Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 1.djvu/329

The fact seems to be that they were produced with almost, though not altogether, equal success in the Yung-ching and Chien-lung potteries. Whatever difference existed has no great importance for collectors, except in respect of the Lang-yao, Chiang-tou-hung, and Pin-kwa-ts'ing glazes, all of which belong par excellence to the Kang-hsi period.

Among reds developed at the comparatively low temperature of the enameller's furnace the first place is given to the Tsao-hung or "Jujube Red" (red of the Zizyphus vulgaris). It need scarcely be observed that the difficulty of verbally distinguishing these various shades or tones of red is insuperable. The Chinese showed their appreciation of the fact by going to Nature for comparisons. The "Jujube Red" is a full, brilliant colour, perfectly opaque even when applied in the thinnest layers. In this latter quality lies one of its greatest merits, since, when employed for decorating over the glaze, it shows all the points of a perfect enamel—brilliancy, smoothness, depth, and uniformity—and at the same time clings to the surface in a layer of such imperceptible thinness as to seem a part of the glaze itself. Thus used it plays an important rôle in the manufacture of the finest Chinese porcelains, sometimes covering the whole surface of a monochrome, sometimes combined with coloured enamels, and sometimes surrounding reserved designs in white. Of the Tsao-hung monochromes—generally small pieces—little need be said. Beautiful as they are, they cannot be classed with such glazes as the Lang-yao, the Chiang-tou-hung, the Pin-kwa-ts'ing, and the Fan-hung, which are developed in the open furnace at a high temperature. But of the Tsao-hung, in combination with other