A CHINESE BLUE AND WHITE BITONG KANGXI 1662-1722 Painted with figures illustrating a scene from...

A CHINESE BLUE AND WHITE BITONG KANGXI 1662-1722 Painted with figures illustrating a scene from the Romance of the Western Chamber, the waisted cylindrical body flaring to the rim and foot, the base with a six character Chenghua mark, 13.2cm. Provenance: an English private collection, London. The scene is thought to be as that described in part I, act II of The Romance of the Western Chamber and is referred to as 'The Renting of the Quarters in the Monastery'. The scene describes the initial meeting between Fa Pen, the Elder of the P'uchiu Buddhist Monastery in Putting, and the scholar Chang. The Elder agrees to rent Chang a room in the west wing of the monastery so that he may prepare for the Imperial examinations. The Romance of the Western Chamber is one of the most famous Chinese dramatic works. It was written by the Yuan Dynasty playwright Wang Shifu and is set during the Tang dynasty. It tells the story of a young couple consummating their love without parental approval.