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Tea and Yixing zisha teapots
In China, tea drinking history can be traced back to the period of the Three Kingdoms? Based on the historical document Records of the Three Kingdoms, the first king of Kingdom Wu, Sun Hao, offered his men tea instead of wine which seems to have been a common practice. During the ancient times, a lot of scholars loved to drink tea. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, many poets described how people use to drink using mainly bowls and small cups which were even graded by then.
The raw material for Yixing Zisha pottery is sourced from the underground of the Yellow Dragon Hill in Dinshu district of Yixing City. Based on geographical resource, there is no other place where such clay with such specificities can be found. Although this place has mostly been famous for its pottery industry, which have existed and been developed for thousands years, it is also reputed for giving the shelter to brilliants minds during social turmoil. . The area of Wu and Tue (names of ancient kingdoms)used to be a gathering place for talents where they would spend the day drinking tea. This has with no doubt stimulated the popularity of tea ceremony and logically enhancing the skills and techniques of tea trees growing, tea leaves harvesting, and furthermore the requirement for tea sets.
Yixing teapots and cups, with their natural spectrum, retain the color, aroma, and taste of loose tea leaves if they are used to prepare tea. A long time ago, they were already preferred to the ones made of porcelain from Xiangyu (a place near Jing De Zhen) or the ones made of silver. A record state: The best teapots are made only in Yangxian (old name for Yixing) and their qualities seem most suitable for preparing tea because they can long keep the drink warm and well retain the aroma of tea. What is most miraculous is that the used teapot can hold the tea taste and aroma even without any tea leaves inside
Since the Ming Dynasty, Yixing zisha teapots have been praised by tea lover and have made the little district of Dingshu very famous. Generations of scholars, wrote poems and texts about the zisha teapots from Yixing. In the history, zisha teapots were not only played with by literatus, but they also attracted the attention of the emperors and the ministers in the court. In official files of the reigns of Kang Xi and Yong Zheng of the Qing Dynasty, many records were found explaining how Yixing zisha teapots were made by potters and traded on the market. At that time, Yixing teapots were already famous outside of China. Because of a long historical course of development and many historic records of the famous makers, the zisha teapot wares have been treasured by many people. Another record states the teapots made by Da Bin (a teapot maker master) were main topics of the charts in the palace, while the teapots made by Ming Yuan (another master) fell in short demand on the oversea market. This was the description of their fame at home and abroad. What made those teapots famous, besides their history and specific material, is the fact that Yixing teapots were able to satisfy humans need for aesthetic and usability. The ability of innovation is the life of zisha teapots. The improvements on teapot designing and creation is associated with the Chinese tea culture and although the potters love the nature, respect the tradition, and prize the master-pupil relationship, they are courageous enough to abandon the old ways and regulations and emancipate their minds to satisfy they desired for creation and exploration of their contemporary world.
