Page 346 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

CHINA

clouds, with the beautiful clair-de-hine glaze for which

the epoch was famous.

Not until the Ming dynasty is the student unques-

tionably confronted with the grand, dazzling reds that

subsequently became so priceless in the eyes of Chi-

nese virtuosi. Among the porcelains of the Hsuan-te

era (14261435) the Tao-lu says that vases of rouge

vtf were classed as "precious," and that they were

glossy, solid, and durable. The same book quotes this

passage from another work : "In the Hsuan-te period

there were manufactured at the Imperial workshop

cups of the red called Chi-hung, having handles shaped

like fishes. To produce this red the potters mixed

with the glaze the powder of a precious red stone

which came from the Occident. On emerging

from the kiln the fish blazed out from the body.

The glaze was lustrous and thick." The expression

Chi-hung signifies the clear red of the sky after rain.

Such poetic epithets were not unnaturally employed

by the Chinese, for the reds of their fine porcelains

were in truth a poem. H'siang, in his Illustrated
red as " the colour of
lCiaqtuaildogduea,wnsp"ea(kLsiuo-ffttihae-husnagm}e, a term finely descrip-

tive of its clear, pure brilliancy. It will be observed

that the description quoted by the Tao-lu is some-

what confusing, being applicable equally to white

porcelain decorated with red fishes, or to red porce-

lain having fish-shaped handles. In point of fact,

both kinds were manufactured with marked success

by the Hsuan-te experts, but as the former has al-
"
ready been included in the section of porcelain

having decoration under the glaze," further refer-

ence need not be made to it here. The two varie-

ties of Hsuan-te ware that belong to the present part

280