MOTIVES OF THE DECORATION
Chinese decoration, its motives and its meaning, might form the subject
for a substantial and very interesting volume. But it can only be
treated here in a summary fashion by enumerating a few of the motives
which occur most frequently in porcelain. The designs on the earlier
wares have already been discussed in the chapters dealing with the
Ming and the preceding periods, but in view of the conservatism of the
Chinese artists a certain amount of repetition will be inevitable in
discussing the ornament of the Ch’ing dynasty porcelain.
If we except some of the hybrid designs on the export wares which were
made for people unfamiliar with Chinese thought, we may assume that
there is a meaning in all Chinese decoration apart from its ornamental
intention; and this applies not only to the central motives but also
as a rule to the subsidiary ornament such as borders and formal
patterns. Consequently it is clear that a study of this inner meaning
is a necessary condition for the full appreciation of the decorated
porcelain.
Figure subjects and symbolical ornaments probably require the most
explanation for the Western student; but unfortunately the former are
often so difficult to identify that we have to be content with general
headings such as court scenes, military scenes, dramatic subjects,
illustrations of romance, etc. Possibly to the unusually well-read
native most of these scenes would recall some known story, but the
European can only hope to identify one here and there by a lucky
chance. He can, of course, take a book of Chinese legends and by the
exercise of a little imagination find a story for every scene; but such
methods are not to be recommended, and it is infinitely preferable to
give the design no label at all unless the identification is fully
established. That at least leaves the question open.
[Illustration: Plate 133.--Late _famille rose_ Enamels.
Fig. 1.--Bowl painted in soft enamels, attendants of Hsi Wang
Mu in boats. Mark, _Shên tè t’ang chih_. Tao Kuang period.
Diameter 6⅞ inches. _British Museum._
Fig. 2.--Imperial Fish Bowl with five dragons ascending and
descending, borders of wave pattern, _ju-i_ pattern, etc.,
_famille rose_ enamels. Late eighteenth century. Height 20
inches. _Burdett-Coutts Collection._]
[Illustration: Plate 134.--Porcelain Snuff Bottles. Eighteenth
Century. _British Museum._
Fig. 1.--Subject from the drama, black ground. Yung Chêng mark.
Height 2¾ inches.
Fig. 2.--Battle of demons, underglaze blue and red. Mark,
_Yung-lo t’ang_. Height 3¾ inches.
Fig. 3.--Blue and white “steatitic” ware. Height 2½ inches.
Fig. 4.--Crackled cream white _ting_ glaze, pierced casing
with pine, bamboo and prunus. Height 3¼ inches.
Fig. 5.--“Steatitic” ware with Hundred Antiques design in
coloured relief. Chia Ch’ing mark. Height 2½ inches.]
These scenes from history and romance were favourite subjects with
the K’ang Hsi decorators of blue and white and _famille verte_
porcelains. To instance a few types: the scene of the half-legendary
Yao with his cavalcade coming to greet the Emperor Shun who is engaged,
like the Roman Cincinnatus, in ploughing; the episodes of the three
heroes of the Han dynasty, Chang Liang, Ch’ên P’ing and Han Hsin[493];
the heroes of the romantic period of the Three Kingdoms (221–265
A.D.) whose stories may be compared with those of our knights
of the Round Table; the stories of brigands in the reign of Hui Tsung
of the Sung dynasty.[494] The story of Su Wu, the faithful minister of
Han Wu Ti, tending cattle in captivity among the Hiung-nu, is depicted
on a bowl in the British Museum, and a dish in the same collection
shows an emperor (perhaps Kao Tsu, the first of the T’ang dynasty)
surrounded by his captains.
Processional scenes and subjects illustrating the life and customs of
the times, peaceful domestic scenes with interiors of house or garden
peopled by women and children, are more common in the _famille
rose_ period when the warlike tastes of the Manchus had already been
softened by a long period of peace. A civil procession and a military
procession sometimes balance each other on two vases, the one being
the _wên p’ing_ (civil vase), and the other the _wu p’ing_
(military vase). A mock dragon-procession formed by children at play is
a not uncommon motive. Indeed playing children (_wa wa_) have been
from the earliest times a subject frequently and most sympathetically
depicted on Chinese porcelain. A historical child-scene is that in
which the boy Ssŭ-ma Kuang broke the huge fish bowl with a stone to let
out the water and save his drowning companion.
There are many motives intended to appeal to the Chinese literatus,
and specially suited to ornament the furniture of the writing table.
Symposia of literary personages, for instance, make an appropriate
design for a brush pot, or again, the meeting of the celebrated
coteries, the Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove who lived in the
third century, and the worthies of the Orchid Pavilion, including the
famous calligrapher, Wang Hsi-chih, who met in the fourth century to
drink wine, cap verses, and set their cups floating down the “nine-bend
river” (see Plate 104, Fig. 1). The Horace of China, Li T’ai-po, the
great T’ang poet, is represented in drunken slumber leaning against an
overturned wine jar or receiving the ministrations of the Emperor and
his court. He also figures among the Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup, a
suitable subject for an octagonal bowl. Poets, painters, and sages are
often seen in mountain landscapes contemplating the beauties of Nature;
two sages meeting on a mountain side is a frequent subject and is known
as the “happy meeting,” or again, it is a single sage, with attendant
carrying a bowl, book, and fan, or sometimes bringing an offering of a
goose. In rare instances these figures can be identified with Chinese
worthies such as Chiang Tzŭ-ya, who sits fishing on a river bank, or
Chu Mai-ch’ên, the wood-cutter, reading as he walks with his faggots on
his back.
The stories of the _Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety_ provide a
complete series of popular subjects, which may be seen in the panels
of Plate 91, Fig. 3. Women are represented by the Virtuous Heroines;
by celebrated beauties such as Yang Kuei-fei, consort of the T’ang
ruler Ming Huang,[495] and Hsi Shih, the Chinese Delilah who was the
undoing of Fu Ch’ai, prince of Wu, in the fifth century B.C.; by the
poetess Tan Hui-pan, and by a hundred nameless figures which occur
in genre designs, and by the idealised beauties, _mei jên_ (graceful
ladies), which the Dutch ungallantly dubbed with the name of _lange
lijsen_ or long Elizas. The domestic occupations of a lady form another
series of subjects for polygonal vessels; and women are sometimes
seen engaged in the Four Subjects of Study--Poetry, Rites, History,
and Music--or in the Four Liberal Accomplishments--Writing, Painting,
Music, and Checkers--but the groups who make up these scenes are more
often composed of men. The game of checkers or _gô_, which is so often
loosely rendered chess,[496] is _wei ch’i_ the “surrounding game,” a
favourite Chinese amusement, which figures in two well-known subjects
of porcelain decoration. One of these is the legend of Wang Chih, the
Taoist patriarch, watching the game played by two old men, the spirits
of the Pole Stars, in a mountain retreat; the other is the story of the
general Hsieh An, who refused to allow the news of an important victory
to disturb his game.
