A Chinese wucai 'Hongfu' vase, Transitional period

H.: 18,5 cm (incl. the wooden cover)
H.: 17 cm (the vase)

Condition: (UV-checked)
- In very good condition, with some negligible minor superficial wear throughout, mostly to the overglaze red.
- The unglazed rim with two negligible very small superficial chips.
- On the inside, a few typical negligible glaze lines visible, not showing on the outside.
- The cover in good condition, with negligible minor wear.

This vase depicts the story of Hong Fu (红拂记).

Hongfu was a legendary Chinese folk heroine from imperial China whose birth name was Zhang Chuchen (張出塵, alternatively 張初塵). She was purported to have lived during the transition from Sui to Tang and was originally described in 'Biography of the Dragon-Beard Man' from the Tang Dynasty. She was a courtesan at the court of Sui Dynasty minister Yang Su and eloped with Li Jing, an ally and future general of future Tang emperor Li Shimin. Hongfu, along with Li Jing and Qiu Ranke, the 'Dragon Beard Man', are known as the 'Three Heroes of the Wind and Dust' (風塵三俠). She was one of the few female martial arts masters.

Born Zhang Chuchen, her parents from southern China  migrated north to Chang'an in the unification wars of the Sui Dynasty. Zhang became a courtesan in the court of Sui minister Yang Su, where she specialized in song and dance. Because she often wore red, she became known as Hongfu, or Red Sleeves. According to the legend, she saw Li Jing when he came to petition Yang Su to address the grievances of the common people. Zhang fell in love with Li and eloped with him.

Hongfu and Li Jing first allied themselves with Qiu Ranke to overthrow the Sui Dynasty, becoming the Three Heroes of the Wind and Dust. After meeting the future emperor Li Shimin, Qiu Ranke forsook this ambition. Hongfu and Li Jing allied themselves with Li Shimin and helped Li Shimin and his father Li Yuan establish the Tang Dynasty. Qiu Ranke went on to establish his own kingdom of Fusu (alternatively, Fuyu) to the southeast.

Hongfu and Li Jing lived together as wife and husband until she died of illness in AD 640. Li Jing, then 70 years of age, survived her by nine years.

(Source: Wikipedia)