The origin of teapot is in Yixing, Jiangsu, so it is also called Yixing teapot.
The origin of teapot can be traced back to the doctor of Yue State in the Spring and Autumn Period, who retired from Jianghu with his teacher. It has a history of more than 2400 years! However, purple sand was made into pots after the Zheng De period of Ming Wuzong. Since then, it has become a common practice, famous artists have come forth in large numbers, the varieties of colors have been constantly refurbished, and the fine products have been passed down from generation to generation for 500 years. Today, it can be said that it is wonderful.
The origin of teapot
Great writers Sebrina, Cai Xiang and Su Dongpo all left some famous tea poems and sentences. Among them, Mei's poem "Little Stone Cold Spring Leaves First Taste, New Purple Mud Pan Chunhua" is a masterpiece of the ages, which is about making tea with purple clay pots. Of course, Su Dongpo is the most exquisite and creative person. He concluded that "living water should still be cooked with living fire, fish should be touched to find stones, and there should be deep feelings." Stir-fried tea with running water and deep water will taste extraordinary and be more pure and clear. Great changes have taken place in the method of drinking tea in Ming Dynasty. In the Tea Record written by Bird on 1595, the process of making tea is introduced in detail: "When the soup is ripe, scoop it up, first pour it into several pots, remove the cold air of the soup, pour it out, and then pour it. The amount of tea should be appropriate and not wrong ... After two pots, use cold water and soup base to make the pot cool and clean. This is no different from today's tea making method. When making tea evolved into making tea, the quality requirements for teapots were relatively high. Through thousands of years of practice, it is found that making tea with teapot is meaningful and mellow. Because the teapot can absorb tea juice, the longer it is used, the better the tea tastes. As a result, the teapot came into being, and the masters, famous artists and masters who made the teapot stepped onto the front desk of history one by one. Their names and achievements are intertwined with the rise and fall of teapots.
It is generally believed that the founder of teapot is Zheng De in Ming Dynasty-Gong Chun in Jiajing period. "I studied under Zuquan Shigong, studied in Nanshan, and brought a boy's name for Spring. I saw the natives make jars out of mud, which is as clear as a pot, very beautiful and lovely. The so-called pot is spring. " (Wu Meiding: "Preface to Yangxian Porcelain Pot") At that time, people praised "deep chestnut color, such as ancient and modern iron, and fat Zhou Zheng." Just 12, let people see its pot. Unfortunately, there are no spring pots in sight now, and most of the spring pots in circulation are imitations. A copy of Gu Jingzhou, a contemporary Yixing Zisha master, costs about HK$ 200,000, which shows how precious the artistic value of Kaichun pot is. Gong Chunchuan Shi Dabin Li Zhongfen. Together with Xu Youquan, a disciple of Shi Dabin, he was called the "three outstanding figures" of purple sand in Ming Dynasty after Wanli. Shi Dabin's teapot is elegant and refined, and its shape is smooth and smart. Although it does not pursue exquisite carving, it is ingenious, simple and elegant and wonderful. In his later years, Xu Youquan lamented: "My essence is not timely (Shi Dabin's rough)." Xu Youquan, with exquisite craftsmanship, is good at making ancient bronzes into teapot. Gu Zhuo is solemn, simple and energetic. Legend has it that Xu Youquan worshipped Shi Dabin as a teacher in his childhood and asked the teacher to knead a mud cow for him, but he refused. At this moment, a real cow passed by the house. Xu used his quick wits, grabbed a handful of mud, ran outside and squeezed it at the real cow, praising it greatly. He felt very talented, so he gladly gave it all his unique skills. Later, he really became a family. The above four people are the first masters of teapot. The second master of teapot was Hehui in the early Qing Dynasty. Chen Mingyuan put chestnuts, walnuts, peanuts, water chestnuts, arrows and water chestnuts into the pot. He is good at carving, accumulating flowers and mud, making the shape of teapot more vivid, vivid and lively, and turning the traditional teapot into a vibrant sculpture art, full of vitality and vitality. At the same time, he also invented the stamping form of the pot bottom and lid, which formed a fixed technological procedure in the Qing Dynasty, which had a great influence