Ladies of the court picking lotus flowers from boats on an ornamental
lake in the presence of the Emperor and Empress represent the annual
Lotus Fête at Peking, and there are numerous scenes in the Imperial
pleasure grounds in which bevies of ladies from the harem are depicted.
The Eight Ambassadors of the Tribes of Man, the barbarian nations from
the eight points of the compass, form a processional subject suitable
for the exterior of bowls and cups. The ambassadors are grotesquely
drawn figures, sometimes mounted on strange beasts, and carrying gifts
as tribute to the Emperor. Dreams and visions are depicted in the
usual Oriental manner by a cloud issuing from the dreamer’s head and
expanding into a scene which represents the subject of the dream. Thus
the youthful scholar is seen asleep with a vision of his future dignity
floating above his head. Divine apparitions are differentiated by the
presence of clouds around or below the main figures.
Deities and deified mortals are favourite subjects for porcelain
decoration as well as for figures and groups modelled in the round.
The three principal Chinese religions--Confucianism, Buddhism, and
Taoism--exist side by side with perfect mutual toleration. Indeed the
principles of the one are in many cases incorporated in the others.
Buddhist and Taoist emblems are freely mingled in decorative art,
and the three founders--Confucius, Buddha, and Lao-tzŭ--are grouped
together in friendly conversation or examining a scroll on which is
drawn the Yin-yang symbol of the duality of Nature.[497]
Confucianism is the religious or rather philosophical system officially
recognised in China, but its adherents are chiefly among the literati.
Though it inculcates ancestor-worship, it is not in itself concerned
with an after life, and it contains few romantic superstitions
calculated to fire the popular imagination or to suggest motives for
decorative art. Confucius himself is frequently represented both in
painting and sculpture, and his meeting with Lao-tzŭ is familiar in
pictorial art. Confucianism recognises certain canonised mortals, the
logical outcome of ancestor-worship, and among these the best known
in art is Kuan Yü, a warrior famous at the end of the Han dynasty,
who was not, however, canonised until the Sung period, and only in
1594 raised to the rank of a god (of War) under the title of Kuan
Ti. It is reasonable to suppose that most of the numerous statuettes
of this popular deity were made after the latter date. He is usually
represented as a dignified personage with flowing beard seated in
full armour with right hand raised in a speaking attitude; but he
figures also on horseback or beside his charger, and with his faithful
squires--Chou Ts’ang, who carries a halberd, and Kuan P’ing, his own
son. Occasionally he is seen seated with a book in his hand, in which
case he is regarded as a literary rather than a military power.
The gods of Literature have a very large following in China, where
scholarship has been the key to office for upwards of two thousand
years, the chief deity of the cult being Wên Ch’ang, or in full, Wên
Ch’ang ti chün. He is the star god who resides in one of the groups of
the Great Bear, a dignified bearded figure in mandarin dress seated
with folded hands or mounted on a mule. A lesser but more popular
divinity is the demon-faced K’uei Hsing, who was canonised in the
fourteenth century. Originally a scholar, who though successful in the
examinations was refused office on the ground of his preternatural
ugliness, he threw himself in despair into the Yangtze and was carried
up to heaven on a fish-dragon. He is easily recognised as a demon-like
person, poised with one foot on the head of a fish-dragon (_yü
lung_) which is emerging from waves. He brandishes triumphantly in
his hands a pencil brush and a cake of ink.[498] The fish-dragon is
itself a symbol of literary aspiration, from the legend that when the
salmon come every year up the river to the famous falls of Lung-mên
(the dragon gate), those which succeed in leaping up the falls are
transformed into fish-dragons. This metamorphosis of the fish as it
emerges from the water into the dragon is a favourite motive for
porcelain decoration.
Buddhism, which was officially recognised in China by the Emperor
Ming Ti in 67 A.D., had a far-reaching influence over the
arts of sculpture and painting, and the revolution which it worked in
the greater arts was naturally reflected in the lesser handicrafts.
Buddhistic motives appear early in the Chinese pottery, and in the
period with which we are at present concerned, the Buddhist religion
supplied a great number of motives for the porcelain painter and the
figure modeller. Sakyamuni himself is depicted or sculptured in various
poses: (1) As an infant standing on the lotus and proclaiming his
birth; (2) as an ascetic returning from his fast in the mountains;
(3) seated cross-legged on a lotus throne with right hand raised in
teaching attitude, the most frequent representation; (4) recumbent on
a lotus pillow, in Nirvana; (5) in the Buddhist Trinity holding the
alms bowl or patra between the Bodhisattvas Manjusri and Samantabhadra.
These two last when represented singly are usually mounted, Manjusri on
a lion, and Samantabhadra on an elephant.
But by far the most popular figure of the Buddhist theogony in China
is Kuan-yin, the Compassionate, and Kuan-yin, the Maternal; in the
latter capacity she holds a child in her arms and displays a wonderful
likeness to our images of the Virgin. But a full account of her has
been given on p. 110, and need not be repeated. Next in popularity
perhaps is the jolly monk with the hempen bag, Pu-tai Ho-shang, a
semi-nude, corpulent person, with smiling face, and a large bag full
of the “precious things.” He is also a great favourite in Japan, where
he is known as Hotei, and worshipped as the god of Contentment. By the
Chinese he is also regarded as Mi-lo Fo, the Maitreya or coming Buddha,
and he has been added by them to the list of Arhats or apostles of
Buddha. He is often represented surrounded by playful children to whom
he is devoted.
The Arhats, or Lohan, are all known by their several attributes, but
in porcelain decoration they usually appear in groups consisting of
the whole or a large part of their number, which, originally sixteen,
was increased in China to eighteen by the inclusion of Ho-shang and
Dharmatrata. The latter is a long-haired individual who carries a vase
and a fly whisk in his hands and a bundle of books on his back while he
sits gazing at a small image of Buddha.
He is not to be confused with Tamo, the Indian Bodhidharma, the
first Chinese patriarch, who came to Lo-yang and remained there in
contemplation for nine years. The legend is that after his death (about
530 A.D.) he was seen returning to India wrapped in his shroud
and carrying one shoe in his hand, the other having been left behind
in his tomb. This is the guise in which he frequently appears in art
(Plate 86), and he is often depicted crossing the Yangtze on a reed.
