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Dear all,

the last character of the nienhao normally is zhì but sometime could be zào. Could anyone explain the different use of the two ? Could zào appear on imperial objects ?

Many thanks, Gustav

They both mean the same, namely "made, produced, manufactured" and can be interchanged. Basically, it is a matter of preference.
In the spoken language the two are often used together (zhizao).
If you are relating to ceramics' marks you will find that in early Chinese porcelain "zao" appears often but later, in the Qing dynasty, "zhi" is used most of the time.

thank you Peter. The use of zào is something I suspected for less important or provincial products. Anyway, to be more precise the mark Da Qing Qianlong Nien Zào, on a single line just below the mouth-rim, is occurring on an enormous bronze Ding (100 cm. high) and I wonder if of the period or a later copy.
Gustav

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