Famous Writers, Kings And Purple Clay Teapots
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It should come as no surprise that many eminent people throughout Chinese history have loved tea. What is peculiar, however, is that some of the most famous, cultured individuals China has ever seen also fell in love with a particular kind of teapot, made out of a material called Yixing purple clay.
Ancient poet Su Dongpo (1037 - 1101) and his original purple clay teapot
Su Dongpo was the most eminent writer of the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279). His works feature an unconstrained and enthusiastic style. Chinese people are so lucky that Su has left some 4,000 ancient poems to them. Besides, he was also a very famous calligrapher and painter.
The funny thing is that Su enjoyed tea and purple clay teapots very much, and he created a well-known pot of his own style called a Dongpo Cross Beam Pot.
For a period of time, Su used to live at Yixing, the only place that has natural purple clay. He would savor the joy of tea while doing his work. However, the teapots at that time were all so small that he had to keep drinking one pot after another after another. This caused much trouble for him, as his creative inspiration had to be interrupted time after time.
Therefore he intended to make a big teapot by himself. He bought some purple clay, and started to shape and work with it. But several months passed, and he still failed to complete a decent pot. Can you imagine how anxious he was?
One night, a boy attendant carrying a lantern came and asked Su to have a snack. All of a sudden, a good idea came to Su's mind: Why not make a pot in the shape of this lantern?
After just a few tries, Su perfected the lantern-shaped teapot. But there was a problem: it was heavy and slick, so no one could hold it. Even attaching the standard teapot handle was not enough. After thinking for some time, Su crafted a long, U-shaped handle that hung over the pot and attached to both the front and back. This handle was easy to carry, and gave great leverage when pouring tea out of the large belly of the pot.
After that, Su was constantly using his special big teapot while intently creating his poems. Some say he had even spent more time with the pot than with his own son. At present, there are still a number of master potters trying to emulate Su's original design. They give their imitations a name Dongpo Cross Beam Pot, according to Su's name and the characteristics of his famous pot.
Here's a photo of one such pot, taken in Su's old home:
One of China's finest emperors loved purple clay, too
The Qianlong emperor of the Qing dynasty was one of the oldest emperors in history and ruled for one of the longest periods of time.
One of his secrets to healthiness was enjoying tea every day. Here's one of his comments: "A king is not supposed to live without tea even just for one day." It tells us how important enjoying tea was in his life. He used to travel to all parts of his country dressed as ordinary people, and he savored all kinds of Chinese tea.
As a tea connoisseur, Qianlong also called for Yixing purple clay teapots to match his tea. So he amassed a large collection of first-rank purple clay teapots, as he thought it was very clear that a good purple clay teapot could bring out the original color, scent, and taste of his tea. He boasted their superior quality and functions. He called purple clay teapots 'The best tea ware on earth.'
As a testament to his admiration for these pots, Qianlong sought the best artists and forced them to make pots only for him. He also adorned several pots with his personal calligraphy and other designs. Before long, many common people began to follow suit and more and more people where seeking purple clay teapots of their own.
Article Source: Articlelogy.com
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