Page 316 - Chinese pottery and porcelain : an account of the potter's art in China from primitive times to the present day

176 Chinese Pottery and Porcelain

most cases the characteristics assigned to them are entirely vague.

We learn, for instance, that one man's " forte was beauty of decora-

tion," and that three others were " renowned for the excellence

of their pottery." On the other hand, it is important to read

that Tung Han in the Wan Li period (1573-1619) was " the first

potter who ornamented the surface of the Yi-hsing ware with elabor-
ate designs in relief," and that many of the pieces designed by
Ch'en Chung-mei,^ who had formerly been a porcelain maker, "such

as perfume boxes, flower vases, paper weights, and so forth, show
singularly fine moulding and chiselling. His vases were shaped
in the form of flowers, leaves, and fruits, and were decorated with
insects. His dragons sporting among storm-clouds, with out-
stretched claws and straining eyes ; his statuettes of the goddess

—Kuan-yin, her features at once majestic and benevolent these

are indeed wonderful productions, instinct with life." This passage

shows, at any rate, that in the Ming period the Yi-hsing potters
did not confine their attention to tea wares. Perhaps the most

celebrated Yi-hsing potter was Shih Ta-pin, who followed in
the footsteps of the great Kung Ch'un, and eventually sur-

passed him.

Brinkley's translation gives us very precise views of what the
true form of the teapot should be. It should be small, so that
the bouquet of the tea be not dispersed, and every guest should
have a pot to himself. It should be shallow, with a cover which
is convex inside ; and it is very important that the spout should
be straight. Crooked spouts were very liable to become obstructed

by the tea leaves. " One drinks tea for pleasure, and one may

justly feel irritated if the beverage declines to come out of the

pot." The true form of teapot, we are told, began with Kung

Ch'un, from which one infers that the tea bowls of the T'ang and
Sung usage were in vogue up to his time. But the correct shape
once established, the Yi-hsing potters soon began to take liberties
with it, and to twist it into all manner of fanciful forms, such as
fruits (persimmon, pomegranate, finger citron), the leaf or the seed-
pod of the lotus, creature forms such as fish leaping from waves,

* The Yang-bsien ming hu bsi (quoted in the T'ao lu, bk. viii,, fol. 8 verso) states
that Ch'en Chung-mei began by making porcelain at Ching-te Chen, " It was exceed-
ingly clever, and of an ornamental kind, made with supernatural ingenuity. But the
results of his trade were far from sufficient to establish a name, so he gave it up and

came to Yang-hsien (i.e. Yi-hsing). He took a delight in blending the teapot clays,

putting his heart and soul into the work, and his ware was considered superhuman."