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his name rarely appears in any English-language record. He is survived by his works of

art and writings. Guo’s “Brief Description of Porcelain,” written in February 1935, was a

narration transcribed by Wang Weizhouˮၪմ (alternative name: Xiwu ፼ʞ) from

Hangzhou. It was then translated by Ministry of Education official Zhang Yuchuan and

printed in both editions of the four-volume illustrated catalogue to the art objects sent

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from China to England for the exhibition (Figure 10). None of the three editions of the
Royal Academy Catalogues in London included Guo’s essay, but the Chinese Organizing

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Committee’s versions did. As mentioned, the Chinese Organizing Committee
catalogues comprised four sections, and porcelain occupied section three. Of the four

sections, only the porcelain section included a general informational essay. Both the

versions published in Shanghai in 1935 and then in 1936 included Guo’s “Brief

Description of Porcelain” (Ciqi gaishuo) in the Chinese and English languages; the other

sections – “bronzes,” “calligraphy and painting,” “miscellanea,” did not include any such

introductory essay. The salience of Guo’s essay in Chinese-language publications

probably reflects Guo’s prominence in porcelain-collecting circles in early twentieth-

century China. By the 1930s, Guo’s role was not insignificant and he was already well

regarded for his expertise in porcelain ware, production techniques, and Jingdezhen

history.

Guo himself came from a rather ordinary background. Born in 1879 in rural

Hebei province, Dingxing county, Guo (hao: Guo Shiwu ெ˰ш) moved to Beijing in

1896 at the age of seventeen. He became an apprentice at Dejucheng ᅃၳϓa curio pawn

shop at XihuamenГശژ, an area located just outside the west gate of the Imperial