Poetry in decoration of the Chinese porcelain of the late Qing dynasty (1644-1911)

1. Plaques.

Plaques made in the Qing Dynasty boast a large quantity, especially in the late Qing period. Plaques first appeared in the late Ming dynasty, mainly used as funeral objects to write something. Most are in square or round shape. Because the plaque was easy to be deformed during firing, so plaques of Ming dynasty were generally in small size. After Jiaqing, Daoguang Reign, due to the improvement of firing technology, people got large and thin porcelain plaques. After that, the plaque became a carrier of painting and began to be hanged on the walls as paintings for people to admire and enjoy. Painted plaques were normally set in wooden frames to hang on a wall, or put on the desk as a table screen, or decorate the furniture, such as beds, short tables, desks or chairs. Typical shapes of a porcelain plaque include rectangular, square and round shape. Because plaques are flat without curved surface, the painting on it is the most similar with the plane literati painting on the paper and silk. The landscape is the most common theme on plaques (like fig.2.1.1, 2.1.5) but other painting genres like figure painting and bird-and-flower painting are also usually seen.

The rectangular plaque painted with a fisherman drinking wine on the lake (fig.2.1.6) is a special plaque. The painting is rather simple, the long, thin, extended bank lies in the middle, divides the painting into two parts - the upper part is the sky and the lower part is the lake. The bottom right of the painting is a fishing boat stopping in the reeds, occupies nearly a quarter of the painting. A man sits at the bow, facing the lake, with a pot, a jug, and a cup. Few rocks lie in the bottom left corner. The rest of the space the artist used the technique of leaving the blank in Chinese painting. Long inscriptions are above the lake bank. According to the inscriptions, the painting is by Li Guzhen but the calligraphy is by Zheng Youkou and Wang Yunyan, this is a rare collaborative work. The poetry mainly expresses the fisherman's indifference to fame, fortune and secular life, his ease and happiness when fishing and drinking. The poetry beautifully combines with the painting and conveys the noble spirit of literati.

Plaque painted with a light-vented bulbul and peonies (fig.2.1.7) is a typical bird-and-flower painting. Chinese bulbul together with peonies is a classic traditional theme in Chinese painting which used in Qianjiang painting quite frequently for its symbolic meaning. Peony symbolizes wealth and happiness (fugue •x№у) in Chinese culture. The hair at the top of the bird's head is white, so in China, it is called the white-headed bird. Whitehead (baitou ”’Н·) is always associated with the old, which means longevity. Therefore, the combination of Chinese bulbul and peonies in Chinese art is a wish for a couple to have a long-term happy life. The inscription with a four-character auspicious word “•x№у°ЧН·” locates in the blank place in the top-left corner, which agrees with the tradition of Chinese painting. Sometimes accompanied with the bulbul and peonies design is a seven-character verse “•x№уГаГаµЅ°ЧН·”, from where the four-character word •x№у°ЧН· derived. The original poem comprises four verses, seven characters to a verse. The author of this poem remains unknown but this poem was usually quoted by inscriptions to paintings with bulbul and peonies.

Classical histories often provide inspiration for poetry, painting, and opera. Thus, history painting with figures is another subject that can often be seen in plaques, always accompanied by a poem of the same theme. For example, the round plaque painted the scene of a third visit to the hut (fig.2.1.8), which derived from the Three Kingdoms period, is a good example. Three men are performing fist and palm salute outside a cottage with rocks and trees around, a boy server is facing them. In the top left part, there is a small circle, inside which shows another space, a scholar-like person is looking out the window. This is a well-known Chinese legendary story of the late Han period (2nd -3rd century). The hero - the scholar is Zhuge Liang, an accomplished strategist living in seclusion. In order to recruit him, Liu Bei, a future king, and his sworn brothers played three personal visits in total. Later he played one of the most important and respected roles in Three Kingdom period. This is the scene of one of the visits. The verse written above the three brothers is quoted from a poem of Tang's poet Du Fu (712-770) dedicated to Zhuge Liang, praising his achievements and importance in the process of establishing the three kingdoms: “The achievements of Zhuge Liang are distinguished in the Three Kingdoms; his fame for the success of his eight-front strategy.”

Some figure painting has no concrete story resources, but the theme can be often seen. Ladies is a common painting subject in figure painting. Plaque with reading ladies painted by Xiaoshan Shi (fig.2.1.9) is an example. In this painting, there are two ladies reading in the courtyard. As the previous plaque, the artist depicted two scenes, one covered on the other, with the help of a circle frame. This method greatly extends the space and enriches the painting content. Reading is another usually used theme in Qianjiang porcelain painting, which shows the admiration of the society for books and knowledge. The verse - My home is in the reading sound - written on the left side of the ladies is from a poem of Tang's poet Weng Chengzan (859-932). In ancient China, people thought when you read a book, you should read it aloud. The meaning of the whole poem is “passengers don't need to ask whose house it is, if you hear someone is reading aloud inside, that is my house.”, which shows admiration and compliment on this behavior. This verse can be seen frequently in Qianjiang wares accompanied by reading-themed paintings.

