Not much later came the kiln, an oven to fire the final product to far greater hardness and durability than could be obtained by sun-drying; and the invention of the potter's wheel permitted the crafting of thinner and more uniform vessels in a much shorter time. By the time of Neolithic China's Yangshao and Lungshan cultures, known, respectively, for their painted and black glazed vessels, pottery had begun to move out of the realm of the purely utilitarian and into that of the aesthetic.
From the basic techniques of Neolithic man, the potter's art in China reached its zenith many thousands of years later during the Sung Dynasty, when kilns established throughout China specialized in bone-white porcelains. Later, frustrated Europeans would spend many years in unsuccessful attempts to recreate them.
Having perfected the art of throwing on the potter's wheels, Sung craftsmen turned out a fine porcelain ware which was translucent, almost paper thin. Methods of painting and glazing then reached heights of excellence not since equalled, either in China or the West. With the Chinese porcelain revolution in its full glory, special wares were produced both for Imperial use and for export to European and other countries. Many of the kilns received overseas name recognition. Some, such as the Chingteh Kiln in Chianghsi Province, continued to produce wares of excel lent quality through the end of the Ching Dynasty.
Concurrently, the seeds of a different taste in ceramics were quietly beginning to take root. While craftsmen at the Chingteh Kiln were turning out their pure white porcelain wares and finishing them with a great variety of paints and glazes, not very far away, in Chiangsu Province's Yihsing County, potters were using a purplish-black local clay in much the same manner as their earliest Neolithic ancestors-shaping vessels by hand, then firing them in a kiln without the addition of paint or glaze.
The simple, unadorned, dark clay vessels produced in Yihsing County attained immense popularity among the scholar and artisan classes of that day. Today they are sought after by collectors with a zealousness which borders on fanaticism, and their story is an important chapter in the history of ceramics in China.
Located in Chiangsu Province on the western side of Taihu Lake, the once rich area to the south of the Yantze River has a history of pottery production stretching back many thousands of years. Archaeological excavations in the area have uncovered potsherds dating back to Neolithic times. There are legends recorded at later times which suggest that during the Spring and Autumn Era, kilns were established at Yihsing for the production of ceramics. Celadon kilns from the Tang Dyansty were also uncovered in the area. However, those vessels made from that dark purple clay called tzusha in Chinese, and which have become synonymous with the name Yihsing, come from a comparatively later period. The oldest extant vessels we have of Yihsing tzusha ware date from the later part of the Ming Dynasty (although in 1976, some tzusha potsherds and a kiln uncovered in the area have been attributed to the Northern Sung period).
Potters at Yihsing created a wide variety of vessels—pots for bonsai and flower arrangement, water droppers for calligraphy use, and figurines and other decorative pieces meant to adorn the scholar's study. Analysis of the sherds uncovered in the 1976 excavation show the tzusha vessels from that early period to be mostly utilitarian in nature-pots, basins, water storage jars. However, also uncovered during that excavation were the sherds of one type of vessel which was not only to become Yihsing's hallmark, but to firmly establish its name as one of China's major ceramic centers—the Yihsing teapot.
Of varied shapes and sizes, some small enough to be held in the palm of the hand, Yihsing teapots were produced by a select group of artisans, in many in stances recipients of a potter's art which had been in their families for generations. Handmade and showing painstaking attention to detail, the teapots (with the exception of a few instances in time when Yihsing went into commercial production) were produced in limited quantities. They adorned the palace of the Emperor, were considered valued gifts for foreign dignitaries visiting China, and were avidly sought by collectors. Today, museums here and abroad hold exhibitions of these finely crafted teapots, and many command vast prices on the collector's market.
