A type of red in Chinese porcelain coloring. It was invented during the reign of Yongzheng (1723-35) in the Qing Dynasty and succeeded by Qianlong (1736-95). It was so named because the color of the glaze resembled that of tallow (water in which red had been dissolved). The initial wares were made with a very thin body, and the inner glaze was extremely white, reflecting the outer glaze and producing a powdery crimson color.
In the Ch’ien-lung period, the body gradually became thicker and the color was almost purple. The inner glaze was very white and formed a single white jade at the lamp base (the base of the lamp is white and the clay appears white and rounded like a string of lamp cores). Toward the end of the Ch’ien-lung reign, fine flowers were carved in negative patterns, and other colors were added. This type of work is very different from the work of the early Ch’ien-lung period, and later counterfeit pieces of this type are common. (Yunryusai Seongsitsu)
