Blue-and-white porcelain vase with the pattern of General Meng Tian

Unearthed in 1956 in Changde, Hunan, the vase is held at Hunan Museum. It’s among the best of blue-and-white porcelain from the Yuan Dynasty.

The vase has a bell-shaped mouth, a long slender neck, a round swelling body and a ringed foot, with blue and white designs. The belly is painted with General Meng Tian, as indicted by the Chinese characters on the banner held by a subordinate standing behind him. Meng Tian was a military commander in the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC), who was also known as the inventor of the Chinese brush. In front of Meng Tian are another two subordinates. One is holding a kneeling captive while the other seems to be making a report. Dotted among these historical characters are rockeries, fences, plantain, bamboo leaves, flowers and grass. Though with so many different contents, the picture shows nothing disorderly.

Fresh Wind from the Northern Desert: Reflections of the Nomadic Culture

The second part displays mixed elements from the Mongolian culture of the Yuan Dynasty. To cater to the nomadic customs of the ethnic group, the porcelains became more functional. Drinking utensils constitute a larger part of the production. A blue-and-white porcelain of a phoenix-head flat bottle collected in the Capital Museum and a blue-and-white porcelain of goblet in the Inner Mongolia typically represent this genre.

Blue-and-white porcelain of phoenix-head flat bottle

Unearthed in 1970 in Beijing, the bottle held in the Capital Museum. Its mouth is shaped as a phoenix beak, and its handle a phoenix tail. The wings of the phoenix seem to fly high among entwining branches and flowers, exuding a sense of life.