Page 59 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

WARES OF "SUNG 53 DYNASTY

constantly met with. Its chief variety, indeed its

only variety so far as is known, was celadon. The

primary purpose of establishing the factory at Juchou

seems to have been to produce this highly esteemed

monochrome. Julien, in his translation of the Tao-

lu, falls into the error of calling the yu-yao blue.

He repeats this same error more than once, and his

translation has thus been the means of deceiving con-

noisseurs with respect to the nature of several of the

early Chinese wares. Julien's misconception origi-

nally pointed out by the writer of these pages in 1 88 1,

in the Chrysanthemum is alluded to at length in a

recent brochure by Dr. Hirth. The fact is that

the ideograph Ching employed by the author of the
" " the
Tao-lu may be properly rendered in
y by blue

great majority of cases. Thus the decoration on

blue-and-white porcelain of later generations is called

Cfung/rwa, and the same ideograph (ching) is used to
describe the colour of the blue cotton coats worn

by the lower orders in China. Julien was naturally

deceived, not having the aid of research in loco and

practical knowledge to verify his opinion. And of

course when, in one instance, he had committed him-

self to the " he adhered to it con-
rendering blue,"

sistently throughout, although it involved him in
such anomalies as " onion-blue." The yu-yao was

unquestionably celadon. As for the nature of the ware,

it is on record that the clay employed at Juchou was

red though there is nothing to indicate whether it
;

was red originally or whether it became red in the

furnace a peculiar property, as will be seen by and

by, representative of early Chinese celadon. In the

Tao-lu the pate of the yu-yao is said to have been

of fine quality and to have shone like copper, from

VOL. ix. 3 33