessor has catalogued them -as genuine examples of the Ch’êng Hua period. - -[385] See p. 224, No. 25. - -[386] See p. 201. - -[387] See p. 224, No. 27. - -[388] See p. 225, No. 36. - -[389] _T’ao shuo_, bk. i., fol. 15 verso. - -[390] See p. 225, No. 49. _Fo-lang_, _fa-lang_, _fu-lang_, and _fa-lan_ -are used indiscriminately by the Chinese in the sense of enamels on -metal. - -[391] In the _T’ao lu_, under the heading _Yang tz’ŭ_. It is -a curious paradox that the Chinese called _famille rose_ porcelain -_yang ts’ai_ (foreign colours) and the Canton enamels _yang -tz’ŭ_ (foreign porcelain). See _Burlington Magazine_, December, -1912, “Note on Canton Enamels.” - -[392] See pp. 224–226, Nos. 29, 37, 38, 49, 51, 53, and 54. - -[393] Apart from the rose pinks which are derived from purple of -cassius, i.e. precipitate of gold, and the opaque white derived from -arsenic, the colouring agents of the _famille rose_ enamels are -essentially the same as those of the _famille verte_. The colours -themselves were brought to Ching-tê Chên in the form of lumps of -coloured glass prepared at the Shantung glass works. These lumps were -ground to a fine powder and mixed with a little white lead, and in -some cases with sand (apparently potash was also used in some cases to -modify the tones), and the powder was worked up for the painter’s use -with turpentine, weak glue, or even with water. Cobaltiferous ore of -manganese, oxide of copper, iron peroxide, and antimony were still the -main colouring agents. The first produced the various shades of blue, -violet, purple, and black; the second, the various greens; the third, -coral or brick red; and the fourth, yellow of various shades. A little -iron in the yellow gave the colour an orange tone. - -The modifications of the green are more numerous. The pure binoxide of -copper produced the shade used for distant mountains (_shan lü_), -which could be converted into turquoise by the admixture of white. The -ordinary leaf green was darkened by strengthening the lead element in -the flux and made bluer by the introduction of potash in the mixture. -Combined with yellow it gave an opaque yellowish green colour known as -_ku lü_ (ancient green); and a very pale greenish white, the “moon -white” of the enameller, was made by a tinge of green added to the -arsenious white. - -The carmine and crimson rose tints derived from the glass tinted with -precipitate of gold, which was known as _yen chih hung_ (rouge -red), were modified with white to produce the _fên hung_ or pale -pink; and the same carmine was combined with white and deep blue to -make the amaranth or blue lotus (_ch’ing lien_) colour. - -The ordinary brick red (the _ta hung_ or _mo hung_) was derived from -peroxide of iron mixed with a little glue to make it adhere, but -depending on the glaze for any vitrification it could obtain. The -addition of a plumbo-alcaline flux produced the more brilliant and -glossy red of coral tint known as _tsao’rh hung_ (jujube red). - -The dry, dull black derived from cobaltiferous manganese was converted -into a glossy enamel by mixing with green. This is the _famille -rose_ black as distinct from the black of the _famille verte_, -which was formed by a layer of green washed over a layer of dull black -on the porcelain itself. - -There are, besides, numerous other shades, such as lavender, French -grey, etc., obtained by cunning mixtures, and all these enamels were -capable of use as monochromes in place of coloured glazes as well as -for brushwork. - -[394] Bushell, _Chinese Art_, vol. ii., fig. 61. - -[395] _Histoire de la porcelaine_, pt. viii., fig. 3. - -[396] These marks were discussed by Bushell in the _Burlington -Magazine_, August and September, 1906. They are figured on vol. i., -pp. 219 and 223. - -[397] Quoted from a letter written to Sir Wollaston Franks by Mr. -Arthur B. French, who visited Ching-tê Chên in 1882. - -[398] Officially the reign of K’ang Hsi dates from 1662–1722, but he -actually succeeded to the throne on the death of Shun Chih in 1661, so -that his reign completed the cycle of sixty years in 1721. - -[399] As Bushell has done in _Chinese Art_, vol. ii., p. 42. - -[400] See “Note on Canton Enamels,” _Burlington Magazine_, -December, 1912. - -[401] See p. 225, No. 40. - -[402] Op. cit., second letter, section xx. - -[403] Nos. 39 and 55–57. - -[404] _Miao_ is used in the sense of to “draw” a picture or design. - -[405] Bushell, _O. C. A._, p. 400, explains how the studio name -was formed by the common