Page 87 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

WARES OF "SUNG" DYNASTY

known to the collector of this ware who will give

hundreds of taels for a thick saucer, with a number

engraved beneath as a mark, if it be of rich ' auber-

' Censer and box always stand together

gine colour.

on a Chinese table, the one to hold the incense or

chips of sandal-wood burnt in the other." Julien
" Parmi les porce-
renders the same passage thus :

laines de cette manufacture on regarde comme exces-

sivement beaux les plats sous le pied desquels on a

peint un glaieul." Hence arose a legend repeated by

all writers on Chinese keramics from Jacquemart to

du Sartel, that a bunch of sword-grass was painted

on the bottom of choice specimens of Chun-yao.

Messrs. Hirth and Bushell have disposed of this

phantasy. The only marks on Chun-yao ware are

deeply incised numerals.

The least known among the productions of the

Sung is the Chien-yao, manufactured at Chien-yang,

in the province of Fuhkien. The ware owed its

character to the demand of tea-drinkers. Under the

Tang dynasty (618907), tea became an article of

common consumption in China, and its popularity

thenceforth increased so rapidly that a subsequent
exponent of its reputation under the Sung rulers

(9601279) ascribed to it seven incomparable proper-

ties namely, assuaging thirst, promoting digestion,
;

clearing the throat, dispelling drowsiness, stimulating

the kidneys, raising the spirits, and relieving fatigue.
Chinese society lived a life too colourless and unpo-

etical to suggest anything like the graceful, idealistic
philosophy of the Japanese cha no yu. But Chinese
tea-drinkers soon formed a clear conception of the
qualities a tea-bowl should possess in order to render
the beverage as grateful as possible both to eye and

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