Vases were presented as prizes (Fig. 5) to the victors in the athletic games; and it is from these and other kinds deposited in sepulchres, that we derive the greater part of our knowledge of Greek ceramic art. Not only were they used--at least after the earliest days of Greece--to hold the ashes of the dead, but were evidently employed as tokens of respect or affection. Thus, the vases the deceased had most admired or used in life were placed in the tomb, along with others containing the remains of the funeral feast, and those employed in the last rites. The _amphora_ was devoted to all kinds of domestic uses. The _rhyton_ was a drinking-cup (Fig. 6). There were special vessels for oil and unguents; and the different kinds of wine-jars and drinking-cups present an almost endless variety of shapes, and, especially the latter, a most wonderful beauty of form. Of these, the _kylix_ affords a good example (Fig. 7). In this way we see that, from childhood to the grave, the customs of the Greeks are illustrated by their pottery. We pass by, in the mean time, with a mere reference the numberless mythic themes decipherable in the decoration of their vases. [Illustration: Fig. 5.--Greek Prize Vase.] We meet with a precisely similar state of things among the Chinese. We can only study the pottery of that people after familiarizing ourselves with their religion. How otherwise can we understand the quaint figures and designs which meet us at every turn--the God of Longevity, Pou-tai the God of Contentment, their manifold dragons, the Kylin, the Dog of Fo, or the Fong-hoang? Colors and shapes, as well as animals, are employed as symbols. As the crane symbolized long life, so were certain colors and forms distinctive of social rank. Let us take a vase and study it closely, observe its proportions and decoration, and these will guide us to its purpose and to the rank of the individual making use of it. Vases and images tell of both the public and private worship of the Chinese, and of the manner in which it was conducted. The excess to which the Chinese carry the duties of hospitality and courtesy has been frequently commented on. It would be hard to imagine anything showing better the refinements of which etiquette is capable, than their manner of decorating their reception-rooms, so that they may be filled with the mildest incense of flattery to the expected guest. Should he be a soldier, vases stand on all sides, decorated with the warlike scenes best suited to his professional taste. Should he be a poet, war is changed to literature, and vases are chosen which recall the great names of the profession. After a manner similar to that in vogue among the Greeks, pottery and porcelain were used by the Chinese as media for the conveyance of compliments and good wishes, and as special marks of honor. They were conferred on the officer by his sovereign, and passed between friends at the customary times of rejoicing.