FOOTNOTES:
[2] fêng huo. Bushell renders “blast furnaces.”
[3] lan kuang, lit. “burn tube.” Omitting the radical (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] lit. “omit body.” A slightly thicker porcelain is known as pan t’o t’ai, or “half bodiless.”
[7] 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] 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 pai (white), which seems to be an error for ssŭ (four): taken as it stands, it would mean written in white slip.
[12] 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.”
[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.”
[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).
[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 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] hsien. The emperor Ch’êng Hua was canonised as Hsien Tsung.
[54] ch’ien tan. The T’ao shuo, quoting this passage, uses a variant reading, ch’ien shên , 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] 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] Bushell has translated it “diffused colours,” but fu is also used for “applying externally” in the medicinal sense, which seems specially appropriate here.
[72] , 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] 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.
[81] .
[82] .
[83] Op. cit., No. 42.
[84] , delicate, beautiful.
[85] .
[86] .
[90] This account is quoted from the Shih wu kan chu, published in 1591.
[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] 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 chin lu (golden seal), ta chiao (great sacrifice), 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] t’ieh chin, lit. stuck-on gold.
[113] O. C. A., p. 221.
[114] 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] .
[120] 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] 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] ts’ang, azure or hoary.
[124] Named by Bushell mackerel, carp., marbled perch, and another.
[125] .
[126] chün, a fleet horse.
[128] O. C. A., p. 227.
[129] .
[130] See Laufer, Jade, p. 120.
[131] See Mayers, part ii., p. 335.
[132] hua . 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.