Page 298 - Chinese porcelains collected by Mr. and Mrs. Charles P. Taft, Cincinnati, Ohio, by John Getz

8
GLOSSARY
it is divided up into small cakes or bricks.
TTiese are the " pe-tun-tse," or " white-clay
bricks."
PlNE-TRElE, a common emblem of longevity.
Pomegranate, cultivated chiefly for its beauty
as a flowering plant. It is also a Buddhist sign,
the fruit being supposed to represent the es-
sence of favorable influence. The Chinese
name "Kiat" has the same pronunciation as the
word for luck, so when peaches (longevity) and
pomegranate (luck) are combined, the sym-
bolism means these blessings.
PORCEILAIN is classified under two divisions, i.e.,
hard and soft paste. It is translucent and
partially vitrified, has a pure white body, and
is sonorous and impermeable to water. By
reason of its vitrification and translucency it is
distinguishable from all other ceramic products,
and this quality doubtless inspired the name of
porcelain in Europe, for when it first appeared
its novelty suggested a resemblance to mother-
of-pearl or some other shells : at least this seems
to be the accepted hypothesis.
The word porcelain has undergone different
unimportant transformations at the hands of
European writers, who have referred to this
wonderful product from the East, giving the
word according to their own language, and so
we find the word " pourgelain " in medievcJ
French inventories, presumably applied to many
different objects, such as vases or other uten-
sils made of shells or mother-of-pearl.
Both Jacquemart and Fiquier believed the
word porcelain to be derived from the Portu-
guese porcolaha. or porcolla (vessel) ; but it is
possible that the word porcelain is of Italian
origin, and derived from the similarity of its
glazed white surface to that of the cowry-shell,
called by the Italians porcellana.
The fact, therefore, singularly appears that
China, although the creator of this marvelous
product, did not give it a name acceptable to
or used by Western countries, and that it re-
mained for Europe to call it porcelain.
In China porcelciin is termed Yao, the word
signifying an object baked in a kiln, whether
glazed porcelain or glazed pottery. TTiis word
came into use during the T'ang djTiasty (6 1
A.D.), when the paste became more translu-
cent and white through the use of kaolin.
The word Thao was used before that epoch,
and refers to a primitive kind of pottery or
122
stoneware. The Chinese also called a par-
ticular kind of porcelain Tse, which term desig-
nated a porcelain made from a stone called
Tse-chi. found in the district of Tse-tcheou.
Generally Chinese porcelain contains more
silica and less alumina than the products made
at Sevres, Vienna, or Dresden. The effect of
the presence in greater or less degree of these
compounds is well known by the Chinese. In
some cases they employ ferruginous kaolin,
which sensibly diminishes the value of the ar-
ticle. See Porcelain Paste.
Porcelain Paste. Kaolin and "p^-tun-tse"
in equal portions are used for porcelain of the
finest quality; four parts kaolin to six of "pe-
tun-tse" for the second quality; one part kaolin
to three parts "pe-tun-tse" for the third.
The mixture is made into paste with water,
compressed, rolled and kneaded on a table, and
beaten to remove air-bubbles. In its malleable
state it is ready for the potter's wheel, where it
receives its form.
The portions that cannot be turned on a
wheel, such as handles and other attachments,
are separately molded and fastened on with
layers of paste and a bit of gum. After the sur-
face is smoothed, relief ornamentations, if any,
are added, and a piece is put away to dry.
Large objects are generally made in two or
three parts, joined together by moistened paste.
While the foot is still unwTought there is added
the decoration in blue or other colors which
require to be highly fired. The glaze is next
applied, either by dipping or blowing with a
tube. This strengthens the object sufficiently to
permit the workman to fashion the foot on a
wheel and to inscribe a mark. Coated with
glaze, the piece is ready for the kiln.
RlCE-GRAlN Pattern, or "grains de riz," a
term applied to a pierced design in the form of
a star diaper: so called because it resembles
grains of rice, which are filled out with glaze,
leaving the pattern semi-transparent.
RlSHl ("Sien-nung"), genii of humankind, or
recluses who(variously classified), have suc-
ceeded in freeing themselves from perturbation
of spirit and the mfirmities of the flesh, or have
attained to immortality in the existing world;
also, the deified genii who have bidden fare-
well to earth and have departed to roam among
the three "Islands of the Blest."