Page 115 - Chinese pottery and porcelain : an account of the potter's art in China from primitive times to the present day

Lung Ch'ing (1567-1572) 57

we come to the reigns of Lung Ch'ing and Wan Li, when there was

nothing that could not be made." At the same time he finds fault
with a particular kind of decoration which was encouraged by the
degraded and licentious tastes of the Emperor Lung Ch'ing, and
seems to have only too frequently marred the porcelain of the

period.^

The rare examples of marked Lung Ch'ing porcelain in our
collections do not call for special comment, and the unmarked
specimens will hardly be distinguished from the productions of

the succeeding Wan Li period. There are, however, two boxes
in the British Museum which may be regarded as characteristic

specimens of the Imperial blue and white porcelains. Both are
strongly made with thick but fine-grained body material and a
glaze of slightly greenish tone ; and the designs are boldly sketched
in strong outline and washed in with a dark indigo blue. One
is a square box with four compartments decorated with five-clawed
dragons in cloud scrolls, extended or coiled in medallions accord-
ing as space demanded ; and the other is oblong and rectangular,
and painted on the sides (the cover is missing) with scenes of family

life {jen wu). In both cases the base is unglazed except for a sunk
medallion in which the six characters of the Lung Ch'ing mark

are finely painted in blue.

^ See Ming ch'en shih pi chou chai yii fan (quoted in T'ao lu, bk. viii., cf. 4 verso) :.

" For Mu Tsung (i.e. Lung Ch'ing) loved sensuality, and therefore orders were given,

to make this kind of thing ; but as a matter of fact ' Spring painting ' began in the
picture house of Prince Kuang Chiian of the Han dynasty. . ."

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