Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 1.djvu/316

 CHH TINA

vermilion, it may be concluded that the CA:-hung monochromes ceased to be produced after the year 1570.

Concerning these Mzng reds, the illustrations from H’siang’s Manuscript and his accompanying descrip- tions furnish the best and practically the only avail- able guides. It has long been the habit with Western amateurs to ascribe to the Mzng factories whatever choice pieces of the C/z-Aung class happily come into their possession. ‘The delusion belongs to the num- erous myths which bric-a-brac dealers carefully foster and collectors readily credit. Outside China there are virtually no Ming Chz-hung monochrones in exis- tence, and in China they are few and far between. The connoisseur must be content to know them vicariously, and to accept as true indications of their beauty the expressive names deservedly given them by their Chinese admirers, ruby red, the rosy blush of liquid dawn, and the crimson glow of the sky after rain and storm.

The red, monochromes familiar to American and European virtuosi are from the kilns of Kang-hsz (1662-1722), Yung-ching (1723-1725), Chien-lung (1736-1785) and even later epochs. In the great keramic renaissance that took place at the accession of Kang-hsi, the potters of Ching-té-chén did not fail to turn their attention to ware so celebrated and highly valued as the CAz-hung monochromes. It was then that the much esteemed porcelain known in the West as “ Sang de beuf”’ may be said to have come into existence, for although it was produced also during the Mig dynasty, no specimens of that epoch left China, or that, at any rate, if any pieces did go Westward their number was quite insignificant.

286