in the timber-yards where the wood is being measured; from the workshops
of the builders respond the sounds of _tông-tông_; and the solid walls,
when fully finished off, give out the sound of _pîng-pîng_.

YAO.--"Porcelain." The reader who desires detailed information
respecting the technology, history, or legends of Chinese
porcelain-manufacture should consult Stanislas Julien's admirable
"Histoire de la Porcelaine Chinoise" (Paris, 1856). With some trifling
exceptions, the names of the various porcelains cited in my "Tale of
the Porcelain-God" were selected from Julien's work. Though oddly
musical and otherwise attractive in Chinese, these names lose interest
by translation. The majority of them merely refer to centres of
manufacture or famous potteries: _Chou-yao_, "porcelains of Chou";
_Hong-tcheou-yao_, "porcelains of Hong-tcheou"; _Jou-yao_, "porcelains
of Jou-tcheou"; _Ting-yao_, "porcelains of Ting-tcheou"; _Ko-yao_,"
porcelains of the Elder Brother [Thsang]"; _Khang-hi-nien-t'sang-yao_,
"porcelains of Thsang made in the reign of Khang-hi." Some porcelains
were distinguished by the names of dynasties, or the titles of civic
office holders; such as the celebrated _Tch'aï-yao_, "the porcelains of
Tch'aï" (which was the name of the family of the Emperor Chi-tsong); and
the _Kouan-yao_, or "Porcelains of Magistrates." Much more rarely the
names refer directly to the material or artistic peculiarity of
porcelains,--as _Ou-ni-yao_, the "black-paste porcelains," or
_Pi-se-yao_, the "porcelains of hidden color." The word _khi_, sometimes
substituted for _yao_ in these compound names, means "vases"; as
_Jou-khi_, "vases of Jou-tcheou"; _Kouan-khi_, "vases for Magistrates."

[Illustration: Chinese calligraphy]