Reposting an article on the characteristics of purple clay teapots, I hope it can be helpful to you.
"The most famous teapot is the sand, and the most exquisite teapot is Yangxian." This is the general evaluation of the purple clay teapot by Li Yu, a writer in the Ming Dynasty.
Why are Yixing’s purple clay teapots so good? This can be explained from two aspects. On the one hand, it is a work of art with beautiful shape and quaint color. It can "stand up to the Shang, Yi and Zhou Ding without any shame" (see Zhang Dai's "Memories of Dreams"). On the other hand, it is a practical product, used to make tea, and the tea tastes particularly fragrant; "it is used to hold tea without losing its original flavor." Wen Zhenheng, a man of the Ming Dynasty, said: "The teapot is made of sand. The lid will neither take away the fragrance nor the smell of the cooked soup." Xu Cishu also said: "Made with coarse sand, the sand should not be rustic!" "Yangxian" "Tea Teapot Series" says: "When the pot is used for a long time, wipe the mouth with a cleanser, and it will spontaneously emit a dark light, which can be seen after entering it." There is also a poem in Lin Gudu's "Tao Bao Portrait Song" that "Nine colors produce brightness." This characteristic of having both artistic and practical value makes the purple clay teapot as valuable as a huang huang, even more valuable than pearls and jade.
In a poem "Pottery" written by Wang Wenbo of the Qing Dynasty to Chen Mingyuan, a famous purple clay teapot master at that time, there is a line of praise "The pearls and jade in the world are enough to be taken, how can it be like a ball of earth at the head of Yangxian River", which shows that Yixing The value of purple sand is very high. How much is it worth? The celebrity Zhou Shu said in "Taiyang Baiyong Annotation": "A small spring pot, if used for several years, is worth a gold wat." By the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, "a small pot was still worth three thousand coins." (Chen Qinian's "Poetry to Gao Danren", see "Yangxian Famous Pottery Records") It can be seen that the prices for products produced by famous artists are particularly high. From then on, all the purple clay teapots made by famous artists in the Ming Dynasty were not only "priced at gold and jade", but also "have been collected by good people from all over the world." (Wu Meiding's "Yangxian Famous Pots") Not only that, but some people are willing to bid for even some broken purple clay pots. Zhou Bogao is such a person. He said: "The famous pots such as Gongchun and Dabin are very expensive and difficult to distinguish. I don't know the authenticity, but look for the incomplete ones for busybodies to use for my own pleasure." (Wu Qian's "Yangxian Famous Pottery Record")
The texture of the purple clay teapot is simple and pure, neither kitschy nor vulgar, and is very similar to the temperament of a literati. Literati regarded playing with pot as "elegant fun", and participating in it became an "elegant act". Their evaluation of the purple clay teapot is: "As gentle as a gentleman, as heroic as a husband, as romantic as a poet, as beautiful as a beauty, as bright as a hermit, as handsome as a young man, as short as a dwarf, as simple as a benevolent person, as elegant as a fairy, and as honest as a fairy." Like a noble scholar, refined like a monk. "(Aoxuanbao's "Illustration of Famous Pots")
(1) Unique material?
Yixing purple clay is made of purple mud and red mud. A kind of pottery that is made of natural clay materials such as green clay and other natural clay sculptures and then fired at a high temperature of 1200°C. Purple clay is a kind of clay with coarse particles and high iron and silicon content. Its raw material is sandy, and its sandy characteristics are mainly reflected in two aspects: first, although it has high hardness, it will not become porcelain. Second, from the microscopic aspect of the fetus, it has two layers of pores, that is, the inner layer is group-shaped particles, and the outer layer is flake-shaped particles. The two layers of particles can form different pores. There are mainly three types in terms of color: one is purple-red and light purple, called "purple sand mud", where shiny mica particles can be seen with the naked eye, and becomes purple-black or purple-brown after being burned; the other is gray-white Or gray-green is called "green mud", which turns into light gray or light yellow after being burned; there is also a kind of brownish-red, which turns into gray-black after being burned and is called "red mud". Among the three, purple clay is the most abundant, while green clay and red clay are less. Due to its special material, Yixing purple clay teapot has the following characteristics:
1. Brewing tea does not lose the original flavor, and the color and fragrance are all contained, making the tea more mellow and fragrant.
2. The longer the purple clay pot is used, the brighter the pot will be. This is because the tea itself can also nourish the pot during the brewing process.
3. Zishaware has good thermal and cold denaturation. It can be burned on a fire or used in a microwave oven without bursting.
4. It transfers heat slowly and retains heat. It will not feel hot if you use it while carrying it.
5. The green body can absorb the aroma of tea. If you use a purple clay pot that has been used to brew tea occasionally without tea leaves, the water will also have the aroma of tea.
6? The mud color of the purple clay pot is related to the tea that is brewed frequently. When you brew black tea, the teapot will change from reddish brown to reddish brown. When you brew green tea frequently, the clay pot will change from reddish brown to tan. . The color of the pot is varied and intriguing.
