Wuqing (blue) came to the Ming Dynasty in China from the Huaijiang region, where Persians, Arabs, and others brought it by land and sea. The names and characteristics of these wares differ according to their age and passage. In porcelain, it is called underglaze blue or blue-and-white porcelain because it is glazed over a blue glaze pattern. In other words, they are what we call nankyo tsusuke in Japan. During the Xuande period (1426-35) of the Ming dynasty, the blue glaze was exclusively used for its beauty, while during the Chenghua period (1465-87) and the Jiajing and Wanli periods (1522-1620), the blue glaze was used through the use of the Huiqing ware. Chinese connoisseurs have said that “Xuanqing is the best for pale colors,” “Chengqing is only Xuanqing,” “Jiaqing is the best for deep colors,” or “Jiaman’s Huiqing is the best for deep colors. The Arabs brought cobalt blue from Baluchistan to the Sumatra region of Indonesia from Persia, and sold it to the Chinese. The Huiqing is said to be identical to the Huiqing brought by Persian camels from the Tianshan North Road. Among the huiqing, there was a type called butsutouqing, which was the best dark blue applied to the heads of Buddhist statues in India. In the Xuande period, cobalt material from China was also used, and was called “stone blue” or “painting blue. In later periods, blue material from Yunnan was mainly used, and the Tang Gosu imported for Japanese porcelain in the old days is also thought to have been of this type. Recent research on Central Asia has revealed that Huiqing was imported to China during the Tang dynasty. (Tian Kou Kaibutsu, Tao Xian, Jing De Zhen Ceramics, Ya, Gosu Kou, Shina Ceramics Sourcebooks, etc.)
