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Fig. i Liao Shiouping (b. 1936). Album leaf with tea ware. h. 41 cm.; w. 31.5 cm., ink and colours on paper, circa 1979, private collection. Photo: Lu kas Kraemer.

maximum of circa 1200 degrees, the density of the fired clay can safely hold the water for tea.3 Yixing clay does not conduct heat easily; the hot water inside the tea pot therefore stays warm and fresh for a longer time than in other ceramics. These tea pots were never washed. Old tea leaves would be removed and the pot simply rinsed in cold water. Many Yixing teapots have thereby developed a layer of tea sediment in the interior as a highly appreciated patina.

What teapots were made for

An ink painting by the contemporary Taiwanese artist Liao Shiouping (fig. 1) could be called a tea still life: a tiny, brownish red Yixing teapot is sitting in a bowl of hot water, used to keep the small pot warm; two white miniature teacups in front, and two tea caddies behind them, complete the quiet and pure atmosphere. The inscription reads: ‘Of the seven things needed for starting a household, tea is the most important’. These seven things were firewood, rice, oil, salt, vinegar- and tea. Until the Song dynasty (960-1279), wine - the seventh thing - too was thought an essential, but was then dropped and never again included. Liao Shiouping, born on Taiwan in 1936 and now one of the leading Taiwanese artists, studied in Tokyo and Paris. While studying in Tokyo from 1977-1979, he was separated from his family. He recalls that when he returned to his lonely room at night, he took comfort in the simple things around him: a teapot and some cups, fruit, vegetable, flowers. And he painted them. The painting, in the style of an album leaf, represents pureness as well Downloaded from Brill.com10/05/2021 04:59:06PM as homeliness, connecting past and present. via free access 15 It might be surprising to realize that although Chinese people drank tea for thousands of years, teapots made their appearance rather late. This is linked to the Chinese development of brewing tea. During the Han dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) tea was made by decoction and aromatic herbs like ginger were often added. Later, the leaves were processed into blocks, which were then grated into a bowl of boiling water. During the Song dynasty, the drink was prepared using green tea powder, using a ewer to pour hot water directly into the cup. The mixture was then beaten vigorously with a bamboo whisk. This method gradually died out in China, but it was passed on by Buddhist monks to Japan, where it is used up to the present day during the chanoyu - the ritualized tea ceremony. From the 15th century onwards, during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) a new method became fashionable. Tea leaves were in- fused, and a specific vessel became indispensable for this: the teapot was born. During the Ming dynasty, the Southern provinces of China - particularly the area around Yixing - were vibrant with intellectual activity and were home to many famous literati or men of letters, wenren. The region also had a long history of tea cultivation, and during the Ming dynasty it became fashionable to brew tea leaves in teapots and to drink strong tea from tiny, globular teapots. The fine and small Yixing pots of red stoneware in sophisticated shapes were perfect to transform drinking tea into an aesthetic pleasure. On many Ming paintings depicting ya/Z (elegant gatherings) of cultivated gentlemen, tea is shown prepared in these red stoneware pots. Yixing teapots had become a highly appreciated part of the cultured lifestyle of the Chinese literati.

Fine tea wares had already been discussed in the famous classic Chajing, written around 660 by Lu Yu of the Tang dynasty (618-907). This text was frequently referred to during the Ming and Qjng (1644-1911) dynasties.

Famous potters and sophisticated patrons

The teapot shown in figure 2, in the shape of a pudgy pear, would be considered a ‘classical’ example. The small pot of fine quality is made of reddish brown clay with a natural polish; it is completely void of decoration except for its lovely shape. On the base is a mark (fig. 3), giving the place where the small pot was made - Jingxi, the old name of Yixing during the Warring States period - and the name of the potter, Shi Dabin (ca. 1573-1648).

This requires some explanation. The potters of Jingdezhen, where most Chinese porcelain was produced, are not known to us by name. It was only in the kilns of Dehua - which produced mostly white, undecorated wares - and in the Yixing kilns that potters would traditionally sign their works. This is why we know the names of the Yixing potters. Some of the master potters, particularly of the late Ming and early Qjng dynasties, became famous and were actually a kind of brand name. They created their pots and added inscriptions or small poems on them, working closely together with the Chinese literati elite. Yixing tea wares bearing the marks of famous potters were already a collectors item during the Ming dynasty, and the styles of famous potters have been widely imitated since. It is still difficult to be certain whether Downloaded from Brill.com10/05/2021 04:59:06PM extant pieces bearing these marks are actually genuine works. via free access Fig. 2 Teapot, Yixing stoneware, h. 6.5 cm.; d. 11.0 cm., iQth century (?), N01457.