2. Vases.

In the early Qing period especially from Kangxi to Qianlong reign forms and types of vases were developed to an unprecedented level so in the late Qing period vases had various forms and types, mainly of which include Cong vase (congshi ping, ыjЋ®•r, vase in the shape of an ancient jade 'cong', square-shaped with round foot), prunus vase (mei ping, ”~•r a small mouth, a short and narrow neck, a plump shoulder, and a concave belly), vault-of-heaven vase (tianqiu ping, “V‹…•r, spherical body, straight neck), guanyin vase, six-sided vase and so on. Most of Qianjiang vases are relatively small, few of them are taller than 80 cm. This is because that the light color is suitable for freehand brushwork, the effect of which is not good for large-size painting, not bright, exquisite and imposing enough.

For Cong vases, usually with paintings in the front and back sides and calligraphies in the left and right sides. For example, vase painted with birds and flowers (fig.2.1.10) by Wang Fan is a typical Cong vase with paintings on the front and back sides and texts on left and right. The bird is a Chinese paradise-flycatcher, in Chinese, it is called Shoudai (з·ґш), the first character shares the same pronunciation with life, age, and longevity (shou, Ћх), so this kind of bird has the meaning of longevity in Chinese artworks. While the theme of the poem is not longevity but admiration for Daoism. In this case, the painting and the poem are separate independent decoration.

However, sometimes the calligraphy and painting are on one side together. On Cong vase painted with pine trees (fig.2.1.11) the artist creatively extended the painting to four sides, broke the limitation of the edges, as if four sides are in one flat. And at the same time, each side can also be an independent painting. In the top left-hand corner of the front side on which painted with mountains, the artist left his poem: “The sound of the rushing spring, the sound of the wind blowing through pine trees, people who live in the mountains will never tire of it. How can they want to listen to the noise of the secular world?” Short inscriptions on other sides are brief summaries of the painting contents.

In fact, the composition of the inscriptions and paintings on the vase is rather free. In a four-sided vase painted with a red-leaved tree and autumn mountain (fig.2.1.12) Cheng Men painted a landscape on two adjacent sides and wrote poetry and inscriptions in semi-cursive script on the other two adjacent sides. The poem is the famous poem Mountain Trip by Du Mu (803-852), a leading poet of the late Tang dynasty. The translation of the poem is: “A narrow rocky path winds up into the chilly hills; houses unveiled in the floating white clouds. I stopped my carriage to enjoy the late maple trees in the twilight; the frosty leaves are redder than the February flowers.” The painting exactly matches the verses: there are some maple trees on the left, a carriage parked on the hillside on the right, above is the misty mountains in the distance. Both brush strokes and the colors are very soft and tender, which is very compatible with the mood of the poem.

Guanyin vase is another common shape with a flaring opening, a long neck and a long belly. This form is exquisite and compact, widely used in Qianjiang porcelain and often painted with ladies without background and surroundings. On the pair of vases with four beauties (fig.2.1.13), four ladies are painted in four directions and equally spaced apart by verses in two or three rows in semi-cursive script. The verses are descriptions and compliment on the beauties. The figures are symmetrical in two vases and the verses and the composition of them are totally the same. Decorations on the bottleneck are children and phrase, both for auspiciousness, have no connections to the beauties.

Qianjiang vases are mostly in small size so large vases are relatively precious, especially those with high quality. Plate mouth vase with two elephant handles painted with Tianmen Mountain and clear water (fig.2.1.14) by Lei Hongzhang is a rare masterpiece with superb mastery, rich contents, with landscape painting and figure painting on each side and red bronze script on the bottleneck. The landscape painting imitated the style of Huang Gongwang, light-ocher and water green colors were mainly applied. It is an illustration of a poem lying between two mountains. The artist here suitably used the poem View of Tianmen Mountains, a famous work by the well-known Tang dynasty poet Li Bai (701-762), which is translated as follows:

Through Tianmen's twin-peak portal, the mighty River churns; East rolls its water all turquoise, till here, its course it turns. Why, green cliffs burst into sight, on banks both left and right; From afar where the sun adjourns, O my solitary sail returns. (translated by Andrew W.F. Wong)

The painting outlines a marvelous spectacle that the vast and mighty Chu River rushes through the Tianmen Mountain towards the East and when the vast Yangtze River flows through narrow passages between the mountains the water flows back and becomes waves. That is what the poet saw when he took a boat on the choppy river and got closer and closer to the mountains. The painting illustrates the poem so thoroughly and accurately as if viewers can admire the scenery alongside Li Bai.

While on the other side there is a totally different scene: two beautiful ladies sat side by side, holding books and embroidered brocades. Inscribed poems can help us know more about the painting. The upper inscription on the bottleneck is a poem of Ming's writer Fang Xiaoru (1357-1402): “Stay up till night because of reading military books, …it cools down at night, why not read poetries?” This poem is called The Two Qiaos reading books by Ming poet Fang Xiaoru (1357-1402). As said in the above two ladies reading books is a traditional painting theme. And many artists selected this scene when depicted the Two Qiaos, two famous sisters living during the late Eastern Han dynasty. The two Qiaos can be seen in many figure paintings of ladies. Their legendary life offers a lot of inspirations for painters and poets to make artistic creation. Their reading military books instead of poetry at night reflects the turmoil of that period. But here one is reading a book while the other is holding brocades. The poem in small size above the head of the woman is: “the beautiful woman holds the brocade, no wild geese send her love letters.”, depicts the woman missed her lover. This is a rewriting of a Tang poetry by Cui Daorong, the original poem goes: “the beautiful woman holds the brocade, no wild geese send it to the Liaoxi (an important battlefield)”. Here the artist combined two themes together, both the painting and poems have original model, but the artist made some changes, expanded the scope of characters and themes - not specifically refers the sisters but common women, their will to defend their country and their missing of their lovers. His changing of the poem and the subject model embodied the freeness of painting on a Qianjiang ware. There are no strict rules, painters can make their own creation. The atmosphere and brushstroke of the figure painting are totally different from those of the landscape painting, which shows excellent mastery of the artist.