on the development of teapot. Because of Chen Mingyuan's exquisite works, he became famous for a while, and a large number of imitations and fakes appeared. Mr. Gu Jingzhou said that he had only seen a few genuine products in the half century from youth to old age, and collectors should be especially careful not to be deceived. Hui Chenmeng during the Apocalypse and Chongzhen in the late Ming Dynasty was good at making small pots and winning big pots with small pots. Chen Meng's pot is carved with a bamboo knife, and the "Yonglin" seal on the lid of the pot is a fine product. The third masters of teapot were Chen Hongshou and Yang Pengnian during Jiaqing and Daoguang periods in the middle of Qing Dynasty. Chen Hongshou was a famous painter and seal engraver in the middle of Qing Dynasty. Art advocates innovation. He advocates that "poetry, painting and calligraphy don't have to be very homely", but you must see "the interest of nature". He integrated this artistic concept into purple sand pottery. The first contribution is to combine poetry, calligraphy and painting with pottery in zisha pot, and write poetry and sculpture on the pot with a bamboo knife. The second contribution, with his own talent, he improvised many novel styles of teapot at will, which brought great vitality to the innovation of teapot. His cooperation with Yang Pengnian is exemplary. What we are seeing now is the teapot made in Jiaqing period. The handle and bottom of the teapot are printed with the words "Peng Nian" or "Amantoshi", both designed by Chen Hongshou and made in Yang Pengnian. Later, people called it "Mansheng Pot". Chen Hongshou makes Zisha pottery more cultured. Although the production technology is not as exquisite as that in the middle of Ming Dynasty, it has a great influence on later generations. Yang Pengnian pioneered a new technology of pinching the mouth. He doesn't need a mold, but he pinches it by hand, which is quite interesting. After Qianlong, with the decline of the Qing Dynasty, the production of teapot became more and more depressed. It is worth mentioning that Shao Daheng is a master of later generations, while Shao Youlan, Shao Youting, Jiang, Cheng Shouzhen and others are inferior. More is conformism, less innovation, and the production process is more and more sloppy. Mr Gu Jingzhou, a contemporary master of purple sand, was the first person to introduce him. Gu Lao has been committed to purple sand pottery for more than 60 years, with remarkable achievements and great reputation. Others are Zhu Kexin, Gao Haigeng, Pei Shimin, Wang Yinchun, Wu Yungen, Xu Xiutang, Li Changhong, Shen Mihua, Gu Shaopei, Wang Yinxian, Lv Yaochen, Xu Hantang and Jiang Rong. , but also have their own unique skills and expertise, these are temporary gifts.
Zisha pot raw materials
The raw material for firing teapot is mud, which can be divided into purple mud, green mud and red mud. Mud that can be used to fire teapot is generally buried deep under the rock stratum and distributed between the mud layers of nail mud, and the thickness of mud layers varies from tens of centimeters to one meter. According to the petrographic analysis of Shanghai Silicate Research Institute, the purple sand yellow mud belongs to the high-iron kaolin-Yingshi-mica type, with the highest iron content of 8.83%. The teapot is fired at high oxygen and high temperature. Generally, flat fireworks contacts are used, the firing temperature is between1100-1200℃, and the water absorption of the finished teapot is more than 2%. The raw materials of clay in teapot are purple mud, green mud and red mud, commonly known as "rich man". Because it is produced in Yixing, Jiangsu, it is called Yixing Zisha. According to legend, on the streets of Yixing in ancient times, one day a monk suddenly peddled along the street: "Sell rich soil! Who buys rich soil? You can make a fortune if you buy it. " Hence the name. The so-called relying on mountains to eat mountains, relying on soil to eat soil. Yixing purple sand has nurtured generations of skilled craftsmen for thousands of years, so that when it comes to teapot, we immediately associate it with Yixing. It is unknown whether Yixing made the teapot or Yixing made the teapot. Purple clay was originally buried deep under the rock layer and distributed between the mud layers of nail mud. The thickness of the seam is about tens of centimeters to one meter, and the chemical composition is iron-containing clay siltstone. The main mineral composition of purple mud is hydromica, which contains different amounts of kaolinite, quartz, mica and iron. The process of