Fig-3

The practice of making copies of teapots by famous Yixing potters began as early as the late Ming period and was particularly rampant in the late 19th and early 20th century, when the works of almost every Ming and Qjng Yixing master were reproduced. However, many of these copies are of high quality and remain true to the style of the potter whose mark is found on the base.

The mark on the small teapot (figs. 2 and 3) refers to Shi Dabin, one of the most famous potters of the Ming dynasty. He produced teapots in the early 17th century, and the custom of using tiny tea pots is attributed to him. Shi Dabin, himself a highly educated person, is said to have visited scholars and tea connoisseurs all around Yixing. These visits persuaded him to make these small teapots, so that each tea drinker could drink from his own pot. Shi Dabin teapots were rare and valuable items and were held in high esteem. His works were already being faked in his own lifetime. The main characteristics of Shi Dabin teapots are an absence of ornament, an even, textured and slightly sandy body, and curved spouts. The Princessehof pot with a Shi Dabin mark has a delicate, yet steady form, exquisite craftsmanship and a properly fitting lid. It is probably a fine 19th or early 20th century imitation of Shi Dabin’s work. The very few preserved pots made, or supposedly made, by Shi Dabin himself are regarded in China as National Treasures.4

The practice of using small teapots was later popularized by two other famous potters, Hui Mengchen (active around 1621-1644), and Chen Mingyuan (active during the Kangxi period, around 1675-1730). Downloaded from Brill.com10/05/2021 04:59:06PM The small vessels made by these famous Yixing masters are finely potted, via free access undecorated and of delicate form. Their elegant and interesting shapes and F'g-4 Two teapots, Yixing tactile qualities were admired as aesthetically pleasing in themselves. stoneware. Generally, most Yixing teapots have a refined and very pleasing texture, Left h. 6 cm.; w. 10 cm., particularly when warmed by the hot water. Unglazed, they display a subtle igth or early aoth variety of surface textures. Most common is a burnished surface with a century, NO 1737. Right h. 7.5 cm., natural gloss, resulting from the firing. In figure 4, the small pot on the right, w. 11.5 cm., igth or early for example, is slightly more polished and shinier than the one on the left. aoth century, CAM 383. To achieve a rougher pear skin effect, pieces of quartz or fired clay were added to the clay mixture.

The pottery industry that Hui Mengchen started at the end of the Ming dynasty, in the early 17th century, was continued by his descendants up to the 19th century and his mark Mengchen is found on innumerable pieces. Mengchen became a generic term for the miniature pear-shaped tea pots. It is extremely difficult in most cases to distinguish between the teapots made by Hui Mengchen himself and those made by his descendants.5

The most imitated potter of the Qing dynasty was Chen Mingyuan.0 The tea pot presented here was probably not made by the famous master himself, but is a later copy. The hype for his pots reached a new high in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the 1930s, an antique dealer in Shanghai commissioned replicas of Chen Mingyuan’s work from the best contemporary Yixing potters.

The Princessehof tea pot still retains the characteristics of Chen Mingyuan’s famous pots: a very elegant shape, fine-grained texture, and a curved spout. Downloaded from Brill.com10/05/2021 04:59:06PM Many teapots made during the early Qing dynasty bear calligraphic via free access 18 F'g-5 Marks and inscriptions on the base of the teapots in fig. 4. Left: Mark and inscription on the base: Shengjin zhi shi shang you guren. (Live in the present, befriending the ancient) (in running script, xingshu). Ming in a round seal, yuan in a square seal, both in seal script, zhuanshu. Right: Mark and inscription on the base: Ai yue ye mian chi. Mengchen. (I love the moon, so I postpone my sleep) (Meng chen in running script, xingshu).

inscriptions (see fig. 5). When this fashion started, the inscriptions were limited to calligraphic writing placed at the base of the tea pot. Later, inscriptions were also used to decorate the surface of the body. The inscription on the base of the small Mengchen pot reads: ai yue ye mian chi (I love the moon, so I postpone my sleep). Many such verses refer to the moon; a dear friend not only to (wine) drinking parties, but also for elegant tea gatherings. The inscription on the pot signed Chen Mingyuan reads: sheng jin zhi shi shang you gu ren (Live in the present, be friends with the ancients). The lines are from a poem popular in the early Qing dynasty, alluding to the spirit and thought of the Confucian philosopher Mengzi (Mencius, 4th century BC) regarding ageless friendship and amity.

