408 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888 



No specimens of these wares have, however, so far as I am aware, 

 sarvived to the present day, and among those which Chinese connois- 

 seurs Jiow declare to be red products of the Yiian dynasty one sehlom 

 sees any but such as are of a uniform whitish-purple with deep red 

 splashes. 



MING DYNASTY, 13G8 to 1649. 



Under the Ming dynasty the ceramic art made great progress, both 

 in the fineness of the ware and in the excellence of the decorative 

 workmanship. It would appear that under the Yiian dynasty imperial 

 orders were not invariably executed at the government factories, buc 

 were frequently entrusted to private enterprise. None, however, of the 

 articles tendered was accepted unless considered perfect, and the test 

 was so severe, that as much as 90 per cent, was at times rejected. 

 Under the Ming dynasty, however, the manufacture appears to have 

 been more and more restricted to the Ohingte-chen factories, which 

 thenceforward practically monopolized the production of artistic por- 

 celain. The administration was reformed, and officers were despatched 

 from the capital with the orders, the execution of which they had to 

 superintend, and on completion to deliver to the palace — duties which, 

 like most others of emolument and dignity, were absorbed by eunuchs 

 during the reigns of the last emperors of that dynasty. 



In their paintings, which are always in water color, the Chinese, while 

 of course requiring on the artist's part a knowledge of the technique 

 adequate to a proper treatment of the subject chosen, admire chiefly a 

 boldness of stroke which i)roves complete mastery over the pencil, and 

 a facility of conception which permits of improvisation, so to speak; that 

 is, of the elaboration of the original design currente calamo, and with- 

 out having previously outlined a sketch of it upon the object to be 

 decorated. This style of painting is termed pii, " following the will of 

 the brush," An artist who first sketches out his design and then care- 

 fully and elaborately fills in the details, a style which is depreciatingly 

 termed kung-i, " mechanical ", occupies in their estimation a very sub- 

 ordinal position. And the characteristics of the two styles are so 

 clearly defined, or at least are so patent to the i)ractised native eye, 

 that a single glance almost suffices to enable a connoisseur to determine 

 to which of the two a painting belongs. 



In a country, too, where painting as a profession does not exist, and 

 where the interchange of fans or scrolls i)ainted by the donors, as one 

 of the most ordinary forms of courtesy, generates, if not a profound 

 knowledge of the art, at least a very general practical proficiency in 

 it, it has resulted that the most noted artists are to be found among the 

 class enjoying the most leisure — that formed of the successful competi- 

 tors in the literary examinations which constitute the one entry to offi- 

 cial employment. In this way the more highly esteemed style of paint- 

 ing, with its bold free stroke, came to be considered (as indeed it prac- 



