Page 326 - Chinese Porcelain Vol I, Galland

CHINESE PORCELAIN.
iqo
on
worshipped to favour them with a dream, shedding light
the subject of their perplexity, which they briefly state. They
frequently sleep before the idol, burning incense and candles.
Should they have a dream, they rise and ask by means of the
Ka-pue whether the dream was sent by the god to shed light
on their course in answer to their If an affirmative
prayer.
answer is received, they proceed to study the character of the
dream, and endeavour to decide from its teachings what they
should do in regard to the subject under consideration, and
whether they will be successful."
These are probably late Kang-he.
No. 326. Porcelain pear-shaped cuspidore. Height, 14J
inches. Wide mouth with flange. What appears to be a cylin-
drical stand is really part of the vase. No mark. The base is
recessed and The decoration consists of the
slightly glazed.
of the immortals on the of the with
figures eight body piece,
the god of longevity on one side of the neck, and Si Wang Mu
on the other, painted in enamelled colours. These vessels, of
various are to be found in every Eastern house, being-
shapes,
rendered necessary by the universal custom of chewing betel-
nut, and as this habit is indulged in on all occasions, the pieces
had to be made worthy of the company by whom they were to
be used.
"Middle Kingdom," vol. ii. p. 404 : "Betel-nut is the fruit
of the areca and is so called because it is chewed with
palm,
the leaf of the betel pepper as a masticatory. The nut is the
only part brought to China, the leaf being raised along the
whole southern coast. It resembles a nutmeg in shape, colour,
and internal structure, but is a little larger. The whole of the
nut is chewed. The nuts are boiled or eaten raw, the former
being cut into slices and boiled with a small quantity of cutch,
and then dried. Those brought to China are simply deprived
of the husk and dried. When chewed, a slice of the nut is
wrapped in the fresh leaf, smeared with a mixture of gambier
coloured red with cinnabar, and the whole masticated to a
pulp
before spitting it out. The teeth become dark red from using
it, but the Chinese are careful to remove this stain, which the
Malays regard as beautiful. The taste of the fresh pepper leaf
is herbaceous and aromatic with a little and those
pungency,
who chew it become so fond of it that it is seldom out of their