Page 333 - Chinese pottery and porcelain : an account of the potter's art in China from primitive times to the present day

Miscellaneous Potteries 187

represented by " dishes, rice bowls, wine cups, saucers and spoons,

preserve jars, wine bottles, etc., in common porcelain," besides

tiles of various kinds, which implies the manufacture of pottery

as well. These wares, we are informed in the catalogue, are largely

exported to Saigon, Siam, Manilla, etc. ; a statement confirmed

by the Chinese Commercial Guide, ^ which adds India, the Archi-
pelago, and the southern provinces. This is interesting in view
of the quantities of coarse china, blue and white ^ and coloured,
which is brought from these parts by collectors who take its crude
appearance as evidence of age. The factories are located at Pa-kwoh,

a village near Shih-ma, which lies between Amoy and Chang-chou

Fu. Tung-an Hsien in the same neighbourhood is also named as

a pottery centre.
There are several important factories within easy reach of

Shanghai. Those at Yi-hsing have been discussed at some length,
but there is another large centre of the industry on the east side
of the Lake T*ai-hu opposite to Yi-hsing. This is Su Chou ^j^^,
which, according to the catalogue of the Paris Exhibition, was still
celebrated for its pottery in 1878. But the reputation of Su Chou

does not rest on its modern achievements. Its name occurs fre-

quently in the pottery section of the great encyclopaedia (com-

piled by order of the Emperor K'ang Hsi) as one of the prominent
pottery centres in the Ming dynasty. Tiles for the palaces and
temples of Nanking were made there, and vases and wine vessels
for the Imperial Court. The nature of these last can be guessed

from a hint given in one passage of the encyclopaedia^ : "At Su

Chou iron rust {hsiu) and other materials are used for the yellow
wares. For the vessels with dragon and phoenix destined for
Imperial use, a resinous substance ^ and cobalt blue ^ are used."

In the Hsiian Te period (1426-1435), Su Chou was noted for

1 Op. cit., p. 114.

2 A coarse blue and white porcelain, often decorated with dragons which overlap the

rim and are continued on the reverse of the bowls and dishes, seems to belong to one of

these provincial factories. The glaze is thick and bubbly, and the blue of the decora-
tion rather dull and dark ; but these pieces have a certain age, and belong to the first
half of the eighteenth century, for they were copied at Worcester and Lowestoft. They
often have marks " of commendation," such as hsi yiX ("western jade "), etc.

3 The Ch'in ting ku chin Cu shu chi ch'ing, section viii., subsection named Tao kung

pu hui k'ao, fol. 15.
* >fS# sung hsiang, rendered " turpentine " by Bushell, O. C. A., p. 264.

^ig^^ wu ming i, " nameless rarity," the designation under which cobalt was

imported in the Sung dynasty. (See Bushell, O. C. A., p. 439.)