 | J/F 10 - Yixing Potteryposted by TeaHouseTimes Admin, ADVERTISER TEA RELATED PRODUCTSThursday, February 11th 2010 @ 5:16 PM |
From the Jan/Feb10 issue of The Tea House Times. To view the most recent issue, please log-in at http://www.theteahousetimes.com/ for free access.
Yixing pottery, also known as zisha (purple clay) is a unique traditional Chinese ceramic art. It represents a type of ceramic ware with characteristics of both pottery and porcelain. Generally, the inside and outside surface of Yixing ware exhibits a natural texture, displaying the color and luster of refined pottery without any added glaze. Yixing ware includes the tea set, bottle, tripod caldron, flower pot, artistic and scholarly accessories, and sculpture. However, the tea set remains the principal category and has accounted for most of Yixing ware’s notoriety.
With respect to the origins of Yixing ware, a legendary folk tale was recorded in the Collection of Famous Ceramics published during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911): Once a strange monk roamed into Dingshu, Yixing, where he hollered to passers-by: “Riches and honor for sale!” The villagers, however, all sneered at him, and no one paid him any attention. So the monk changed his cry, “Nobody wants to buy honor, but how about riches?” The villagers were now interested and the monk led them to a spot outside the village. There the villagers found marvelous, multicolored clay rich in iron. They used the clay to make pottery ware which became world-renowned, and a never-ending source of wealth for them.
Cai Sizhan of the Ming Dynasty wrote, “I bought a zisha pot in Baixia (today’s Nanjing) with five characters inscribed on it: ‘Having tea and keeping detached.’”
*Taken from Yixing Pottery by Pan Chunfang. Used by Permission. Long River Press www.longriverpress.com
