446 KEPOKT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. 



leaves peacock-greeu upon a deep aubergine ground ; brim green, with a 

 formal panel pattern outlined in relief round neck and colored alternately 

 with same deep glazo (yellow and ijeacock-green), inside thin peacock-green 

 glaze. Good specimen of this highly-prized ware. No mark. Height, 6t 

 inches ; diameter, 6f inches. 

 18. Jar of white porcelain of Ming dynasty, of either Hsiiaut^ (1426 to 1435) or 

 Ch'enghua(1465 to 1487) period. Decoration, Pei-tow (the Northern Pole star) 

 and Nan-tow (the Southern Pole star) playing chess on mountain i-oad, with 

 boy bearing a bundle of dry branchlets, and an inscription in seal character, 

 "Among the hills a thousand years seem but as seven days." Landscape and 

 ligares in beautiful deep blue under glaze and in^pale and dark green enamel 

 colors. Above, a formal pattern encircles the jar below the neck, round which 

 are small sprays of flowers in 'brick red with leaves alternately green and 

 blue. 



This represents the well-known legend of Wang Chih, who, having wan- 

 dered in the mountains of Ch'iichow to gather fire-wood, came upon 

 two aged men, the Southern Pole star, the genius of longevity, and 

 the Northern Pole star, the genius of death, intent upon a game of 

 chess. He laid down his ax and watched their game, in the course 

 of which the former handed him something resembling a date-stone, 

 which he was told to place in his mouth. No sooner had he tasted it 

 than he became oblivious of hunger and thirst. After sometime 

 the donor turned to him and said, "It is long since you came here ; 

 you should go home now." Whereupon Wang Chih, proceeding to 

 pick up his ax, found that the handle had moldered into dust. 

 On reaching his home he found that centuries had elapsed since the 

 time when he left it for the mountains, and that no vestige of his 

 kinsfolk remained. Retiring to a retreat among the hills he devoted 

 himself to the rites of Taoism, and finally attained to immortality.* 

 Wang Chih is stated to have lived under the Chin dynasty in the 

 third century B. C. The appearance of this South Pole star is sup- 

 posed to announce peace throughout the world. 

 19,20. Jars (2) with covers, of the sm&\\ potiche shape, of pure white porcelain, with 

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

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

 painted, in grotesque attitudes playing. A reproduction of a popular Cbinesa 

 painting, the Po-tzu'-t'u, "Drawing of {lit. a, hundred) Children." Mark on 

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

 (1662 to 1722), though the color is rather that of the Ming dynasty. Height, 

 10 inches. 

 21. Wine-pot of creamy white Ming dynasty Chienning porcelain {CMe7i-yao), termed 

 by the French Ma^ic de Chine. Tall, circular in shape, tied at center with 

 ribbon. Spout formed by lizard with four legs and branching tail, which 

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

 handle is formed by a similar animal twisting head downwards from rim 

 to center of vessel. Has closely fitting cover, surmounted by a knob formed 

 of a diminutive lizard curled into the form of a ball. No mark on foot. 

 Height, 9^ inches ; diameter, 3^ inches. 

 22-24. Seals (3) of creamy-white Ming dynasty Chienning porcelain {Mane de Chine), 

 one large and two smaller, cubes in shape, each surmounted by 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 cub. No mark- 

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

 If inches, No. 24, If inches. 



* Mayers : Chinese Reader's Manual, No. 794. 



