Page 148 - China's Renaissance in Bronze, The Robert H.CIague Collection of Later Chinese Bronzes 1100-1900

the garden city of Suzhou), less demanding tea drinkers often used larger
teapots, even experimenting with metal ones during the Qing dynasty. 4 In
fact, during his visit to the Clague Collection, Yang Boda, Deputy Director
Emeritus of the Palace Museum, Beijing, termed this vessel a chahu, or tea-
pot, noting that such pieces were made for export but by the late eighteenth
century had come to be used in China as well. 5
Adorned with applique elements and shaped to resemble parts of a
growing bamboo plant, the handle and spout are this ewer's most striking
features. Arched handles had appeared by the early Northern Song period
[see discussion, 26] as had handles segmented to resemble a stalk of
bamboo; 6 Song examples lack the dramatic flare of the present handle,
however, not to mention applique ornaments. The later taste for vessels
with rims, handles, and spouts shaped to resemble stalks of bamboo
arose during the Ming dynasty 7 - probably in response to the growing
popularity of bamboo both as a subject matter for literati painting and as
a material for brushpots, wrist rests, and other accoutrements for the
scholar's desk - but did not gain prominence until the Qing [compare 31].
The flowers represented on the ewer, both in the decorative panels and
among the applique elements, were the most popular in traditional China;
all were cultivated in classical gardens and all had been used since Song
times for the embellishment of ceramics and other decorative arts. Perhaps
most beloved of all, the wild plum (Prunus mume) blooms in February, so
it naturally stands for both winter and the first month of the lunar calendar
(which generally corresponds to late January and much of February in the
Western calendar). More importantly, since it blooms in winter, before
donning its leaves, it is regarded as a symbol of strength in the face of
adversity. In addition, plum blossoms symbolize feminine beauty and the
weathered trunk the humble scholar. 8 Hailed the 'King of Flowers,' the tree
peony (Paeonia arborea) emblemizes wealth and honor, due to its numerous
petals, and it represents both spring and the third month of the lunar calen-
dar (basically, late March and much of April). The chrysanthemum (Chrysan-
themum indicum) symbolizes not only autumn and the ninth month (late
September and October) but literary pursuits, 9 since it was the favorite
flower of the celebrated nature poet Tao Qian (365-427). Like the plum,
bamboo (Bambusa arundinacea) is viewed as an emblem of strength in the
face of adversity, since it retains its green leaves all year; because it is able
to bend without breaking and then immediately to resume its original stance,
it is also regarded as a symbol of rectitude, and thus the perfect symbol
of the junzi, or Confucian gentleman. 10

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