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Subject:Re: Please help identifying plate
Posted By: Bill H Mon, May 29, 2017
The dragon decoration, enamels and gilt on your pedestal dish are consistent with late-Qing to early Republic production (circa 1890-1910).
The mark is challenging to translate. Its characters, '少室山房' (shao shi shan fang), literally might translate as 'Small Room at a Mountain Lodge'.
The meaning could be deeper for Chinese Buddhists. Shaoshi, in China's Henan Province, is a hill or mountain where Da Mo, the 5th or 6th century Buddhist Monk (A.K.A. the Bodhidarma), established his Shaolin Monastery and is believed by many disciples to have sat meditating with his face to the wall for nine years. So in the Buddhist context, Shanfang could carry the meaning of 'a mountain monastery or nunnery room'.
And then there's Hu Yinglin (胡應麟 - 1551–1602), the late Ming dynasty Chinese scholar, whose prolific writings included the noted work titled 'Shaoshishanfang bicong' (少室山房筆叢 - 'Shaoshishan Studio Essays', a work of historical and literary criticism.
Maybe someone more learned in these matters can help us make a choice.
Best regards,
Bill H.
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Please help identifying plate 
( China & Japan ) - Kasper K. Nielsen - May 29, 2017 (01:54 AM) 