The evolution of the Yihsing teapot is very much related to the development of the tea drinking arts of China. During the Tang and Sung Dynasties, the method for tea preparation was much different from the periods to follow: Powdered tea was scooped into a bowl to which boiling water was added, and the mixture was then stirred briskly with a bamboo whisk. Then, grasping the bowl with both hands, the savorer brought the brew to his mouth and consumed it in a style that was part drinking, part slurping. It is precisely this method of tea drinking which the Japanese brought back to Japan and have retained to the present day, a style now known throughout the world as the Japanese tea ceremony. In China, however, the technique went through changes during the Yuan Dynasty, when tea powder was phased out in favor of steeped tea leaves, and the need arose for a suitable vessel in which to brew the leaves.
It is from the Yuan period that we have the first written reference to a Yihsing tzusha teapot. Tsai Szhan, a Yuan Dynasty scholar, came across a tzusha teapot inscribed by an earlier scholar from the same dynasty, Sun Tao-ming. Writing about it in his journal, Tsai commented, "Each time I used it to brew tea, its ancient elegance surpassed description."
Even the underside has been finished by the artist with great care
With all the famous ceramic kilns then existing in China, why did Yihsing become China's teapot center? Among several reasons, the Yihsing area was one of China's prime tea producing areas.
The area, during the Tang Dynasty, was actually known as Yanghsien; and the fine tea produced here was called Yanghsien tea, much of it reserved for the consumption of the Emperor and other high officials. Potters in the region were, thus, already knowledgeable about the preparation of tea. Also, Yihsing was close to the culture centers of Soochow and Hangchow, whose talented, creative artisans were attracted to the Yihsing area, the famed Sung scholar Su Tung-po among them.
However, of all factors, that which figured most prominently in the success of Yihsing was a provision of nature—Yihsing's clay. Although the purple tzusha was most typical, the clays of Yihsing came in a variety of colors-reds, blacks, greens, grays. Additionally, from the potter's point of view, the texture and elasticity of Yihsing's clays made them a pleasure to work with.
As far as connoisseurs of tea were (and are still) concerned, there simply was no teapot more suitable for the brewing of tea-more able to fully bring out the flavor of even the most subtle teas—than one made from Yihsing clay. Unlike porcelain and other glazed ceramics, Yihsing clay teapots are porous, at least to a small degree. And for this reason among others, they are considered to have outstanding characteristics both in terms of retaining warmth and of allowing full development of the flavor and bouquet of the tea. Moreover, a Yihsing pot becomes better the more it is used.
Essential elements from the tea find their way into the microscopic pores of the pot and, after long use, produce a very elegant shine highly desired by collectors. Unlike other antique ceramics—which are more valuable if less used-the most used Yihsing pots are worth more.
Given this combination of factors, it is understandable why Yihsing teapots came to be considered the best vessels available for the brewing of tea. However, two other special characteristics of the Yihsing pot not only set it distinctly apart from other Chinese ceramics, but elevate it from a fantastic brewing vessel to a triumph of art.
Although plaster molds were used at times, the majority of the work was done by hand. And though the construction of such a teapot might not seem overly involved to a viewer of the final product, a master potter might actually work on one small pot for months. The small areas where the spout or handle connect with the body of the teapot could, for example, require days of effort until the potter was satisfied. The objects of such effort, the teapots were much more than utilitarian, they were works of art in the truest sense of the term, a fact clearly reflected in a second special characteristic- each Yihsing teapot was inscribed with the artist's name.
When the clay was still leather-hard, before the pot was fired in the kiln, the artist's name, and in many instances the date, were inscribed or stamped on its bottom or side. And this was not the, case with any other ceramic item produced in China (the closest semblance being the inscription of the Emperor's name on a product of an Imperial kiln). The custom served to identify Yihsing pottery as art-and it also made the later task of putting together a chronology of Yihsing potters and their works considerably easier.
Since the particular pot of "ancient elegance surpassing description" which delighted the Yuan scholar no longer exists, nor any other Yihsing vessel from its time, for all practical purposes, the Yihsing teapot chronology starts with the 16th Century, during China's Ming Dynasty, with a potter by the name of Kungchun. He studied the techniques of teapot making with an old monk from the Chinshan Temple while working as a servant-boy for a scholar who was pursuing other studies at the temple. Industrious and keen of mind, Kungchun perfected his technique, creating teapots that were very elegant and refined as compared to the large, crude vessels in common household use at the time.