3. Cap stands.

The number of Qianjiang cap stands is more than any other type of Qianjiang wares that have been passed down to now. Cap stands first rose in the first half of the 19th century. The original function of cap stands is to support men's hats like its name, while later it became an object for display or bride's dowry that appreciated by both highbrows and common people for its decoration. Usually placed in pairs, about 30 cm in height. Forms of cap stands can often be seen in the late Qing period include cylindrical, square, six-sided, with openwork design for ventilation and so on.

For cylindrical cap stands, paintings and calligraphy usually gather together on one side, because the other side is not convenient to appreciate against the wall. Usually, a pair of cap stands are totally symmetrical in illustration and the same in the inscription as the pair of cap stands painted with a lady appreciating a flower by Bao Wen (fig.2.1.15). Here a lady in red and green with a fan in one hand is gazing a flower in the other lifted hand, leaning forward slightly. She is such a slim and graceful lady. The artist accurately and delicately depicted her figure and her facial expression. The folds of her clothes are natural and smooth. Her image, her gesture, the color of her clothes is extremely harmonious with the background - a courtyard with trees, flowers, and rocks. The position and content of inscriptions on the two cap stands are the same: in the blank space of the upper part of the cap stands writes a verse composed by the painter himself: “The old man has no other interests, only interest in appreciating flowers.” Maybe the old man here refers to the artist himself. Overall, the painting and the poem share the same theme - appreciating flowers. poetry painting ceramic dishes

As Cong vases and four-sided vases, when the porcelain has four sides or more, painting and calligraphy are usually separated and located on different sides. In the case of the pair of square cap stands painted with birds, figures, and poetry (fig.2.1.16) by Cheng Huanwen, the calligraphy here is not a subordinate of painting but an independent decoration, as important as painting. Painted decoration of these two cap stands is asymmetrical, different in the content of painting and inscriptions. One is painted with birds while the other one is with figures. These poetries are great works left by the predecessors, one by Song's poet Shi Dazu (1163-1220?), one by Song's literati Wang Anshi (1021-1086), and two by Qing's literati Zheng Banqiao (1693-1769). In these poems poets mainly expressed their worry about their country. Therefore, the paintings have no relation to the poetry, they act just as separate decorative elements.

The six-sided cap stand with openwork design and painted with bird and peonies (fig.2.1.17) by Qi Ming shows the combination of bird-and-flower painting and poetry. Half for painting and half for calligraphy. Sparrow and peony are common motives in bird-and-flower painting. The artist used a traditional Chinese painting skill called Mogu (–vЌњ), which means “Painting without an outline but rather with forms achieved by washes of ink and color”. The flower branches are full of red peonies, some are large blossoms some are small buds. They are so dazzling that their charm makes everything eclipse. The poetry is composed by Pi Rixiu (circa 838-883), a literati of late Tang period, and dedicated to peony. The meaning of this poem is “When the other flowers are dying quietly, her gorgeous flowers are just blooming, people call her the king of flowers. Even if all the flowers in the world are compared with her, no one is more attractive than her. She is the most beautiful flower in the world.” This is an outstanding cap stand with peony-themed painting and poem.

A cap stands with openwork design and painted with a hermit worshiping stone (fig.2.1.18) by Wang Shaowei is another six-sided cap stand. This is an example of the perfect combination of painting decoration and the form of the porcelain. The artist Wang Shaowei painted a scene in which a hermit is worshiping a rock, the rock, the hermit with his child servant, the trees and spring are connected but distributed on three sides. In this way, each side is an independent painting. It is worth noting that there is an openwork decoration at the bottom of the rock, which looks just like a hole in it. This coincidence can be thought of as an ingenious design. What is more, the artist's strong and determined way of using the brush vividly conveys the texture of the stone and its oddity. The inscription is about when and where the work was made and the signature of the artist. Actually, this cap stand depicts a classic story of a famous literati named Mi Fu (•Д?, 1051-1107), a painter, poet, and calligrapher of Song dynasty. He was obsessed with rocks, especially those with oddity. This is a famous theme of artistic creation, reflecting the noble spirit pursuit of literati. According to records, this cap stand was originally collected in the home of the Protector of the prince in the late Qing dynasty, Liang Jiyong, Zhongguoqianjiangcaici [’†Ќ‘ђуз­ІКґЙ] (Chinese Qianjiang Ware) -- Beijing: Wenwu Publishing House, 2000, 27 which shows that collecting Qianjiang ware was a fashion among upper state officials at that time. Similarly, the story of Tao Yuanming's (“©џ»–ѕ, 365-427) love for chrysanthemum also is a widely used theme.

4. Flowerpots.

Making flowerpots has a long history in China and boomed during Song to Qing dynasties with a wide variety of forms and types. In the late Qing period, flowerpots painted in Qianjiang colors won the popularity among literati, aristocrats, and officials. They were used for display in palaces, living rooms, scholars' studios, and bedrooms. Flowerpot forms include square, six-sided, rectangular, round and some special shapes.

