During the Song Dynasty, the "Long Tuan Feng Tea" produced in Jianzhou Beiyuan was imported into the imperial tribute tea and was extremely precious. Tea fighting became popular all over the country, perhaps because this folk activity was introduced to the imperial court along with the tribute tea. And was highly praised by the emperor. The black-glazed tea cups, also from Fujian, also became famous. Cai Xiang's "Tea Records" said: "The color of tea is white, so it is better to use a black cup. The tea made in Jian'an is cyanotic, with grains like rabbit hairs. The base is slightly thick, and it is most useful when it is hot and hard to cool down for a long time." Song Huizong said in "Grand View" It is also said in "Tea Theory" that "the color of the lamp is green and black, and the one with jade hair is the best."
When fighting tea, the water blooming on the surface of the tea is white. The black glaze of the tea cup contrasts with the white color of the tea soup, and the water marks formed by the tea soup are also clearly visible. Therefore, people in the Song Dynasty liked to use it to fight tea. Build a lamp.
Jianzhan, a representative of black porcelain, is one of the eight famous porcelains in China. In Chinese tea culture, it is the only utensil created for tea and is regarded as the "holy utensil of tea". Because it is produced in Jianyang, Fujian, it is called Jian Kiln Jian Zhan.
Jian Kiln’s black glaze bowls became the most popular tea bowls in the Song Dynasty when tea ordering and tea fighting were popular, and became the representative of black glaze porcelain in the history of ceramics and science and technology. The decisive factor is its unique craftsmanship , and the unique glaze color brought by this process. The glaze colors of Jianzhan are ever-changing. The kiln fire above 1300° and the highly restored atmosphere naturally produce patterns of different shapes, sizes, textures, arrangements and colors, which are strange, magnificent and spectacular.
A brief introduction: the five famous kilns of the Song Dynasty
—referring to Guan Kiln, Ge Kiln, Ru Kiln, Ding Kiln, and Jun Kiln.
The eight major kiln series
- are the designated kiln series, Cizhou kiln series, Yaozhou kiln series, Jun kiln series, Longquan kiln series, Jingdezhen kiln series, Jian kiln series and Yue kiln series. Tie.
The Song Dynasty was also a prosperous period in the history of the development of my country's porcelain industry, with porcelain kilns spread all over the country. Its techniques survive to this day.
In addition to the lamp, there are other corresponding vessels.
Illustrated Collection of Tea Sets—The first atlas of tea sets in history.
Lu Yu called tea drinking utensils "tea utensils" in the "Tea Classic", while the utensils used for picking tea leaves were called "tea utensils". This term was followed until the Northern Song Dynasty. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Old Shen'an (his real name was Dong Zhenqing) wrote "Illustrated Praise for Tea Sets" in the fifth year of Xianzhen (AD 1269) and changed the name of tea drinking sets to "tea sets", which is still used today. It is the first tea set atlas in the history of our country.
"Illustrated Praise for Tea Sets" uses line drawing to record the tea fighting utensils that were popular in the Song Dynasty. They are called "Twelve Masters", given names, characters, and titles, and follow the official system of the Song Dynasty. The title vividly reflects Song Dynasty society's love for tea sets and their evaluation of the functions and characteristics of tea sets. The twelve tea sets are: Wei Honglu (tea cage), Mudaizhi (wooden vertebrae), Jinfacao (tea grinder), Shizhuan (tea mill), Hu Yuanwai (tea ladle), Luo Shumi (tea cup) .
The tea ordering method of the Song Dynasty had a set of unique aesthetic tea sets.
In terms of tea art and tea ceremony spirit, the Song Dynasty inherited the tea culture pioneered in the Tang Dynasty, and developed it based on its own social and cultural heritage. Among them, the tea ordering method is a representative, among which Inheriting the exquisite tea-making method of the Tang Dynasty and innovating it, the exhaustive and elegant way of ordering tea became the mainstream way of drinking tea at that time. According to data, the tea-ordering method of the Song Dynasty had a unique aesthetic tea set. To appreciate the tea sets of the Song Dynasty, one must first understand the tea-drinking style of the Song Dynasty represented by the tea-ordering method. At the end of the Qingli Dynasty, Cai Xiang, who was at the core of the scholar-bureaucrat group in the Northern Song Dynasty, succeeded Ding Wei as the transfer envoy to Fujian, specializing in tribute tea and improving it. During the Huangyou period, he wrote another book after Lu Yu's "Tea Classic" in the Tang Dynasty. This is a tea book with important historical status - "Tea Records". The first chapter discusses tea, and the second chapter discusses utensils, specifically describing the method of brewing tea soup used by Jian'an folk during tea competitions. Cai Xiang, as a master calligrapher of the dynasty, wrote "Cha Lu", "Calligraphy on Stone" and wrote it on silk, which became popular in the world. Zhao Ji, Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, discussed the tea-ordering method in detail in "Daguan Tea Theory". The tea-ordering method with the basic process of "grinding tea", "luocha", "houtang", "jizhan" and "ordering tea" became the leading method of the Song Dynasty. Ways to drink.
"Cha Fighting" is also called "Ming Zhan".
It is a tea tasting competition, where the evaluation of tea quality is treated as a battle. Due to the gradual popularity of tea banquets in official courts, temples, and gatherings of literati, some local officials and dignitaries, in particular, tried their best to offer high-quality tribute tea to please the emperor. To this end, they first tested the quality of the tea, and the trend of tea fighting became increasingly popular. stand up. Fan Yanyan described the situation of the "Tea War" and said: "If you win, you will be out of reach, and if you lose, you will be humiliated." ("He Zhangmin Engaged in Tea Fighting Song") Tea fighting is not only popular in the upper class, but also popular among the people. Tang Geng's "Tea Fighting Records" records the event: "In the second year of Zhenghe, in the third month of Renxu, two or three gentlemen met to fight tea in Ji'ao Zhai. I cooked it with water from Longtang, and then tasted it. "One is the best, the other is the second." Three or five close friends take turns to taste the tea they have hidden in order to determine the ranking.
In the Song Dynasty, a highly skilled tea-making technique was also popular, called Fencha. Tao Gu of the Song Dynasty said in "Qing Yilu? Baicha Opera": "In modern times, there are people who use the soup to adjust the dagger, and use special tricks to make the soup pattern and water veins become objects. Animals, insects, fish, flowers, and grass are delicate and picturesque, but they can disappear in a moment. When playing this game, people grind the tea into powder, pour it with soup, and whisk it with a whisk. At this time, the soup pattern on the surface of the cup will disappear. Various patterns are created, just like ink paintings, so it is called "water painting".
Doucha and Fencha have similarities in the tea-ordering techniques, but in terms of their nature, Doucha is a tea custom, while Fencha is mainly a tea art. The two are related. Different from each other, they all reflect the rich cultural connotation of tea culture.
Ordering tea in the Song Dynasty is an inheritance and tribute to the aesthetics of the Song Dynasty, and it is also a way to experience the true taste of tea. In recent years, people have paid more attention to my country's traditional tea culture in their lives. Tasting a cup of tea is actually tasting Zen and life.