device of splitting up Hu [chch] into its -component parts _ku_ [chch] and _yüeh_ [chch]. - -[406] From the Hippisley collection, _Catalogue_, p. 408. - -[407] _Catalogue of Hippisley Collection_, p. 347. - -[408] _Chinese Art_, vol. ii., fig. 74. - -[409] See p. 224, Nos. 15–17. - -[410] A recipe given in the _T’ao lu_ (bk. iii., fol. 12 verso) -for the _lu chün_ glaze speaks of “crystals of nitre, rock -crystal, and (?) cobaltiferous manganese (_liao_) mixed with -ordinary glaze.” But apart from the uncertain rendering of _liao_ -(which Bushell takes as _ch’ing liao_, i.e. the material used for -blue painting), it is difficult to see how this composition, including -the ordinary porcelain glaze, can have been fired in the muffle kiln. - -[411] In the jujube red the iron oxide is mixed with the -plumbo-alcaline flux of the enameller, whereas in the _mo hung_ it -is simply made to adhere to the porcelain by means of glue, and depends -for the silicates, which give it a vitreous appearance, on the glaze -beneath it. - -[412] _O. C. A._, p. 360. - -[413] See p. 224, No. 18. - -[414] See p. 225, No. 44. - -[415] Op. cit., p. 67. - -[416] _Catalogue_, K. 18. - -[417] _Catalogue_, vol. i., p. 38. The colour has already been -discussed in a note on p. 68 of vol. i. of this book. - -[418] See vol. i., p. 68. - -[419] See Bushell, _O. C. A._, p. 368 - -[420] The Chinese is _kua yu_ [chch 2], lit. hanging, suspended or -applied glaze. The Yi-hsing stoneware was not usually glazed; hence the -force of the epithet _kua_ applied. - -[421] The gold-flecked turquoise has yet to be identified. - -[422] Bushell says this is the sapphire blue (_pao shih lan_) of -the period. - -[423] [chch] mo, lit. “rubbed.” Bushell (_O. C. A._, p. 383) explains -the term _mo hung_ as “applied to the process of painting the coral red -monochrome derived from iron over the glaze with an ordinary brush.” - -[424] Bushell takes this to be the lemon yellow enamel which was first -used at this time. - -[425] See p. 37. - -[426] [chch 14] _yu t’ung yung hung yu hui hua chê, yu ch’ing yeh -hung hua chê._ Bushell (_O. C. A._, p. 386) gives a slightly -different application of this passage, but the meaning seems to be -obviously that given above. - -[427] This note is given by Bushell, apparently from the Chinese -edition which he used; but it does not appear in the British Museum -copy. It is, however, attached to the list as quoted in the _T’ao -lu_. - -[428] As already explained, _miao chin_ refers to gilt designs -painted with a brush, and _mo chin_ to gilding covering the entire -surface. - -[429] _O. C. A._, p. 50. - -[430] [chch 2] - -[431] Translated by Bushell, _O. C. A._, p. 398. - -[432] Bk. v., fol. 12. - -[433] [chch 3], _yu hsin shih_, lit. “also he newly made.” This is -undoubtedly the sense given by the Chinese original, and Julien renders -it “il avait nouvellement mis en œuvre.” Bushell, on the other hand, -translates: “He also made porcelain decorated with the various coloured -glazes _newly invented_,” a reading which makes the word _chih_ do duty -twice over, and leaves it doubtful whether T’ang was the inventor of -these types of decoration or merely the user of them. Both the grammar -and the balance of the sentences in the original are against this -colourless rendering. - -[434] See p. 192. - -[435] _La Porcelaine Chinoise_, p. 216. - -[436] See p. 225. “In the new copies of the Western style of painting -in enamels (_hsi yang fa lang hua fa_), the landscapes and figure -scenes, the flowering plants and birds are without exception of -supernatural beauty.” - -[437] See p. 209. - -[438] P. 397. - -[439] An interesting series of these bird’s egg glazes appearing, -as they often do, on tiny vases was exhibited by his Excellency the -Chinese Minister at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in November, 1913. - -[440] There is a very old superstition in China that cracked or broken -pottery is the abode of evil spirits. The modern collector abhors the -cracked or damaged specimen for other reasons, and it is certain that -such things would not be admitted to the Imperial collections. Many -rare and interesting pieces which have come to Europe in the past -will be found on examination to be more or less defective, and it is -probable that we owe their presence chiefly to this circumstance. - -[441] See Bushell’s translation, op. cit., p. 6. - -[442] The _T’ao shuo_ was published in 1774. - -[443] See vol. i., p. 119. - -[444] See Julien, op. cit., p. 