810 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1900. 



ancient nameof Chiaho, now Chiahsing-f u, in Chehkiang province, who 

 was a ccle])ratecl collector of all kinds of antiquities during the latter 

 half of the sixteenth century. A translation of this work, with c:r,:!an- 

 atory details by Doctor Bushell, has been published in the journal of 

 the Pekin Oriental Society, under the title of Chinese Porcelain before 

 the Present D3^nasty, and it is, 1 l:)elieve, to be shortly republished 

 in an amplified form with reproductions of the original drawings. 

 Should this bo done, the work would, in my opinion, form by far the 

 most important and valuable contribution to our knowledge of this 

 interesting subject. The information regarding Chinese porcelain 

 which has been bequeathed to us b}^ native authors is to be found in 

 their encyclopedias or in special treatises chiefly based upon the ency- 

 clopedias. These are, however, coiripilations of such vast extent that 

 the authors had not, nor could be expected to have, the intimate 

 knowledge of an expert upon all of the very many subjects treated 

 in them. Hearsay evidence or unverified rumors have thus but too 

 often been allowed to crystallize into permanent record, with the result 

 that it is impossible after an interval of centuries to attempt to recon- 

 cile the many contradictions of statement contained in the different 

 works. In this catalogue, however, are contained the reproductions 

 in color of eighty-two specimens of the choicest productions of a period 

 extending over upward of five centuries, from A. D. 960 to 1521, 

 either possessed or seen by the artist, and scattered notes from the 

 pen of one of the most noted connoisseurs of his age regarding the 

 respective merits and rarity of the various kinds of ware. Existing 

 realities are presented to us in place of the vague generalities and con- 

 tradictory essays of the encyclopedists, and there can, I apprehend, 

 be little doubt as to the comparative value of the two varieties of evi- 

 dence. Doctor Hirth's contribution — Chinese Porcelani: A Study in 

 Chinese Medieval Industry and Trade — is an important paper, treat- 

 ing chiefly of Chinese celadon porcelain and its distribution over the 

 Mohammedan world. 



EARLIEST MENTION OF PORCELAIN. 



According to the legendary records of the prehistoric period of 

 Chinese chronolog}^, porcelain was already manufactured under 

 Huang-ti, an emperor who is said to have entered upon a reign of 

 one hundred years in B. C. 2697; and the Emperor Yu-ti-Shun, another 

 monarch of the legendary period, is believed to have himself made 

 porcelain before mounting the throne in B. C. 2255. Under the suc- 

 ceeding dynasty of Chou, mention is made of an official director of 

 pottery, and the processes of fashioning on the wheel and of mold- 

 ing are distinguished; sacrificial wine jars and altar dishes, coffins, 

 cooking utensils, and measures ))eing mentioned among the articles 

 produced. Later Chinese writers have, however, long admitted that 