Many of the symbolical ornaments on porcelain have a Buddhistic
significance, such as the eight emblems (see p. 298), the crossed
dorjes or thunderbolts of Vajrapani,[499] the Buddhist jewel in a
leaf-shaped halo of flames; and Sanskrit characters of sacred import
are used as decoration for bowls and dishes, made no doubt for the use
of the faithful. The principal animals associated with Buddhist designs
are the elephant, who carries the jewel vase on his back, the white
horse (_pai ma_), who brought the Buddhist scriptures across the
desert from India, the hare, who offered himself as food to Buddha, and
the Chinese lion who, under the name of the “dog of Fo” (Buddha), acts
as guardian of Buddhist temples and images.
But the religion which has taken the greatest hold on Chinese
imagination and which consequently has supplied the largest number of
motives for their decorative art is undoubtedly Taoism. As originally
taught by Lao-tzŭ, a contemporary of Confucius, in the sixth century
B.C., the doctrine of Tao (the Way) pointed to abstraction
from worldly cares and freedom from mental perturbation as the highest
good. But just as the later but closely analogous doctrine of Epicurus
degenerated into the cult of pleasure, so the true teaching of Lao-tzŭ
was afterwards lost among the adventitious beliefs and superstitions
which were grafted on to it by his followers. The secret of transmuting
metals into gold and of compounding the elixir of life became the
chief preoccupations of the Taoist sages, the latter quest appealing
particularly to the Chinese with their proverbial worship of longevity;
and a host of legends grew up concerning mortals who won immortality
by discovering the elixir, about fairies and the denizens of the Shou
Shan or Hills of Longevity, about the Isles of the Blessed and the
palace of Hsi Wang Mu in the K’un-lun mountains. It is this later and
more popular phase of Taoism which figures so largely in porcelain
decoration.
Lao-tzŭ is represented as a venerable old man with bald, protuberant
forehead, who rides upon an ox, the same in features as the god of
Longevity, Shou Lao, who is in fact regarded as his disembodied spirit.
Shou Lao, however, is more commonly shown enthroned upon a rocky
platform in the Hills of Longevity, holding in one hand a curious
knotted staff, to which are attached rolls of writing, and in the
other a peach, and surrounded by his special attributes, the spotted
deer, the stork, and the _ling chih_ fungus. Thus seated he
receives homage from the Eight Immortals and the other Taoist genii or
_hsien_, who are as numerous as the fairies of our countryside.
Other designs represent Shou Lao riding on a deer or flying on the
back of a stork, or simply standing with his staff and peach, his
robes embroidered with seal forms of the character _shou_
(longevity). In this last posture he is often grouped with two other
popular deities, one in mandarin robes and official hat holding a
_ju-i_ sceptre, which fulfils every wish, and the other also in
official robes but holding a babe who reaches out for a peach in his
other hand. Together they form the Taoist triad, Shou-hsing, Lu-hsing,
and Fu-hsing, star-gods (_hsing_) of Longevity, Preferment, and
Happiness. Fu-hsing in addition has sometimes two boy attendants
carrying respectively a lotus and a hand-organ.
The Eight Taoist Immortals (_pa hsien_) are:--
1. Chung-li Ch’üan, also known as Han Chung-li, represented as a fat
man, half-draped, who holds a _ling chih_ fungus in one hand and a
fly-whisk or fan in the other.
2. Lü Tung-pin, a figure of martial aspect armed with a sword to slay
dragons and evil spirits. He is the patron of barbers.
3. Li T’ieh-kuai, Li with the iron crutch, a lame beggar with a crutch
and pilgrim’s gourd from which issue clouds and apparitions. He is
patron of astrologers and magicians.
4. Ts’ao Kuo-ch’iu, in official robes, wearing a winged hat, and
carrying a pair of castanets. He is patron of mummers and actors.
5. Lan Ts’ai-ho, of uncertain sex, carrying a hoe and a basket of
flowers. Patron of gardeners and florists.
6. Chang Kuo Lao, the necromancer with the magic mule, of which he kept
a picture folded up in his wallet. He would make the beast materialise
from the picture by spurting water on to it; and at other times he
would conjure it out of a gourd. His attribute is a musical instrument
consisting of a drum and a pair of rods. He is patron of artists and
calligraphers, and ranks as one of the gods of Literature.
7. Han Hsiang Tzŭ, who gained admission to the Taoist paradise and
climbed the peach-tree of Immortality. He is shown as a young man
playing on a flute, and is specially worshipped by musicians.
8. Ho Hsien Ku, a maiden who wears a cloak of mug-wort leaves and
carries a lotus. She is patroness of housewives.
The Immortals are commonly represented in a group paying court to Shou
Lao, or crossing the sea on the backs of various strange creatures or
other supernatural conveyances on their way to the Islands of Paradise.
Grouped in pairs they lend themselves to the decoration of quadrangular
objects.
Other frequenters of the Shou Shan are the twin genii[500] of Union
and Harmony (_ho ho êrh hsien_), an inseparable pair, depicted as
ragged mendicants with staff and broom, or as smiling boyish figures,
the one with a lotus and the other holding a Pandora box of blessings,
from which a cloud is seen to rise; Tung-fang So, who stole the peaches
of Hsi Wang Mu and acquired thereby a longevity of nine thousand
years, is represented as a smiling bearded old man, not unlike Shou
Lao himself, carrying an enormous peach, or as a boy with a peach to
recall his youthful exploit. Liu Han, with his familiar three-legged
toad, a wild-looking person, who waves a string of cash in the air, and
very closely resembles the Japanese Gama Sennin (the Hou Hsien Shêng
of China); Wang Tzŭ-ch’iao, who rides on a crane playing a flute, and
Huang An, the hermit, whose steed is a tortoise. The god of Alchemy is
figured, according to the identification of a statuette in the Musée
Guimet, as a tall, draped person with beard and moustaches flowing down
in five long wisps, a leaf-shaped fan in his left hand, and beside
him a small figure of a devotee who holds up a book with questioning
gesture.
The Queen of the Genii is Hsi Wang Mu (Queen Mother of the West). Her
home is in the K’un-lun mountains, and the peach tree of Longevity
grows in her gardens. In the tenth century B.C., the Emperor
Mu Wang is reputed to have visited her palace, and the reception forms
a pleasing subject for the artist, as does also her return visit paid
to the Emperor Wu Ti of the Han dynasty. She also figures frequently on
porcelain with her fair attendants crossing the sea on a raft, flying
on the back of a phœnix or standing with a female attendant who carries
a dish of peaches. Her messengers are blue-winged birds like the doves
of Venus, who carry the fruit of longevity to favoured beings. With
her attendant phœnix she presents a strong analogy with Juno and her
peacock; and her Western habitat has favoured the theories which would
connect her with Græco-Roman mythology, though her consort Hsi Wang
Fu (King Father of the West and a personage obviously invented _ad
hoc_) is quite insignificant and has nothing in common with the
cloud-compelling Jove.