101, under the heading _lung kang -yao_ (kilns for the dragon jars). - -[445] The Chinese foot as at present standardised is about two inches -longer than the English foot, and the Chinese inch is one-tenth of it. - -[446] See p. 58. - -[447] There are four examples of the large size of fish bowl in the -Pierpont Morgan Collection, but they are of late Ming date. - -[448] Possibly the tint named in the _T’ao shuo_ (Bushell, op. -cit., p. 5). “They are coloured wax yellow, tea green, gold brown, or -the tint of old Lama books,” in reference to incense burners of this -period. - -[449] Nos. 8, 9 and 11. See Bushell, _T’ao shuo_, op. cit., pp. -16–19. - -[450] See p. 140. - -[451] A plaque in the Bushell Collection with _famille verte_ -painting has also a remarkably lustrous appearance, which I can only -ascribe to excessive iridescence. - -[452] See Bushell’s translation, op. cit. p. 20. - -[453] Figured by L. Binyon, _Painting in the Far East_, first -edition, Plate XIX. There is a fine vase of late Ming blue and white -porcelain with this design in the Dresden collection. - -[454] This green enamel is sometimes netted over with lines suggesting -crackle studded with prunus blossoms. Possibly this is intended to -recall both in colour and pattern the “plum blossom” crackle of the -Sung Kuan yao; see vol. i., p. 61. - -[455] _Shên tê t’ang_ and _ch’ing wei t’ang_. See vol. i., p. -220. - -[456] See Burton and Hobson, Marks on _Pottery_ and _Porcelain_, p. 151. - -[457] Op. cit., pp. 116–175. - -[458] _T’ao shuo_, op. cit., pp. 7–30 and _O. C. A._, ch. xv. - -[459] The Lowestoft factory started about 1752, but its earlier -productions were almost entirely blue and white, often copied, like -most of the contemporary blue and white from Chinese export wares. - -[460] A curious instance of imitation of European ornament is a -small bowl which I recently saw with openwork sides and medallions, -apparently moulded from a glass cameo made by Tassie at the end of -the eighteenth century; and there is a puzzle jug with openwork neck, -copied from the well known Delft-ware model, in the Metropolitan -Museum, New York. - -[461] Rotterdam was captured by the Spaniards in 1572; but those who -are interested in the anachronism of Chinese marks will observe that -these plates have the date mark of the Ch’êng Hua period (1465–1487). - -[462] See vol. i., p. 226. - -[463] Op. cit., p. 207. - -[464] An interesting example of an early eighteenth century service -with European designs is the “trumpeter service,” of which several -specimens may be seen in the Salting Collection. It has a design of -trumpeters, or perhaps heralds, reserved in a black enamelled ground. - -[465] One of these pieces, for instance, is a plate with arms of Sir -John Lambert, who was created a baronet in 1711 and died in 1722. It -has enamels of the transition kind. - -[466] P. 209. - -[467] The willow pattern is merely an English adaptation of the -conventional Chinese landscape and river scene which occurs frequently -on the export blue and white porcelain of the eighteenth century. That -it represents any particular story is extremely improbable. - -[468] Frank Falkner, _The Wood Family of Burslem_, p. 67. - -[469] Another _chambrelan_ who flourished about the same time and -who worked in the same style was C. F. de Wolfsbourg. - -[470] _O. C. A.,_ p. 464. - -[471] “The mountains are high, the rivers long.” - -[472] See vol. i., p. 220. - -[473] _Catalogue_, No. 367. - -[474] Vol. i., p. 220. - -[475] Hippisley Collection, _Catalogue_, No. 169. - -[476] _O. C. A._, p. 469. - -[477] This extravagant idea has been long ago exploded, and need not be -rediscussed. See, however, Julien _Porcelaine Chinoise_, p. xix., -and Medhurst, _Transactions of the China Branch of the Royal Asiatic -Society_, Hong Kong, 1853. - -[478] _O. C. A._, p. 470. - -[479] Bk. 93, fols. 13–15. - -[480] _O. C. A._, pp. 474–83. - -[481] Bushell applies the phrase _pan tzŭ_ to the bowls and -renders it “of ring-like outline.” - -[482] Bushell renders _ju-i_ in the general sense, “with words -of happy augury”; it is, however, applied to ornaments of _ju-i_ -staffs and to borders of _ju-i_ heads. - -[483] See vol. i., p. 225. - -[484] Bk. i., fols. 1 and 2; see Bushell, op. cit., pp. 3–6. - -[485] This is a variety of the key pattern or Greek fret, which is of -world-wide distribution. - -[486] A less usual variety has the ovoid body actually surmounted by a -beaker - -[487] See Bushell, _O. C. A._, p. 797. - -[488] See