The cases in the Language and Writing section were filled with lots of paraphernalia for writing, such as ink cakes, ink stones, caligraphy brushes, brush rests, wrist rests and pots for washing brushes as well as examples of writing. Mr Monkey was very taken with two examples of writing on ceramics. One was a circular plaque detailing a woman's landholdings and personal history and was put in her tomb when she died in 1623 so she'd be able to show it to government officials in the afterlife; the other was a porcelain tile from 1551 which put a warning to officials that they should govern well above a picture of a government official. Mr Monkey was also impressed by the bold caligraphy of part of a poem about the Long March by Mao Zedong.
Return to Mr Monkey sees China: Journey to the East at the Manchester Museum
Copyright Rik Shepherd and Mr Monkey.