388 EEPOET OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. 



atory details by Dr. Bushell, has beeu published iu the Journal of the 

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

 present Dynasty," and it is, I believe, to be shortly republished in an 

 amplified form with reproductions of the original drawings. Should this 

 be 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 by native authors is to be found in their encyclopedias or in spe- 

 cial treatises chielly based upon the encyclopedias. These are, however, 

 compilations 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 crystalize into perma- 

 nent record, with the result that it is impossible after an interval of 

 centuries to attempt to reconcile the many contradictions of statement 

 contained in the dilferent works. In this catalogue, however, are con- 

 tained the reproductions in color of eighty -two specimens of the choicest 

 Ijroductious of a period extending over upwards 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 re- 

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

 Existing realities are presented to us in place of the vague generalties 

 and contradictory essays of the encyclopedists, and there can, I appre- 

 hend, be little doubt as to the comparative value of the two varieties of 

 evidence. Dr. Hirth's contribution — "Chinese Porcelain: a study iu 

 Chinese Mediaeval Industry and Trade " — is an important paper, treating 

 chiefly of Chinese celadon porcelain and its distribution over the Mo- 

 hammedan world. 



EARLIEST MENTION OP POECELAIN. 



According to the legendary records of the prehistoric perid of Chinese 

 chronology, porcelain was already manufactured under Huang-ti, an 

 emperor who is stated to have entered upon a reign of one hundred 

 years inB. 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 succeeding dynasty of 

 Chou, mention is made of an official director of pottery, and the pro- 

 cesses of fashioning on the wheel and of molding are distinguished ; 

 sacrificial wine jars and altar dishes, coffins, and cooking utensils and 

 measures being mentioned among the articles produced. Later, Chinese 

 writers have, however, long admitted that the productions of that age 

 could only have been of earthenware (possibly glazed), and that no 

 greater antiquity can be claimed for the manufacture of real porcelain 

 than the reign of the Han dynasty, which held the throne of China from 



B. C. 202 to A. D. 220, and that after this date progress iu the system 

 of manufacture was for a long period but slow. At one time, early in 



