Page 101 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

THE CfiLADON

about the exact position of which opinions differ,

some sinologues placing it at Ch'uan-chou-fu, others

at Chang-chou-fu with its port of Geh-kong, and

others again interpreting the word to signify Amoy

waters generally. It does not greatly matter which

hypothesis be accepted. The important point is that

a large outward commerce was carried on from both

places, and that each was easily accessible from Lung-

chuan, where quantities of celadon were manufactured

at the close of the Sung dynasty. Lung-chuan, though

now a poor, comparatively resourceless district, was

then a place of considerable wealth, with fine roads

in its neighbourhood and brisk tradal connections.

Marco Polo, speaking of Zaitun, says : " The river

that flows by the port of Zaitun is large and rapid,

and a branch of that which passes the city of Quin-

sai (Hang-chow). At the place where it separates

from the principal channel stands the city of Ting-ui.

Of this place there is nothing further to be observed

than that cups or bowls and dishes of porcelain ware

are there manufactured." Hugh Murray and Colonel
" Marco Polo meant
Yule supposed that by " Ting-yui

Ching-te-chen. But Dr. Hirth has ingeniously shown

that, in all probability, Ting-ui was no other than

Lung-chuan, which during the Sung dynasty was
called " Chien-chuan," a name that becomes Tindji

in the Shanghai dialect. Dr. Hirth seems to attach

undue importance to this identification, owing to his

apparent belief that practically all the early Chinese

celadons were manufactured at Lung-chuan, whereas

it has been shown above that the finest types of such

ware belonged to the yu-yao and Kuan-yao. The

specimens exported were undoubtedly of the com-

moner class for the most part. Their solidity made

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