CHINESE IDEAS OF ANTIQUES 65 



wares are decidedly inferior to those produced during the 

 Suen Teh period. 



There is another peculiarity in the ornamented wares 

 dating from this period which is deserving of notice. Certain 

 vessels are adorned with figures of birds and flowers carved 

 out on a perfectly plain ground. These figures were first 

 embellished with various colours, which were then fused and 

 fixed with some chemical preparation. After which the 

 remaining surface was enamelled with gold. The work- 

 manship of this period was clever though not of a high 

 order, but owing to the rarity of the articles they are of 

 considerable value and much coveted. In the Ching T'ai 

 period the gold enamelled wares were reckoned to be the 

 very best on the market. 



ii. 

 porcelain. 



The porcelain manufactured by the Yueh (S) potteries, 

 during the T'ang (IM) Dynasty (A.D. 700) are the most 

 ancient ceramics known in China ;i but, alas, specimens are 

 rare and almost impossible to find. It is stated that a 

 certain Buddhist priest in Peking is the lucky owner of ten 

 tea cups which are credited with belonging to that ancient 

 period; but as to their genuineness it would be difficult to 

 vouch with any degree of certainty. The Scholar Luh 

 Kuei Meng (1^ Hi IP) composed a poem on this class of 

 porcelain which translated reads as follows : 



The Yi'ieh kilns opened in the ninth moon 

 With the autumn wind and dew. 

 Then the nature green of a thousand peaks 

 Was absorbed bv the wares. 



The Ch'ai (££) Porcelain. 



This class of ceramics comprise^ the wares manufactur- 

 ed for the emperor Ch'ai Shi Tsung (sjfe "& ») about A.D. 954. 

 This porcelain had both a fine and a coarse variety. The 

 best colour being that resembling the nameless blue which 

 is diffused by the uranic vault after a heavy storm of rain. 

 The proverb regarding this porcelain runs as follows : 



Blue like the sky : clear like a mirror. 

 Thin like paper : sounding; like a ball. 



If *n x, W *n &, m to ffi, Mfam- 



lProbably only earthenwares were used in earlier periods. Yueh 

 was an ancient tribal kingdom in Chekiang province. 



5 



