Page 82 - Chinese pottery and porcelain : an account of the potter's art in China from primitive times to the present day

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38 Chinese Pottery and Porcelain

in the following passage in the T'^ao shuo ^ : " Porcelain enamelled
in colours was painted in imitation of the fashion of brocaded silks,

and we have consequently the names of blue ground, yellow ground,
and brown gold {tzu chin) ground. The designs used to decorate it
were also similar, and included dragons in motion {tsou lung), clouds
and phoenixes, dii-lin, lions, mandarin ducks, myriads of gold pieces,
dragon medallions (p'aw lung, lit. coiled dragons), pairs of phoenixes,

peacocks, sacred storks, the fungus of longevity, the large lion in
his lair, wild geese in clouds with their double nests, large crested
waves, phoenixes in the clouds, the son-producing lily, the hundred
flowers, phoenixes flying through flowers, the band of Eight Taoist
Immortals, dragons pursuing pearls, lions playing vnth. embroid-
ered balls, water weeds, and sporting fishes. These are the names
of ancient brocades, all of which the potters have reproduced more
or less accurately in the designs and colouring of their porcelain."

The following analysis of the designs named in the Chia Ching
lists will show that the blue and white painters of the period took
their inspiration from the same source :

Floral Motives.

Celestial flowers {Vien hua), supporting the characters shou

shan fu hai M]^MM, "longevity of the hills and happiness (in-

exhaustible as) the sea."
Flowers of the four seasons (the tree peony for spring, lotus

for summer, chrysanthemum for autumn, and prunus for winter).
Flowering and other plants {hua ts'ao).
The myriad-flowering wistaria {wan hua feng).
The water chestnut {ling).
The pine, bamboo, and plum.
Floral medallions {Vuan hua).
Indian lotus {hsi fan lien).
Knots of lotus {chieh tzu lien ^).
Interlacing sprays of lotus supporting the Eight Precious Sym-

bols or the Eight Buddhist Emblems.^
Branches of ling chih ^ fungus supporting the Eight Precious

Symbols.

^ See Bushell's translation, op. cit., p. 151.

3 See p. 298.

M^* ^'"5 chih, a species of agaric, at first regarded as an emblem of good luckj

and afterwards as a Taoist emblem of immortality.