5. Cylindrical Earthenware Cricket Jars with solid lids. Beijing and Suzhou. early 20th cent. Left: The lar's black 

 walls are plain, but lid has impressed designs on both sides — uniformed soldier on outside, dancing figure on 

 inside. Inscription says the style is after that of Xinluo Shanren (\.e.. the painter Hua Yan.AO 1682-1765). On the 

 base is another impressed seal with two names: Li Xiufang. perhaps early maker of cricket jars mentioned by Zhu 

 Yan. and Sun Ruishen. maker of this piece. Acquired in Suzhou: diam. 1 1.2: cat. 126389. Middle: Interior has black 

 sand floor Lid is molded with designs on both sides: on the top. a pagoda not unlike the White Pagoda in Beijing: 

 on the bottom, five bats (happiness) surrounding the charactershou (longevity). Acquired in Beijing: diam. 8 cm; 

 cat. 127797. Right: Red jar in barrel shape. Lid and sides are decorated with impressed butterflies and flowers. 

 Seal on base reads Su Pan, "Suzhou basin." Acquired in Beijing: diam. 7.5 cm: cat. 127809. 



It is the jars that interest us here. Similar jars are used 

 for keeping crickets in the Beijing-Tianjin area during 

 the late summer and early fall, after which the crickets 

 are transferred to gourds. In the Shanghai-Suzhou area, 

 in eastern China, crickets live in such jars throughout 

 the fighting-singing season. Several sizes and shapes 

 were formerly used: small cylindrical containers about 

 the size of the gourds; medium-sized containers about 8 

 cm in diameter and 6 cm high; and large containers 

 11-12 cm in diameter and 9-10 cm high. The small 

 ones generally have pierced lids for ventilation, the lar- 

 ger ones have loose-fitting solid lids. All are made of 

 unglazed clay fired at low temperatures, for it is essen- 

 tial that the clay be porous in order to retain the moist 

 atmosphere that crickets need (fig. 5). 



All authorities agree that fighting crickets also 

 need a somewhat irregular but soft surface underfoot; a 

 hard smooth surface, like that of glazed pottery, will, 

 they believe, damage the cricket's claws and make it 

 less courageous. For this reason, modern cricket fanci- 

 ers in Guangdong lay a sheet of coarse paper on the 

 bottom of the cricket container, and both southerners 



and northerners often use layers of fine clay mixed with 

 lime for the same purpose. Authorities also agree that 

 one must be careful about using new jars. As Xiao 

 Guang, an 18th-century writer on crickets, remarks: 

 "In early autumn one should use old and large jars for keep- 

 ing crickets .... The new jars have too much 'fire,' being 

 freshly baked. The weather being dry and hot, it is essential 

 to keep the jar in a damp place. 1 would recommend using 

 cold tea to soak the jar twice a day, and to change the [crick- 

 et's drinking] water thrice. 



"In mid-autumn it is better to use old jars and to 

 change the water twice a day. In late autumn one should use 

 new jars and place them in a draft-proof place. It does not 

 matter then if you have to use smaller or polished jars. " 



Formerly well known for their cricket jars were 

 Lumu, a village just outside Suzhou in Jiangsu Prov- 

 ince, eastern China; and a Beijing suburb in northern 

 China. Lumu made medium-sized and large jars of the 

 kind preferred there, sometimes exporting these out- 

 side the province. The center near Beijing seems to 

 have specialized in small jars about the same size as the 

 local cricket gourds. 



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