Page 49 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

WARES OF "SUNG" DYNASTY

keramists under the Sung dynasty, but that, like many

of their successors, to be by and by spoken of, they
preferred the artistic qualities of a soft, tender pate.
Only with the latter as a basis was it possible to pro-
duce the lustrous, translucid, and yet solid glaze so

much valued by connoisseurs, who compared it to

mutton fat or fine jade.
In addition to the white, purple, and black varieties

of the Ting-yao, tradition says that a red glaze was
manufactured. It was called Hung-ting. Julien, in

his translation of the Tao-lu, says that the red Ting-yao

was much valued, but no specimens of it appear to
have survived, nor is subsequent mention made of it.

It need scarcely be observed that genuine speci-
mens of the original Ting-yao are very difficult to
procure. It was, however, imitated with success in
subsequent eras. During the Yuan dynasty (1260-
1369) an expert called Peng Chim-pao, whose factory

was at Ho-chou in the province of Kiang-nan, dis-
tinguished himself by such imitations. His ware
was known as Hsin-Ting-yao (New Ting-yao}. It is
said to have been exceedingly fragile, so that few
pieces are likely to have been handed down to late
generations. The Ting-yao chiefly known to collec-

tors is a product of the Ching-te-chen factories dur-

ing the Ming (13671644) and early part of the

present dynasty. This is not necessarily an imitation
of the early Ting-yao, being usually of superior tech-

nique. The potter of the Ming and Tsing eras was

not so faithful to his models that he deemed it neces-

sary to reproduce their blemishes as well as their

beauties. He may have been occasionally baffled by

the richness, lustre, and tone of the early glazes, but
the wares themselves he could easily excel, and in

27