TEA INDUSTRY

CHINA'S great tea industry dates back a thousand years to the T'ang Dynasty (about the beginning of the ninth century) when "learned men and poets" first introduced tea as a beverage. Since then it has become the favourite liquid refreshment of the countless millions of the Far East and possesses ceremonial significance as its service to a guest is regarded as a token of respect and hospitality.

Tea in China is cultivated principally in the eight provinces of Kiangsu, Chekiang, Anhwei, Fukien, Kiangsi, Hunan, Hupeh and Yunnan. High grade tea is produced in mountainous regions and a moist atmosphere is desirable.

Tea is classified into three groups, Black, Green, and Flower (Or Scented Tea). Orange Pekoe, Oolong and Suchong are among the Black Teas. There are more varieties of green tea, and among these, consumed by most Chinese, are Hangchow Green Tea (Flat Hyson), Yellow Mountain Tea, etc. These are high grade green teas and are uncolored. Green teas are sometimes printed and dyed.

Due to its fragrance and delightful taste, the consumption of Flower Tea increases yearly. The method of curing is to bake green or black tea with fresh flowers. Jasmine, Rose, Lemon, and Chloranthus are all high grade flower teas.

Owing to its natural fertilization and favourable climatic conditions the quality of Chinese tea is superior. The fragrance of black tea, the delightful taste of green tea, and delicious flavor of flower tea are beyond comparison.

Many visitors to' Shanghai take advantage of the opportunity to purchase a specially packed chest of tea to take home. Excellent service of this nature is given by the Wang Yue Tai Tea Co.

SILK

One of the most important industries of China is the growing and weaving of silk. About two-thirds of the silk produced in China is consumed within the country, the balance being exported.

Chinese history credits the invention of silk to Yuen Fei, the concubine of an Emperor who ruled in 2,600 B.C. She, by reason of the discovery, has been deified and is worshipped as the goddess of silk worms. For many centuries after Yuen Fei the secret of silk was jealously guarded by the Chinese.

The chief food of the silk worms is the leaf of the mulberry tree, which is cultivated carefully in China. The trees live about 50 years. The cultivated trees are about six feet tall while the wild mulberry is about 40 feet high. The finest silk is produced from worms fed on leaves of the smaller, domestic tree while the coarser silks, including pongee, are produced from worms which feed on oak leaves. When there are plenty of mulberry leaves the eggs of the worms are hatched artificially, either in incubator trays or, more commonly, by the peasants themselves who carry the eggs next to their bodies to keep them warm or put them between blankets beneath their beds.

One ounce of eggs produces about 20,000 worms, and these worms during their lifetime consume a ton of mulberry leaves. They increase their weight 10,000 times from the day they are hatched to the time when they begin to spin their cocoons. They are carefully tended. The peasants believe that noise is very harmful for the worms and are careful not to startle them. Should visitors go to a plantation they should not be surprised if the caretaker goes ahead of them to inform the worms, so that they will not be frightened. From the time they are hatched the worms are fed with plenty of leaves. At maturity they are about two inches long.

Cocoons are spun from the tops of loose stalks of straw and two or three days only are needed to complete the spinning. Then the cocoons are gathered and the chrysalis killed by heating and drying the cocoons or by packing them with leaves and salt in a jar which is buried in the ground. Were this not done the moth would break through the sheath. In spite of the prevalence of modern machinery and methods, a great quantity of beautiful silk is still produced by the old-fashioned hand reels and looms. The cycle of the ordinary silk worm extends over the year, but some produce two to seven crops annually

PORCELAIN

Undoubtedly the most beautiful and valuable porcelain in the world has been made in China. During the Chou dynasty (1122 to 249 B.C.) the potter's wheel became known and is told of in books of that period, describing the differences of pottery moulded by hand and that made on the wheel. Glaze was discovered during the earlier Han dynasty (206 B.C. to A.D. 25). At that time the glaze was of a dark green colour and so hard that it could not be scratched with a knife.

The industry began to flourish during the rang dynasty in the seventh century, when it was established under royal patronage and an Imperial factory was established. The porcelain of that era has been described in annals of the time as "blue as the sky, fragile as paper, bright as a mirror, and sonorous as a plaque of jade stone."

The effect known as "crackle" was discovered in the eighth century by accident and developed to a high state of perfection by the Chinese. The porcelain, while being fired, is exposed to a sudden drop of temperature, which causes the glaze to contract more rapidly than the body and break into crackles. The Chinese potters have perfected the process to such an extent that they can now produce any size of crackle desired.

Ming Porcelain.-It was probably during the Ming dynasty (1368 to 1644 A.D.) that the most glorious porcelain was produced, for at about this time the Chinese came into contact with Persian coloured wares and began imitating them, hence the gorgeous cobalt blue and copper tones, the only Persian paints able to stand up under the fierce heat of Chinese kilns. Green porcelain, imitation of jade, was also achieved during this time. Another ware of this period was the eggshell porcelain, upon which the delicate and elaborate designs were engraved before firing. Flower designs came in, and the famous "blue and white" sets which are still the favourite among the Chinese.

