562 



ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 19 3 8 



duced in figure 6. This typically T'ang piece bears in relief a dancing 

 figure of classical type, as well as foliate ornament obviously derived 

 from a classical design. Of the export of T'ang porcelain to the 

 West, abundant evidence is provided by the excavations at Samarra 

 (some 70 miles above Baghdad), where numerous examples of Chinese 

 stoneware and porcelain have been excavated under conditions that 

 leave no doubt as to their date, namely the ninth century and for the 

 most part the middle of that century. 34 It is worth noting that many 

 of the sherds of local ware (pottery) imitate imported Chinese pieces, 



and — to go beyond our period — that such 

 imitations continue in the Near East for 

 several centuries, so that the mounds of 

 Fostat (Old Cairo) abound not only with 

 fragments of early Ming celadons but also 

 with local imitations in faience. 



In this connection it is well to em- 

 phasize how much more the Chinese of 

 the T'ang period knew of the western 

 world than the western world knew of 

 China. Full accounts of Fu Lin (By- 

 zantium), and of the Arabs and their 

 Prophet have come down to us in Chinese 

 writings. It is not surprising that the 

 Chinese were well informed concerning 

 Islam, for the Emperor T'ai Tsung took 

 into his service the son of the last king 

 of Persia after the Muhammadan con- 

 quest of that country. There is an ex- 

 cellent account of Byzantium, obviously 

 the work of a Chinese traveler. He 

 even mentions the mechanical devices 

 that were so much in favor in the eastern 

 Roman capital. 



Fu Lin is the ancient Ta Tsin. It is situated on the Western Sea. To the 

 southeast it borders Persia, to the northeast is the territory of the western Turks. 

 The land is very populous and there are many towns. The walls of the capital 

 are of dressed stone, and more than 100,000 families reside in the city. There is 

 a gate 200 feet high, entirely covered with bronze [the Golden Gate]. In the 

 imperial palace there is a human figure of gold which marks the hours by striking 

 bells. The buildings are decorated with glass and crystal, gold, ivory and rare 

 woods. The roofs are made of cement, and are flat. In the heat of summer 

 machines worked by water power carry up water to the roof, which is used to 

 refresh the air by falling in showers in front of the windows. 



Figure 6.— T'ang ewer with classical 

 figure, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. 



>* Sarre, F., Die Keramik von Samarra, being vol. 2 of Die Ausgrabungen von Samarra, pp. 54-62, 101, 

 Berlin, 1925, and plates 23-29. Samarra was founded in A. D. 836 and apparently abandoned in 8S3. 



