Once everyone present had examined the red and green glaze Yuhuchun vase on the table, Zhao Xueyi impatiently said, "Old Wu, why don't you share your opinion first?"
Everyone was familiar with one another, so Uncle Wu did not stand on ceremony. He said, "All right, I'll make a few points. I've also studied red and green ware. Based on some records, I believe red and green ware was created around the mid-to-late Song period, flourished in the mid-Jin Dynasty—that is, the latter half of the twelfth century—continued to be fired during the Yuan Dynasty, and was probably discontinued in the early Ming. Does anyone have any questions about that?"
Seeing everyone indicate that they had no objections, Uncle Wu continued, "During the Song and Jin periods, low-temperature green glaze began being used to decorate white-glazed porcelain, and it was welcomed by ordinary people at the time. Although red decoration was first created by Ding ware during the Northern Song, its techniques were first adopted by Cizhou ware, producing a vivid alum-red effect on white glaze. However, perfectly combining red and green decoration to adorn white-glazed porcelain and firing it a second time at low temperature became an innovation of Cizhou ware."
"Cizhou ware had a considerable output during the Northern Song, but the porcelain unearthed from Northern Song tombs consisted mainly of white porcelain from the Porcelain Capital, celadon from Yaozhou Kiln, and white porcelain from Ding ware. Cizhou ware was rarely mentioned in reports. This shows that Northern Song Cizhou ware was seldom appreciated or used by the upper ruling class and the scholar-officials. Therefore, it was not recorded in Song-period literature. It was not until the early Ming that it was described in Gegu Yaolun."
Hearing this, Du Hongguo immediately understood what Uncle Wu meant and said,