Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 1.djvu/136

 edly the blue of this era offered a striking contrast to anything that went before. Why such should have been the case it is not easy to determine. Looking at the history of the time, it will perhaps be right to refer the general art progress that took place during Hsuan-tê's reign to the peaceful state of the empire. The two first Ming sovereigns were at war throughout nearly the whole of their reigns. Not until the closing year of Yung-lo's life can the authority of the dynasty be said to have been firmly established and the tranquillity of the country assured. The third emperor reigned only a few months and was succeeded by Hsuan-tê, who happily found leisure to devote attention to peaceful pursuits. He received envoys from remote States, as Malacca and Bengal, and since it is known that the mineral used for painting porcelain in blue under the glaze was originally brought as tribute from one of the Mohammedan countries to the west of the Middle Kingdom, there may be truth in the hypothesis advanced by some that the first plentiful supply of it reached Ching-tê-chên at the beginning of Hsuan-tê's reign. What is more probable, however, and less at variance with history, is that the manner of employing this blue for painting designs on porcelain was not fully understood by earlier experts.

Of course the Kai-pien-yao was not the only kind of blue-and-white ware manufactured during the Hsuan-tê era. On the contrary, judging from the great rarity of surviving specimens, despite the high value set upon them from the moment of their production to the present day, the inference is that but a limited supply of it was turned out. Much commoner and more plentifully manufactured was ordi-