Page 37 - 2019 September 12th Christie's New York Chiense Art Chicago Art Institute

water]. That is the happiness of fsh.’ Huizi then asked: ‘You are not a
fsh. How can you know what constitutes happiness for fsh?’ Zhuangzi
replied: ‘You are not me. How do you know that I do not understand
what constitutes happiness for fsh?’

In chapter six of Zhuangzi Dazongshi (Great and Most Honoured Master)
Zhuangzi recounts Confucius’ comments to illustrate Daoist attitudes.
Confucius said: ‘Fish are born in water. Man is born in the Dao. If fsh,
born in water, seek the deep shadows of the pond or pool then they have
everything they need. If man, born in the Dao sinks deep into the
shadows of non-action, forgetting aggression and worldly concern, then
he has everything he needs and his life is secure. The moral of this is
that all fsh need is to lose themselves in water, while all man needs is to
lose himself in the Dao.’

It is not surprising, therefore, that the depiction of fsh in water has come
to provide a rebus for yushui hexie ‘may you be as harmonious as fsh in
Fig. 5. A wucai (fsh) jar and cover, Jiajing period (1522-1566), sold at Christie’s Hong Kong,
water’. However, much of the popularity of fsh as a decorative theme, 27 November 2017, lot 8006.
especially in later dynasties, hinges on the fact that the generic word for
fsh (yu 魚) is a homophone for the word for abundance or surplus (yu 餘) incorruptible’. The form of the fsh and some of the aquatic plants which
- thus two fsh represent doubled abundance and a gold fsh (jinyu 金魚) accompanied them on the Yuan dynasty jars were also carried into the
symbolises an abundance of gold (金餘), or the idea of gold and jade (金 Ming dynasty Xuande reign (1426-35), as can be seen on the interior and
玉), which in turn represents great wealth. Where large fsh are shown exterior of two Xuande blue and white dishes from the collections of the
with smaller fsh amongst waves, as on the current vases, the waves Palace Museum, Beijing, and the National Palace Museum, Taipei
represent the tide, and the word for tide (chao 潮) is pronounced similarly (illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace
to the word for court (朝 usually pronounced zhao, but pronounced chao Museum - 34 - Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (1), Hong
when referring to the court), so the design suggests ‘may you bring your Kong, 2000, p. 144, no. 136), and Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of
son to court’ (daizi shangchao 帶子上朝), indicating a wish that the son Selected Hsüan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, National
will follow in his father’s footsteps and become a high oficial. Palace Museum, Taipei, 1998, pp. 414-5, no. 180). Another Xuande blue
and white ‘fsh’ dish of this design was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 29
The advent of high-quality representational painting in underglaze April 2002, lot 558. (Fig. 4) This popularity of fsh as decoration on
cobalt blue in the Yuan dynasty had brought with it a new era in the porcelain vessels continued to a limited extent after the Xuande reign,
naturalistic depiction of fsh on Chinese ceramics – specifcally on but enjoyed a resurgence and a new vitality of execution in the reigns of
Jingdezhen porcelain. The fnest painting in underglaze blue is to be the Jiajing and Wanli Emperors.
seen on large mid-14th century jars, such as that sold by Christie’s
London on 11 July 2006, lot 111. (Fig. 3) On these vessels four fsh were The theme of fsh was clearly a popular one with the Jiajing and Wanli
convincingly shown swimming through a range of diferent aquatic Emperors. Records of porcelains to be commissioned from the imperial
plants. The specifc fsh on these jars were chosen to provide a complex kilns in the Jiajing reign note, for example, that, in addition to the fne
rebus or visual pun. They appear to be qing 鯖 black carp wucai vessels made for his court, in the 21st year of his reign (AD 1541)
(mylopharyngodon piceus); (hongqi) bai 鮊 predatory carp or redfn culter the emperor ordered 200 blue and white jars decorated with qing 鯖
(culter erythropterus); lian 鰱 silver carp (hypopthalmichthys molitrix); and black carp (mylopharyngodon piceus), bai 鮊 predatory carp or redfn
gui or jue 鱖 Chinese perch or mandarin fsh (siniperca chuatsi). The culter (culter erythropterus), and gui or jue 鱖 Chinese perch or mandarin
names of these fsh in Chinese combine to provide rebuses which fsh (siniperca chuatsi) - the same fsh that appear on the Yuan dynasty
suggest either qing bai lian gui 清白廉貴 ‘of good descent, modest and jars. The fourth fsh was simply designated carp. The imperial interest in
honourable’ or qingbai lianjie 清白廉潔 ‘of honourable descent and fsh themes was, of course, in keeping with the Jiajing emperor’s

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