Page 460 - Chinese Porcelain Vol I, Galland

246 CHINESE PORCELAIN.

as to the age or history of the piece from the mark thereon.
Dealers and collectors, therefore, pay but little attention to
marks, taking the pieces on their merits, whether marked or
unmarked. Chinese marks may be divided into three classes
— date-marks in the plain and seal characters, hall and other

inscribed marks, symbol marks.
These are in blue, but sometimes, in the
generally painted
later in red ; at other times, the characters are
pieces, engraved
or in relief. The mark is to be found on the base of
usually
the
piece.
Instead of centuries, the Chinese measure time by means
of of To indicate the date this
cycles sixty years. by system,
"
two characters are the first taken from the ten
employed,
stems," the second from the " twelve branches," or Chinese
zodiac (see p. 83), so that to complete the cycle the stems occur
six times, and the twelve branches five times. This a
brings
different stem symbol into union with a different branch symbol
in each of the six of the former, so the
repetitions indicating
exact year of the cycle, at the end of which the last of the stems
comes into conjunction with the last of the branches, when it
is to start afresh with the first stem and branch
necessary
To the it is to add the
symbol. identify period, necessary
number of the the the and
cycle, present being seventy-sixth,
commenced in 1864. This system is, however, very seldom
employed in marking china.
The Chinese have a second method of denoting time by the
uien-hao, or title, assumed by the various emperors on ascend-
the throne, which must consist of two words or In
ing signs.
ancient times the nien-liao was changed so as to denote any
very important event occurring during the reign, but since the
accession of the Ming dynasty there is only one instance of
such change. The marking of porcelain in this way seems to
have originated through the Emperor Chin-tsung, during his
nien-hao King-te (a.d. 1004-1007), giving orders that all china
made for the palace should be dated in this way. To give the
exact date, it would be necessary to state the year in the reign ;
but this is seldom or never done on china, and the six signs,
" —
when in the plain character," are made up thus the upper
one at the reader's right hand ta (great), the next below the
name of the dynasty, the third the first sign of the nien-hao,