The pot for narcissus painted with figures and elegant objects (fig.2.1.19) by Yan Xiaoyun is a rectangular pot. Two big sides for painting and two small sides for calligraphy. In the figure painting, an old man and a child sit on the ground in the shade of the trees. The old man puts his hands on the ground, slightly raised his chin and stares at the horizon, enjoying himself. The child holds a book and reads it. His braid at the top of his head turns upright, which makes the child looks more innocent and cuter. In the other painting with elegant objects, the author ingeniously arranged books, paintings, tripod and bonsais in a small area, the Chinese zither connects the bonsais together. Although the decoration varies in subject matters, they are in good composition, looks randomly but well-organized indeed. Calligraphy in two sides was divided as poetry and information (date and signature), the poetry quotes from the well-known Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion (Lantingji Xu АјН¤јЇРт) by Wang Xizhi (303-361), and reads in part: “When looking up, the universe is vast; When looking down, abundance fills the earth. Contentment greets the mind that wanders past.” This is one of the most popular literary work written on Qianjiang porcelain. The mood of the poetry matches that of the figure painting.

As for round flowerpots, usually painting on one side and calligraphy on the other as most vessels. The pair of flowerpots painted with a bird and peonies (fig.2.1.20) by Futai Shi is a good example. The Chinese characters comprising a verse, date, and signature are written in calligraphy in semi-cursive script. The verse can be translated as: “Flowers can show how passionate the spring is, birds can talk how happy people are.” Poem and painting depict each other, a vibrant and bright spring scene emerged right away.

5. Objects used in the scholar's studio

The objects used in a scholar's studio have a very close association with literati's life, including brush holders, water jars or jarlets, brush rests, seal-paste cases, palette cases, palettes and so forth. Large brush holders can be up to 20cm in diameter and small ones are less than 10cm. On most of the objects, painting and calligraphy are separated on two sides. These cute objects with high literary and artistic value were popular among literati.

Forms and types of brush holders are alike to those of cap stands, but brush holders are much smaller. Most of the brush holders are round or square. Brush holder painted with a reading old man after the meaning of Du Mu's poem (fig.2.1.21) by Jiang Ziyu is another Qianjiang ware decorated with Du Mu's poem Mountain Trip. While compared with the four-sided vase painted with a red-leaved tree and autumn mountain (fig.2.1.12), painting on which emphasizes on the autumn view, the illustration to the same poem on this brush holder is a figure painting. Artist depicted an old man in yellow and white sitting beneath the tree with wine pot and cup next to him and a book in hand. He looks pleasant and relaxed. Like most of the four-sided wares, painting and calligraphy are distributed on different sides alternately. One side is the figure painting, the side next to it is the poem, the other two sides are a bird-and-flower painting and inscription respectively.

Cheng Men rarely painted on porcelain with figure painting and bird-and-flower painting. His works are mostly with landscape painting. A brush holder painted with figures and a bird (fig.2.1.22) is a rare one. In the figure painting, there are two elegant cultivated old men sitting under the tree on the grassland by a river and chatting with each other. In the other painting, a bird is standing on a rock and staring forward. The color of the painting is as light and soft as it of his landscape painting. On the other two sides are verses from Lantingji Xu by Wang Xizhi, which has been mentioned above. Written on one side is “It is the ninth year of Emperor Mu of the Jin Dynasty's reign, in the year of the Yin Water Ox, at the beginning of the third month (after April 20, 353 AD). We are all gathered at the Orchid Pavilion in Shanyin County, Guiji Commandery, for the Spring Purification Festival.”, poetry on the other side reads “Today the sky is bright; the air is nice. A gentle breeze blows freely like our mirth. When looking up, the universe is vast.” Worth mentioning that Chen Men not just simply wrote these characters on the porcelain, he copied Wang Xizhi's manuscript, which made his inscription looks like the original work on paper of Wang. Therefore, this is a rare masterpiece, on which the poetry, calligraphy, and painting are all at a high level and integrated together.

The pair of water jarlets painted with a beauty in autumn (fig.2.1.23) by Luo Yanggu are small cubes with a big round opening. Again, two sides for painting and two sides for calligraphy, for its small size, there is no space left for signature on the sides written with poems. The signature and seal were painted in paintings. The artist painted two leisurely ladies outdoors, one in purple leans on the rock under the tree the other one in blue stands by the lake under the tree with a fan in hand. The inscription on the left jarlet is a verse of a poem by Qing's poet named Zhang Ketao (1764-1814), dedicated to plum blossom, it seems to be talking about plum, actually expresses poet's individual pursuit, his meaning is “Although nobody recognizes my capability, I will still maintain my high noble spirit, never compromise and flatter others.” The inscription on the right jarlet is the first sentence from a famous work titled A Eulogy in Praise of My Humble home by Tang's leading literati Liu Yuxi (772-842). Translated into English it is “A mountain needn't be high; It is famous so long as there is a deity on it. A lake needn't be deep; It has supernatural power so long as there is a dragon in it.” (translated by Luo Jingguo) The next sentence in the original work is “My home is humble, but it enjoys the fame of virtue so long as I am living in it.” Hence, since the verse is written on the first jarlet also emphasizes on individual character and virtue like the other inscription, they share the same values that are respected by literati. These poems are rather suitable for decorating objects used in a scholar's studio. The painting with ladies has no connection to the poetry, they are separate decorative elements.

