A BLUE AND WHITE JAR ChongzhenA BLUE AND WHITE JARChongzhenPainted with a continuous scene of two gentlemen in conversation surrounded by attendants bearing a canopy and banners before a sedan chair, in a riverside garden with willow, pine and rockwork, a three line inscription to the reverse, wenzhang qiangu shi, deshi cunxin zhi, ping chun tang, 'Literary works are matters of all time, failure and success are known in the speck of mind, the Hall of Harmonious Fragrance' all below a formal leaf collar, twin apertures to each side at the shoulder. 21cm (8 1/4in) wideThe line is a quote from the Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu Ou Ti (A Chance Topic). It indicates that literature documents historical events, and its successful or failure in doing so is judged by later readers.