Chinese Tea utensils are an integral part of Chinese Tea culture, and their development over thousands of years reflects the evolution of our tea-drinking culture.
I. The Mixed Use of Utensils for Wine and Tea
Before the Han Dynasty in China, there were no specialized utensils for drinking tea; they were shared with those used for eating and drinking wine. Tea was boiled in pots used for cooking rice, and drunk from bowls used for water and alcohol.
In Jin Dynasty's “Four Kings' Uprising” by Lu Lin, it is recorded that “a clay bowl was used to hold tea,” indicating that even the Jin Emperor still used a bowl (an earthenware vessel for food) to drink tea. There is no mention of specialized tea utensils, much like how there was no character for “tea” in ancient times.
1. The Emergence of the Term “Teaware”
The popularity of Tea drinking began in the Han Dynasty. Not only did a market for buying tea emerge, but there were also dedicated tea houses. As a result, teaware began to appear. The earliest mention of teaware can be found in Wang Bao's “The Boy Slave” from the Han Dynasty, which states, “Prepare all the utensils for brewing tea, and buy tea in Wuyang.”
At this time, there were no specialized utensils for drinking tea, but people had become more particular about the utensils used for tea. They selected fine bowls and ensured they were clean.
2. The First Dedicated Tea Kettle
During the Three Kingdoms, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties periods, serving tea to guests became a custom, and teaware started to separate from utensils used for food and wine. In Zuo Si's “Pampered Daughters” from the Jin Dynasty, there is a description of “blowing on the kettle as the tea boils,” indicating that there was already a dedicated kettle for boiling tea. Wide-rimmed bowls with exposed bases were used for drinking tea.
3. The First Dedicated Tea Bowl
The development of glazed pottery facilitated the separation of teaware. During the Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, saucer bowls with handles appeared, where the bowl and saucer were connected with glaze, forming dedicated tea bowls. This marked the first appearance of specialized tea ware for drinking tea in China.
4. The Prototype Teapot – Chicken-Head Soup Bottle
During the Three Kingdoms period, a type of bottle for holding and pouring water emerged. It was carefully designed, with a standard parabolic spout and a small, round outlet, allowing for a strong, precise flow of water. On one side of the pot was a chicken head, initially decorative, but by the Eastern Jin Dynasty, it had evolved into a hollow handle through which water could flow into the pot.
Due to the chicken head, it was called a chicken-head soup bottle. After improvements during the Sui Dynasty, by the early Tang Dynasty, the chicken-head soup bottles produced by Yue kilns were very exquisite and later replaced by pouring bottles.
II. The Development of Specialized Tea Utensils
Chinese tea culture entered a flourishing period in the Tang Dynasty, and tea drinking became widespread, with the saying, “No matter if you're a monk or a layperson, you take tea.” The concept of “teadom” was born, and Lu Yu wrote “The Classic of Tea,” which spurred the development of teaware. The rise of the ceramics industry in particular accelerated the rapid development of Chinese teaware.
In Chapter Four of “The Classic of Tea,” Lu Yu listed over twenty specialized tools for tea drinking.
In 1987, gilded tea utensils and lustrous stone tea bowls were unearthed in the underground palace of Famen Temple in Shaanxi Province, typical examples of luxurious and refined Tang Dynasty imperial teaware.
However, among the common people, ceramic bowls and cups were still predominantly used for drinking tea. The difference between a bowl and a cup is that a bowl is larger, while a cup is smaller; a bowl can be used for eating and drinking, while a cup is solely for tea. Cups have wide mouths, shallow bodies, and slanted, straight walls with a jade disc-shaped foot and a shallow saucer.
1. Southern Green and Northern White Teaware in the Tang Dynasty
Ceramics highlighted the color of tea, preserved its fragrance, and kept hands from getting burned, leading to the rapid emergence of specialized ceramic teaware. The most famous kilns in the Tang Dynasty were in the south and north. In the south, Yuyao in Zhejiang Province had the Yue kiln, specializing in celadon teaware.
In the north, Xingtai in Hebei Province had the Xing kiln, specializing in white porcelain teaware. The poet Pi Rixiu once wrote, “People from Xing and Yue both make porcelain, round like the moon fallen from the sky, light like cloud spirits rising.” Lu Yu also mentioned in “The Classic of Tea” that “Yue porcelain resembles jade,” “Xing porcelain is like silver,” “Xing porcelain is like snow,” and “Yue porcelain is like ice.” White porcelain cups are relatively heavy and do not have a raised rim at the outer mouth.
Celadon cups “have uncurled lips and curled bottoms and are shallow.” During the Tang Dynasty, Xing kiln's white cups were “used by all classes regardless of wealth,” while Yue kiln's celadon received the honor of being “first offered to our emperor after being made.” Kilns in the south and north produced large quantities of celadon and white porcelain teaware.
2. The Five Famous Kilns in the Song Dynasty
In the Song Dynasty, tea drinking became even more prevalent and sophisticated. The trend of tea competitions, in particular, drove the refinement of tea utensils, leading to the emergence of famous kilns and cups. The most representative were the following five famous kilns:
(1) Ru Kiln: Located in Baofeng, Henan Province. During the Song Dynasty, Baofeng belonged to Ru Prefecture, hence the name Ru Kiln. It specialized in producing celadon and was renowned for its pure glaze color.
(2)