The palette case painted with bird and flowers in spring (fig.2.1.24) by Zhu Shaoquan is a beautifully refined work produced by official kiln, painted with two bright and colorful bird-and-flower paintings, one is on the outer surface of the palette and one is on the cover. Due to the constraints of the area for painting, in the painting of the flat palette, the bird stands in line with the blossom, unlike most of the bird-and-flower painting with flexible composition. In contrast, the painting on the cover is much more stretched rather than squeezed in a small part. A plant with a high blossoming branch grows next to a large stone, a sparrow stops on the branch. The stone, a large flower, some leaves, and the sparrow cover the lower part of the cover, the branch stretches up to the upper left part and blossoms at the top. The upper right part is left for inscription. One of the most well-known poems of the famous Tang poet Meng Haoran (689-740) is a small poem about spring - Spring Dawn (In Spring one sleeps, unaware of dawn; everywhere one hears crowing birds. In the night came the sound of wind and rain; who knows how many flowers fell?). Here due to the limited blank artist only used the last verse - Who knows how many flowers fell - in the inscription to match the theme of spring. Bright red, yellow, pink and green makes the palette full of vitality.

6. Pots, covered jars and cases.

In the late Qing period, Qianjiang ware was widely used in the daily life of common people, it met the demands and taste of not only officials but also the broad mass. Tableware emphasizes both functions and decorations.

The covered jar painted with a bird and flowers in spring (fig.2.1.25) has an entire poem Spring Dawn on it. This poem is also written on the previous palette. The jar is relatively big ware so the area for painting and calligraphy is enough to a regular poem. Unlike the vibrant, bright and rich color of the palette, the color of flowers on this jar is quieter, basic colors are green, light yellow and light purple instead of warm colors, which makes this jar looks more elegant.

There is more than one jar painted by Zhou Xiaosong is decorated with the verse “My home is in the reading sound” (fig.2.1.26, 2.1.27). With the same theme “reading” the paintings on the two jars have a lot in common. In the painting of the first jar, a cultural man in white with a white hat is reading a book under the tree, leaning on a rock. On the right, a kid is after him and the rock. On the left, a lady is carrying something and walking to the man. In the painting of the second jar are an old man and two kids. The old man is also reading, leaning on a rock under the tree with a child behind on the left of the painting. The other kid is reading on the right. Composition and narrative content of these two paintings are almost the same. But the first one is more meticulous, the second one is rougher. According to the inscription, the first one Zhou imitated the style of Ming's great painter Qiu Ying, who was specialized in the gongbi brush technique.

The winter-melon jar painted with the two Qiaos (fig.2.1.28) is another work by Zhou Xiaosong. The poem on the other side is about the Battle of Chibi (AD 208) at the end of the Han dynasty, composed by Du Mu. The first two verses describe the war and the content of the last two verses is “if the outcome of the battle changes, then the fate of the two Qiaos would also be changed”. Many poems and paintings are about the two Qiaos because of their beauty and unusual fate, which associated with the legendary late Han period. They are the most attractive female characters in this story, which is mainly about a lot of men, wars, and politics. Therefore, they became popular prototypes for literary and artistic creation. In figure paintings, ladies are usually painted as typical beautiful young ladies without complicated strong emotions.

Cylindrical covered jar painted with water birds and flowers (fig.2.1.29) by Chisong Shanren has two paintings on it. Its body is painted with yellow water birds and bright pink flowers and the cover is with another bird-and-flower painting. The inscription on this jar is in a special arrangement. Unlike most of the inscriptions, of which poetry is written in rows together with signatures, here the verse is in two lines, although the reading order is the same - from up to down from right to the left. The verse is from a Song's poem by Weng Sen about reading, which means “Fallen petals floating on the water can inspire me to begin writing.” Although the whole song is about the joy of reading in spring while the painting has nothing to do with reading, it can match this verse well, for they both have water and flowers. The theme of this painting and poem here is not reading anymore but a description and admiration for spring scenery.

The decoration on the food warmer painted with a relaxed old man (fig.2.1.30), like the previous jar, both the cover and the body have a painting. The content of these two paintings is the same - an old man in yellow leaning on gray rocks under a green tree admiring red flying birds in the sky. As most of the Qianjiang wares, the painting and inscription are separated on two sides. The verses here are also arranged in two horizontal lines rather than long vertical rows, but the reason here is because of the short body, this kind of wide arrangement is more suitable. Here the painter used the first verses of a Tang dynasty poem by Wang Wei (701-761). It reads, “I only like to be quiet when I am in my old age, I am indifferent to anything.” The background of this poem is the poet Wang Wei was completely disappointed with the political affairs and very depressed, so he chose to seclusion to enjoy himself. These two figure paintings well illustrate the mood of the poet.

7. Dishes, plates, and basins.

The forms of dishes, plates, and basins in the late Qing period follow the heritage of their Ming and Qing predecessors. The exquisite Qianjiang plates and basins gradually evolved into objects for display instead of daily use. Dishes and plates have a similar situation with plaques for their flat forms.

Plate painted with the theme of "come for chrysanthemums on the Festival of Double Ninth" (fig.2.1.31) by Yinpu is a rounded-rectangular plate painted with an old man in yellow and a child in orange sitting under a pine tree with a basket of chrysanthemums. From the picture, we can see some spots are not clear anymore and the plate looks a bit dirty. This is because the main shortcoming of Qianjiang color glaze - it will fade and be worn off easily if it lacks good preservation. The pine, old man and chrysanthemums in Chinese culture represent longevity. The poem in the top left-hand corner is Visiting a Friend's Farmhouse by Tang dynasty poet Meng Haoran, here are the last two verses of the poem: “We await the arrival of Double Ninth Festival, to return here and admire chrysanthemums.” Influenced by the remarkable literati Tao Yuanming, who is obsessed with chrysanthemum, this kind of flower became a symbol of noble spirit, a yearning to stay away from the officialdom and get close to nature. The poet Meng Haoran in his poem expressed his love for rural life. In this case, the painting together with the poetry depicts a leisurely life scene, which is pursued by literati.

