Page 293 - Chinese pottery and porcelain : an account of the potter's art in China from primitive times to the present day

V

The Yiian Dynasty, 1280-1367 a.d. i6i

ornament platters (fieh) with " glazes shaded in different tones," ^
;

sea eyes, and snow flowers ^ ; dishes (p'an) of the horse hoof and

betel-nut kinds, the latter suggesting a brownish red colour ; large

bowls {yii) with lotus ornament (or shaped like a lotus flower),

or of " square form with indented corners " ^ bowls and platters

;

{wan t'ieh) with painted decoration,^ with silver designs,^ with

" fluted sides," ^ and with " encircling strings." ' Such wares as.

these had a profitable market in Chekiang, Kiangnan, Kiangsi

and Fukien.

There were besides incense burners of many forms, most of

which were modelled after bronzes, e.g. those shaped like the fabu-
lous beast i, " which eats tigers and can go five hundred li at a
bound "^j those like the bronze incense burners on three or four

feet {ting), like the cups used in the ancestral temple {i), like the

large iron cauldrons {li). Others had elephant legs, and others were

shaped like incense caskets or barrels. The vase forms include the

goblet {ku),^ the gall-bladder {tan), the wine pot {hu) with spout

and handle, the Buddhist washing vessel {ching), the gardenia

{chih tzU), the lotus leaf {ho yeh), the gourd {hu lu), musical pipes
{liX kuan), vessels with ring-and-mask handles shou huan,^^ and

glass {liu li) forms.

The Ko ku yao tun, which was written about sixty years later

than the publication of the Memoirs of Chiang, supplements this
information in a short paragraph on " Old Jao Chou wares." " Of
the Yiian wares," it says,ii "those with small foot and moulded

ornament {ijin hua), and the specimens inscribed inside with the
characters shu fii ^^ are highly valued. The recently made wares
with large foot and plain white {su) glaze are wanting in brilliancy
{jun). There are also green {diing) wares and those with enamelled

iThe text is #|p: /a yun, lit. " emit mist," perliaps in the sense of " clouded."

- These are literal renderings of hai mu and bsileh hua, but I have no clue to their

meaning.

g^ The text is |^ Shua chio, lit. " sport comers."
^^* hsiu hua, lit. " embroidered ornament." See p. 91.

'> yin hsiu, lit. " silver embroidery or painting."

"tI^ P'u. cHun, which literally means " rush (or matting) lips."

#' 5fe lung hsien, lit. " play lute."

^ See Giles's Dictionary.

9 ^. Bushell renders it " trumpet-shaped beakers."

^0 Lit. " animal rings."

" Bk. vii., fols. 24 and 25.

•= fgflj lit. "pivot palace" ; i.e. Imperial palace.

—I