There is a female figure which is scarcely distinguishable from one of
the attendants of Hsi Wang Mu on the one hand and from Lan Ts’ai-ho
on the other. This is the Flower Fairy (_Hua hsien_) who carries a
basket of flowers suspended from a hoe. And there are besides numerous
magicians of more or less repute, such as Chang Chiu-ko, who is seen
transforming pieces cut from his scanty garments into butterflies;
and a host of nameless _hsien_ of local fame who figure in mountain
retreats, such as the _Ssŭ hao_ or four hoary hermits.[501]
The animals connected with Taoist lore include the eight fabulous
horses of Mu Wang which brought him to the palace of Hsi Wang Mu. They
are usually seen at pasture frisking about in wild gambols. The deer,
the familiar of Shou Lao, is depicted usually with a _ling chih_
fungus in his mouth; the toad and hare live in the moon where they
pound the elixir of immortality; and the tortoise develops a long bushy
tail after a thousand years of existence. All these are suggestive of
longevity, as is also the crane and a number of flowers, fruits and
trees such as the pine, bamboo and prunus (the three friends), the
chrysanthemum, the willow, the peach, the gourd, and more especially
the _ling chih_ fungus, the _polyporus lucidus_, which was
originally an emblem of good luck, but afterwards of longevity.
The head of the _ling chih_ closely resembles[502] that of the familiar
_ju-i_ sceptre which grants every wish, an auspicious object commonly
seen in the hands of Taoist genii; and the same form occurs in a
decorative border (see Plate 77, Fig. 2) which is variously known as
the _ju-i_ head border, the _ju-i_ cloud border, or the cloud-scroll
border, the conventional cloud being commonly rolled up in this form.
It will also be found that formal ornaments, pendants and lambrequins
often take the form of the _ju-i_ head in Chinese decoration.
The attributes of the Eight Immortals occur among the many symbols
used in porcelain ornament; and among the landscapes will be found
the gardens of Hsi Wang Mu and Mount P’êng-lai,[503] one of the three
islands of the blessed, situated in the ocean east of China. Here the
fountain of life flows in a perpetual stream: “the pine, the bamboo,
the plum, the peach, and the fungus of longevity grow for ever on its
shores; and the long-haired tortoise disports in its rocky inlets,
and the white crane builds her nest on the limbs of its everlasting
pines.”[504] Presumably, too, the Shou Shan is situated on this
delectable island; and perhaps also the heavenly pavilion (_t’ien
t’ang_), which appears among clouds as the goal to which a crane
is often seen guiding some of the Taoist genii. Possibly, too, the
conventional border of swirling waves punctuated by conical rocks
carries a suggestion of the rocky islands of paradise rising from the
sea.
[Illustration: Fig. 1.--The Yin-yang and Pa-kua]
There are besides many primitive beliefs traceable for the most part
to Nature-worship, which prevailed in China long before the days of
Confucius, Lao-tzŭ or Buddha. Some of these have been incorporated
in the later religious systems, especially in that of Taoism, which
was ready to adopt any form of demonology. The oldest system is
that expounded by the legendary Fu Hsi, in which the phenomena of
Nature were explained by reference to the mystic diagrams revealed
to him on the back of a dragon horse (_lung ma_) which rose from the
Yellow River. These are the _pa-kua_ or eight trigrams formed by the
permutations of three lines, broken and unbroken, as in Fig. 1. A more
common arrangement of them is according to the points of the compass,
and enclosing another ancient device, the Yin-yang, a circle bisected
by a wavy line, which symbolises the duality of Nature, _yin_ being the
female and _yang_ the male element.
Demons abound in Chinese superstitions, and the demon face appears
early in art on the ancient bronzes, from which it was sometimes
borrowed by the porcelain decorator. This is the face of the _t’ao
t’ieh_ (the gluttonous ogre) supposed originally to have represented
the demon of the storm, and as such appropriately appearing against
a background of “cloud and thunder” pattern, as the key-fret is
called by the Chinese. Afterwards the _t’ao t’ieh_ seems to have been
regarded, on homœopathic principles, as a warning against greed. Demons
also appear in complete form in certain battle scenes and conflicts,
such as the combat of the demons of the water and of air which proceeds
in front of a group of Chinese dignitaries seated in the Kin-shan
temple on the Yangtze river (see Plate 134, Fig. 2).
The sky and the stars of course contribute their quota of divinities.
Beside the Taoist star-gods of Longevity, Honours and Happiness, there
is the Jade Emperor or supreme lord of the universe, Yü wang shang
ti, who is represented in mandarin dress holding a _ju-i_ sceptre and
closely resembling Lu Hsing, the star-god of Honours. There is, too,
the goddess of the Moon with a butterfly ornamenting the front of her
robes, and a mirror in her right hand, besides the other denizens of
the moon--Liu Han, the moon-hare and the moon-toad. A cassia tree also
grows in the moon, and the “cassia of the moon” is a symbol of literary
success.
The Sun is represented as a disc on which is a three-legged bird; and
it is probable that the sun-disc is represented also in the so-called
“pearl”[505] which is pursued or grasped by dragons; but this idea
of the power of the storm threatening the sun was lost sight of in
later art, and “a dragon pursuing a pearl” was considered a sufficient
description of the motive. A curious scene depicting a mandarin
shooting arrows at a dog in the sky alludes to the dog who devours the
sun and so causes the eclipse.
The zodiacal animals are named on p. 211 (vol. i), and the four points
of the compass are symbolised by the azure dragon for the East, the
white tiger for the West, the black tortoise for the North, and the red
bird for the South. The romance of two stars is embodied in the story
of the Spinning Maiden (_Chih Nü_) and her lover, the Cowherd (_Ch’ien
Niu_), who are separated for all the year save on one night when the
“magpies fill up the Milky Way and enable the Spinning Damsel to cross
over.”
Chang Ch’ien, the celebrated minister of Han Wu-ti, was one of the
first great travellers of China, and among the legends which grew
around his exploits is one which makes him ascend the Milky Way and
meet the Spinning Damsel herself. This story arose because he was
reputed to have discovered the source of the Yellow River, which had
hitherto been supposed to rise in heaven, being in fact a continuation
of the Milky Way. Chang Ch’ien is sometimes represented in Chinese art
as floating on a log-raft on the Yellow River, and carrying in his hand
a shuttle given to him by the Spinning Maiden.[506] The poet Li T’ai-po
is also figured in the same kind of craft, but he is distinguished by a
book in place of the shuttle.
