It has already been hinted that other factories were at work on the same lines as Tz´ŭ Chou, and as we have no means of identifying their peculiarities, it would perhaps be safer to use some such formula as "Tz´ŭ Chou type" in the ascription of doubtful pieces. Po–Shan Hsien, in Shantung, was mentioned in a note on p. 103, and the T´ao lu[248] gives a short account of another factory at Hsü Chou,[249] in Honan, where the tz´ŭ stone (see p. 101) was also used in wares which were both plain white and decorated. This factory was active in the Ming dynasty, and it is stated that its wares were superior to the "recent productions"[250] of Tz´ŭ Chou.
A reference to porcelain figures in Honan in the Sung dynasty may be quoted in this connection. It occurs in the Liang ch´i man chih, an early thirteenth–century work by Fei Kuan, and runs as follows: "In Kung Hsien (in the Honan Fu) there are porcelain (tz´ŭ) images called by the name of Lu Hung–chien. If you buy ten tea vessels you can take one image. Hung–chien was a trader who dealt in tea—unprofitably, for he could not refrain from brewing his stock. Hung–chien formerly was very fond of tea, and it brought him to ruin." Possibly the images of Hung–chien, which were given away with ten tea vessels, were made at Tz´ŭ Chou or Hsü Chou. Figures are still part of the stock–in–trade of the former factory.
CHAPTER IX
CHÜN WARES AND SOME OTHERS
Chün Chou
ware[251]
THE Chün ware is said to have been first made in the early part of the Sung dynasty at Chün Chou or Chün–t´ai, the modern Yü Chou in the K´ai–fêng Fu in Honan. Like the Lung–ch´üan celadon, thanks to its strength and solidity, it has survived in sufficient numbers to give us some idea of the qualities which Chinese writers have described in picturesque terms. That it finds no mention in the Cho kêng lu and the Ko ku yao lun seems to imply that it was not appreciated by the virtuosi of the fourteenth century, owing, no doubt, to the fact that, as hinted in later works, it was chiefly destined for everyday uses and aimed at serviceable qualities rather than "antique elegance." By the end of the Ming dynasty, however, its beautiful glazes had won it a place among the celebrated Sung wares, although even at this time certain varieties only were considered estimable. The Ch´ing pi ts´ang, for instance, which appears to rank the Chün ware above that of Lung–ch´üan, gives the following criticism: "The Chün Chou ware, which is red like rouge, is highly prized; that which is ch´ing like onion blue (ts´ung ts´ui), and that which is purplish brown (tzŭ) like ink, are esteemed second; single–coloured pieces, which have the numerals one, two, etc., as marks on the bottom, are choice; the specimens of this ware with mixed colours (tsa sê) are not worth collecting." It was not long, however, before even the despised "mixed colours" were not only appreciated by collectors, but studiously imitated by the Ching–tê Chên potters.