Page 128 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

CHINA

manner this mark was originally made, whether by
means of a seal or by a graving tool, tradition does
not say. It was the first instance of using marks in

this manner, and with three exceptions the Chtin-
yao, the Kwang-yao (ware of Canton), and the boccaro
of Yi-hsing the practice does not seem to have been

extended to the manufactures of other kilns. At

Ching-te-chen, however, it continued uninterruptedly
until the seventeenth century.

It thus appears that at Ching-te-chen also celadons
of the finest quality and wares of the Ting-yao type
were potted during the Sung era. In respect of these
wares the test of red or iron-brown pate does not ap-
ply, as it does in the case of the Lung-chuan-yao and

The student comes now to the Tuan dynasty of

Mongols. This period of less than a century (1279
1367) was not favourable to the development of art

industry. No marked progress took place in ke-

ramics. The Mongol sovereigns did not greatly
patronise the industry. During the period when
Kublai Khan held his Court at Cambaluc, an active
demand certainly sprang up for the products of fac-
tories celebrated under the previous dynasty. To

imitate such pieces successfully was probably the

highest aim of most of the skilled potters. One
among these, an expert called Pong Chun-pao, is

mentioned in the " History of Ching-te-chen Wares."

He had his kiln at Hoshu, in the province of

Nanwhei, and there he manufactured pieces which,
from their close resemblance to the Ting-yao of the

preceding dynasty, were commonly called Shin-tm-ki,
or " new Ting ware," but sometimes also Ho-yao,

from the place of their manufacture, and sometimes

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