Even the underside has been finished by the artist with great care
As a matter of fact, Kungchun's teapots were admirably suited to scholars, who would gather for sessions of tea savoring, poetry recital, and calligraphy. It was the beginning of a long collaboration between Chinese potters and scholars.
Many of Kungchun's extant pots are inscribed with a calligraphy which far exceeded his capabilities-we know he was not a skilled calligrapher. From his time on, the custom of potter-calligrapher collaboration was quite frequently practiced throughout Yihsing history, quite naturally, adding substantially to the value of the pots.
The classic style which Kungchun introduced at the beginning of the 16th Century reached a development peak during the last 70 years of the Ming Dynasty. Yihsing produced more gifted potters in that short time than at any other time in its history, including such people as Shih Ta-pin, who was one of Yihsing's most prolific potters and a teacher of many who later achieved fame; Hui Meng-chen, whose special style of small, round teapots became so popular that his name continued to be used for teapot descriptions through to the present day; and Hsu Yo-chuan, who modeled many of his teapots after ancient bronzes.
The collapse of the Ming Dynasty in the middle of the 17th Century also had its effects on Yihsing. The tea drinking gatherings, an integral part of literati life during the Ming Dynasty, now took place rarely and did not come back into vogue until the 19th Century. With the collapse of the Ming empire, China was ruled by the Mongols, who suppressed the scholar class, one of Yihsing's principal sources of support. To avoid closing down altogether, Yihsing started to produce pots and vases of a much lower quality for export to Europe, many of these unsigned, and rightly so. For they certainly did not represent the standard of quality which Yihsing had established during the previous Dynasty.
Yihsing's only bright star at the beginning of the 18th Century was potter Chen Ming-yuan, known for his works in the naturalistic style and now regarded as one of Yihsing's greatest potters. Chen Ming-yuan's works served as a bridge between the Ming and Ching Dynasties, maintaining the quality which existed during the Ming, but which was otherwise lacking during his time.
The sagging Yihsing industry maintained its pitiful pace to the beginning of the 19th Century, and the arrival of Chen Man-shen. Appointed to the post of magistrate of Yihsing around the year 1812, he immediately set to work in an effort to revive the fallen industry, creating 18 new teapot designs and commissioning half a dozen of the best available potters to work on them. At the same time, he enlisted the help of literary friends in decorating and inscribing the pots.
Although he served as magistrate for only three years, he managed to put new life into Yihsing, stimulating the mandarin and scholar classes to renewed interest in the teapots and commissioning potters to make pots for them. The styles he created are still produced today. However, Yihsing had become commercial, and though it continued to create teapots through the Ching Dynasty, the heyday it knew during the Ming period was not to be seen again.
All this, however, does not seem to discourage contemporary collectors, who go to great lengths to obtain Ching Dynasty teapots—partly due to the rarity and expense of Ming Dynasty pieces, which are included in museum collections throughout the world. Many of the Ching Dynasty pots are quite nice, even if they are not as outstanding as their Ming Dynasty counterparts.
The age, the maker, type of clay, style, inscription, even the way in which the water pours from the spout, are all factors which figure in the value of an antique Yihsing pot. It is not unusual for one of not even the best quality, or most famous maker, to sell for many thousands of dollars. The pots are usually kept for collections only and are not used to brew tea, for fear of breakage. However, it is not unusual for a collector, having obtained a new pot, to hold a tea gathering in order to allow his friends to savor his new acquisition.
In the less than 500 years since its inception, Yihsing has established its place not only in the History of Chinese ceramics, but in Chinese culture. Collectors may pay staggering sums to acquire a pot by their favorite potter. However, even the most simple and unadorned tzusha pot, in keeping with its humble origins, still serves its purpose most nobly—to brew the best tasting pot of tea in the world.