CERAMIC ART IN CHINA. 871 



hiiii8t'lf to the rites of Taoism, and finally attaine<l to immortality.' 

 Wanji Cliih is stated to have lived under the Chin dynasty in the 

 third century B. C. Tlie apjiearance of this South Pole star is sup- 

 posed to announee peace throu<iliout the world. 

 19, 20. Jar^ (2) with covers, of the small pollrhe shape, of jiure white jiorcelain, with 

 paintings in deep, dull blue under glaze, of children playing in garden and 

 plucking tiowers from the trees; cover ornamented with children, similarly 

 painted, in grotesque attitudes jjlaying. A reproduction of a popular Chinese 

 l)ainting, the Po-tzu-t'n, "Drawing of (///. a hundred) Children." Mark on 

 foot, a leaf, which makes these specimens date from the K'anghsi period 

 (16H2to 1722), tliough the color is rather that of the :\Iing dynasty. Height, 

 10 inches. 

 21. Wnu'-iiot of creamy white ^Nling dynasty Chienning porcelain {('lueu-i/no), termed 

 l^y the French blajic de Cliinc. Tall, circular in shape, tied at center with 

 ribl)on. Spout formed by lizard with four legs and ))ranching tail, which 

 clings to rim and turns head outward, the wine issuing from its mouth. The 

 handle is formed l>y a similar animal twisting head downward from rim 

 to center of vessel. Has closely-fitting cover, surmounted l)y a knob formed 

 of a diminutive lizard curled into the form of a ball. Xo mark on foot. 

 Height, 92 inches; diameter, :U inches. 

 22-24. Setds (.3) of creamy white i\Iing dynasty Chienning porcelain (lilauc <Je Chine), 

 one large and two smaller, cubes in shape, each surmounted l)y a lion as 

 handle boldly molded in relief, with long, straight mane and tail, and curly 

 hair down back. Nos. 22 and 24 represent a lioness with one cul). No mark. 

 Height, Nos. 22 and 23, 2| inches; No. 24, 3 inches; diameter, Nos. 22 and 

 23, If inches; No. 24, ]| inches. 

 25. Pencil-holder, tall, circular in shape, of pure-white Ming dynasty porcelain, 

 formed of sprays of lotus flowers and leaves admirably molded in relief 

 and covered with lustrous, transparent glaze, the spaces between the flowers 

 and leaves being excised to form , open-work. No mark; bottom unglazed. 

 Height, 3| inches; diameter, 2J inches. 

 171. Pened-vasher of white Ming porcelain, of globular form, with Icjw, open neck, 

 and a liandle on either side formed of a grotesque lion's head molded in 

 relief. Decoration consists of six genii riding on a sword, a carp, a tiger, 

 a hat, a bunch of sticks, and a dragon, painted in a deep Ijlue through 

 l)rick-red waves under glaze. Round neck and foot a narrow band of white 

 studded with blue spots. Mark Ts'ai-hua-t'ang, the designation of a portion of 

 some i)rinceiy palace not yet identified. Height, 2i inches; diameter, Scinches. 

 The sage riding the waves upon the sword is Lii Fung-pin, stated to 

 have been born A. D. 755. While holding office as magistrate of 

 Te-hua, in modern Kiangsi, he is said to have met the immortalized 

 Chung-li C'h'iian, who instructed him in the mysteries of alchemy. 

 On his sul>sequently begging to be allowed to convert his fellow- 

 countrymen to the true belief, he was, as a preliminary, exposed 

 to ten temptations, which he successfully resisted. He was then 

 invested with the formulas of magic and a sword of supernatural 

 power, a,s the Taoist legends relate, with which he traversed the 

 Empire during a period of four hundred years, killing dragons and 

 ridding it of divers kinds of evils. In the twelfth century temples 

 were erected to his honor under the title of Ch'un Yang. (Mayers, 

 No. 467. ) 



^Mayers, Chinese Reader's Manual, No. 794. 



