THE YUNG-CHING PERIOD (1723-1736)
The Yung-Ching period (1723-1736), though only thirteen short years,
was peculiarly noteworthy, because the Emperor himself took a personal
interest in the Imperial factories at King-te-chin, and also in the
head of the establishment, Hien-Hsi-yao, who, in 1727, was entrusted
with the management. In porcelain much depends upon the potting, and
in the actual potting the products of Yung-Ching were far superior
to any that had before appeared. The drawing, too, was in every way
better, the colours, though not so brilliant, showed such care and
taste in blending that even the fine "_famille verte_" suffers by
comparison. As a rule, the decoration was so applied that the porcelain
could be admired--that is, the whole surface was not covered by the
ornamentation. In some of the smaller pieces the result of this plan is
beyond all praise. Only one product suffered. The blue was far inferior
to that of Kang-he.
We have already praised the quality of the cobalt applied as decoration
to vases, ginger jars, &c., of the Kang-he period. As if to balance
this default the rose colour from gold was discovered, which gave
birth to the rose family, "_famille rose_." Other products which had
their beginnings in this reign are worthy of notice. First there was
a black decorated with colour, mainly with arabesques or curl work.
The porcelain was of fine quality and the scheme of colour so subdued
as to be entirely pleasing to the eye, the black being relieved by
pattern in faint green and further decorated in white, pale yellow,
and aubergine of such an admirable character that one wonders why
Yung-ching porcelain is not more appreciated. Still the rose decoration
begun so successfully in this period, under the succeeding Emperor,
received such attention as placed it in the front rank of Oriental
porcelain In fact, we may say more. Collectors of the rose family care
nothing for Ming with its greens and yellows, nothing for Kang-he with
its "_famille verte_" and black, but they esteem and value above all
the "_famille rose_," the Yung-ching _chef d'œuvre_, which we shall
deal with later when we come to Keen-lung. The pieces of the Yung-ching
period, decorated with blue under the glaze with enamel in colour
over the glaze, exhibited the same distinctive features which typical
china of this period showed--that is, excellent potting and a skilful
blending of the under-glaze blue with the enamel colours over the
glaze. There is this noteworthy distinction, too, the decoration on the
backs of bowls and dishes is almost equal to that on the front. This is
a helpful hint, to which careful note should be given.
Perhaps one of the most puzzling and at the same time interesting forms
of decoration was the blue used in conjunction with peach bloom. These
specimens were ornamented with combinations of three lines either long
or bissected, called the Pa-kwa, the single mark forming a trigram
essentially male if the long lines were in the ascendant, and female
when the half lines were most numerous. The later marks or symbolical
devices will deal more fully with the Pa-kwa. Peach-bloom was
undoubtedly first introduced in the reign of Kang-he, and the really
valuable and fine examples belong to this period only. It is altogether
a misleading term to those who are not experts, who expect to find the
delicate pink of the peach blossom or flower. Peach bloom is nothing of
this kind. Imagine a dark reddish brown of unusual but beautiful tone
pierced through its surface in flecks of dark green and spots of pink
such as the flower would be when the first touch of spring coaxed it
from the dark-coloured sepal with flecks of green and a touch of pink.
It is the colour of the bud when the peach begins to bloom, not the
pink of the peach blossom so prettily tinted with yellow. Peach bloom
and "_clair de lune_" are the two very finest self-colours which take
precedence even of "_sang de bœuf_." We shall have occasion to occur
to this again in the chapter on self-colours.
The next class is black with coral red under the glaze; in fact, two
colours are found under the glaze in the Yung-ching period, blue and
red. The red is of a brilliant tone, not so striking as the red from
gold, but still very lovely in its combination with blue. Sometimes
these two are used together with added enamel colours, but frequently
in under-glaze decoration that favourite ornament, the five-clawed
dragon in pursuit of the crystal ball or pearl, may be found. The
circular device ball or pearl showing the Yang and the Yin, signs for
the male and the female elements in nature, were at this period raised
on the surface, and in over-glaze enamels both the waves and the clouds
were tinted with various shades of green and purple and aubergine
edged with black.
