Page 52 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

CHINA

A.D. 1200, was Chan-cheng, a district included in

Cochin China. It might be conjectured that speci-

mens of Tu-Ting-yao, included among these imports,

found their way to Japan from Chan-cheng, and

were identified with their port of shipment rather

than with their original place of manufacture, as was
"
the case with the well known " Old ware of
Japan

Western collectors, which, though produced at Arita,

was everywhere called Imari-yaki, after its place of

export (Imari). Against such a theory, however, has

to be set the well established fact that there existed,

during the Sung dynasty, a much brisker direct trade

between China and Japan than between the former

and Cochin China. Indeed, the very author (Chao

Ju-kua) quoted by Dr. Hirth in this context, says that

large Chinese junks were engaged, in his time, trans-

porting timber notably planks of the Cryptomeria

Japonica from Japan to the Chinese port of Ch'iian-

chou, and it is scarcely credible that these junks, on

their return journey, would have failed to bring Chi-

nese keramic wares to Japan, where such objects of

art had been held in high esteem ever since the sev-

enth or eighth century of the Christian era. Of

course a general inference of this sort does not neces-

sarily include a special product like the Tu-Ting-yao.

Specimens of that particular ware may have reached

Japan via Cochin China, and thus been erroneously

attributed to the factories of the latter. Unfortu-

nately the evidence available does not suffice to eluci-
date this matter.

It has to be remembered that when the Sung

dynasty is spoken of there is question of a period of

over three centuries. Under ordinary circumstances,
great progress should have been made in the keramic

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