Purple Clay Teapots Develop: Simple Designs To Miniature Forests
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Purple clay teapots come only from a small town named Yixing in southeast China. The local craftsmen have added many artistic elements to their work, such as monuments, pictures, stories, and legends. So some purple clay teapots are much more than just a kind of practical tea ware. However Rome was not built in a day, and neither were purple clay teapots.
It all begins
The first purple clay teapot was invented in the middle of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). At that time, loose-leaf tea became more widely available and people sought to improve their teapots.
An ancient Chinese book holds an account of how the first purple clay teapot was devised. In an accidental opportunity, a boy by the name of Gong Chun found that some local residents were producing jugs out of a special material called purple clay. He was inspired right away: What if I take the purple clay and craft a teapot? He immediately put his idea into practice. He gathered up some purple clay, washed and filtered it, then handcrafted his dream.
He showed this pot to his friends. They were surprised by his novel yet somewhat plain creation. And when they sampled tea brewed in the pot, they found out it was much more delicious and savory than before. They saw this pot as a remarkable innovation, and called it a Gong Chun Pot in honor of that observant and creative boy. Since then, a great number of potters have been imitating this classic style.
Did you know? Several years ago, a replica of the first purple clay teapot crafted by today's most famous potter, Gu Jingzhou, was priced at 25 thousand US dollars.
Development over the next three centuries
The potters of the late Ming dynasty devoted themselves to their own styles. For example, some of them applied the characteristics of ancient bronze ware to their works. Hence a variety of primitive and stately purple clay teapots sprung up.
In the early Qing dynasty (1644 - 1912), master potters began to craft purple clay teapots based on fine sculptures. Natural objects like chestnuts, trees, and animals were used for inspiration and teapots became works of art that were more vivid and animated. Much like other forms of art at that time, an artist would inscribe his name and imprint his seal on the pot so that other people knew it was his.
Some generations later, the bamboo knife was brought into use. It allowed artisans to carve graceful Chinese characters and elegant landscapes on their creations. Thus, more traditional arts were involved into purple clay teapots, such as calligraphy, Chinese painting, and ancient poetry. Some teapots have entire verses or songs written on them.
Contemporary development of purple clay teapots
Life won't be roses all the way. In the beginning for the last century, the development of purple clay teapots stopped due to the collapse of the Qing dynasty, wars and social instability. But since the beginning of the Chinese economic reforms (late 1970's), many outstanding potters have emerged. They have not only mastered ancient methods, but also apply themselves to adding a touch of modernity on the pots of old.
Nowadays real purple clay teapots are more precious than ever before. After hundreds of years of unrestricted mining, the Chinese government's Purple Clay Protection Regulations came into effect on April 1, 2007. Now only a limited amount of this resource can be used each year.
Article Source: Articlelogy.com
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