We have already referred to the rose family, in which the enamel
decoration was most carefully and artistically carried out in all
its detail. The preponderating influence was a brilliant rose colour
accompanied by green, yellow, and blue, all in enamel colours, which
were not less striking because still subordinate to the beautiful
pink. When waves were used in the decoration they were of a charming
sea-green Celadon enamel. The blue painted under the glaze has already
been referred to as being inferior in quality, in colour and brilliance
to the products of Kang-he. In fact, we must repeat that no blue and
white was ever equal to the Kang-he ginger jars and vases decorated
with the prunus pattern, usually called the hawthorn, with the lip
unglazed on the outside and partly glazed on the inside.
Present day potters produce blue and white ginger jars, but the blue
of Kang-he is unapproachable, the paste is exquisite, and the glaze
is incomparable. The Yung-ching potters did well in blue and white,
and the blues, though less brilliant, were very bright and pleasing.
The distinctive feature of the period is that the borders of the vases
were incised after the manner of the Ming blue and white, a pattern
which appears at no other periods. Let us try to explain this. About an
inch from the top of the vases there is an incised pattern, a pattern
cut in double incised lines, altogether forming a band about half an
inch wide. A similar incised band is found round the base. Yung-ching
blue, and white often has a decoration of rocks, waves and curious
conventional ground in blue of a carefully painted peach-tree springing
from the rocks, painted blossoms of a rich red tone with reddish or
yellowish brown spots distributed over the white as if to emphasise
the form of the decoration. The contrast between the delicacy of the
detail is striking when compared with the broad treatment of the
Kang-he period. On the one hand there is fine stipple work. This is
Yung-ching. On the other hand there is a broad, bold wash of colour.
This is Kang-he. One of the most effective forms of decoration is what
is widely known as powder or powdered blue, in which the cobalt was
sprayed through gauze or dabbed either upon the whole surface, or upon
all of the surface except that which by mechanical means was reserved.
Students of Oriental china will often come across the expression
"painted in reserves or compartments." By this is meant that the scheme
of decoration of the whole surface has been so far modified that
certain panels have been left in white for further decoration. Hence we
get reserves of various shapes with varying decorations--powder blue
vases with reserves decorated in blue; powder blue vases with reserves
decorated in "_famille verte_," and so on. The apparently granulated
surface of the powder blue is due to the colour having been blown
through the fine gauze or dabbed on the whole portion that was not
reserved.
Celadon was brought to great perfection in this reign. Not only the
various tints of green usually known by that name, and not only the
brilliant white Celadon glaze with raised decoration in which a Celadon
green is effectively employed, but various glazes in which the colour,
being applied in the glaze, was included in the same term Celadon. The
decoration, often floral, was noted for its subdued tones of pink,
mauve, red, and orange. Vases of the Ming dynasty, especially the
Suen-tih and Ching-hwa periods, were copied and recopied in every
detail. Beautiful bowls were largely made with Celadon or coral
grounds, with figures or other ornaments in coloured enamel; sometimes
reserves or compartments in white had special treatment of figure
decoration. Other specimens imitated jade or agate or cornelian or some
other stone. The well-known pale green Celadon is the only one known to
the trade by the name Celadon. Red or blue Celadons would be classed
under self-colours.
We have noted the green family, "_famille verte_," of Kang-he. The
Yung-ching products of the same class differ from it in the quality
of the colours used. The green enamel itself was much thinner and not
so brilliant; it often had a blue shade, but it too was applied as an
enamel in conjunction with the under-glaze blue decoration. Instead
of the reds from copper the reds from iron were effectively used.
A colouring like the red of rusty iron was used in several shades,
ranging from an orange red to a bright orange, or even to a salmon
pink. Other colours in soft tones were used, but a chief point to
remember is that whilst the design was usually drawn in blue under the
glaze, all the enamel colours were applied over the glaze, so that a
blue tinge is conspicuous, and it is a help to identification.
A reference was made earlier to the rose family. This was a red from
gold, and perhaps its highest development is seen in the brilliant
ruby-back plates of the Yung-ching and Keen-lung periods. This colour
had its origin in Yung-ching's short reign, and the shades of it vary
from pink to purple. As enamel, the rose colour is most wonderfully
applied to flowers, drapery, &c., and really it is far more decorative
than the green, the powder blue, or indeed any other colour. It has
their artistic merit, and the additional one of being a soft and most
attractive tint, if green represents the leaves, rose pictures the
flowers; and perhaps the most lovely combination is "_rose verte_,"
where both of these are used in harmony.
X
THE
KEEN-LUNG
PERIOD