As for irregular forms, the composition of painting and inscriptions is more flexible, but basic principles remain. For example, leaf-shaped plate painted with landscape (fig.2.1.32) by Zhou Dahe has a flat bottom with leaf-shaped rim. Painting was positioned in the middle and lower parts of the leaf-shaped plate, where is relatively wider, and the leaf tip is for inscriptions. in the front plan is a hillside with trees by a river, further, alongside the riverbank are some farmhouses, behind the houses is a huge mountain with many green trees, and a lot of mountains in the distance. The highest mountain top is mainly at the right side of the plate, so to be exact, the inscriptions are on the top right-hand side of the painting. besides, when we look at the plate, we can notice that the trend of trees, riverbanks, and mountains are ingeniously painted according to the arrangements of the veins in a leaf. Thereby, although the shape is rather irregular, the painting is still in the amazing balance. The color of this painting is quite simple - mountains and roofs are gray, trees are different greens, house and river water is the blank white. The use of cool colors makes the painting looks quiet, silent and peaceful. The meaning of the verses is: “After spring mountains become particularly green, there is nothing on the river, only water flows by itself”, depicts a quite natural scene without disturbance. The conception is the same as the painting.

Stem dish is a shallow dish with high ring foot. The painted decoration of Stem dish painted with a crane and pine tree (fig.2.1.33) by Jiang Xichen includes three parts departed by the forms - decoration on the inner side of the plate, on its outer surface and on the surface of ring foot. In this case, the dish is like a rounded square shape, on its internal side is a bird-and-flower painting - a crane stops on the branch of a pine tree, two auspicious motifs representing longevity and health. The painting is a triangular structure that occupies more than one-half of the plate. The top left-hand corner was left for inscriptions with an auspicious saying. If translated directly then it will be “pine crane long long age”, which means a wish for people to have a long-spanning life. On the outer surface of the dish are four small simple decorative designs like a cluster of bamboo leaves rather than a whole painting. The ring foot was decorated by big characters in the red bronze script in a circle.

Basin painted with landscape after Zhao Danian's style (fig.2.1.34) by Wang Shaowei is a large-sized basin with rich pattern decorations and a landscape painting. Basin with a wide rim was a typical form for the late Qing period. Decoration of this basin can be divided into four parts - decoration in the inner bottom, decoration of the inside wall, decoration on the outer surface of the basin, and on the rim. The round bottom is a landscape painting in delicate brush with inscription in the upper left corner. Pin trees, bamboo leaves and plum branches with blossoms are painted on the inner wall. These two parts are in traditional Chinese ink painting style. The wide rim is decorated with twenty small flower patterns and the exterior wall is painted with large flower designs. Different from most of Qianjiang wares, this basin is with complicated decorative elements.

In fact, the decoration of most of the basins is much simpler than the previous one. Complicated patterns and small designs are rarely seen on Qianjiang porcelains. Basin painted with a paradise flycatcher and pine tree (fig.2.1.35) is a basin in regular size with more common decoration method. It is painted with a paradise flycatcher and pine tree inside the basin and inscription on its wide rim. The inner bottom and the inner wall of a basin are usually considered as one scope of the painting area. As mentioned before, paradise-flycatcher, as well as pine tree, symbolize longevity. In this basin there is a red Chinese paradise-flycatcher, painted in the center of the bottom, stands on a pine tree branch, which stretches from left to right in the middle of the bottom. On the rim, inscription replaces the patterns on the previous large basin and is written clockwise. This is a creative arrangement of the inscription on basins that had been seen nowhere else. As is known, the seal is at the end of the inscription, so the first character after the seal is the start of the inscription. Poetry at first then the date and other information. The meaning of the verse here is “green pine tree with age (homophonic of paradise-flycatcher in Chinese) is immortal”(ІФЛЙУРґдјґПЙИЛ). The outer surface of the basin is pure white without any decoration.

Lobed basin painted with a smiling lady and a child (fig.2.1.36) by Liu Tang is a round basin with an octagonal opening and a wide rim. Like the previous one, painting is on the inside of the basin and inscription is on the rim. The main difference between this basin and the previous on in words decoration is that in this case there are two inscriptions. Poetry and signature are departed, poetry is written on the rim while signature and date are in the painting. On the inside of this basin painted a woman in Qing's apparel sitting on the grass, playing with a child, the little child stands on her hand, one foot on one hand. The inscription on the rim comprises two poems, one is about a lonely woman, the other one is about cherishing youth and time. There is no obvious direct connection between the poems and the painting, but they are also not completely irrelevant.

8. Teapots, bowls, cups, and others

In the late Qing period, daily used wares, such as bowls, teapots, and cups were fired in large quantity by folk kilns. More and more daily used porcelain wares were painted in Qianjiang colors from Tongzhi Reign on, which normally carry painting on one side and calligraphy on the other. Such wares were commonly seen in the houses of officials, merchants, and literati.

