Page:China- Its State and Prospects.djvu/137

 or lady is as elegant in its way, as the external appearance of a modern belle or beau in Europe.

The manufacture of porcelain commenced with the Tang dynasty, A. D. 630: and the first furnace on record is that at Chang-nan, in the province of Keang-se, from whence a tribute of porcelain was sent to the court of Han Kaou-tsoo, and called "imitation gem ware." The district now most famous for the production of this article, is Kaou-ling, a hill to the eastward of the town of King-tih, in the district of Yaou-chow, which came into repute in the time of the third ruler of the Sung dynasty, A. D. 1000. The material from which porcelain is made is called tun, "clay," or pĭh-tun, "white clay," from whence is derived the petuntse of European books; its nature is " stiff and white, without much sweat," and the porcelain made of it does not crack. The best sort is known by breaking and examining the ware, to see if the fracture be smooth and even, without veins or granular coarseness, and just as if cut with a knife. What commonly goes under the name of Petuntse is divided into red, white, and yellow. The red and white are used for the finer wares; the yellow only for the coarser sorts. The people who procure it always avail themselves of the mountain streams, where they erect mills, and pound the material; after which they wash it clean, and mould it into the form of bricks, called Petuntse. The yellow clods are large and hard, while the white are rather loose and fine.

The government of China has, for the last thousand years, paid great attention to the manufacture of porcelain; and the emperor Këen-lung, about fifty years ago, sent a person from court to make drawings of the