Motives borrowed from the animal world are frequent on porcelain,
though they represent to a large extent mythical creatures, first and
foremost of which is the dragon. We need not enter into the conflicting
theories as to the origin of the Chinese dragon. Whether he sprang
from some prehistoric monster whose remains had come to light, or was
evolved from the crocodile, he appears in any case to have belonged
to Nature-worship as the power of the storm and the bringer of
fertilising rain. There, are, however, various kinds of dragons--those
of the air, the sea, the earth--and the monster takes many different
forms in Chinese art. The archaic types borrowed by the porcelain
decorators from ancient bronzes and jades are the _k’uei lung_ [chch
2] or one-legged dragon, and the _ch’ih lung_ [chch 2], the former a
tapir-like creature which is said to have been, like the _t’ao t’ieh_,
a warning against greed,[507] the latter a smooth, hornless reptile of
lizard-like form with divided tail, who is also described as a _mang_.
But the dragon (_lung_) _par excellence_ is a formidable monster with
“bearded, scowling head, straight horns, a scaly, serpentine body, with
four feet armed with claws, a line of bristling dorsal spines, and
flames proceeding from the hips and shoulders.” Such is the creature
painted by the great master of dragon painting, Chang Sêng-yu, of the
sixth century, and as such he is the emblem of Imperial power and the
device of the Emperor. The Imperial dragon in the art of the last two
dynasties has been distinguished by five claws on each of his four
feet[508]; the four-clawed dragon was painted on wares destined for
personages of lesser rank. The dragons are usually depicted flying in
clouds, and pursuing the disc or pearl, which was discussed above, or
rising from waves. Nine dragons form a decoration specially reserved
for the Emperor; and on the palace porcelain the dragon and the phœnix
(_fêng_) frequently appear together as emblems of the Emperor and
Empress.
The _fêng-huang_,[509] a phœnix-like bird, is usually shown with the
“head of a pheasant and the beak of a swallow, a long flexible neck,
plumage of many gorgeous colours, a flowing tail between that of an
argus pheasant and a peacock, and long claws pointed backward as it
flies.” It is the special emblem of the Empress. In archaic designs
there is a _k’uei fêng_ or one-legged phœnix, a bird-like creature
terminating in scrolls, which, like the corresponding _k’uei lung_,
occasionally appears in porcelain designs. Another bird-like creature
scarcely distinguishable from the _fêng_ is the _luan_; the former
being based, as it is said, on the peacock of India, and the latter
on the argus pheasant. Another creature of dual nature is the _ch’i
lin_, commonly called the kylin, which consists of the male (_ch’i_)
and the female (_lin_). It is in itself a composite animal with the
“body of a deer, with the slender legs and divided hoofs; the head
resembles that of a dragon, the tail is curled and bushy, like that
of the conventional lion, and the shoulders are adorned with the
flame-like attributes of its divine nature. It is said to attain the
age of a thousand years, to be the noblest form of animal creation,
and the emblem of perfect good; and to tread so lightly as to leave
no footprints, and so carefully as to crush no living creature.”
Its appearance was the sign of the coming of a virtuous ruler. It
is important to note that the _ch’i lin_ is quite distinct from the
Chinese lion, and is also to be carefully separated from the other
chimera-like creatures known in Chinese art under the general title
_hai shou_ or sea monsters.
The lion in Chinese art (_shih_ or _shih tzŭ_, the Japanese _shishi_),
though of qualified ferocity in appearance, is in reality a peaceful,
docile creature who expends his energy on a ball of silk brocade,
the streamers from which he holds in his massive jaws. In general
aspect (Plate 95), in his tufts of hair and his bushy tail, he closely
resembles the Peking spaniel, who is in fact called after him the lion
dog (_shih tzŭ kou_). He is usually represented in pairs, the one with
one foot on a ball of brocade, and the other, presumably the lioness,
with a cub. The larger lion figures are placed as guardians by the
gates of Buddhist temples, from which function the lion has earned the
name of “dog of Fo” (i.e. Buddha); the smaller sizes, usually mounted
on an oblong base with a tube attached to hold an incense-stick, have
a place on the domestic altar. Another mythical creature not unlike the
lion is the _pi hsieh_ of archaic art which is supposed to ward off
evil spirits.[510]
The king of beasts in China is the tiger (_hu_), whose forehead is
marked by Nature with the character _wang_ [chch] (prince). He is
the solar animal, the lord of the mountains, and the chief of all
quadrupeds. The white tiger represents the western quadrant and the
autumn; and images of tigers in ancient times served many purposes,
such as guarding the graves of the dead and summoning the living to
battle.
In addition to the sea monsters there are sea horses, who speed at a
flying gallop over waves; and there are the _pai ma_ and _lung ma_
and the eight horses of Mu Wang, already described, to represent the
horse in art. The deer is a Taoist emblem of longevity, and also in
its name _lu_ suggests the auspicious word _lu_ (preferment); and
there is a fabulous one-horned creature distinct from the _ch’i lin_,
and known as the _t’ien lu_ or deer of heaven. Rams are sometimes
represented as personifying the revivifying powers of spring; and the
monkey occasionally figures in decoration, his name _hou_ suggesting
another word _hou_, which means to expect (office), and providing
an appropriate design for presentation to a candidate in the State
examinations. Another motive suitable for the same purpose is the
fish leaping from waves, which has been already explained; and fish
in general are cleverly depicted by the porcelain decorators swimming
among water plants. The fish has always been a favourite motive in
China, and in ancient art it appears to have symbolised power and rank.
The double fish is one of the Buddhist emblems, and also symbolises
conjugal felicity. The tortoise has already been mentioned among the
emblems of longevity.
Birds are drawn with wonderful skill and spirit by Chinese artists,
and they provide a frequent motive both for the painter and figure
modeller. The crane is the companion of Shou Lao and a symbol of long
life; a pair of mandarin ducks suggest conjugal affection; egrets among
lotus plants, geese, and wild duck in marshy landscapes also pleased
the Chinese fancy. The magpie is an emblem of happiness, and two
magpies foretell a happy meeting; the cock is the bird of fame, and he
is often associated with the peony, which is the _fu kuei_ flower, to
suggest the phrase _kung ming_ (fame), _fu kuei_ (riches and honours!).
There are other birds which are associated with special trees and
flowers; the pheasant is often seen perched on a rock beside the peony
and magnolia; partridges and quails go with millet; swallows with
the willow; sparrows on the prunus, and so on. A comprehensive group
represents the “hundred birds” paying court to the phœnix.
