Of another kind is the inscription found on certain egg-shell cups of the time of Wan-li (1572-1619). These cups, of which we have no specimens unfortunately in our collections, were made by a famous poet-potter who signs himself _Hu yin tao jen_, or ‘the Taoist hidden in a pot.’ The reference is to a Taoist recluse (what the Japanese know as a _Sennin_) who when disinclined for society was in the habit of retiring into his gourd-bottle. At the same time, as Dr. Hirth has pointed out, the words form an excellent motto for an artist--the true expression of whose genius we seek in his works.
There is a third class of marks which celebrate the beauty of the vessel on which they are inscribed or, more rarely, refer to the subject of the decoration. A large number of these are illustrated in Franks’s _Catalogue of Oriental Porcelain_. We will merely quote as examples ‘A gem among precious jewels of rare jade’ (PL. B. 16), and, with reference to the decoration, which in this case includes some red fishes, ‘Enjoying themselves in the waters’ (PL. B. 44). Such rather tame sentences do not teach us much. More suggestive is the inscription we find on a cylindrical vase for holding writing materials: ‘Scholarship lofty as the hills and the Great Bear’ (PL. B. 15)--a fit motto for the desk of the student.
The Emblems or Devices that so frequently occur in lieu of inscriptions on Chinese porcelain are well illustrated in the British Museum catalogue. They are, however, of little or no value in classifying or dating the pieces on which they are found--they can seldom be connected with any known manufacturer or artist. Such devices are generally symbolic, above all of long life, riches, and honours, the three things desired by a Chinaman, and I suppose that they are more or less vaguely expected to bring to the owner the good luck that they suggest.
Some of these devices remind us of the ‘canting’ charges and badges of our heraldry. Thus a bat (PL. B. 19 A.) is in Chinese called _fu_, but the same word also means happiness; so again a peach is _shu_, but _shu_ means also long life. The characters for happiness (PL. B. 23) and long life (PL. B. 19), we may mention, are of constant appearance, the first usually as a mark on the base, the second as an integral part of the decoration, on both Chinese and Japanese porcelain. Such interest, then, as can be found in these marks is derived rather from the light they throw upon the working of the Chinese mind than from any information they give us about the porcelain on which they are inscribed.