Note 1 — Chapter I · Shanghai

The legend of the Willow Pattern (introduced into England by Minton in 1780) is as follows:—Koong-Shee, the daughter of a wealthy mandarin, fell in love with her father’s secretary, Chang. She had been already affianced to a wealthy suitor, so her father shut her up in his house close by the tea-garden. Koong-Shee begged Chang to help her to escape before the peach came into blossom, and he succeeded in doing so. In the willow pattern they are seen escaping across the bridge. They were followed, alas! by the irate suitor to a distant island, where he set fire to their house. The spirits of the lovers were transmuted into doves, which are seen hovering over their old haunts.