Lye from the stems of sesame seeds. It may have been used as a solvent for underglazes in Jingdezhen. The Jingdezhen Pottery Record states, “Jingdezhen porcelain ware is painted with the lye of ramie ash, as described in the Shoji Tong. The yellow ones are fired by coating the bowls with red clay solution. If the color is dyed using the juice of ramie, it will turn purple. This is not true. Now, to make the blue and white colors, use only brick ash. For yellow and purple, this is the original mixture, but not the juice of the hemp plant. If red clay is used, it is purple-gold, and although it is a little yellow, it is not a kind of yellow.
