Feb., 1912. Jade. 325 



The conventional opinion on the decadence of Chinese art during the 

 last centuries is not upheld even by a mere superficial examination of 

 these two collections. The technical mastery in the carving of these 

 jade pieces is as great as, perhaps even greater than, in any previous 

 period of history, and they reveal a power of artistic composition and a 

 harmony of form and taste unattained by European art -industry of the 

 same age. True it is, they lack in originality and variability of ideas. 

 The K'ien-lung epoch is weak in new inventions, and it is questionable 

 whether any new creation arose during that period in the mind of any 

 artist. The works of the past are copied, not slavishly and languidly, 

 but with a zealous and fervent inspiration, with an honest desire to 

 produce the best, with a truly artistic instinct. It was a gay and amia- 

 ble art of a distinctly worldly imprint, certainly bare of that deep re- 

 ligious spirit which had instigated the great early masters to their 

 transcendental and spiritually impressionistic motives. The emotional 

 idealism and sentimentalism had vanished. The exigencies of the life 

 here had come more and more to the front, and the old-time rigid sacred- 

 ness was redeemed by a more human and social touch. No longer were 

 the artists guided by ideas, but by considerations of taste, elegant forms, 

 pleasing proportions and delicate treatment of ornamental details, 

 though the subjects were still drawn from the ancient sources, but with 

 a predilection for the genre. 



While in its content Chinese art of the eighteenth century doubtless 

 becomes somewhat wearisome and monotonous, it still maintains, on 

 the other hand, such high standards and qualities and is so rich in great 

 achievements as to render it sufficiently attractive to the foreign stu- 

 dent. And it is perhaps the peculiar characteristics of the K'ien-lung 

 era which have won for it so many foreign admirers. The collector of 

 porcelains is aware of what is due to the accomplishments of the eight- 

 eenth century in this line; lacquer and ivory carving flourished at the 

 same period and above all painting, the excellent qualities of which are 

 justly insisted on by Hirth and made by him the starting-point for a 

 study of Chinese painting in general. In no other age were literature 

 and criticism cultivated to a higher degree, and under the patronage 

 of these two big-hearted liberal emperors, K'ang-hi and K'ien-lung, 

 the Chinese have produced masterpieces in printing, book -making and 

 wood-engraving which may maintain an honorable place beside the 

 best productions of the world at large. Where there are successful 

 efforts in all fields of human activity, we are scarcely justified in speak- 

 ing of a general decadence. 



It would be preposterous to infer that the student of Chinese archae- 

 ology could set his mind at rest over the development of the eighteenth 



