Page 33 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

EARLY WARES OF CHINA

of the seventh century, and that his chef d 'ceuvre was

green stone-ware, or celadon, intended to imitate jade.

At or about the time (615 circa) when Tao Yii
Hoflourished in Kiang-si, an artist by name
Chung-

chu was working with success at the same factories.

His ware known as Ho-yao was intended to imi-

tate white jade. It is said to have been made of fine

clay, to have been comparatively thin, and to have
rivalled its original in softness and lustre. Beyond

this there is no record of its qualities. Probably it

was stone-ware with fairly manipulated pdtey but de-

pending chiefly on the brilliancy and solidity of its

glaze. It attracted so much attention that an order

was issued for the supply of certain quantities to the

Palace.

Coming now to the Tang dynasty (618907), the

first keramic production of note is the Sheu-yao, a

yellowish ware of inferior quality. Japanese tradi-

tions describe this as stone-ware of crude technique

and inartistic appearance. Its place of manufacture

Awas Sheu-chou in the province of Kiang-nan.

still more merit! ess ware, which may be passed over

without further mention, is ascribed to the neigh-

bouring province of Kiang-si.

During the same dynasty there was manufactured
in the province of Chekiang which borders Kiang-
nan and Kiang-si on the east the Tueh-yao. This

is somewhat enthusiastically mentioned. Two varie-

ties are spoken of; the one resembling jade ; the

other, ice. The colour of the former was green ;

that of the latter, greenish white. Tradition assigns

to the Tueh-yao the first place among keramic pro-

ductions of the Tang dynasty. Similar but inferior

to the second variety of it was the Hing-yao, manu-