Page 444 - Oriental Series Japan and China, Brinkly

CHINA

Four other potters, about whose period there is some

Auncertainty, are Sit Ts'z-ching, Hwui Mang-ch'an, Chia Hiien,
and Ching Ning-heu. noted connoisseur and author says

that on a tea-pot in his possession the name of Su Ts'z-ching

is inscribed, and that the workmanship and caligraphy are

almost worthy to rank with the productions of Kung-chun
Heand Shi Ta-pin.
adds that in his youth he obtained a

pot bearing the cachet of Mang-ctian, but that the style of

the caligraphy could not compare with that of Shi Ta-pin.

Another writer of note, however, speaks with great enthusi-

asm of a pot by Mang-ctian which he (the writer) obtained

at the fair of Ts'i-fang Su-shan. There can be little doubt

that Mang-ch'an was an expert of skill. Chia Hiien's specialty

was the manufacture of seals. I have heard that among the

treasures of a well known dilettante there is a vase by Ching

Ning-heu, and that it ranks high as a keramic effort, but un-

fortunately I have not seen it.

The Ti-hsing potters build their ovens in tiers, like rabbit

holes, on the face of the hill. The market price of the good

clays has gradually risen, and now the places where these

clays are found have been dug down even to the water-level.

Formerly tea-pots by Kung-chun were fashionable, but sub-
Asequently those of Shi Ta-pin came into vogue.
tea-pot

must be small, so that the bouquet and flavour of the tea

will not disperse. Each guest should have a pot for him-

self. Among manufacturers of Ti-hsing pottery connois-

seurs place Kung-chun first, Shi Ta-pin second, and Chan

Tung-hiang third. The productions of these masters are

valued like gold and precious gems. Nothing is more im-

Aportant in a tea-pot than a straight spout. The slightest
curvature is fatal. vessel for holding tea is different from

a vessel for wine. Wine has no dregs, nor anything to ob-

struct its issue from the vessel. But with tea such is not

the case. The leaves, soaked in water, become enlarged,

and if one of them sticks in the spout, the flow is impeded.

One drinks tea for pleasure, and one may justly feel irritated
Aif the beverage declines to come out of the pot.
straight

spout obviates such an annoyance. The true form of tea-

pot began with Kung-chun. Nothing more refined and ele-

gant than his tea-pots exists among tea utensils. Shi Ta-pin's

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