Through the study of Tea poems from the Northern Song Dynasty, we can not only reconstruct the scenes of literati drinking tea but also return to the Northern Song period thousands of years ago, gaining insight into people's customs and habits, which provides a basis for historical research. We can find examples of the functions of tea from these poems, advocating a healthier lifestyle. Moreover, drinking tea itself is an activity full of poetic charm, relaxing one's mood and cultivating one's character. Therefore, to fully exhibit its beauty and express its quality and taste, people often paid attention to the selection and decoration of utensils used for tea as well as the choice and arrangement of the environment for tea-drinking. Just like a fine horse needs a good saddle, only then can the effects of this pleasant activity be perfected.
Thus, literati in the Northern Song Dynasty were very particular about the utensils they used for tea. They had requirements not only for the materials used to make these utensils but also for their appearance, hoping that using these tea sets would not only ensure the purity of the tea's flavor but also make them pleasing to the eye.
Consequently, Song Dynasty tea utensils departed from the simple elegance of the Tang Dynasty, focusing more on detailed embellishments and opulence. They treated tea utensils as decorative items, placing them as displays. Not only did they use these exquisite tea utensils for drinking tea, but they also placed or collected them as decorations to enhance aesthetics.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, a type of tea utensil made of gold or silver became popular, with handles and spouts, similar to what we now commonly call a kettle. The reason why people in the Song Dynasty switched to these utensils with handles and spouts was determined by the prevailing tea-drinking customs at the time. As previously mentioned, people generally engaged in tea competitions, and such utensils with handles and spouts were more suitable for the tea preparation process. Using Teapots of this shape for tea competitions facilitated control over the speed and strength of pouring water. Regarding the material of these utensils, wealthy families might have gold stone kettles, but they wouldn't use them frequently; instead, they placed them on display. Generally, people used silver, stone, iron, or porcelain vessels. Su Dongpo's poem “Following the Rhyme of Zhou Tong's Gift of a Stone Kettle” describes this:
“The copper is smelly and the iron is harsh, unsuitable for spring water, I love this deep and wide kettle with a bluish color. The crab eyes turn the waves as the soup is prepared, while the dragon-head spout resists the fire and the handle remains cold. Fresh ginger, little salt, and newly brewed tea, the moss is not yet dry from the water stains and steam. Since ancient times, large kettles often break their legs, knowing that those without legs are light and peaceful.” 1
In this poem, the poet mentions several benefits of using a stone kettle to brew tea: first, it has a large volume, being both deep and wide, capable of holding a lot of tea leaves. Additionally, using it to brew tea results in a better taste because if copper utensils are used, the tea will have a fishy taste, and if iron utensils are used, the tea water will have a bitter taste. Using stone utensils, however, imparts only the fragrance of the tea.
Of course, some people believed that gold or silver utensils were better for brewing tea, a point Su Shi also mentioned in another poem. Regardless, these verses indicate the high standards people in the Northern Song Dynasty had for their tea utensils. From the descriptions in these verses and images of actual objects, we can understand how exquisite and luxurious these utensils were during the Northern Song Dynasty, the joy they brought to people's tea-drinking lives, and the aesthetic experiences and feelings they generated during Tea drinking.
Gilded Silver Tea Bowl with Saucer (Song Dynasty)
We now understand what kind of utensils people in the Northern Song Dynasty used for brewing tea, but what about the utensils they used for drinking tea? During the Northern Song Dynasty, people generally preferred to drink tea from tea bowls called “jian zhan,” which were small bowls with wide mouths and thick bottoms, and they were all black in color. This type of tea bowl is known as a “jian zhan” or “purple zhan” because it originated in Jianyang, Fujian Province. The following image is an example of a black-glazed jian zhan from the Northern Song Dynasty.
The reason why such utensils were used for drinking tea during the Northern Song Dynasty was due to the need for tea competitions, primarily for three reasons: First, as mentioned earlier, the tea broth is white and snow-white in color, so when using black utensils for tea preparation, the contrast between the white broth and the black cup becomes particularly strong, making it easier for competitors to discern the shapes of various broth patterns and the water marks become more apparent. Second, as seen in the image, these tea bowls are particularly large with wide rims, so after brewing, the surface of the tea becomes more visible, allowing observers to see more patterns on the tea surface during tea competitions. Third, related to another feature of this utensil, the walls of the tea bowl are quite thick, which helps keep the tea warm longer when using these thick-walled cups for brewing.
Descriptions of jian zhan can also be found in Su Shi's poetry, for example: “Striking fire to draw mountain springs, brewing tea away from the forest. Clear windows tilt purple cups, both color and taste are marvelously unique. My life is spent sleeping and eating, once full, myriad thoughts cease. I laugh at Lu Jue, hungry for three hundred moons. How could it compare to the people in the mountains, waking up to blooming flowers. Who can share a cup with me, no footsteps outside the door.” (Su Shi, “Visiting Huishan”) 1
In this poem, the poet mentions the purple zhan and says that the tea brewed in it not only looks beautiful in color but also tastes excellent, truly remarkable. This demonstrates the superior quality of jian zhan.
To summarize, from these poems, we can identify some characteristics of the tea utensils used by literati in the Northern Song Dynasty and appreciate the unique beauty of these utensils. Tea is inherently beautiful, and the superb skills in tea competitions make the tea broth even more beautiful. In addition, these utensils complement the beauty of tea, further enhancing its degree of beauty, making the act of drinking tea even more beautiful. No wonder these poets loved drinking tea.
Figure 4.2: Black-Glazed Jian Zhan (Northern Song Dynasty)