Page 382 - Chinese Porcelain Vol II, Galland

4 i2 KEEN-LUNG.
from the emperor himself demonstrations of respect such as
to none but the consort." We are
justly appertain empress
told that in 745 she was raised to the rank of Kwei Fei, second
in dignity to that of the empress, and that the emperor, growing
more shameless, introduced into the harem her three sisters,
them to the rank of and them
raising princesses, endowing
with valuable fiefs from which they took their titles, Kwoh
Kwoh Kwoh and Ts-in Kwoh Her
Fu-jen, Fu-jen, Fu-jen.
father and brother (a coarse uneducated voluptuary) were
raised to high office. No outlay was spared to gratify her
caprices, tributary kingdoms were ransacked for gems, and,
during the early summer, relays of couriers were employed in
from Southern China of litchi, a fruit of
transporting supplies
which she was immoderately fond. In A.D. 756 the famished
rose in revolt, and the was forced, it is said
soldiery emperor
with unutterable anguish, to order the eunuch Kao Li-sze to
"
the Princess whilst the latter's brother
strangle Yang,
and her sister Ts'in Kwoh were
Yang Kwoh-chung Fu-jen,
torn from the imperial presence by the revolters and publicly
massacred."
Nos. 711, 712, 713. A rose verte vase. Height, 17 inches.
No mark. This is one of the
pieces with the five bats (see
No. 334), and is a Seven
very good specimen of its class.
ladies are ranged round the vase under the shade of a pine
tree, the trunk of which, as is usual at this period, is painted
in sepia. We cannot but regret the rich aubergine or green
trunks of the but in this case can console
Kang-he period,
ourselves with the beauty of the ladies' dresses, most carefully
painted in lovely coloured enamels, all of delicate tone. We
can see influence in the of the and in
European style drawing
the To is coloured with a
painting. begin with, the ground
light green wash from the base of the vase up to the garden
fence ; the rocks in sepia with just the suggestion of red are
painted with all the care required to represent marble, while
"
the bamboo fence shows all the The motive shows
joints.
the seven star-like damsels flowers
picking one carries a vase,
another a another a flower-basket."
bouquet,
Some way back we considered five figures belonging to the
Kang-he period ; let us now glance at those of the present
reign, which we have the opportunity of doing in