Page 119 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

THE CELADON

Dr. Hirth, who has made a special study of the sub-

ject of celadon, gives information, already quoted,

the gist of which is that, while the celadons of the
Ming and earlier eras manufactured at the Lung-
chuan factories, had red, or reddish-brown pate, the

Ming celadons of Ching-te-chen had white pate. The

rule is rough but, on the whole, trustworthy. It
must not be too rigidly applied, however. For al-

though a reddish tinge of greater or less intensity is
essentially characteristic of the Lung-chuan-yao (in-
cluding the Ko-yao\t and perhaps of the yu-yao, the
Kuan-yao of the Sung dynasty is not necessarily thus

distinguished.

During an interval of about thirty years preceding,

and as many following, the fall of the Ming dynasty

(1644), the keramic art in China lapsed into com-
parative neglect. But at an early period of the reign

of Kang-hsi (16621722), during the present, or

Tsing dynasty, an energetic revival took place, and

fine celadons began once more to appear among the

products of the Ching-te-chen factory. Later on,

during the reigns of Tung-ching (17231735) and

Chien-lung (17361795), still greater attention was
Twogiven to this class of ware.
celebrated experts

raised the keramic art to its highest point of excel-

lence. They were Nien Hsi-yao, called also Nien-
kung, who occupied the post of superintendent at the

Ching-te-chen factories under the emperor Tung-

ching, and Tang Ying, who was associated with Nien
from 1727 and succeeded him in 1736. The wares

made at Ching-te-chen under the direction of these
masters are commonly known as Nien-yao and T'ang-

yao. Among them many beautiful specimens of cela-

don are found. Sometimes an attempt was made to

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