They
began to learn the use of colors, and to perfect them. Some of the
blues or cobalts they employed have never been surpassed. One for
instance is the blue used on their Nankin china, and known as Nankin
blue."
"Did the Japanese make pottery too?" questioned Theo.
"Yes, but we do not know exactly how early they began to make
it. Probably some of the Japanese crossed to China and there learned
the art. Some think pottery-making came into Japan through
Korea. However that may be, long before other countries had to any
extent perfected the manufacture of glazed pottery and porcelain
China, Japan, Persia, and India had turned their attention to it. As
far back as 1000 B. C. the Japanese were making porcelains
similar to those of China. Then followed a long stretch of years when,
because of various wars between China and Japan, the art of producing
glazed pottery and porcelain was lost. All those workmen who possessed
any knowledge of their manufacture perished. This was the period when
the Greeks and Romans were making their red and black ware which, you
recall, they did not know how to glaze, and therefore had no means of
preventing liquids from leaking through it.
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