To recognize authentic Hongzhi (Hung Chih) yellow ware requires an understanding of the history of the yellow glaze from the beginning.  It is believed that yellow glaze was first used as far back as the Han dynasty.  This glaze was softer in composition and not as refined which gave it a somewhat muddy appearance.  Additives such as lead, iron, and lime were used in different quantities under different temperatures to produce the various shades of yellow.  Scholars have put names and labels on the glaze to help define the color and texture.  We need more scholars to help us define what the scholars were defining.  Being a non-scholar, I will try to explain the best way I can to help understand some of the terms you will come across in various reference books regarding the yellow ware.

     The appointment of the director of Jingdezhen was abolished in 1486 and remained discontinued until 1505, which explains the rarity of the mark on authentic pieces from the Hongzhi reign.  But some work was done and the reign is known primarily for its yellow wares and also for enameled decorated wares.

     The reign of Hongzhi was not particularly hailed for it's porcelains, so the mark has not been overly copied as is the case with Xuande and other earlier reigns.  The same is true for the apocryphal (spurious) marks done in later reigns and especially during the Qing dynasty.  This is an advantage to the collector of Hongzhi, not having to wade through 1000 pieces in order to find one authentic as is the case with genuine Xuande and Chenghua.  To put into perspective, if you were to copy a car, you would copy a Corvette, not an Edsel.  But who could guess what the Edsel would be worth in the year 2500.  Especially if it had an Imperial Yellow paint job.

     Genuine marked Hongzhi is of excellent quality.  Of the many different shapes and styles produced, fine deep rimmed plates and bowls were predominant.  Basically the foot is deep and slopes inward a bit to the base which is slightly convex.  The decoration, though quite beautiful and of quality, is slightly less than that of the preceding reign of Chenghua.   The dragon motif among clouds seems to be the most common, with floral design and the children (wa wa) design also showing up.  Many of these pieces are simple underglaze blue with a yellow background filled in.  

     Much of the cobalt used during Hongzhi was of the native variety since Mohammedan (or Persian) blue was not readily available till the latter part of the reign.  The work-around was to apply the native cobalt thickly at the surface which, when fired, would show a deep blue against a white background.  Close inspection of genuine pieces from this period will show white between each line of the double rings and within the motif of the blue decoration. The yellow is then filled in and around, carefully avoiding the decoration. Where it meets the blue, it produces a greenish gray result.  Though the blue seems dark and rich, it does not take on the bright Mohammedan blue seen on the earlier Xuande pieces.  This method is especially visible on the mark which is neat, well placed and showing very dark.  It is suspected that the same hand that marked Hongzhi also marked many of the later reign of Zhengde.  The heaped and piled effect seen on earlier Xuande pieces is not seen on Hongzhi as the finely ground native cobalt did not allow this technique. Where the cobalt runs thin on the decoration, it takes on a faded greenish gray tint..

    As to the yellow glaze itself, there are many terms used to describe the color.  Tender yellow, fish egg yellow, hen oil yellow, chestnut brown/yellow, muddy yellow, dirty yellow, soft yellow, etc.  Hobson describes a plate with a mark in the V & A Museum which has a strong blue decoration against a ground of  'soft yellow' and a glaze looking as though particles of yellow are suspended in it as though it would otherwise be transparent.  The yellow glaze has a chicken skin texture that is from a second, low temperature firing.  He states the particles are naturally thinner on the higher edges (the rim) and accumulate at the lower more horizontal areas (the hollows).  This gives the overall yellow a more graded (almost mottled) rather than uniform coating of color.  All of these properties are quite visible on the Hongzhi plate in my collection.  I therefore called it a soft yellow.  Microscopic examination shows fine cracking in the glaze, discolored and defined by the natural aging process of being exposed to elements such as temperature, handling (oils) and time. The white glazed base of  genuine Hongzhi is thick, lustrous, and takes on a slight greenish blue tint.  The biscuit is uniform, slightly rounded with a carved surface, some opposing carve marks from removal of the potters wheel are often visible.  Some yellow will be seen where the unevenness of the foot during firing has allowed oxidation of the iron or lead particles. High and low temperature respectively.

     Without being familiar with fish eggs, hen's oil, chestnuts and the like, one can only guess as to the shades of yellow they are referring to.  I chose the soft yellow for my plate from the images I've seen of the bowl described by Hobson. It might even be the tender yellow that is also mentioned.   I would guess the fish egg yellow as to being somewhat pale in comparison to the chestnut shade which I would guess to be darker with possibly a brownish tint.  The differing shades of yellow could  also be attributed to the thickness and transparency of the glaze and even the quality of the potting material itself.  If I were to make a statement describing fish egg yellow, I would probably be inundated with emails from all the ichthyologist 'experts' out there correcting me since I'm sure fish eggs come in various colors.   All guesses here.

     I hope the info provided here is helpful.  If searching the Internet for more info on the reign of Hongzhi, his given name was Youtang and his Temple name was Xiaozong.

     The following spellings of Hongzhi are also common:

Hung Chih, Hong-Zhi, Hungzhi, Hung-Zhi, Hung-Chih, Hungchi, and Hungchih.

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