Naturalistic designs for new clients

A new trend in late 19th century Yixing pottery was the modeling of teapots in the shape of tree trunks or flowers, or pots decorated with naturalistic clements. They follow a different aesthetic concept from the pure and elegant shapes of the Ming wares in literati style. Figure 6 shows three teapots in the shape of flowers. The one on the left, made of a dark brown clay, is modelled in the shape of chrysanthemum leaves, as is the teapot in the middle, made of light brown clay. The knobs on the lids resemble buds. The chrysanthemum shape was well calculated to evoke in the mind of a Chinese scholar the feelings of autumn and of quiet retirement, which perfectly harmonized with the atmosphere of drinking tea. The chrysanthemum is particularly associated with the Chinese poet Tao Qian (Tao Yuanming, 365-425), an icon of the Chinese literati class and still highly popular today. After only ten years spent in office, Tao Yuanming retired to his country estate, for a life of drinking (rather wine than) tea and writing poems. One of his most famous poems reads:

ƒ built my hut in a zone of human habitation, yet near me there sounds no noise of horse or coach. Would you know how that is possible? A heart that is distant creates a wilderness round it. I pluck chrysanthemums under the eastern hedge, then gaze long at the distant summer hills.... {Translation by Arthur Waley) Downloaded from Brill.com10/05/2021 04:59:06PM via free access 19 The teapot on the right, made of a rich brown clay, is modelled in the shape of water chestnut flowers. The raised relief line around the middle divides the body into an upper and lower section. The foot ring is similar in shape to the lid, giving unity to the whole form. Designs of this kind require a perfect symmetry. The techniques involved in making such a rhythmic and perfectly symmetrical vessel were quite elaborate. Like the teapot in the middle, it has an overarching handle. Normally, flower type teapots were fitted with side handles. Overarching handles became common only at the end of the 19th century.

The teapot shown in figure 7 is made of dark brown clay with a body

Fig. 6 depicting a section of a tree trunk. It has moulded and appliqué decoration Three teapots, depicting squirrels between grape leaves and vines. The lid has a small air Yixing stoneware. vent and the knob on the lid is in the shape of two deer with their heads From left: Teapot in the turned behind them. The triple turned spout - as well as the handle - is in shape of chrysanthe­ the shape of bamboo with a clinging grape vine. There are a few interspersed mum leaves, h. 10.3 cm., d. 12.3 cm., w. 18.5 cm., squirrels shown hopping on the vines, making this decoration an igth century, NO 1206. exceptionally lively scene. Teapot in the shape of The presence of squirrels, vines and deer on one teapot symbolizes the chrysanthemum leaves, traditional Chinese desire for prosperity, long life and many sons. Squirrels h. 13.3 cm., d. 10.8 cm., w. 13.3 cm., late igth or are named songshu in Chinese (literally pine tree mice); the pine is a wish for early aoth century, longevity. The symbolism is intensified by the image of the squirrels playing NO 4646. among grapes, tao in Chinese, which has the same sound as tao (peaches), Teapot in the shape of the traditional Symbol for longevity. Deer in the Chinese tradition are said to water chestnut leaves, be the only creatures able to find the lingzhi (mushrooms of immortality). h. 11 cm., d. 5.3 cm., late igth or early aoth The detail of a squirrel (fig. 8) shows how lively and charming these details in century, GMP1970-25. the design were modeled in red clay.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/05/2021 04:59:06PM via free access 20

F'g-7 Tea pot in the shape of a tree trunk, Yixing stoneware, h. 14 cm., d. 12 cm., late igth century, NO 1181.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/05/2021 04:59:06PM via free access The desire for a long and happy life is the theme for the decorations on the El pots shown in figure 9. The small pot on the left has a globular yellow body with appliqué decoration of vine leaves. The lid is also in the shape of a vine, with a knob in the form of two playing squirrels. The auspicious meaning of this decoration, wishing for long life and happiness, is also found on the larger pot shown in figure 7 and was a popular type of decoration in the 19th and 20th century. A lotus is the main decorative element of the small pot on the right, made of yellowish clay in the shape of lotus leaves; the lid made of brownish clay is modeled in the shape of a turned leaf, and the handle in the form of lotus roots. The lotus is one of the most auspicious plants in Chinese tradition. It represents purity, a cool sensation in the heat of the summer, and the sound of the character for lotus, lian, associates it with continuity as well as love, also pronounced lian. The small pot has a square mark on the base with the two characters Zhaoyong (used by Zhao) in seal script. The mark in this case does not refer to the name of the potter, but probably to a person named Zhao, who commissioned the pot.

With the introduction of naturalistic and auspicious decorative clements, a new playfulness entered the decorative repertoire of Yixing tea pots. It certainly had something to do with the demands of the many new clients at the end of the 19th and in the early 20th century, when these pots were made. A growing number of people asked for ‘fancy’ Yixing teapots, the lively and naturalistic decorations laden with auspicious meaning. Nevertheless, there was still a demand for the ‘classical’ small Mancheng type teapots, which were imitated in large numbers.