The bat is a symbol of happiness from its name _fu_ having the same
sound as _fu_ (happiness). Among insects, the cicada (at one time
regarded as a symbol of life renewed after death) is a very ancient
motive; and the praying mantis who catches the cicada is an emblem
of courage and perseverance.[511] Fighting crickets are the fighting
cocks of China, and supply a sporting motive for the decorator; and
butterflies frequently occur with floral designs or in the decoration
known as the Hundred Butterflies, which covers the entire surface of
the vessel with butterflies and insects.
Flower painting is another forte of the Chinese decorator, and some
of the most beautiful porcelain designs are floral. Conventional
flowers appear in scrolls, and running designs, especially the lotus
and peony scrolls and the scrolls of “fairy flowers,” the _pao hsiang
hua_ of the Ming blue and white. But the most attractive designs are
the more naturalistic pictures of flowering plants and shrubs, or of
floral bouquets in baskets or vases. The flowers on Chinese porcelain
are supple, free, and graceful; and, though true enough to nature to
be easily identified, are never of the stiff copy-book order which
the European porcelain painter affected at one unhappy period. A long
list of the Chinese porcelain flowers given by Bushell includes the
orchid (_lan_), rose, jasmine, olea fragrans, pyrus japonica, gardenia,
syringa, several kinds of peony, magnolia (_yü lan_), iris, hydrangea,
hibiscus, begonia, pink and water fairy flower (_narcissus tazetta_).
Many more no doubt can be identified, for the Chinese are great
cultivators as they are great lovers of flowers. In fact, the word
_hua_ [chch] flowery is synonymous with Chinese, and _chung hua_ [chch
2] is China. Plate 126 is an example of the Hundred Flower design,
known by the French name _mille fleurs_, in which the ground of the
vase is a mass of naturalistic flowers so that the porcelain looks like
a bouquet.
There are special flowers for the months[512]:--(1) Peach (_t’ao_) for
February, (2) Tree Peony (_mu tan_) for March, (3) Double Cherry (_ying
t’ao_) for April, (4) Magnolia (_yü lan_) for May, (5) Pomegranate
(_shih liu_) for June, (6) Lotus (_lien hua_) for July, (7) Pear
(_hai t’ang_) for August, (8) Mallow (_ch’iu k’uei_) for September,
(9) Chrysanthemum (_chü_) for October, (10) Gardenia (_chih hua_)
for November, (11) Poppy (_ying su_) for December, (12) Prunus (_mei
hua_) for January. From these are selected four to represent the
seasons--_mu-tan_ peony for spring, lotus for summer, chrysanthemum for
autumn, and prunus for winter--which supply charming motives for panel
decoration or for the sides of quadrangular vases.
The chrysanthemum besides is associated with its admirer T’ao
Yüan-ming, and the lotus with Chou Mao-shu and the poet Li T’ai-po. But
as a rule the floral designs carry some hidden meaning, the flowers
being grouped so as to suggest some felicitous phrase by a play on
their names.[513] The peony we have seen to be the _fu kuei_ (riches
and honours) flower; the chrysanthemum, as Dr. Laufer has suggested,
being the flower of the ninth (_chiu_) month, may connote longevity
through the word _chiu_ (long-enduring); the prunus (_mei hua_) carries
the obvious suggestion of _mei_ (beautiful), and instances might easily
be multiplied.
Among the trees, the cassia suggests literary honours, the willow
longevity, as also the pine, bamboo and plum, who are called the “three
friends,”[514] faithful even in the “winter of our discontent.” Among
the fruits the gourd is an emblem both of long life and of fertility,
and the three fruits (_san kuo_)--peach, pomegranate and finger
citron--symbolise the Three Abundances of Years, Sons and Happiness.
The orange is a symbol of good luck, and no doubt the others which
occur less frequently contain similar suggestions.
Landscape (_shan shui_) is one of the four main divisions of Chinese
pictorial art, and it is well represented in porcelain decoration. The
Sung and Ming masters provided designs which were freely copied, and
views of the beauty spots of China and of the celebrated parks and
pleasure grounds were frequently used. It is one of these landscapes
which the English potters borrowed for the familiar “willow pattern”
design, and the sentimental tale which some fanciful writer has
attached to the pattern is a mere afterthought. Figure subjects and
landscapes are combined in many designs, such as the meeting of sages,
romantic incidents, besides the more homely motives of field work,
fishing, rustics returning from the plough mounted on their oxen, and
the like. The four seasons, too, are represented in landscape with
appropriate accessories, such as blossoming peach trees in a mountain
scene for spring, a lake scene with lotus gatherers for summer, a
swollen river and autumn tints for autumn, and a snowstorm for winter.
A great variety of symbols and emblematical devices appear in the
porcelain decoration of all periods, whether interwoven with the
designs, grouped in panels, or placed under the base in lieu of a mark.
Bushell[515] classifies the most familiar of them under the following
headings:--
1. Symbols of Ancient Chinese Lore: _Pa-kua_ and _Yin-yang_ (see p.
290); _Pa yin_ (eight musical instruments); _Shih êrh chang_ (twelve
ornaments embroidered upon sacrificial robes).
2. Buddhist symbols: _Pa chi hsiang_ (eight emblems of happy augury).
_Ch’i pao_ (seven paraphernalia of the _chakravartin_ or universal
sovereign).
3. Taoist symbols: _Pa an hsien_ (attributes of the Eight Immortals).
4. The Hundred Antiques (_Po ku_). _Pa pao_ (the Eight Precious
Objects).
The _pa-kua_ (eight trigrams) and the _Yin-yang_ symbol of the duality
of Nature have been described. The eight musical instruments are: (1)
_Ch’ing_, the sounding stone, a sort of gong usually in form of a
mason’s square. It forms a rebus for _ch’ing_ (good luck). (2) _Chung_,
the bell. (3) _Ch’in_, the lute. (4) _Ti_, the flute. (5) _Chu_, the
box, with a metal hammer inside. (6) _Ku_, the drum. (7) _Shêng_, the
reed organ. (8) _Hsüan_, the ocarina, a cone with six holes.
The twelve _chang_ or ancient embroidery ornaments are: (1) _Jih_,
the Sun, a disc in which is a three-legged bird, and sometimes, the
character _jih_ [chch]. (2) _Yüeh_, the moon; a disc with hare, toad
and cassia tree, and sometimes the character _yüeh_ [chch]. (3) _Hsing
ch’ên_, the stars: represented by three stars connected by straight
lines. (4) _Shan_, mountains. (5) _Lung_, dragons. (6) _Hua ch’ung_,
the “flowery creature,” the pheasant. (7) _Tsung yi_, the temple
vessels: one with a tiger design and the other with a monkey. (8)
_Tsao_, aquatic grass. (9) _Huo_, fire. (10) _Fên mi_, grains of rice.