making the clay of the teapot is as follows: the purple mud mined from the ore bed is commonly called raw mud. The massive rock is weathered in the open air to loosen it, and then it is initially crushed and crushed, and it is screened by air supply according to the number of particles required by the product. The screened mud ash is stirred into a mud block by a blender, then accumulated and aged, and then the mud is vacuum kneaded to make it into cooked mud, which is used for making blanks. In the process of refining and preparing purple clay, the water quality used is very particular. The quality of water will directly affect the quality of products. Purple sand has good plasticity, high green body strength and low shrinkage when it is dried and fired. In order to enrich the appearance color of purple sand and meet the requirements of process change and production design, technicians boldly carried out technological innovation, mixed several clay raw materials with different proportions, added a proper amount of metal oxide colorant to clay raw materials, and controlled the temperature and atmosphere in the kiln. The products after firing are colorful, purple but not beautiful, red but not bright, green but not tender, yellow but not tender, or gray but not black. The color of purple sand ware, like the color dyed on wool textiles, is calm but not angry; Careful observation shows that all kinds of mud colors are wrapped in white sand, such as silver powder shining, which is a reflection of light, like pearls. Sometimes it is more eye-catching in silt and coarse mud sand or steel sand. In recent years, the red and bronze cover stickers with natural luster have been successfully trial-produced, creating a new look of clay sculpture decoration. The teapot is not necessarily purple. After firing at high temperature, it presents a variety of strange colors, such as vermilion, bordeaux, copper, begonia, iron gray lead, sunflower yellow, dark green, indigo and so on. The teapot is not glazed, but it is better than glazed, and its color changes are strange and rich. Such as vermilion purple, durian skin, bean green, begonia red, flashing color and so on, are all natural primary colors, simple and rich, simple and lovely. After firing, the heat preservation and air permeability of the teapot are very ideal, and it is an ideal instrument for making tea. It is not an exaggeration to call it "the best tea set in the world" in society.
Zisha mud is the general name of red mud (cinnabar mud), purple mud and Tuanshan mud (the green mud in this mountain is beige). Due to the different distribution of mining areas and seams, the colors of these three kinds of mud materials change slightly during firing, which is intriguing and incredible. Purple clay is rich in color. Among them, Zhu, Zi and Beige are the true colors of purple sand ware, Zhu has shades, Zi has shades, and yellow varieties are rich; If they are named by color, they are Tieqing, Azure, Millet, Pig Liver, Dark Liver, Copper, Begonia Red, Pearl Sand Purple, Sea Blue, Shenxiang, Sunflower Yellow, Cold Golden, Pear Peel, Incense Ash, Blue Ash, Dark Green, Pulping, Ding Hei, Brown Black, Durian Peel and Dark Red. The unique clay material and molding technology of teapot, which integrates modeling, painting, poetry, calligraphy and seal cutting, makes teapot a kind of tea drinking appliance with both practical and ornamental value-Yixing Zisha.
Zisha pottery, referred to as Zisha, is also called Zisha ware or Zisha pottery. Purple sand tea set, simple and generous in shape and simple in color. The longer you make tea with horns, the more elegant the color of the pot body will be, and the more mellow and fragrant the tea soup will be. Even if you pour boiling water into an empty pot, there will be a faint tea fragrance.
According to scientific analysis, the teapot does retain the original flavor of tea soup, can absorb tea juice, and has the characteristics of cold and heat resistance.
Characteristics of purple sand pottery
First, Zisha pottery is a kind of pottery made of sand, which neither captures the aroma of tea nor the taste of boiled soup, so it is used to make tea with both color and flavor.
Second, the sandy teapot can absorb the tea juice and make the "tea rust" accumulate in the corner for a period of time, so there is tea fragrance when boiling water is injected into the empty pot.
Third, it is easy to wash. If you don't use it for a long time, it will inevitably smell. You can make tea with boiling water two or three times, then pour cold water, and then make the same original tea.
