[326] The text is simply
chih wu = "established duty."
[327] In order to bring this date into Hung Wu´s lifetime, it is necessary to reckon from the year 1364, when he was proclaimed Prince of Wu. But other records (see T´ao lu, bk. v., fol. 4 recto) give the date as second year of Hung Wu—i.e. 1369, instead of 1398 as above. Hung Wu was proclaimed Emperor in 1368, and died in 1398.
[328] Bk. cxiii., fols. 7 and 8. The T´ao shuo makes practically the same statement in connection with both periods, and Bushell (O.C.A., p. 287) gives us to understand that the first structure was burnt down and that erected in the Chêng Tê period was a rebuilding. The T´ao lu states that a special Imperial factory was erected on the Jewel Hill in the Hung Wu period, and that there were other kilns scattered over the town working for the palace, and that the name Yü ch´i ch´ang was given to all of them in the Chêng Tê period.
[329] Dated 1712 and 1722 from Ching–tê Chên, and preserved among the Lettres édifiantes et curieuses. They have been frequently published in part or in full, e.g. translated in W. Burton's Porcelain, and printed in French as an appendix to Bushell's Translation of the T´ao shuo.
[330] By Walter J. Clennell, H.M. Consul at Kiu–kiang, printed for H.M. Stationery Office.
[331] The long river front, "crowded for three miles by junks," was a feature of the place, which was sometimes known as the "thirteen li mart." A li is about 630 English yards.
[333] An incidental reference to white porcelain bowls at Hsin–p´ing (the old name for the district town of Ching–tê Chên) in 1101 A. D. occurs in the Ch´ang nan chih (quoted in the T´ao lu, bk. viii., fol. 15). It is a verse on the subject of tea drinking: "The white porcelain is quickly passed from hand to hand all night; the fragrant vapour fills the peaceful pavilion."