7. Yixing purple sand has good plasticity and is not easily deformed when fired in the kiln. Therefore, it can be made into various shapes as desired during molding, so that the flowers and ribs of the purple sand ware can be freely shaped. into a system.
8? Unique breathability performance. It has good air permeability, so tea made with it will not change flavor easily, and tea made overnight will not go rancid.
These natural good properties of Yixing purple clay are also rare in the pottery industry, and are unique to Yixing.
(2) Unique molding process
The shapes of Yixing purple clay teapots are ever-changing, and their shapes are made using a completely manual tapping and inlaying technique. This molding process is similar to the molding of pottery from all over the world. The methods are all different. This was created by Yixing artists of all generations based on the special molecular structure of purple sand clay and the modeling requirements of various products. In the late Qing Dynasty, there was a molding or windlass forming process. Regardless of whether it is round, waisted, square, six-sided, side-angled, tall or short, you can make it at will. At the same time, it also provides conditions for the plane change of the shape, which results in the craftsmanship characteristics of purple sand such as rigorous structure, tight mouth cover and clear lines. The production of pot lids best demonstrates the level of craftsmanship. The round lid can be turned around without any sluggishness, and it fits accurately without any gaps or wobbles, so you can pour tea without worrying about losing the lid; the hexagonal lid can fit perfectly no matter it is put on from any angle. All these unique and difficult molding techniques are unmatched by other ceramic products.
(3) The unique Yixing Zisha culture?
Yixing Zisha culture can be summed up as the fusion of China’s long-standing pottery culture and the tea culture that matured in the Tang Dynasty. It is mainly reflected in many aspects such as shape, clay color, inscription, calligraphy, painting, sculpture and seal cutting. Zisha masters are good at using the pot as the main body to integrate various arts into one, harmonious in form and content, and having both spirit and form. The biggest characteristics of Yixing purple clay art are quality, plain shape, plain color, plain decoration, no coloring, no glaze, and simplicity. Its unique character of plain appearance and plain heart often makes people have a special liking for it. There are many poets and painters in ancient and modern times who love it to the point of obsession. This shows its great influence.
Now some scholars in the purple clay academic circle have proposed a novel point of view, that is, classifying purple clay teapots. The first category is works with the traditional literati aesthetic style, which pay attention to the inner cultural heritage, pursue "literary heart", and advocate the elegant style of plain appearance and plain heart. Inscriptions are engraved on the pot body, and poems about cutting pots, teas and scenes are written It is called "literati pot" for the three unique things. The second category includes colorful, bright and exquisite works of public interest. On the clay pot, red, yellow, blue, black and other clay materials are used to draw landscape figures, vegetation, insects and fish as patterns, or are inlaid with copper and covered with silver. This type of pot is called "folk pot". The third type of works are clay pots that are polished and inlaid with gold rims. The style caters to the aesthetic tastes of West Asia and Europeans and has an obvious export style, so it is called "export pot". The fourth category is the royal purple sand teapots that are made with exquisite craftsmanship and are luxurious and elegant, which are called "palace teapots". Such utensils represented the highest achievement of purple clay pottery making at that time.
In addition, Yixing purple sand has a unique phenomenon. Since the Ming Dynasty, many literati have participated in design, calligraphy, poetry, painting, and seal engraving, and have worked with ceramic artists to complete each work. The content of the poems and engraved poems has been completely elevated to the level of literature. The pot is used to convey feelings, and it once developed to the point where "the word is passed on by the pot" and "the pot is followed by the word". Among the more famous ones are Chen Jiru, Dong Qichang, Zheng Banqiao, Chen Mansheng, Ren Bonian, Wu Changshuo, Huang Binhong, Tang Yun, Feng Qiyong, Yaming, etc., which played an extremely important role in expanding and deepening the connotation of Yixing purple sand culture. This phenomenon is rare in other craft fields. Among them, the most influential one is Chen Mansheng. ? Chen Mansheng, courtesy name Zigong, nickname Mansheng, and named Hongshou, was born in Qiantang, Zhejiang (1777-1822) and was one of the "Eight Families of Xiling". Chen Hongshou was good at painting landscapes, emphasizing simplicity, lightness, far-reaching meaning, clear and beautiful effects, and profound attainments in poetry and prose. He loved pot art all his life and was an outstanding ceramic designer. He had designed eighteen styles of pots, mostly with brothers Yang Pengnian and Shao Erquan. Cooperating with others, the pots he designed were mostly liked by literati and refined scholars, and were called "Mansheng pots". Most of his pots are geometric in shape, simple, concise and generous, which is unprecedented in previous generations, creating a new style of purple clay pots. The Mansheng pot inscriptions are full of textual interest, fresh, vivid and thought-provoking. Chen Mansheng pioneered the use of calligraphy and decoration on pots. From then on, the trinity of style and connotation of "poetry, calligraphy and painting" in traditional Chinese culture was perfectly integrated with purple sand during Chen Mansheng's period, bringing Yixing purple sand culture to a new height.