The Yixing area of Jiangsu Province has a long and distinguished history. Legend has it that Yixing was founded by of Fan Li, a senior official in the Kingdom of Zhao. He made a fortune making pottery there and was given the title "Taozflugong," or the porcelain gentleman; the kilns people of Yixing used to call him "father of pottery." However, archeological evidence shows that Yixing was already a production place of pottery ever since the Neolithic Age. The pottery of Yixing began to achieve popularity and fame after the Ming Dynasty, as one of its towns by the name of Shuye crafted the single colored, non- decorated Zisha (purple clay) pottery.
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| Squash-shaped Zisha teapod. Made by Chen Mingyuan. Qing Dynasty. Collection of the Nanjing Museum. | From historica l records, we have evidence that a kind of "purple clay" vessel was created as early as the Northern Song Dynasty. It is easy to see the long history of Zisha, which literally means "purple sand." This type of pottery had a finely textured body with iron contents as high as 9%. It was fired at temperatures around 1,200 C, and appeared reddish brown, maroon or dark purple. Its density and hardness were quite outstanding, thanks to the purple and red clay in the Yixing area.
Zisha clay is a type of highly moldable and viscous clay, which can be rather easily modeled to the desired form. It can be used to make tea ware, stationery, wine ware, tobacco ware,flowerpots and other vessels of daily use, thus it is highly functional and practical. Zisha wares are not glazed, and the duo way pores in its body can be observed under a microscope at 600 times magnification. Its body has relatively high water absorbency and good diffusion abilities for air and other gases. In modern scientific studies, it was realized that Zisha pottery will let air pass through its walls but not water. Thus Zisha ware is great for sealing in the fragrance of tea, and keeping the roots of flowers and plants strong and healthy.
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| Zisha cwer with loop handle, H 17.7 cm, Dia. 7.7 cm. Jiajing period, Ming Dynasty. Collection of the Nanjing Museum. | Early Zisha wares were usually pots and jars, with rather course bodies and rough forms. It was mainly used by the common people for the purpose of heating water or brewing tea before the name become synonymous with exquisite tea sets and elegant display ware. Roughly around the latter parts of the 17th century, Zisha pots evolved from the round or square forms to much more natural and compelling shapes which resembled flowers and fruits; the literati and tea aficionados loved the newer Zisha ware. These natural forms include the pumpkin pot, tree and plant pot, polygonal bamboo pot, sunflower-shaped pot, Buddha's Palm pot, river snail-shaped cup, pomegranate case, lotus leaf jar and so on. In the design of its form, both aesthetics and functionalism were considered; a beautiful design feature can be more than meets the eye. These toys of elegance came in several main categories, which were vegetables, fruits, bamboos, insects and shelled mollusks, birds and wild animals and so forth. The "melon-shaped pot" by Ming artisan Chen Hongyuan and "pot with bamboo designs and eight trigram markings" by Qing craftsman Shao Daheng are better known pieces of work today.
Before the Tang Dynasty, tea vessels and food containers weren't so clearly distinguished. As the fashion of tea drinking caught on, the craftsmanship and creativity in design of tea wares improved with each day. By the end of the Tang, the ideal tea ware appeared - the Zisha teapot.
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| Wanquan teapot with six facets. Daoguang period Qing Dynasty. Collection of the Nanjing Museum. | Zisha teapot was produced in Yixing, which was situated at the juncture of the Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces, next to the famous Taihu Lake. This was the celebrated tea production base; many prestigious types of teas were collected here as imperial tribute for the courts. The rise and development of Zisha pottery was closely tied in with tea production areas, the fashion of tea drinking, tea brewing techniques and the changes in tea ware. It is safe to say that the popularization of tea as a beverage in the Song Dynasty and the promotion of tea drinking by the literati and scholar-officials were the direct incentives in the maturing of Zisha craft.
Other well-known tea wares, such as the black glazed tea ware by Jianyang kilns in Fujian Province, also benefited from the popularization of tea during the Song Dynasty. In the book Chalu, literally The Record of Tea (written from 1049-1056 A.D.) by Song Dynasty scholar Cai Xiang, "the tea drink is white in color, and therefore should be contained in black cups. The glazed tea cup produced by Jiangyang kilns is black in color with a hint of red and has natural, hair-thin grains in the porcelain. Its relatively thick body makes for a good way to keep the temperature of tea warm." In another area, the literati class of the Song Dynasty was often engaged in "tea battles."
