Yixing Feature Yixing The Father of Tea Wu De Whenever anyone asks Master Lin what kind of teaware to use, he always responds, "There is purple-sand and there is no second." Yixing teapots have been married to Tea for five hundred years. Water is the "Mother of Tea" and purple-sand pots the "Father". Together, they have brought countless smiles of joy, healing of enemies and celebration of friends. There is also a magic in a well-seasoned purple-sand pot that suggests something which is so simple, and yet transcends the ordinary. here is perhaps no art form of art meant to sit on the shelf and ture and form; we even ding them that has married itself to Tea be admired. The beauty of tea art to hear the sound they make. Thus, and tea culture more passion- is only expressed properly as a liv- the space around and between the ately than the purple-sand teapots ing art. The pots want to be used. teapots becomes just as important to from Yixing, the “Pottery City”. The They develop a soft, silky sheen over the composition of the piece—the teapots made in Yixing often capture time the more they find themselves balance between the button and lid, all the elegance and simplicity of the in the company of good leaves and the mouth, spout, the handle and tea ceremony, while at the same time, water—becoming more and more base are all important features when hinting ever so slightly at the tran- beautiful as they are used. In fact, crafting an Yixing teapot. scendence the ceremony can inspire. finding a way to balance the ele- Echoing the favorite analogy When artists master the craft, Yixing gance and function of a teapot is of our eldest teacher Lao Tzu, the teapots can encourage us to find the what mastery of Yixing art is all usefulness of the teapot also lies in harmony we are seeking when we sit about. It is not enough that an Yix- its space—the tea flows through it, for tea; for they bring with them the ing teapot be inspiring to look at; just as the Dao flows through us spirit of the Earth, the art of tea and it must also improve our tea as well when we are clean and pure. And the simplicity of true living. The best as summon a second glance even then, when we brew our teas, the teapots are the ones where the deco- when it sits on a shelf amongst oth- improvement in aroma and flavor ration is so subtle, beckoning almost, ers. Furthermore, the art of Yixing will help us judge our friendship as one holds them in the palm. isn’t just about the sense of sight; with any given pot. Because of this There is no ceramic art in the it involves all the senses. We evalu- combination of function and design, world quite like Yixing purple-sand ate and appreciate these teapots by Yixing teapots have achieved a leg- teapots, for they aren’t just pieces touching them, feeling their tex- 9 acy of their own, finding a central ments that lent the ceremony an Song bowls to hold their beautifully place in the story of tea. artistic expression like never before. whisked teas. For the first time, the tea ceremony In the Ming Dynasty (1368 – was being expressed both spiritually 1644 CE), the emperor would ban Some Background and aesthetically, attracting more the use of powdered teas and all During most of the Tang people over time. the art surrounding it would slowly Dynasty (618 – 907 CE) popular During these two dynasties, tea die in China, though it was fortu- tea was boiled in cauldrons with would find its way to the royal court nately preserved, adapted and fur- other ingredients and then ladled and beyond to the literati, who of ther explored in Japan. Instead, he out. The tea itself was compressed course took to the new art with all promoted the use of whole-leaf teas, into cakes that were then ground the verve that such artists, authors like the ancestors of long ago. All into powder before being thrown and scholars could bring to a pas- of the artistic intention was shifted into the cauldron. Later, Lu Yu pro- sion that incorporated their daily towards this new form of tea prepa- moted the drinking of just the pure habits and deepest inspirations both. ration. Even before that, the town of leaf, calling the liquor mixed with They, too, wanted to express the Yixing, which was then called Yan fruits or flowers “gutter water.” In peace and serenity they had found Xian, was a pottery town, making the Song Dynasty (960 – 1279 CE) on the mountain while visiting the all kinds of cheap household items the real art of tea would begin in the monastery, to recapture it in some for commoners, like jugs, plates, etc. monasteries, as the monks sought measure each day while they were It would very soon change to the to refine the peacefulness and con- at home. They wrote poems, cal- teapot capital of the world, though. nection to tea, by crafting bowls, ligraphy, books, painted pictures According to ancient leg- whisks, grinders and other imple- and of course made ceramics, like end, there was a monk named 10 Yixing Feature Ding Shu who walked through the ple-sand teapots evolved and grew, pot itself and over time the pot gets town shouting, “Honor and virtue spreading throughout China and “seasoned”, as tea lovers say. In other for sale!” They say that all the vil- beyond. words, it absorbs the fragrance and lagers laughed at him, thinking him depth of all the teas it has met in its mad until a few weeks later when time. Also, the composite structure he changed his pitch to, “Riches for A Magic Clay of Yixing clay makes it resilient to sale!” Some people then followed A big part of what makes Yix- radical temperature changes, so that him and he led them to the iron- ing teaware so special is the clay teapots can be covered with boiling rich deposits of clay ore that would itself. The Chinese were master water even in the cold of winter; make the town famous for all the potters long before many Western and what could be a more elegant centuries to come. peoples, having developed stone- image than winter-plums covered in During the reign of the Ming ware and porcelain many centuries a light snow, perhaps pine-covered Emperor Zheng De (1505 – 1521 earlier. The clay used in Yixing tea- mountains in the distance beyond a CE), Yixing teapots were ele- pots is mined from the local Yellow frozen pond, as seen over the rim of vated into an art form. Historians Dragon, Zhao Zuang, Shao Mei Yao a steaming Yixing pot? often attribute these changes to and Hu Fu mountains and their sur- After the clay is mined it looks the now-legendary figure of Gong roundings, for it, too, is stoneware. like a block of stone, with a flaky Chuan. Not much is known about Because the clay is naturally lead- consistency. It is then allowed to rest Gong Chuan, as he was but the free, it can be used for food and in the air for weeks or even years, humble servant of a government called “corrosion”, as it breaks down officer. There are many versions of into small, soybean-sized pebbles. his story, though, and most of them “The art of purple-sand These small chunks are then ground involve some kind of trip where into sand and allowed to “ferment” he accompanied his master to the teaware is used to express in water for a period. The duration neighboring city of Yixing. In his the feelings the craftsman depends on the ore and the master free time, he visited the Jing Sha overseeing the process, though most Temple and drank tea with a monk has for the Earth, and of the old masters I’ve met seemed there. The monk was an artist and then to transcend them, to have a “the longer the better” had crafted all his teaware himself. so that people can feel philosophy when it comes to airing/ Gong Chuan was amazed at the ele- storing the ore. More water and sift- gance and serenity expressed in the the softness and freedom ing produces smoother clay, whereas work and asked the monk to teach revealed in the Earth.” leaving more sand creates textured him. Over the coming years, Gong —Ke Tao Chung clay that is often more porous when Chuan would return whenever he fired. Sifters of various sizes are used got the chance and try his hand at to create these different textures. making the rustic teapots, using drink even after the initial firing, Then, after the clay is slabbed, it is only his hand and a wooden spoon without the need for a glaze. With- pounded with a large wooden mal- to form them. He had a natural out glaze, the clay remains porous let, sometimes blending colors in affinity for clay, and soon started and sand-like. this way, until the putty is of the producing excellent teapots that “Zisha” or “purple-sand” clay is desired color and consistency. were not only beautiful, but pro- composed of quartz remains, isin- duced better tea. He gifted one to glass, kaolinite, mica, hematite, iron Varieties of Ore his master, who was also a tea lover. and several other trace elements.