Page 17 - Bonhams May 2022 Arrow Vases

Fig.1 Table screen with woman playing touhu Fig.2 ‘Pitch-pot’, bronze, Ming dynasty.
late 17th century. The Metropolitan Museum of Smithsonian Museum of Asian Art, Washington.
Art, New York.

which states ‘every time he played with Han Wudi, the emperor would 馬光 (1019-1086) who came to power after the reformist Wang Anshi
’5
reward him with riches. Further mention of Master Guo is to be found 王安石 resigned in 1085, was also a notable historian. In 1072, he
in a poem by the renowned Tang poet Du Fu 杜甫 (712-770 CE) where published a treatise on the game entitled Touhu xinge 投壺新格 or
the court painter's skill was compared to Guo's: ‘Mao Yanshou was as ‘New Rules for Touhu’ which aimed at reforming a game which had
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good at painting as Master Guo was at touhu’. become too disorderly for his liking.

From the Western and Eastern Jin 晉(265-420 CE), up to the Tang 唐 During the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) a resistance to the conservative
(618-907 CE) the game underwent considerable changes and gained interpretation of the game arose from those like Wang Ti 汪禔 who were
in popularity not only among rulers, princes and high-officials, but always ready to welcome innovations such as new pitching techniques
also amongst eunuchs and concubines as is evidenced by a passage and modifications in the shape of the vessels such as the addition of
from the Jinshu 晉書 or ‘The History of the Jin’ where we learn of a extra ears, all of which increased difficulty and required greater skill. 11
concubine of the wealthy governor Shi Chong 石崇 (249-300 CE) who Finally, we find another mention of the game in the famous, or rather
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could pitch her arrows from behind a screen. infamous, novel Jinpingmei 金瓶梅from around 1619 in which the rich
merchant Ximen Qing 西門慶, and his concubine Pan Jinlian潘金蓮
The most important change that occurred during the Jin dynasty was one hot summer afternoon play a game of touhu underneath the grape
the appearance of the ‘ears’ on either side of the neck of the vase. arbor. Touhu then evidently was no longer an entertainment restricted to
With this another dimension was added to the game. Robert Poor the aristocracy and had gradually become a casual pastime for wealthy
comments: ‘there can be no doubt that it was the addition of these merchants as well as mandarins.
tubes which constituted the definition of a special t'ou-hu [touhu] vessel’.
8 As for Professor Richard Rudolph, he notes that vases with ears were During the Qing 清 (1644-1912 CE) the game of touhu ceased being an
manufactured as early as the twelfth or thirteenth centuries BCE, but active social pastime, whilst the vase came to be seen primarily as an
that they had disappeared during the Han dynasty. He concludes that artefact, an objet d'art of interest to collectors. Thus, the vases continued
‘...the use of "ears" on the vases designed for the later versions of the to be manufactured well after the game itself had been abandoned.
game may have been inspired by very early examples’. One of the
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earliest arrow vases is to be found together with a nearly complete set Nowadays, the game is still played in Korea where touhu sets are
of 23 wooden arrows in the Shôsô-in treasure house of Nara in Japan. available at old palaces, historical museums and other tourist sites. The
Fan Sheng claims the Nara vase dates from sometime between the Sui game is now played mostly during the New Year and Chuseok holidays.
隋 (581-618 CE) and the Tang dynasties, when the diffusion of Chinese Recently, in China during the twentieth nationwide university robotics
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cultural practices in Japan was at its peak. competition, a touhu contest was staged in which robots created by
science and technology students played the game. In general, however,
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In the Song 宋 (960-1279 CE) the game was given a new importance the game is nowadays rarely played. Fortunately, arrow vases remain
by ideologically conservative politicians who wanted to re-establish to remind us of its past prowess in the land in which it was created.
and reinforce the old ceremonial rites. Their leader, Sima Guang 司 For references, please see page 17.

MORE THAN A GAME | 15