Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 1.djvu/392

Four other potters, about whose period there is some uncertainty, are Sü T's’z-ching, Hwui Mang-ch’an, Chia Hüen, and Ching Ning-heu. A noted connoisseur and author says that on a tea-pot in his possession the name of Sü Ts’z-ching is inscribed, and that the workmanship and caligraphy are almost worthy to rank with the productions of Kung-chun and Shi Ta-pin. He adds that in his youth he obtained a pot bearing the cachet of Mang-ch’an, but that the style of the caligraphy could not compare with that of Shi Ta-pin. Another writer of note, however, speaks with great enthusiasm of a pot by Mang-ch’an which he (the writer) obtained at the fair of Ts’i-fang Su-shan. There can be little doubt that Mang-ch’an was an expert of skill. Chia Hüen's specialty was the manufacture of seals. I have heard that among the treasures of a well known dilettante there is a vase by Ching Ning-heu, and that it ranks high as a keramic effort, but unfortunately I have not seen it.

The Yi-hsing potters build their ovens in tiers, like rabbit holes, on the face of the hill. The market price of the good clays has gradually risen, and now the places where these clays are found have been dug down even to the water-level. Formerly tea-pots by Kung-chun were fashionable, but subsequently those of Shi Ta-pin came into vogue. A tea-pot must be small, so that the bouquet and flavour of the tea will not disperse. Each guest should have a pot for himself. Among manufacturers of Yi-hsing pottery connoisseurs place Kung-chun first, Shi Ta-pin second, and Chan Yung-hiang third. The productions of these masters are valued like gold and precious gems. Nothing is more important in a tea-pot than a straight spout. The slightest curvature is fatal. A vessel for holding tea is different from a vessel for wine. Wine has no dregs, nor anything to obstruct its issue from the vessel. But with tea such is not the case. The leaves, soaked in water, become enlarged, and if one of them sticks in the spout, the flow is impeded. One drinks tea for pleasure, and one may justly feel irritated if the beverage declines to come out of the pot. A straight spout obviates such an annoyance. The true form of tea-pot began with Kung-chun. Nothing more refined and elegant than his tea-pots exists among tea utensils. Shi Ta-pin's