The pair of bowls painted with landscape by Ziqing Shi (fig.2.1.37) are typical works that conform to the taste of literati, with both decorative value and practical value. The paintings on the bowl are almost the same with slight differences. A curved river flows through green mountains and a viewing pavilion stands on the riverside among trees. At the back of the bowl is inscription. The left one writes “Boats coming and going with paddle sounds”, the right one is with verses from Tang's poem by Wang Wan (693 - 751): “A passenger is passing by the green hills and moving forward by boat on the water.” This is a typical pair of bowls conforming to the taste of literati, with both decorative value and practical value.

Teapots usually fall into two types - ewer and pot with a loop handle. According to the catalogs, documented existing teapots of late Qing period are mostly loop handle pots, Qianjiang pots with ceramic handles are usually attributed to the Republic of China.

Pot with a loop handle usually has a short cylindrical body and a short neck and a flat cover. Loop-handled teapot painted with landscape and figures (fig.2.1.38) by Liang Kentang is work with high aesthetic value. Although its spout and cover have been damaged, the body is well preserved. The inscription here quotes from Lantingji Xu again: “Today the sky is bright; the air is nice. A gentle breeze blows freely like our mirth. When looking up, the universe is vast.” Compared with paintings on Pot for narcissus painted with figures and elegant objects (fig.2.1.19) and Brush holder painted with figures and a bird (fig.2.1.22), which are decorated with the same quote, figures, in this case, are much smaller and less obvious. It is a landscape painting with figures rather than a figure painting. An old man in light gray and a kid in orange sit cross-legged under the trees, next to a bamboo fence, on the vast hillside. The light-pink blossoms and the light-green grassland create the atmosphere of fresh spring. The painting nicely conveys the feeling of the poetry, everyone in this atmosphere will feel free, relaxed, happy and comfortable, feel the nature the world is so adorable, so abundant. The calligraphy is also with high skill. Thus, although this teapot is incomplete, it still with high artistic value.

Through analyzing 38 Qianjiang wares a basic conception of painted decoration on Qianjiang porcelain has formed. But to have a more clear and comprehensive understanding of the application of poetry on Qianjiang ware, further analysis is needed.

2.3 The application of poetry in the decoration of Qianjiang ware

The application of poetry in the decoration of Qianjiang ware refers to every aspect, from calligraphy to composition, from the content of poetry to the connection between poetry and painting. In this section, these aspects will be discussed in detail, mainly based on the examples in the last section.

First, about the position of the inscription on a Qianjiang porcelain. From the last section, we find that the position of the inscription is related to the form of ware for practical and aesthetic considerations. The form of plaque is the most similar one to paper so the combination of poetry and painting on the plaque is the same as that on paper and silk. For plates, dishes and basins main painted decorations are on the inner surface, and basins, specifically, have inscriptions on their wide rim. For wares such as vases, jars, pots, bowls, cases, cap stands, and brush holders, which people generally only admire their outer surface, inscriptions are usually written mainly on their bodies, sometimes also on covers (i.e. fig.2.1.24) and necks (i.e. fig.2.1.14). The most important factor is that the area should be big enough to be written on and obvious enough to be seen.

Secondly, about characteristics of the inscription on a Qianjiang porcelain work. In order to answer the questions that what kind of information is usually included in inscriptions on Qianjiang wares, which script style is usually used in writing, what's the general length of inscribed poems and how they are arranged, table 1 is formed. By recording the information of the 38 Qianjiang ware, which has been introduced, some conclusions might be drawn.

