CHINA
course, that the Ch'u-chou-fu potters had lost all their old ability. Doubtless they could still produce Lung-chuan-yao of the ordinary variety. But such tours de force as the delicate colours of the Chang brothers and of the Kuan-yao and Ju-yao, being to a great extent dependent upon individual expertness, had ceased to make their appearance in the market, and the connoisseurs of the Ming dynasty had learned to be so exacting that the comparatively heavy, impure monochromes of the Ch'u-chou factory no longer found favour in their eyes. It may be concluded that the ordinary class of céladons preserved in Japanese collections, as well as those to be found throughout the area of mediæval commerce described above, and finally the not infrequent specimens of inferior quality offered for sale in the markets of China to-day, date from a period prior to 1550.
It may, perhaps, seem to the reader that over much space is here devoted to the discussion of céladon alone. He must remember, however, that great misconceptions have hitherto been entertained by Western virtuosi as to the proclivities of Chinese amateurs in ancient times and the direction taken by the genius of early Chinese keramists. It is essential to clear away these errors if the student desires to form any just estimate of the progress of the keramic art. Alone among European authors, Mr. A. W. Franks, of the British Museum, with his wonted judgment, discerned something of the truth when he wrote in the preface to his well known Catalogue:—"Among the simple colours (of Chinese ware) the first place must be assigned to the bluish or sea-green tint, termed by the French céladon. It is probably of considerable antiquity, and it is remarkable that one of the earliest
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