Page 40 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

CHINA

duction, the evidence of Chinese and Japanese writers

goes to prove that it was green faience or stone-ware

celadon, in fact.

A more celebrated ware than any of the above is

also said to have had its origin under one of these

five lesser dynasties the later Chou (954960). The
Keramists of Honan, who at that time enjoyed the

distinction of supplying utensils for the Imperial

Court, petitioned the Emperor Shih-tsung to desig-

nate a colour for the ware thus supplied. The Em-

peror in reply desired them to imitate the blue of the

firmament after rain (Yu-ko-tien-ching}. The result

was the fabrication of a ware called CJiai-yao, Chai

being the Emperor's sovereign name. There has

been much confusion about the colour of this ware.

Julien renders it literally " bleu du ciel apres la pluie,"

a natural interpretation. But there is no doubt that

the colour indicated by the Emperor was something
"
much more than blue," in the ordinary meaning of

the term. It was azure of peculiar lightness and

delicacy, with a marked tinge of green. Such a

colour could not have been produced without great

difficulty or with any certainty. It is the tint of the

choicest celadon ; essentially a connoisseur's colour,

not to be appreciated by the uneducated eye. As

for the nature of the Chai-yao, it was faience or stone-

ware. The Tao-lu alleges that specimens were often

disfigured by coarse yellow clay adhering to the base
;

a fact showing that the processes of manufacture

were still more or less crude. The Chai-yao enjoyed
Aan immense reputation.
Chinese poet says that it

was thin as paper, sonorous as a musical instrument,

polished, lustrous, and remarkable alike for its ceru-

lean colour and the beauty of its crackle. Exagge-