Fourth, it has strong adaptability to sudden changes in heat and cold. In the cold winter, the injected boiling water will not burst due to the sudden change of temperature; Moreover, the heat transfer of sand is slow, and it is not hot whether it is lifted or held.
Fifth, purple sand pottery is resistant to burning, and it is not allowed to explode on a warm fire in winter. It is no accident that Su Dongpo made tea with a teapot made of purple sand pottery, and there was a poem "The bamboo stove relaxed the wind and lifted the pot to shout". This is why people who pay attention to tea drinking at all times and in all countries especially like to use teapots.
Practicality of teapot
Teapots are used for making and pouring tea. It has long been concluded that the performance of teapot is "color, fragrance and taste". Moreover, scientific institutions have also made a detailed test of "the summer months are getting worse and worse", and the angle casserole and ceramics have indeed confirmed that casserole is much superior to ceramics. This conclusion is based on the uniqueness of purple sand raw materials. The teapot is practical, because of its high porosity, which makes it have the advantage of good permeability. According to the History of Du Tao in China on page 394, purple clay is characterized by high iron content ... and there are a lot of aggregates in the microstructure of purple clay. There are two kinds of pores, one is the pore inside the aggregate, and the other is the pore group wrapped around the aggregate, most of which are open pores. The good permeability of purple clay may be related to this special microstructure. According to the determination of physical and chemical properties of various clays by Yixing Ceramic Company, it is found that the porosity of purple clay is as high as 10%. Therefore, it shows that good air permeability is of course the main reason for "rich color, fragrance and taste of tea" and "staying up late in summer". The good plasticity and bonding ability of purple sand mud are the reasons why it is beneficial to craft decoration. Moreover, the firing temperature range of purple mud is wide, from 1 190 degrees Celsius to 1270 degrees Celsius. At present, the firing temperature is controlled at about 1200 degrees Celsius, which is another reason why purple sand products are watertight and not aging, and the more they are used, the more shiny they become. All the above shows that this kind of purple sand soil mixed with fine sandy sandstone is the best clay for making pottery pots and a unique treasure in Yixing, Tao Dou.
Now many people mistakenly think that all clay pots are teapots, but they are not. The purple sand pottery tea set made of purple sand pottery clay in Yixing, Jiangsu Province is recognized as the best tea set in the world.
Advantages of teapot
Zhou, an Amin, said in the Ming Pot System in Yangxian County: "Pots have been made of silver, tin, Fujian and Henan porcelain in the past hundred years, but Yixing pottery is still popular." Why do you like Yixing teapot? Zhou said to him again, "anything for peaches and plums?" Take them all away and use the sand on this mountain to make the real color and fragrance of tea. "It turns out that the beauty of Yixing teapot is that it can get the color and fragrance of tea. Li Yu's Essay also said: "The note of tea is better than sand, and the essence of the pot is nothing more than envy. "Wen Zhenheng's Chronicle of the Long Story also said:" The teapot is topped with sand, and the lid of the teapot neither steals incense nor smells cooked soup. "In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, some scholars had the same understanding of the advantages of Yixing teapot.
Yixing teapot is loved by tea people, on the one hand, because of its beautiful shape, diverse styles and unique features, on the other hand, because it has many advantages in making tea.
(1) Purple sand is a kind of porous material with double pore structure, with fine pores and high density. Using a teapot to make tea without losing its original flavor and lingering fragrance is the real fragrance and delicious tea. The Chronicle of History says it "neither captures the fragrance nor smells like boiled soup".
(2) The teapot has good air permeability, and the tea leaves are not easy to deteriorate during use and will not deteriorate in summer. If you don't use it for a long time, it won't smell. Just store the boiling water first, pour it out immediately, and then soak it in cold water to wash it, and your vitality will be restored, and the tea will still taste the same.
(3) The teapot can absorb tea juice, and the inner wall of the teapot is not painted, so there is no peculiar smell when making tea. After long-term use, the wall of teapot accumulates "tea rust", which makes the empty teapot full of boiling water, which is related to the porosity of teapot embryo, which is the unique quality of teapot.