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| Ruou ewer. Paintings by renowned Qing Dynasty painter and seal maker Chen Hongshou (1768-1822) for ceramic production by famous ceramic artist Yang Pengnian. Collection of the Nanjing Museum. | The Jian black porcelain tea ware became the undisputed "must have" tea ware for such activity. Therefore, the Jian kilns at one time were the special supplier of glazed black tea cups for the imperial court. One may find the names Youdi and Tuhao, two kinds of glazed black porcelain, often mentioned in ancient literary works. These were the two types of black tea ware most favored by the literati of the times. They were made in the style of the Jian black porcelain, and deeply influenced the Japanese tea arts and porcelain-making industry. The "father of Japanese ceramics," Shiro Kato, had once studied porcelain crafts in Jianyang.
Yixing Zisha tea ware started its lifespan in the Northern Song Dynasty. By the Ming Dynasty, teapot-making masters abound, who produced Yixing Zisha teapots that sported striking designs and grandness in style. The popularization of Zisha pots from the Ming Dynasty onwards was obviously contributed to tea drinking customs. Bunched tea was replaced by loose tea; water was started to be used to brew tea; and as tea brewing vessels, small cups were no longer considered
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| Petal-shaped Zisha pot in enamel coloring and painted gold, Dia. 6.5 cm at mouth, Dia. 8 cm at foot. Made in Yixing. Qianlong period, Qing Dynasty. Collection of the Palace Museum. | clean and heat- preserving, thus were supercede by the teapot. Especially by the mid-Ming Dynasty, as people demanded more visual appeal, fragrance and taste from tea, the evaluation for teapots came to be based on the principle "small is better than large and shallow is preferred over deep." Therefore, all Zisha teapots were aimed at miniaturization with an air of elegance; the highest ideal artistically would be to have "beautiful teapot and fragrant tea."
Brewing tea in small pots had been a trend since the end of the 16th century, with well over 400 years of history. Using a Zisha teapot has the advantages of slower heat loss; less chance of tea fermentation due to the ingenious air aperture in the lid so that water droplets wouldn't form and fall back down into the tea; the body is highly resistant to heat and cracks, since it has already been fired under extremely high temperatures. The longer one uses a Zisha teapot, its body and shine becomes even more extraordinary; the tea brewed from it would be even more fragrant and tasty. The real knowledgeable tea and teapot lovers like to use specific teapots to brew particular types of tea, so that each teapot will retain a pure fragrance of its corresponding tea as time passes.
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| Guava-shaped Zisha small cup. Made by Chen Mingyuan. Qing Dynasty. | A unique feature of Zisha pottery, which differentiated it from other ceramic products, was its name, which was often after a famous master of ceramics; the price and value of a Zisha pottery also soared as a result. Gong Chun, a man of the Ming Dynasty was one such master teapot artist, who promoted the status of Zisha ware from an age-long traditional product to a universally acclaimed art form. It was said that Gong Chun once learned ceramic crafts from monks, and his works were the closest thing to perfection with a retrospective nature. Thus Gong Chun was suddenly known throughout the land. The Gong Chun pots became a system of pottery in itself. Since Gong Chun, mange other skillful and renowned Zisha makers emerged. In the Ming Dynasty, there were the "Three Da's (three artisans with the character "Da" in their names)," as well as Chen Yongqing, Chen Zhongmei and others; in the Qing Dynasty, there were Chen Mingyuan, Yang Pengnian and Shao Daheng; there was also contemporary artist Pei Shimin (1892-1977 A.D.). However, the originals works of these masters are rarely seen in the present day.
Since many literati and people of high taste and elegance directly participated in the design and making of Zisha teapots, thus the small wonder had, on its body, full of calligraphies of poems and prose, paintings, seal prints and sculptural elements, infusing it with high artistic and cultural values. Every piece of Zisha teapot is a collection of people's interests, emotions and attitudes towards life. What the teapot and the drink leave people with is not merely the sense of taste in the mouth; an eternal bond and love for the tea ware and tea is formed. Tea lovers all like to collect teapots. Zisha teapots from Yixing made by the hands of master artisans are worth the price of gold. Collecting teapots and refining its body and tea fragrance over time, with each use, has always been viewed as an elegant hobby. |
