Page 104 - The Arts of China, By Michael Sullivan Good Book

114 Basin, Yueh ware. Stoneware with
modelied and incited decoration under a
grcy-grcen glaze. Third or fourth The Chiii-yen kilns were in operation at least from the second
century A. 0.
century a.d.; those at Te-ch'ing, north of Hangchow, perhaps a
little later. Many of their products, found in dated tombs in the
Nanking region, arc imitations of bronze vessels, even to the
loop-handles and t'ao-t'ieh masks that adorn them. Some are
stamped with geometric or diaper designs under the glaze, pre-
serving an ancient tradition of central and southern China which
spread not only northward but also into the Nan-hai, the penin-
sula and islands of Southeast Asia. Gradually, however, true ce-
ramic forms began to emerge, aided by a rich, luminous, and even
luscious glaze. The Chiu-yen kilns seem to have closed down in
the sixth century, after which the Yiieh tradition was carried on in
many parts of Chekiang, the chief factories being around the
shores of Shang-lin-hu in Yu-yao-hsicn, where the remains of
more than twenty celadon kilns have so far been discovered.