(11) _Fu_, an axe. (12) _Fu_, a symbol of distinction[516] (see vol.
i., p. 227).
The Eight Happy Omens (_pa chi hsiang_) were among the signs on the
sole of Buddha’s foot. They are usually drawn with flowing fillets
attached (Fig. 2), and they are as follows: (1) _Lun_, the wheel or
chakra, sometimes replaced by the bell (_chung_). (2) _Lo_, the shell.
(3) _San_, the State umbrella. (4) _Kai_, the canopy. (5) _Hua_, the
(lotus) flower. (6) _P’ing_, the vase. (7) _Yü_, the fish; a pair of
them.[517] (8) _Ch’ang_, the angular knot representing the entrails; an
emblem of longevity.[518]
[Illustration: Fig. 2.--The Pa chi hsiang]
The Seven Gems (_ch’i pao_) are: (1) _Chin lun_, the golden wheel. (2)
_Yü nü_, the jade-like girl. (3) _Ma_, the horse. (4) _Hsiang_, the
elephant. (5) _Chu ts’ang shên_, divine guardian of the treasury. (6)
_Chu ping ch’ên_, general in command of the army. (7) _Ju i chu_ the
jewels which fulfil every wish; a bundle of jewelled wands bound round
with a cord.
The _Pa an hsien_, Attributes of the Eight Immortals, as detailed above
(p. 287), are: (1) _Shan_, the fan of Chung-li Ch’üan. (2) _Chien_,
the sword of Lü Tung-pin. (3) _Hu lu_, the gourd of Li T’ieh-kuai. (4)
_Pan_, the castanets of Ts’ao Kuo-chiu. (5) _Hua lan_, the basket of
flowers of Lan Ts’ai-ho. (6) _Yu ku_, the bamboo tube and rods of Chang
Kuo Lao. (7) _Ti_, the flute of Han Hsiang Tzŭ. (8) _Lien hua_, the
lotus flower of Ho Hsien Ku.
The _Po ku_, or Hundred Antiques, is, as its name implies, a
comprehensive group including all manner of symbols and symbolical
ornaments, which were frequently grouped together in panel decoration.
Bushell[519] describes two typical panels on specimens in the Walters
collection. One contained the apparatus of the scholar and painter,
viz. books on tables, brushes in vases, water pots and scroll
pictures, all enveloped with waving fillets mingled with tasselled
wands and double diamonds, which are symbols of literary success. The
other contained a tall vase with peonies; a low vase with peacock
feather, an emblem of high rank; a lion-shaped censer on a four-legged
stand, the incense smoke from which rises in form of a pair of storks;
a set of incense-burning implements, a bundle of scroll pictures, a
_ju-i_ sceptre, a musical stone, a sword, and a paper weight.
A favourite set of _Po-ku_ emblems is the _Pa pao_ (Fig. 3) or Eight
Precious Objects: (1) _Chu_, the pearl, which grants every wish. (2)
_Ch’ien_, the “cash,” a copper coin used to symbolise wealth. (3)
Lozenge, or picture (_hua_). (4) _Fang shêng_, the open lozenge, symbol
of victory.[520] (5) _Ch’ing_, the musical stone. (6) _Shu_, a pair of
books. (7) _Chüeh_, a pair of horn-like objects. (8) _Ai yeh_, the leaf
of the artemisia, fragrant plant of good omen and a preventative of
disease.
A branch of coral, a silver ingot, a pencil brush and cake of ink
are common emblems; and the swastika occurs both by itself (vol. i.,
p. 227) or interwoven with the character _shou_ (vol. i., p. 227),
or even as a fret or diaper pattern. The swastika is a world-wide
symbol; in China it is called _wan_, and used as a synonym for _wan_
(ten thousand), and as such it is regarded as a symbol of _wan shou_
(endless longevity). A lyre wrapped in an embroidered case, a chess-or
_gô_-board with round boxes for the white and black pieces, a pair
of books, and a pair of scroll pictures symbolise the “four elegant
accomplishments,” _ch’in_, _ch’i_, _shu_, _hua_ (music, chess, writing
and painting).
[Illustration: Fig. 3.--The Pa pao]
The figurative aspect of Chinese decoration has been repeatedly
noticed, and occasional examples of direct play upon words or rebus
devices have been given incidentally. The Chinese language is
peculiarly suited for punning allusions, one sound having to do duty
for many characters; but it is obvious that a fair knowledge of the
characters is required for reading these rebus designs. There is,
however, a certain number of stock allusions with which the collector
can easily make himself familiar. The commonest of these is perhaps
the bat (_fu_) which symbolises happiness (also pronounced _fu_ in
Chinese). The Five Blessings (_wu fu_), which consist of longevity,
riches, peacefulness and serenity, love of virtue and an end crowning
the life, are suggested by five bats; and a further rebus is formed
of red bats among cloud scrolls, reading _hung fu ch’i t’ien_, “great
happiness equally heaven” (_t’ien_); _hung_ being the sound of the
character for “great, vast,” as well as for red, and red being, so to
speak, the colour of happiness in Chinese eyes.
Other common rebus designs are suggested by such words as _lu_ (deer),
_lu_ (preferment); _yü_ (fish), _yü_ (abundance); _ch’ing_ (sounding
stone), _ch’ing_ (good luck); _ch’ang_ (the intestinal knot), _ch’ang_
(long); and the composition of the rebus phrase often includes such
ideas as _lien_ (lotus), _lien_ (connect, combine); _tieh_ (butterfly),
_tieh_ (to double). But almost every sound in the Chinese spoken
language represents a considerable number of characters, and it would
be possible with a little ingenuity to extract several rebus sentences
out of any complicated decoration. It is well to remember, however,
that most of the ordinary allusions have reference to some good wish
or felicitous phrase bearing on the five blessings, on the three
abundances or on literary success.
To quote a few further instances: the design of nine (_chiu_) lions
(_shih_) sporting with balls (chü) of brocade has been read[521] _chiu
shih t’ung chü_, “a family of nine sons living together.” An elephant
(_hsiang_) carrying a vase (_p’ing_) on its back (_pei_) is read[522]
_hsiang pei tai p’ing,_ “Peace (p’ing) rules in the north (_pei_).” A
tub full of green wheat is read[523] _i t’ung ta ch’ing_, “the whole
empire (owns) the great Ch’ing dynasty.” Three crabs holding reeds is
read[524] _san p’ang hsieh ch’uan lu_, “three generations gaining the
first class at the metropolitan examinations.” Two pigeons perched on a
willow tree is read[525] _êrh pa_ (_k’o_) _t’eng t’ê_, “at eighteen to
be successful in examinations.”
