412 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. 



(though it seems difficult to believe that a bowl of such size could be 

 made much thiuner aud yet be of practical utility), aud iu Nos. 289 to 

 294 specimens of the true Po-t-ai, both haviog the inscription Tung-lo- 

 nien-chili '■'■ Made during the Yuuglo period" engraved in the old seal 

 character on its foot. Moreover, the one specimen of this ware described 

 by Hsiang Tzu-ching is a small cup "as thin as paper, called PoPai, 

 body -less," i. t., true f-o-Pai, not semi Po-Pai, of which he says "there 

 are not a few of these wine-cups left, yet they are highly appreciated by 

 collectors of taste.* Specimens of the Ch'enghua egg-shell will be found 

 in Nos. 296 to 303. 



In spite of the extreme thinness of this ware many specimens — such 

 as ISTos. 289 to 294, already referred to — are adorned with very elabo- 

 rate designs engraved under the glaze (an operation requiring except- 

 ional delicacy of workmanship), which are scarcely visible unless the ves- 

 sel be held against the light or be filled with liquid. These specimens 

 possess additional interest from the fact that they enable us to picture to 

 ourselves what the porcelain manufactured for the sijecial use of the pal- 

 ace under the Ylian dynasty (the Shu-fu) and the Tingchou ware of the 

 Sung dynasty were like; though, of course, these latter had not the 

 thinness and delicacy of the egg-shell porcelain. For Hsiang Tzu-ching, 

 after describing a specimen of Shu-fu porcelain decorated with dragons 

 in the midst of clouds and with lion's head handles, all faintly engraved 

 in the paste under a white glaze, states that "the porcelain of our own 

 dynasty (the Ming) of the reigns of Yunglo and HsUante, decorated 

 with patterns engraved under a white glaze, was made after this Shu-fu 

 porcelain, which was itself copied from the Tingchou porcelain of the 

 northern Sung dynasty.t 



From 1426 to 1435. 



Among the porcelain manufactured during the Hsiiante period (1426 

 to 143i5) that covered with crimson glaze or bearing designs in that 

 color holds the highest place in the eyes of Chinese connoisseurs. " It 

 truly stands pre-eminent among the celebrated porcelains of diiferent 

 dynasties, a precious jewel of our own times," says Hsiang Tzii-ching. 

 Some of the descriptions left by this author are worth reproducing. (1) 

 An incense burner from an old bronze design. " The upper two-thirds of 

 the body and the handles, which are moulded in the form of fish, are 

 covered with a deep red glaze of rosy dawn tint, the lower part 

 enameled white, pure as driven snow, the two colors mingling in a 

 curved line, dazzling the eyes." (2) A wine pot (6J inches high), copied 

 from a similar vessel of carved jade used by the emperor. The body, 

 slender below, swelling towards the top, is decorated with engraved 

 cloud scrolls and bands of geometrical and spiral pattern, with conical 

 cover, spirally curved handle, aud spout moulded and engraved in the 

 form of a phcenix head, all covered with deep-red {chi hung) glaze." It 



* Bushell: Op. cit, No. 61. Ubid., No. 21. 



