Bowl

1127

1279

4.8 cm

11.5 cm

HKU.C.1954.0087

The Jizhou kilns which were established in the 10th century and active until the late Yuan dynasty (1279 –1368) in Ji’an county were prominent for visionary designs and novel techniques. During production, paper–cut plum blossom and phoenix patterns were placed by potters on an original layer of black glaze of the bowls and painted the whole bowl with brown glaze inside. After the destruction of paper cuts during firing, the designs in black were left on the inside of the bowls. Phoenix, ‘Fenghuang’ in Chinese, is a mythological bird which symbolized the harmony of Yin and Yang and the beginning of a new era. According to the Classic of Mountains and Seas, manifold body parts of Fenghuang represent different unique meanings. The head represents virtue (德), back for propriety (禮), chest represents mercy (仁), and abdomen means credibility(信) and the wings mean duty (義). Fenghuang appeared before the death of the Yellow Emperor, who was a heavily praised and worshipped governor of China at around 27 century BCE due to his extraordinary achievements in civilization, social and political progress. Plum blossoms are one of the ‘Three Friends of Winter’ with pine and bamboo as they resemble perseverance and resilience in Confucianism due to withstanding of extreme coldness. Plum blossoms especially symbolize integrity and purity because they blossom most vividly in the frosting season. Therefore, they are the ones which represent winter among the ‘Flowers of the Four Seasons’. Furthermore, they are one of the ‘Four Gentlemen’ among flowers in Chinese literature. It is believed that the potters intentionally add plum blossoms patterns to set off the virtue of Fenghuang.