Vase with Ba Gua and Yang Ying over Leaping Waves

A "three-string" vase (in Chinese sanxian ping) is characterized by the three rings molded in the porcelain where the body and neck meet. The slender neck rises to a flared mouth. Painted on the white porcelain body of the vase in underglaze blue and red are Taoist symbols. A horizontal band beneath the high shoulders of the vessel represents the Eight Mystic Trigrams, each symbolizing a different element of the natural world. Each trigram consists of three figures; the solid lines signify yin while the broken lines signify yang. For example, three unbroken yang lines signify heaven while three broken yin lines symbolize earth. Beneath the trigrams are four medallions of yin and yang painted with red and blue. The sweeping and crashing waves that rise from the foot of the vase represent the seas which surround the great mountain believed to be the center of the universe.