Page 62 - J. P Morgan Collection of Chinese Art and Porcelain

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION

p'ing, in obeying a decree, issued in 707, ordering sacri-

ficial utensils for the imperial tombs. The Ch'a Ching,

a classical book on tea, describes the different kinds

of bowls preferred by tea drinkers, classifying them

according to the color of their glaze in enhancing the

tint of the infusion. The poets of the time liken

their wine cups to "disks of thinnest ice," to "tilted

lotus leaves floating down a stream," to white or green

Ajade. verse of the poet Tu (803-852) is often quoted

referring to white porcelain from the province of

Ssechuan:

"The porcelain of the Ta-yi kilns is light and yet strong. It
rings with a low jade note, and is famed throughout the city.
The fine white bowls surpass hoarfrost and snow."

The first line praises the fabric, the second the re-

sonance of the tone, the third the purity of the white

glaze.

The bowls most highly esteemed for tea were the
white bowls of Hsing-chou, now Shun-te-fu, in the
province of Chihli, and the blue bowls of Yueh-chou,
the modern Shao-hsing-fu, in Chehkiang. They both
rang with a clear musical note, and are said to have been
used by musicians, in sets of ten, to make chimes, be-
ing struck on the rims with little rods of ebony.

Arab trade with China flourished during the eighth

and ninth centuries, when Mohammedan colonies set-
tled in Canton and other Seaport towns. One of the
Arabian travellers named Soleyman wrote an account

of his journey, which has been translated into French,
and which gives the first mention of porcelain outside

China. He says:

"They have in China a very fine clay with which they make

vases which are as transparent as glass; water is seen through them.

These vases are made of clay."

The Arabs at this time were well acquainted with

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