"Hawthorne" ginger jars belong to the Manchu dynasty (1644 to 1723 A.D.). During the preceding dynasty the Imperial pottery works had often been destroyed during rebellions but they were erected again under the Manchus. The Ch'en Lung reign (1736 to 1796) was distinguished by the highest technical skill and perfection of details and finesse in porcelain. The beautiful "famille rose" reached its highest stage of development and the pink, ruby and rose eggshell plates and dessert services which are so popular were produced during this period.

The modern period of porcelain-making has been distinguished by no remarkable developments. Potters have been imitating Wedgewood and Sevres and making pottery in semi-European style. Only experts are able to determine porcelain by periods as there is much excellent copying done by the modern potters, even the dates and seals being copied to perfection.

Cloisonne.-Peiping is the centre of manufacture of this beautiful ware. In its manufacture the design is outlined on a copper base with thin flat wires, usually of copper but sometimes of gold or silver. The wires are soldered on and the cells filled with coloured enamel paste. The piece is fired, the cells again filled, fired again, filled again, and so on until finished. Then a pumice stone is used to grind the enamel to a smooth surface, after which the article is polished.

In the factories at Peiping any design will be copied that is desired and the process may be watched by visitors.

LACQUER

The sap of the lac tree of China is responsible for some of the most beautiful and fascinating wares of the Orient. Centuries ago the Chinese began making pieces of lacquer which have never been excelled any place in the world and to-day the modern but very beautiful red, gold, and black lacquer boxes, trays, coffee sets, finger bowls, etc., which are made in Foochow, are always in demand and may be had at absurdly cheap prices. Much imitation lacquer is also on display in Shanghai.

Authentic lacquer work is made of carefully polished wood covered with layers of silk. Over this a coating of lac, sap drawn from the tree, is spread and covered with a mixture of emery powder, red sandstone and vermillion (or other colours).

After drying the process is repeated about eighteen times. If the piece is to be figured the designs are drawn on heavy paper, marked with pin pricks, transferred to the article by powdered chalk and drawn with a needle. The process is tedious and requires much time. Inferior lacquer is usually the result of insufficient time. The work must be done in dustproof rooms and a certain amount of bravery is connected with every piece inasmuch as the raw lac is extremely irritating to the skin and produces innumerable small boils.

Jade, so far as the Chinese are concerned, is the most precious of stones, and any jewellery characteristic of China will, necessarily, contain jade. Some of it, of a clear, apple green colour, is as expensive as diamonds of the same weight. Most foreign buyers, however, are satisfied with other shades at more moderate prices. Many artificial stones from Siberia and Germany are sold as genuine jade while other ornaments offered as jade are nothing but soapstone of a greenish white colour. This, however, may be easily detected by scratching the article with a knife. If it is real jade it will not scratch and if it is not real jade the dealer will protest vigorously against having it scratched.

Lovely filagree work in gold and silver is produced by Chinese jewellers, and only in China can the beautiful kingfisher feather work jewellery be made.

So many imitations of precious gems are made and sold in China that it is extremely difficult to know what is genuine and what is not.

BRONZE

The oldest form of art in China is bronze work, dating back at least 3,000 years. Important collections existing today contain specimens of the Shang and Chou dynasties (1766 to 249 B.C.). These specimens display savage designs in striking contrast to the refined delicacy of other manifestations of Chinese art. Animals, either real or fabulous, were used as decorations.

Genuine early pieces are covered with red, green and brown earthenware, but artificial coloured earthen-ware is often put on with wax and pass as curios. This deception may be discovered by scraping the bronze with a knife, or by dipping it in boiling water. The genuine earthenware is almost as hard as the bronze itself.

The highest development of bronze work was reached about 500 B.C. The bronze then way magnificently decorated with gold and silver. Early crudities of design and workmanship disappeared and a refinement of form became apparent. The art of bronze work suffered a decline in the Tang dynasty, but was revived in the Sung and Ming dynasties.

PAINTING

Chinese painting more or less nas gone hand in hand with the development and decline of porcelain making. It is el tirely different from any European standards and needs an adapted point of view for any appreciation whatsoever. Technical details, as in Chinese drama, have little or nothing to do with art, and the more bizarre and fantastic the imagination displayed in dealing with any subject the more truly artistic it is considered.

The very new artists have gone in for modernism in a big way but achieve their effects mainly through imitation of Occidental twentieth century schools.

Early artists spurned realism and confined them-selves mainly to lyrical and highly imaginative land-scapes and symbolic figures of Chinese religion and history. Perspective in early Chinese art is conspicuous by its absence. In the Chinese mind space and distance cannot possibly exist on the flat surface of a piece of paper or silk.

Some of the old Chinese paintings are very valuable, the value usually not being determined by quality but by association. The old custom of in-scribing poems and ,epigrams on the margins of pictures has left a remarkable collection of paintings with comments or verse by numerous famous men throughout the centuries. The result is of far more historical importance and interest than artistic.

All Chinese paintings are on silk or paper scrolls, which are rolled up and unfolded when hung. Many of the older paintings have been stored away in rolls for hundreds of years, in dark cabinets, hence the illusion of fresh colouring which so often prevails in an old Chinese painting.

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The Chinese credit Ts'ai Lun, A.D. 105, with the invention of paper.