Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 1.djvu/109



HE reader must not suppose that in the preceding pages he possesses an exhaustive catalogue of wares manufactured during the Sung era. Many minor kilns were active in addition to those mentioned in these pages; but as their products were invariably imitations of the Ting-yao, Ju-yao, Lung-chuan-yao, or Chün-yao types, and as they differed from their originals in inferiority of technique only, to enumerate them here would be at once confusing and uninstructive. It is, nevertheless, probable that some of the specimens which have been preserved as examples of Sung chefs-d'œuvre are in reality the outcome of minor factories. By way of illustration mention may be made of a kiln at Su-chou, in the province of Nanwhei, where it is recorded that large quantities of imitation Ting-yao were produced under the Sung dynasty. When the true products of Ting-chou became rare, this Su-chou-yao was greedily purchased by dealers who sold it as genuine Ting-yao. A neighbouring factory at Sz'-chou devoted itself to similar work, and its outcome fell into the hands of persons who valued cheapness as much as quality. Thus there doubtless still exist specimens honestly dating from the Sung