Page 319 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

MONOCHROMATIC GLAZES

more" (translated by Dr. Bushell). Already there-

fore an interval of less than half a century had sufficed

to deprive the Ching-te-chen potters of the skill

exercised by their Wan-li predecessors.

Among the Wan-li experts was one Hao Shih-chiu,

famed for his exquisitely delicate white porcelain.

He could make wine-cups weighing less than the

forty-eighth part of an ounce, and he was also able

to imitate the white Ting-yao of the Sung dynasty so

perfectly that the connoisseurs of his time failed

to distinguish the reproduction from the original.

Pieces of his surviving now might evidently pass for
Sung ware among any virtuosi. The Tao-lu tells a

curious story illustrative of his remarkable ability.

One day he called at the residence of an important

official called Tang, and begged permission to exam-

ine an ancient tripod of Ting-yao which the latter

possessed. The tripod was produced. Hao took its
measure accurately with his hand. Then he' copied

the form of the design on a paper which he con-

cealed in his sleeve. Returning immediately to

Ching-te-chen, he passed six months there, and then

repaired a second time to Tang's Tamen. Admitted

to Tang's presence, Hao took from his sleeve a tripod
and said: "Your Excellency is the possessor of a

tripod censer of white Ting-yao. Here is a similar

one of mine." Tang was astonished. He compared

the new tripod with his own precious piece and could

detect no difference. Even the stand and cover of

his own tripod fitted that of Hao exactly. The pot-
ter made no secret of the fact that his was only a

modern imitation, and ended by selling it for sixty

pieces of silver to Tang, who placed it in his collec-
Ation as a companion to the Sung tripod.
few years

VOL. IX. I/