A group of three objects consisting of a pencil brush (_pi_), a cake
of ink (_ting_) and a _ju-i_ sceptre crossed one over the other (Fig.
4), occurs both in the field of the decoration and as a mark under the
base. It is a pure rebus, reading _pi ting ju i_, may things be fixed
(_ting_) as you wish (_ju i_, lit. according to your idea). Another
obvious rebus which occurs as a mark (Fig. 5) consists of two peaches
and a bat (double longevity and happiness), and floral designs are very
commonly arranged so as to suggest rebus phrases.
[Illustration: Fig. 4]
[Illustration: Fig. 5]
But the Chinese decorator did not always express himself in riddles.
Inscriptions are frequent on all forms of decorative work, as is
only natural in a country where calligraphy ranks among the highest
branches of art. To the foreign eye Chinese writing will not perhaps
appear so ornamental as the beautiful Neshky characters which were
freely used for decorative purposes on Persian wares; but for all
that, its decorative qualities are undeniable, and to the Chinese
who worship the written character it is a most attractive kind of
ornament. Sometimes the surface of a vessel is almost entirely occupied
by a long inscription treating of the ware or of the decoration which
occupies the remaining part; but more often the writing is limited to
an epigram or a few lines of verse. The characters as a rule are ranged
in columns and read from top to bottom, the columns being taken from
left to right; and rhyming verse is written in lines of three, five
or seven characters each. The inscriptions are often attested by the
name or the seal of the author. The Emperor Ch’ien Lung, a prolific
writer of verses, indited many short poems on the motives of porcelain
decoration, and these have been copied on subsequent pieces.
As for the style of writing, the ordinary script is the _k’ai shu_,
which dates from the Chin dynasty (265–419 A.D.), but there are besides
many inscriptions in which the archaic seal characters _chuan tzŭ_ are
employed, or at least hybrid modern forms of them; and there is the
cursive script, known as _ts’ao shu_ or grass characters, which is said
to have been invented in the first century B.C. The seal and the grass
characters are often extremely difficult to translate, and require a
special study, which even highly educated Chinese do not profess to
have mastered.
Single characters and phrases of auspicious meaning in both seal
form and in the ordinary script occur in the decoration and also in
the place of the mark. Many instances have already been noted in the
chapters dealing with Ming porcelains, such as _fu kuei k’ang ning_
(riches, honours, peace and serenity), _ch’ang ming fu kuei_ (long
life, riches and honours), etc., see vol. i., p. 225. The most frequent
of these characters is _shou_ (longevity), which is written in a great
variety of fanciful forms, mostly of the seal type. The “hundred forms
of shou” sometimes constitute the sole decoration of a vase; and as
already observed[526] the swastika (_wan_) is sometimes combined
with the circular form of the seal character _shou_ to make the _wan
shou_ symbol of ten thousand longevities. _Fu_ (happiness) and _lu_
(preferment) also occur, though less frequently.
Buddhistic inscriptions are usually in Sanskrit characters, but we find
occasional phrases such as _Tien chu en po_ [chch 4] (propitious waves
from India) and _Fo ming ch’ang jih_ [chch 4] (the ever bright Buddha)
in ordinary script or seal, one character in each of four medallions;
and the sacred name of _O mi t’o fo_ [chch 4], Amida Buddha, similarly
applied, would serve as a charm against evil.
In addition to the central designs, there is a number of secondary
ornaments which round off the decoration of a piece of porcelain.
Chief of these are the border patterns, of which a few favourites
may be exemplified. At the head of the list comes the Greek key-fret
or meander (see Plate 12, Fig. 1), which, like the swastika, is of
world-wide use. On the ancient bronze this pattern was freely used both
in borders and as a diaper background, and it is described by Chinese
archæologists as the “cloud and thunder pattern.” It is sometimes
varied by the inclusion of the swastika, in which case it is known
as the swastika fret. Another bronze pattern freely borrowed by the
porcelain decoration is the border of stiff plantain leaves which
appears appropriately on the neck or stem of an upright vase (see Plate
89, Fig. 1).
The border of small “S” shaped scrolls is apparently derived from
silkworm cocoons; but the curled scrolls and another scroll pattern
with more elaborate curves are intended to suggest clouds. A further
development of the cloud pattern is scarcely distinguishable from the
_ju-i_ head border (see Plate 77, Fig. 2). Indeed the terms, “connected
cloud” pattern, _ju-i_ cloud pattern, and _ju-i_ head pattern, are used
almost interchangeably by Chinese archæologists.
Conventional waves are represented by a kind of shaded scale pattern
or a diaper of spiral coils, and the more naturalistic “crested wave”
border, punctuated by conical rocks, has already been mentioned. There
are besides narrow borders of zig-zag pattern with diagonal hatching,
and the ordinary diaper designs, in addition to the familiar gadroons
and arcaded borders.
The wider borders are usually borrowed from brocade patterns with
geometrical or floral ornament, broken by three or four oblong panels
containing symbols or sprays of flowers; and when a similar scheme is
followed in some of the narrow edgings, the flowers are unhesitatingly
cut in half, as though the pattern were just a thin strip taken from a
piece of brocade.
A few special borders have been described on the pages dealing with
armorial porcelain,[527] among which were the well-known “rat and vine”
or “vine and squirrel” pattern (see Plate 119, Fig. 3), reputed to have
first appeared on a picture by the Sung artist, Ming Yüan-chang.[528] A
rare border formed of red bats side by side occurs on a few plates of
fine porcelain which are usually assigned to the K’ang Hsi period, but
are probably much later.
On the whole, the Chinese border patterns are comparatively few in
number, being in fact a small selection of well-tried designs admirably
suited to fill the spaces required and to occupy the positions assigned
to them on the different porcelain forms.
As to the sources from which these and the other designs described in
this chapter were borrowed by the porcelain decorator, we can only
speak in general terms. Ancient bronze vessels, metal mirrors, carved
jades, stamped cakes of ink, embroideries, brocades, handkerchiefs,
and illustrated books no doubt provided the greater part of them. The
purely pictorial subjects would be based on the paintings in silk and
paper which the Chinese arrange in four chief categories: (1) figures
(_jên wu_),(2) landscape (_shan shui_),(3) nature subjects (_hua niao_,
lit. flowers and birds), and (4) miscellaneous designs (_tsa hua_).
Selections of desirable designs from various sources were no doubt
arranged in pattern books, and issued to the porcelain painters.