[257] The _Li t’a k’an k’ao ku ou pien_, a copy of which, published in 1877, is in the British Museum. This book does not inspire confidence, but I give the passage for what it is worth: “When the glaze (of the Chien yao) is white like jade, glossy and lustrous, rich and thick, with a reddish tinge, and the biscuit heavy, the ware is first quality ... Enamelled specimens (_wu ts’ai_) are second rate.” [258] In the Pierpont Morgan collection (vol. i., p. 78), a specimen with a blue mark is described as Fukien porcelain; but I should accept the description with the greatest reserve, white Ching-tê Chên ware being very often wrongly described in this way. [259] _O. C. A._, p. 294. [260] In the second volume of the Pierpont Morgan catalogue--which, unfortunately, had not the benefit of Dr. Bushell’s erudition--the late Mr. Laffan extended the term _lang yao_ so as to embrace the magnificent three-colour vases with black ground and their kindred masterpieces with green and yellow grounds. It is impossible to justify this extension of the term unless we assume that the pieces in question were all made between the years 1654–1661 and 1665–1668, while Lang T’ing-tso was viceroy of Kiangsi. [261] _O. C. A._, p. 302. [262] Quoted in the Franks _Catalogue_, p. 8. [263] _O. C. A._, p. 302 footnote. [264] See also Hippisley, _Catalogue_, p. 346, where another version is given which makes this Lang actually a Jesuit missionary, a version which Mr. Hippisley afterwards abandoned when research in the Jesuit records failed to discover any evidence for the statement. [265] See p. 11. [266] See p. 34. [267] Op. cit., Section ix. The paragraph in the first letter runs: “Il y en a d’entièrement rouges, et parmi celles-là, les unes sont d’un rouge à l’huile, _yeou li hum_; les autres sont d’un rouge soufflé, _tschoui hum_ (_ch’ui hung_), et sont semées de petits points à peu près comme nos mignatures. Quand ces deux sortes d’ouvrages réüssissent dans leur perfection, ce qui est assez difficile, ils sont infiniment estimez et extrêmement chers.” [268] There is a very beautiful glaze effect known as “ashes of roses,” which seems to be a partially fired-out _sang de bœuf_. It is a crackled glaze, translucent, and lightly tinged with a copper red which verges on maroon. [269] The Emperor K’ang Hsi was specially concerned to encourage industry and art, and in 1680 he established a number of factories at Peking for the manufacture of enamels, glass, lacquer, etc. Père d’Entrecolles mentions that he also attempted to set up the manufacture of porcelain in the capital, but though he ordered workmen and materials to be brought from Ching-tê Chên for the purpose, the enterprise failed, possibly, as d’Entrecolles hints, owing to intrigues of the vested interests elsewhere. [270] Bushell, op. cit., p. 3. [271] Bk. v., fol. 11.