(4) The teapot has good cold and hot mutation performance. In cold winter, boiling water is injected into the teapot, which will never burst because of sudden temperature change. At the same time, the heat transfer of sand is slow, so it won't be hot after making tea. And it can be cooked and heated on slow fire without being cracked by fire.
(5) The longer the purple sand is used, the brighter the color of the pot body will be and the charm will be Wen Ya. If the teapot is used for a long time, the pot body will become smoother and more lovely because of touching and wiping, so Long Wen said in the Book of Tea: "Love is like palm beads. After using it for a long time, it looks like purple jade outside and Yun Lan inside. " "Cultivating Immortals and Ming Pot System" says: "When the pot is used for a long time, you can see spontaneous dark light when you wash your mouth." .
"Yangxian Tea Pot System" said: "The pot is real tea, and it is lively in the New Year, so that it is full of color and fragrance. Therefore, the pot should be small but not big, shallow but not deep, the lid should be straight and not awkward, and the soup should be fragrant, so that it can be combined into one. " Feng Kebin also said in the Book of Tea: "The teapot is small and expensive. Every guest, a pot, let it drink backwards, is interesting. What is this? The pot is small, the fragrance does not come loose, and the taste does not last. The fragrance in the tea is not before, it is not enough too early, and it is too late, just right, and it is done. " Yixing Zisha Pot flourished from the middle of Ming Dynasty, and after continuous improvement, it finally became the best tea set for appreciating elegance and vulgarity and drinking tea.
Zisha pot style
According to experts, a teapot has seven parts: button, lid, ampulla, handle, spout, foot and air hole. From the production process, it can be divided into circle foot, nail foot, square foot and flat foot; There are three kinds of buttons: bead button, bridge button and object button. The pot cover is provided with an embedded cover, a gland and a cutting cover; There are single handles, ring handles, inclined handles and beam handles, and the shapes are really varied.
All kinds of teapot handed down from ancient times have certain names, and there are dozens of popular ones now. Such as foreign barrels, a pearl, dragon eggs, Sifang, Bafang, Meiping, bamboo segments, ichthyosaurs, longevity and so on. , still very popular. Modern people pay more attention to the collection value of teapot. Considering its collection value alone, the ancient teapot is priceless, and the inch-handle teapot is even more precious.
Identification of teapot
To evaluate the connotation of a teapot, we must have three main factors: beautiful structure, exquisite craftsmanship and excellent use function. The so-called image structure refers to the spout, wrench, lid, buckle and foot of the pot, which should be coordinated with the overall proportion of the pot body. Exquisite skills are the criteria for judging the quality of pot art. Excellent practical functions refer to proper volume and weight, easy grip of pot body, smooth rut and seam of pot body, and smooth spout water. At the same time, we should consider the exquisite harmony of colors and patterns?
If we talk abstractly about the aesthetics of teapot art, it can be summarized as four elements: form, spirit, qi and state. Form, that is, formal beauty, refers to the outline of the work, that is, the figurative face; God is verve, a charm that can make people experience spiritual beauty; Qi, that is, temperament, is the essential beauty embodied in pot art; State, that is, form, refers to various postures of a work, such as height, height, fat, thinness, rigidity, softness, squareness and roundness. From these aspects, it is a really perfect good work. But here we must distinguish between reason and interest. If the pot lovers are biased and haggle over the size of the pot, the pot mouth should be straight, the pot cover should be straight, the pot body should be tall and short, and the focus should be on making tea and drinking, then they will only be sensible and boring. Appreciation of art should be both reasonable and interesting. No matter how big or small the work is, whether the spout is curved or straight, whether the lid is vertical or flat, and whether the shape is high or short, it cares about interest, can generate emotions and nourish the soul, and can never tire of playing. Therefore, to appreciate a new style, we must first understand the essence of inverted beauty before we can comment on it. Starting from this aesthetic attitude, we can win the praise of sand fans. Of course, as a practical handicraft, its applicability is also very important, and the comfort in use can please the body and mind and cause harmonious interest. Therefore, according to the habits and customs of drinking tea, we should selectively consider the capacity of the pot body, the smooth outflow of water from the spout, the labor-saving comfort of holding the handle and so on.