THE CERAMIC ART IN CHINA. 457 



ness," "happiness;" (6) two oblong objects placed side by side, pos- 

 sibly books; (7) two rhinoceros' horns shaped into quadrangular 

 form; (8) a leaf of the Artemisia, an emblem of good augury. Other 

 forms found in these emblems are a branch of coral, a silver ingot, 

 a cake of ink; and the sbell, lotus-flowei-, and lishes belonging prop- 

 erly to the " eight lucky emblems." 

 56, 57. Plates {& pair) of thin pure white K'anghsi porcelain, having a flying Feng huang 

 and an Imperial five-clawed dragon (see No. 4) amid clouds contained by a floral 

 scroll pattern within bands, all engraved in the paste. Round the rim is a 

 border of bats set close to one another in vermilion red ; and in center, within 

 a medallion, are the characters hung-fu-cli'it'ien, "great happiness fills the 

 heaven," in the old seal form engraved in the paste from beneath the foot, 

 but reversed so that they read correctly on the upper side of the plate. 

 Mark, Ta-ch'ing-k^ang-hsi nien-chih, "Made during the K'anghsi period of the 

 great Pure Dynasty." Diameter, 7f inches. 

 58, 59. Plates (a pair) of white K'anghsi porcelain, for use on birthday occa- 

 sions in the palace. The ornamentation consists in the center of the 

 plate of a large shou (longevity) character in blue, containing a pointed 

 peach of the genii in enamel glaze, upon which is represented a stork {Grus 

 viridirostis Veillot) in blue (the peach and stork being emblems of immortal- 

 ity, see No. 27). Round this medallion is entwined conventional foliage in 

 enamel colors, branching apart to afford eight spaces, in which are alter- 

 nately a peach and the character shou in gold on blue medallion. Outside, 

 on the rim, light-green bamboo stalks spring from rocks on which grow the 

 red fungus of the immortals {ling chili). Mark as in last. Diameter, H^ 

 inches. 

 60. Vase, circular in shape, of white K'anghsi porcelain, belonging to the famille 

 verte. On it is represented a garden with a paviliou in the rear. In it the 

 Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove (see No. 53) are depicted engaged in 

 chess-playing, music, and writing upon the rocks, the main picture being 

 confined by bands of arabesque ornament interrupted by panels, containing 

 scholars"* requisites, books, scrolls, etc., and above around the neck, a rod- 

 fishing scene. Mark as above. Height, 18i inches. 

 61-68. Panels (8) of white K'anghsi porcelain, bearing representations of famous 

 scenes from the celebrated historical novel, " San kuo-chih, or Records of the 

 Three Kingdoms." This work, the most popular of its kind in China, details 

 the triangular contest engaged in for the throne between Lin' Pei, assisted 

 by ChuKo hiaug, Chang Fei, and Kuan Ytl and Ts'ao Ts'ao, aft^r his defec- 

 tion from Liu' Pei, and the Sun family, which resulted in the partition of 

 the Empire among the houses of Han of Szechuen, of Wu and of Wei, founded, 

 respectively, by Liu Hsuan-te, Sun Chung-mon and Ts'ao Meng-te (A. D. 

 220 to 280). 

 69-76. Panels (8) of white K'anghsi porcelain decorated with flowers and butterflies 

 in enamel colors and gold, surrounded by a border of the same upon a pale- 

 green ground picked out with black. 



These panels were originally in the form of bricks of about an inch and 

 a quarter thickness. It was customary in the seventeenth and 

 eighteenth centuries for princes to have large couches, 6 to 8 feet in 

 length and having two end pieces, of ebony beautifully carved. The 

 one I have seen had five of these square porcelain panels or bricks 

 let into the back with a circular panel above the central one of 

 the five, and one in either end piece. They were so fixed by means 

 of square iirojections from the wood-setting which fitted into corres- 



* Mayers : Op. Cit. No. 134. 