Yixing teapots today

The production of Yixing teapots today is big business, not only for the Chinese market but also for a growing numbers of tea enthusiasts worldwide. Yixing tea wares now come in all shapes and sizes, using all colours of the Yixing clay and in a wide repertoire of decoration, from fancy and modern to small and classy. The tradition of using small tea pots of red Yixing stoneware is still alive, particularly in Taiwan and in the Southern Chinese provinces of Fujian and Guangdong. Here, the common people often drink in a relaxed way a very strong type of tea, using small Yixing pots and tiny cups of the most ordinary kind. At the same time, with a growing awareness and pride in Chinese tradition, Yixing teapots by famous potters have become collector’s items again for the new elite of wealthy Chinese, particularly in the South and on Taiwan. In 2010, the price of a signed Shi Dabin teapot rocketed to 1.5 million euro at an auction in China.

• Dr. Eva Ströber is curator of Oriental ceramics at the Keramiekmuseum Princessehof, Leeuwarden. Before coming to the Netherlands, she worked at the Porcelain Collection in Dresden, Germany, as curator of the collection of Oriental porcelain of Augustus the Strong. Her academie background is in Chinese studies, Oriental art history and comparative religion.

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-y. • Downloaded from Brill.com10/05/2021 04:59:06PM via free access 23 • Op de thee, in Keramiekmuseum Princessehof in Leeuwarden, van 6 september 2014 tot 31 mei 2015. De tentoonstelling is een reis door verschillende theeculturen. Bijna duizend objecten tonen de diversiteit aan theekeramiek. Complete theeserviezen, verfijnde Fig-9 kommen en kopjes, unieke theepotten en fraaie theebussen vertellen over het Two teapots, gebruik van thee in China, Japan, Engeland en Nederland. Yixing stoneware Left: h. 4.3 cm., d. 5.8 cm., w. 8.8 cm., igth century, NO 2325. Literature Right: h. 5.5 cm., Terese Tse Bartolomew, I-Hsing Ware, New York, China Institute in America, 1977. d. 6.0 cm., w. 9.5 cm., Terese Tse Bartholomew and Lai Suk Yee (eds.), Themes and Variations: The Zisha i9th century, NO 1174. Pottery of Chen Mingyuan, Shanghai; Hongkong: Art Museum, Chinese University of

Fig. 10 Hong Kong Shanghai Museum, 1997. Detail offigure 9. Kristin Duysters, Theepotten steengoed: roodstenen theepotten uit Yixing en Europa, Arnhem, Historisch Museum Het Burgerweeshuis, 1998. Susan Groot, ‘Zisha, de paarse aarde van China’, Keramika 4 (2007), pp. 5-10, uitgave van het Princessehof Leeuwarden. K.S. Lo, The Art of the Yixing potter: the K.S. Lo Collection, Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware, the Urban Council Hongkong, Hongkong, 1990. K.S. Lo, The Stonewares of Yixing: from the Ming Period to the Present Day. Sotheby’s Publications, London; Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong, 1986. Cheong Sin Low, The Essence of Daintiness: Fine Yixing Stoneware from the Hezhengzhai Collection, Taipei, 2012. J.S.A. van Oostveen, Schets van het steengoed van Yixing aan de hand van de verzameling in het gemeentelijk museum ‘Het Princessehof, Het Princessehof, Leeuwarden, 1981. Patrice Valfré, Yixing: De Theieres pour VEurope, Exotic Line, Poligny, 2000. Xu Huping (red.), Appreciation of Zisha Teapots, Nanjing Museum & MAI Foundation, Hongkong, 2004.

Notes

* All photos, except for figure 1, by Johan van der Veer. With many thanks! 1. For the Yixing export teapots in the Princessehof collection, see Groot 2007; for export Yixing in general, Valfré 2000. The catalogue Duysters 1998, introducés the collection of the Arnhem Museum of Chinese teapots and their Delft imitations. 2. For a small catalogue of the Princessehof collection of Yixing teapots for the Chinese markets, see Van Oostveen 1981. 3. A detailed discussion of the preparation, potting and firing is illustrated in Lo 1986: 19-38. 4. For pieces said to be works by the master himself see Urban Council Hongkong 1990: 73, and Nanjing Museum and Mai Foundation 2004, nos. 3-9. 5. For Hui Mengchen and his pots, see Lo 1986: 76-8. For an excavated, slightly smaller teapot of this type, see Nanjing Museum and Mai Foundation 2004, nos. 26 and 27: 100-3. 6. For Chen Minyuan, see Bartholomew and Lai 1997 and Lo 1986: 80-4; a comparable piece in the Mai-Foundation bears a variation of the inscription, reading: ‘making friends with poets, living with scholars’. For this and the seals of Chen Mingyuan, see Nanjing Museum and Mai Foundation 2004, no. 72: 196.

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