What Mr, Kann Did Say the aiter of the "Normi-Cumxa Darty News"
Sin—In the interests of accuracy, which your correspondent. 8, Beam, writing under date of February 1d in your today's issue, seems s0 keen upon, T would like 10 point out that Mr. B. Kay, in his excellent lecture on "Chinese Ivory Carvings" before the members of the Royal. Asiatic Society on February 18, nade no such statement as that the Chinese did not carve ivory before the Ming Dynasty, as your correspondent says he did. What Ma, Kany said in effect was that none of the carved ivory figures which form. so. popular a feature in Chinese carved ivory date earlier than the Ming Dynasty, and that previous to that period. ivory was used in China. mainly" for uullitarian purposes, How completely mistaken your correspondent. hig understanding of what Mu. Kaw said is evidenced by a couple of leees of carved ivory far ante-dating the Ming Dynasty, possibly actually of the Han period, which Mu, KAN exhibited and discussed.
Min, KANN also said, amongst other things, that we know that ivory used in China at a very early period since it ig recorded that one of the Em-perers of the Chou Dynasty used IWwory' chopsticks in eating hig food, showing that the Chinese hada welliadvaneed culture when our ancestors were still savages, in that the former used chopsticks when the latter were still using fingers, INK. Kann made it very clear that ft was not {ill the Ming period that the Chinese used ivory as a medium of artistic expression, and that previous to this period they mainly employed ivory in making articles of daily use.
As a matter of fact, ivory was extensively used during the Shang Dynasty (17761122 B.C), and many beautifully carved pieces have been excavated from Shang burial sites judge from the pieces themselves, it would appear that in Shang times ivory was used mainly, if not ex-Glusively, in the making of objects for ceremonial and. saeriflelal pure Poses, decoratively carved in designs typical of that period. 'Thus ivory was held sacred in those early days, and hig idea was continued Into Chou' times, so that, when the Em" peror dared use ivory. chopsticks, 1 caused great offence to his people and was looked upon as a sacrilege fous act, Incidentally, the "inleld ivory" of the "Shang "period, which - Bishop White mentions in his book "Tomb Tile "Pictures of Ancient China," must not be confused with the ivory, inlay In wood as done by the Chinese since the time of the Manchu Emperor Chien Laing. Shang Dynasty {inlaid ivory consisted of ivory inlaid with such material. as turquoise. Bone also was decorated In this way uring that, period, and there is a specimen of this in the Shanghai 'While on the subject of accuracy, would like-to fake this opportunity to point out a mistake in my own article on "Astronomical Figures," which appeared in your Sunday's issue, In it T stated that the light from' the sun reached the earth in eight seconds, Tt should, of course, have been eight minutes.
"ANTIUR DE C. Sowsney Shanghai, eh. 17,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.