Page 228 - Jindezhen Porcelain Production of the 19th C. by Ellen Huang, Univ. San Diego 2008

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porcelain industry has fallen ill (diao zhan).” The idea of decline and crisis in which
the porcelain industry was mired served as a counterpoint to the three imperial eras of

Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong that Chen Liu lauded as the pinnacle of porcelain

artistry. Chen particularly lavished praise upon the “official kilns of the Kangxi and

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Yongzheng period” boldly declaring them as “exhausting the limits of beauty.” Chen
equated these three periods as the highpoint in Chinese porcelain, perhaps in

contradistinction to the views of Bushell who made widely known his appraisal of the

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Kangxi period as the “most flourishing period of the art.” Since Chen was concerned

with the falling status of Chinese porcelain in the world’s eyes after the years of apex,

extending the lifeblood of its pinnacle years was a sensible intellectual strategy.

Contrasted with the “brilliance of the periods of Kang and Yong… Today our Chinese

porcelain is in sad decline. The workmanship is no good; the material is rough. Thus has

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perished its original quality.” Elsewhere in Tao Ya, Chen clarified the nature of the

deterioration:

Our Chinese porcelain pieces are highly esteemed, but
today they are no longer what they used to be. And the
reasons are many and complicated. Speaking of the body
biscuit (pei tai), in the past it was made of fine and rich
earth; today it is rough and coarse (kuyu). Speaking of
handiwork (shou gong), in the past the patterns were
skillful and complete, today they are full of flaws. Speaking
of the glaze material, in the past the clay was lustrous and
glossy; today it is dry and parched. Speaking of the color,
in the past the coloring matter was fresh and bright; today it
is dull and blotchy (an bai). Speaking of the shapes; in the
past they had a deep and broad aura of antiqueness; today
they are vulgar and vile. Speaking of the painters
handicraft (hua shou), in the past they were true to life,
elegant and refined; today it is clumsy and exaggerated.
Speaking of the firing, in the past the vessels came from the