Table 1

	Ware	Inscription	Script style	Number of characters (poetry)	Poetry format
Fig.2.1.1	Plaque	Poem, date, for whom, signature	Semi-cursive	28	2-4 characters in a row
Fig.2.1.2	Vase	The poem, date, after whose style, signature	Semi-cursive	8	2 characters in a row
Fig.2.1.3	Cap stand	For whom, signature; after whose style, date, place	Semi-cursive	No poetry	/
Fig.2.1.4	Vase	Poem, date, place, signature	Semi-cursive	28	5-6 characters in a row
Fig.2.1.5	Plaque	Background story, date, signature	Semi-cursive	56 (not poetry)	8-10 characters in a row
Fig.2.1.6	Plaque	Poem, date, signature, place	Semi-cursive	50+91 (two poems)	8-10 & 2-5 characters in a row
Fig.2.1.7	Plaque	Word, date, place, for whom, from who	Clerical (word) regular (inscription)	4 (one word)	Horizontal
Fig.2.1.8	Plaque	Poem, date, signature	regular	10	2-3 characters in a row
Fig.2.1.9	Plaque	Poem, signature	regular	14	4-5 characters in a row
Fig.2.1.10	Vase	Poem, signature	regular	28	No format
Fig.2.1.11	Vase	Poem, signature; Words, signature (other three sides)	Semi-cursive	24; 4; 4; 8	4 characters in a row
Fig.2.1.12	Vase	Poem, after whose style, signature	Semi-cursive	28	3-4 characters in a row
Fig.2.1.13	Vase	Poem; poem, date; poem, signature; poem, place	Semi-cursive	14;8;14;8	7-8 characters in a row
Fig.2.1.14	Vase	Poem, date, place, signature	Semi-cursive	14;28;10	3-5; characters in a row
Fig.2.1.15	Cap stand	Poem, date, place, signature	Semi-cursive	10	3-4 characters in a row
Fig.2.1.16	Cap stand	Poem, signature; poem, signature; poem, signature, date; poem, signature, date, place	Semi-cursive	About a hundred on each side	5 rows
Fig.2.1.17	Cap stand	Poem, date, place, signature	Semi-cursive	28	5-6 characters in a row
Fig.2.1.18	Cap stand	Date, place, signature	Semi-cursive	No poetry	/
Fig.2.1.19	Flowerpot	Poem, date, place, signature	Semi-cursive	18	3-4 characters in a row
Fig.2.1.20	Flowerpot	Poem, date. Signature	Semi-cursive	14	3-4 characters in a row
Fig.2.1.21	Brush holder	Poem; date, after whose style, place, signature	Semi-cursive	28	6-8 characters in a row
Fig.2.1.22	Brush holder	Poem, place, signature; Poem, date, signature	Semi-cursive	18; 26	6-8 characters in a row
Fig.2.1.23	Water jarlet	Poem, date, signature; Poem	Semi-cursive	10; 16	2-3 characters in a row; 4 characters in a row
Fig.2.1.24	Palette case	Poem, date. signature, after whose style	Semi-cursive	5	2 characters in a row
Fig.2.1.25	Jar	Poem, date, signature	Semi-cursive	16	4 characters in a row
Fig.2.1.26	Jar	Poem, after whose style, date, signature	Semi-cursive	14	7 characters in a row
Fig.2.1.27	Jar	Poem, date, place. Signature	Semi-cursive	7	3 characters in a row
Fig.2.1.28	Jar	Poem, date, place. Signature	Semi-cursive	28	7 characters in a row
Fig.2.1.29	Jar	Poem, date, place. signature;	clerical	7	2 characters in a row
Fig.2.1.30	Food warmer	Poem, date, signature	Semi-cursive	10	2 characters in a row
Fig.2.1.31	Plate	Poem, signature	Semi-cursive	10	4 characters in a row
Fig.2.1.32	plate	Poem, date, signature	Semi-cursive	10	2 characters in a row
Fig.2.1.33	Stem dish	Poem, date, signature	Semi-cursive	5	2-5 characters in a row
Fig.2.1.34	basin	Date, after whose style, signature, place	Semi-cursive	No poetry	/
Fig.2.1.35	basin	Poem, date, signature, after whose style, for whom, from who	Semi-cursive	7	In a circle
Fig.2.1.36	basin	Poem, date; Date, signature	Semi-cursive	49	In a circle
Fig.2.1.37	bowls	Poem, date, place, signature; Poem, date, signature	Semi-cursive	10; 7	2-3 characters in a row
Fig.2.1.38	teapot	Poem, after whose style, signature	Semi-cursive	17	3-4 characters in a row

With the help of table 1 and illustrations, the following information can be known by observation:

1. Poetry is not a necessary element in the decoration of every Qianjiang ware. Some porcelains are without poetries, but the artist's name must be recorded to indicate whose work it is.

2. Semi-cursive is the most popular writing script of calligraphy on Qianjiang ware, but other scripts such as regular and clerical scripts are also can be seen. There is no rule and requirement on the style of calligraphy.

3. Generally, the length of inscribed poetry is short, usually less than one regular poem (20-28 characters) on one side.

4. Inscriptions are most commonly written in vertical columns and are read from top to bottom, and from right to left. As for how many characters in a row, there is no requirement for this. For basins inscriptions are written clockwe

In short, on a Qianjiang porcelain, to write or not to write an inscribed poem, to write how many words, in which script style, how to arrange its structure, there is no strict requirement.

The alternative of inscribing a poem on Qianjiang porcelain has two main reasons:

1. There is no pressure nor strict rules from the emperors. “Painted decoration of Qianjiang ware changed the situation of the imperial kiln that porcelain must be decorated after the indication of the imperial court. Porcelain painters were allowed to freely decorate the porcelain with his own design and creation, to exert his skills, to express his intentions.” Wang Tiezhu. Qianjiangcaidebianweiyushoucang [Зіз­ІКµД±жО±УлКХІШ](Identification and Collection of Qianjiang Ware)-. Beijing: Chinese Bookshop. 2011,13

2. Under the influence of literati painting, poem on porcelain is always in interrelationship with the porcelain object itself and with the painting on the porcelain. Thus, the application of the poem has to be alternative to suit the form of the object and the composition and style of the painting.

Therefore, it is worthwhile to analysis the relationship between poetry and painting on Qianjiang wares. As is said in chapter one, there are poetries composed according to paintings, and paintings created after poetries. In the context of porcelain decoration, there are poetries composed by the painter himself to match his painting, and poetries quoted from classic literary works and the painter took them as subject to perform his own artistic creation. Maybe some painters were not talented enough to compose his own poetry so he selected others poetries to match his painting. Besides, there are paintings and poetries derived from the same subject matters. From this aspect themes of poetries and paintings should be analyzed. What's more, as porcelain wares are mostly three-dimensional rather than flat, so besides the inner connection between poetry and painting, the connection between poetry and painting on porcelain also include their spatial relationship.

In order to see the connection between various factors of paintings and poetries on Qianjiang wares, table 2 is formed to record the information of the examples with inscribed poetry.

Table 2

	Ware	Source of inscribed poetry	The theme of inscribed poetry	Painting genre	Content relationship (v)	Spatial relationship
Fig.2.1.1	Plaque	Self-inscribed	Life in seclusion	Landscape	v	Together
Fig.2.1.2	Vase	Classic of Poetry	longevity ...

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