Bushell’s translation, op. cit., p. 4. - -[489] See Bushell, _O. C. A.,_ p. 489. - -[490] Among others is the “tantalus cup,” with a small tube in the -bottom concealed by a figure of a man or smiling boy. When the water in -the cup reaches the top of the tube it runs away from the base. - -[491] Loc. cit., p. 204. - -[492] The cup with handle was made in the tea services for the European -market, but the handle is not, as has been sometimes asserted, a -European addition to the cup. Cups with handles were made in China as -early as the T’ang dynasty (see Plate 11, Fig. 2); but for both wine -and tea drinking the Chinese seem to have preferred the handleless -variety. - -[493] When the names are known the incidents can usually be found in -such works of reference as Mayers’ _Chinese Reader’s Manual_, -Giles’s _Chinese Biographical Dictionary_, and Anderson’s -Catalogue of Chinese and Japanese Pictures. - -[494] Told in the _Shui Hu Chuan_; see _O. C. A._, p. 570, a -note in Bushell’s excellent chapter on Chinese decorative motives, of -which free use has been made here. - -[495] A not uncommon subject is the meeting of a young horseman with a -beautiful lady in a chariot, and it has been suggested that this may be -the meeting of Ming Huang and Yang Kuei-fei; but the identification is -quite conjectural. - -[496] Another game, _hsiang ch’i_ (elephant checkers), is far -nearer to our chess. - -[497] A group of five old men similarly employed represents the _wu -lao_ (the five old ones), the spirits of the five planets. - -[498] Chang Kuo Lao, the Taoist Immortal, is also regarded as one of -the gods of Literature; see p. 287. - -[499] Vajrapani is one of the gods of the Four Quarters of the Heaven, -who are guardians of Buddha. They are represented as ferocious looking -warriors, sometimes stamping on prostrate demon-figures. As such -they occur among the T’ang tomb statuettes, but they are not often -represented on the later porcelains. - -[500] The Kanzan and Jitoku of Japanese lore. - -[501] See _Catalogue of the Pierpont Morgan Collection_, vol. i., -p. 156. - -[502] Indeed it is likely that the modern _ju-i_ head derives from the -fungus. The _ju-i_ [chch 2] means “as you wish” or “according (_ju_) -to your idea (_i_),” and the sceptre, which is made in all manner of -materials such as wood, porcelain, lacquer, cloisonné enamel, etc., is -a suitable gift for wedding or birthday. Its form is a slightly curved -staff about 12 to 15 inches long, with a fungus-shaped head bent over -like a hook. On the origin of the _ju-i_, see Laufer, _Jade_, p. 335. - -[503] The Japanese Mt. Horai. - -[504] See Hippisley, _Catalogue_, op. cit., p. 392. - -[505] The Buddhist pearl or jewel, which grants every wish. - -[506] See a rare silver cup depicting this legend, figured in the -_Burlington Magazine_, December, 1912. - -[507] See W. Perceval Yetts, _Symbolism in Chinese Art_, read -before the China Society, January 8th, 1912, p. 3. - -[508] Hippisley (op. cit., p. 368), speaking of the various dragons, -says that “the distinction is not at present rigidly maintained, and -the five-clawed dragon is met with embroidered on officers’ uniforms.” - -[509] A dual creature, the _fêng_ being the male and the huang the -female. - -[510] See Laufer, _Jade_, pl. 43. - -[511] See Laufer, _Jade_, p. 266. - -[512] See Bushell, _Chinese Art_, vol. i., p. 111. - -[513] See p. 300. - -[514] They also symbolise the three friends, Confucius, Buddha, and -Lao-tzŭ. - -[515] _O. C. A._, p. 106. - -[516] It is also used as a synonym for “embroidered,” and when it -occurs as a mark on porcelain, it suggests the idea “richly decorated.” - -[517] Also a symbol of conjugal felicity; and a rebus for _yü_, -fertility or abundance. - -[518] Having the same sound as _ch’ang_ (long). - -[519] _O. C. A._, p. 119. - -[520] A pair of open lozenges interlaced are read as a rebus _t’ung -hsin fang shêng_ (union gives success); see Bushell, _O. C. -A._, p. 120. - -[521] Bushell, _O. C. A._, p. 521. - -[522] See Hippisley, _Catalogue_ No. 381. - -[523] _Ibid._ - -[524] _Ibid._, No. 388. - -[525] _Ibid._ - -[526] See p. 299. - -[527] See p. 258. - -[528] See Anderson, op. cit., No. 747. - -[529] Bk. viii., fol. 4, quoting the _Shih ch’ing jihcha_. - -[530] See chap. xvii. of vol. i., which deals with marks. - -[531] See p. 261. - - -Transcriber’s Notes: - -1. Obvious printers’, punctuation and spelling errors have been - corrected silently. - -2. 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