Page 322 - Chinese Porcelain Vol I, Galland

i88 CHINESE PORCELAIN.
himself to choose the colour of the tiles with which it is to
be covered, or to the walls and the doors to
paint according
his own taste ; proofs of this swarrn in the literature of the
Chinese. We read, in the romance of two literary young girls,
this description of an imperial villa : ' From top to bottom
one saw enamelled bricks. . The walls which
only green . .
form the enclosure shone with the lustre of vermilion.' A
bonze, questioned upon the name of the possessor of this
' You see there the house of the
residence, replies, country
emperor. Have you not remarked that the roof of the building
is covered with enamelled tiles, and that the walls of
green
the enclosure are red ? Where the the
painted magistrate,
prince, or the count who would dare to usurp such a
'"
decoration ?
In this case the pavilion may be intended to represent
" '
an old Ming country residence, but the ladies are Tartar
with natural feet, or could not the
princesses they play game
they are represented as doing. The one to the right has just
"
kicked off," while the lady to the left, with a fan in one hand,
is to return the ball with her other hand.
preparing
318 " their out-of-door amusements,
Davis, vol. i. p. : Among
a common one is to at shuttlecock with the feet. A
very play
circle of some half a dozen keep up in this manner the game
between them with considerable the thick soles of
dexterity,
their shoes serving them in lieu of battledores, and the hand
being allowed occasionally to assist."
The pond in front is coloured green, on which red gold-fish
and are thrown fence
green water-plants ; the surrounding is
red. The of the verandah are ornamented with -
panels sceptre
head a horse, and in connection
designs, dragon-horse, probably
with the some of which on the standard
eight diagrams, appear
above the to the The back of the rim
flying jardiniere left.
is decorated with three sprays, brown steins, green leaves, and
coloured flowers.
This considered to the
plate is by experts to belong
It lias a mandarin look about it
Kang-he period. ; perhaps
we have here an early indication of the movement that was
to find its full development in the next two reigns. The
children in front, to the reader's right, with shaven heads, are
not enough to make it mandarin. We find boys with shaven