To return to the father’s letters:--In China this _hua-shi_ is five times as dear as kaolin. Four parts of it are mixed with one part of petuntse to make the paste. The porcelain made with this material is rare, and much more expensive than any other. Compared to ordinary porcelain, it is as vellum compared with paper; it is, besides, of a lightness that is quite surprising. It is, however, very fragile, and there are great difficulties connected with the firing. For this reason it is sometimes only applied as a coating to the surface of ordinary paste. The _hua-shi_ is also used to form an ivory-white slip, with which designs are delicately painted on the surface of the vessel. (We may probably identify this _hua-shi_ ware with the _sha t’ai_ or ‘soft paste,’ so called, of Western collectors.) What we are told by the Jesuit father about the revival of the manufacture of celadon is of great interest. ‘I was shown this year,’ he says, ‘for the first time, a new kind of porcelain which is now in fashion. It is of a colour approaching olive, and is called _Lung-chuan_.’ The colour of the glaze is given by the same yellow earth that is used for the _or bruni_ glaze, and it is often highly crackled. With this statement we may compare the account which he gives in another part of his second letter of the revival of the manufacture of archaic wares. ‘The Mandarin of King-te-chen, who honoured me with his friendship, made presents to his protectors at the court of pieces of old porcelain [_sic_] which he has the talent to make himself. I mean that he has found the art of imitating the ancient ware, or at least that of a considerable age, and he employs a number of workmen with this object. The material of these false antiques (Chinese _Ku-tung_) is a yellowish earth brought from the Ma-an mountains. They are very thick--a plate which the Mandarin gave me was ten times the usual weight. The peculiarity of this ware is the glaze made from a yellowish rock, which becomes sea-green on firing.’ This change of colour, of course, was the result of a reducing flame, but note the keen observation of the [Illustration: _PLATE XIV._ JAPANESE, IMARI WARE, BLUE AND WHITE WITH GOLD]