Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 1.djvu/137

 nary hard-paste porcelain decorated in the same manner. This, too, was distinguished by the grand tone of the blue. Being more durable, it ought to have survived in larger quantities than the Kai-pien-yao, but the far greater esteem in which the latter was always held doubtless gave it an advantage in this respect. Certain it is that examples of Hsuan-tê hard-paste blue-and-white are not less scarce than specimens of Kai-pien-yao dating from the same period.

As to the decorative subjects employed at this early era, it is difficult to give a comprehensive description. Floral designs, dragons among clouds, conventional landscapes, grasshoppers, figures, scroll-patterns, and diapers were all in vogue. Speaking generally, it may be asserted that a grave defect of Chinese decoration, whether under or over the glaze, is its mechanical character. Except in the case of very choice pieces, the same subject was the work of several artists. One man traced or painted flowers only; another confined himself to mountains; a third depicted nothing but trees; a fourth made a study of birds alone; a fifth of fishes, and so on. Even in painting human figures, the hands and feet, the faces and the drapery were often undertaken by different decorators. The natural result of this piecemeal method of building up a picture was that the ensemble lacked force and originality. Seldom are there found on Chinese porcelain the charming and delicate sketches, often as redolent of life as they are faithful in detail, that impart such beauty and character to the master-pieces of Japanese keramists. Here again an important distinction is established between hard-paste and soft-paste blue-and-white.