The history of teacups

The History of Cups

Porcelain cups, daily utensils, from ancient times to the present day its main function is used for drinking wine or tea.

The basic shape is mostly straight or open mouth, with the diameter of the rim nearly equal to the height of the cup.

The cups were made with a flat foot, a rounded foot or a high foot.

Archaeological data show that the earliest cups were first seen in the Neolithic period.

Pottery cups are found at sites of the Yangshao, Longshan and Hemudu cultures.

The cups of this period are the most peculiar and varied: those with ears have single or double ear cups; those with feet are conical, three-footed cups, goblet-shaped cups, high-handled cups, etc.

The cups of the Warring States period are the most peculiar and varied.

The Warring States period to the Han Dynasty appeared primitive celadon cup, of which the Han Dynasty oval, shallow belly, long edge next to the cup with flat ears is the most representative.

The Sui dynasty cup is mostly straight mouth, cake bottom of the green glaze cup.

The Tang dynasty pottery cups of three-color glaze and tattooed ceramic cups are the most distinctive, and at that time it was also popular to plate and several small cups combined with a complete set of drinking utensils.

Song and Yuan period of the cup more straight mouth, shallow belly, rim or high foot, high foot bottom is flared.

Song cup more to win the glaze color, such as Longquan kiln and the official, brother, Ru, all kilns.

Among them, the Magizhou kiln underglaze black color decoration is quite distinctive.

Yuan cup tire bone heavy, cup inner often printed with small flowers and plants for decoration, Ming and Qing Dynasties, the most delicate of its cup, its tire thin, its glaze warm, its color colorful, its type of variety.

Ming Dynasty, there are the famous Yongle hand cup, Chenghua Doucai high-footed cup, chicken tankard cups, etc., early in the high-footed cups.

The Qing dynasty cup more straight mouth, deep belly, abdomen with or without a handle, with or without a lid, respectively, decorated with a variety of techniques, blue and white, pink and a variety of monochrome glaze.

Porcelain marigolds, tea utensils.

The basic type of open mouth and small feet, oblique straight wall, generally smaller than the rice bowl, larger than the wine glass.

According to archaeological or documentary evidence, porcelain marigolds in the Eastern Jin Dynasty has been produced, seen in kind for the straight mouth and straight abdominal wall, cake-shaped flat bottom foot, glazed with green glaze, open the fine grain pieces.

The North and South Dynasties when the wind of drinking tea gradually popularized.

During the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties period, the tea calendars of the Yue Kiln in the south and the Xing Kiln in the north were the most famous.

In the Tang Dynasty, tea calendars were also known as "ou", Lu Yu, "Tea Classic", said: "Ou Yuezhou, the mouth and lips are not rolled, the bottom is rolled and shallow, subject to half a liter only", which can be seen in the general shape of the Yue kiln calendars.

The Yue kiln calendars are often equipped with calendars, which are often designed as lotus leaves with curled edges, on top of the lotus petal-shaped calendars, which is quite delicate and touching.

Yue Kiln teapots are made of fine and even glaze, with greenish glaze, which is rightly called the finest by Lu Yu.

Xing kiln lamps are famous for "white as snow", and "common to all the world, no matter how noble or lowly", which shows its popularity.

In the Tang Dynasty, both north and south tealights were made with open mouth, slanting belly and straight wall, and jade wall foot as the common type.

The Song Dynasty tea ceremony was a great success, because it is easy to observe the white of the tea foam, so the black glaze of the Jian kiln and Yonghe kiln is especially revered.

Even Emperor Zhao Ji of the Song Dynasty was no exception.

He said bluntly in the "Daguan tea theory": "The color of the lamp is expensive green and black, jade hair strip up to the top.

"There are jade milliliters of the calabash is often referred to as rabbit hair calabash, produced in Fujian Jianyang kiln.

In the Song Dynasty, there were two types of marigolds: one with a small shallow footrim, a sloping curved belly, and a straight mouth; and the other with a flared mouth, such as a trumpet, a small shallow footrim, and a sloping straight belly.

Some of them are decorated with gold, with the inscription "Shou Shan Fu Hai".

In addition to the Jian kilns, the official kilns of the Song Dynasty, Ge kilns, Ding kilns, Jun kilns, Longquan kilns, Jizhou kilns are commonly burned tealights.

Yuan dynasty black glaze tealight relatively reduced, more often seen in green and white glaze products.

Yuan dynasty tealight more straight mouth, the body is heavy.

The Ming dynasty to Xuande white glaze marigold production is the most exquisite.

Chenghua, Jiajing blue and white enamel marigold next.

In the early Ming dynasty, more small folded rim, deep belly, high deep foot.

In the middle and late Ming dynasty, more small flared mouth, deep belly, wide under the narrow, shallow footrim, decorated with glazed blue and white patterns, but also color, five colors and monochrome glaze decoration.

The Qing dynasty tealight vessel shape, decorative techniques, production processes are better than the previous dynasty, its pastel and enamel painting decorated small calabash is exquisite.

The basic shape of the vessel is open mouth, curved abdominal wall, high, large and deep in the early part of the footrim, and relatively low, small and shallow in the later part of the period, all of which are trimmed to a neat shape.

The history of the development of cups and marigolds, compared to the two, the production of cups in the first, marigolds in the latter, cups are used for drinking, marigolds are used for tea, cups are smaller, marigolds are larger, cups are more high-footed, marigolds are more rimmed, cups are simple decoration, marigolds are decorated with complex patterns.

Through the evolution of the cups and janissaries, we can realize the profoundness of the tea and wine culture of the Chinese people.

History in teacups

▲The origin of the word "tea" can be traced back to China's Shennong Ben Cao, which is the world's oldest and first book on medicines.

According to experts, the book was written in the Warring States period (5 BC - 221 BC).

▲China's tea saint - Lu Yu in the Tang Dynasty in about 758 AD wrote the world's earliest tea monograph "Tea Classic", a systematic and comprehensive discussion of the planting of tea, tea, tea, tea, tea, tea, tea, tea, tea, tea, tea, tea, tea, tea, tea, tea, tea, tea, tea, tea, tea, tea, tea, tea, tea, tea, tea and tea.

According to Lu Yu, "Tea Classic" deduction, China's discovery of the tea tree and the use of tea so far has a history of more than four thousand seven hundred years.

▲ Tea in China during the Western Zhou Dynasty was used as a sacrifice, to the Spring and Autumn Period tea fresh leaves were used as food, while the Warring States period tea as a cure for diseases, tea has become one of the main commodities during the Western Han Dynasty.

From the Three Kingdoms to the North and South Dynasties for more than three hundred years, especially in the North and South Dynasties period, Buddhism was prevalent, and Buddhists used tea drinking to relieve drowsiness from sitting meditation, so tea was commonly planted in the valleys next to the monastery temples.

Tea drinking promoted Buddhism, and Buddhism promoted the development of the tea stove, which is the source of the famous history of the so-called "tea and Buddha one flavor".

By the Tang Dynasty, tea was officially popularized as a popular beverage.

▲Tea has been a bond of friendship between the peoples of China and Japan since ancient times.

During the Tang Dynasty, the Japanese monk most Cheng came to China to study Buddhism at Guoqing Temple on Tiantai Mountain in Zhejiang Province, and when he returned home, he brought back tea seeds to be planted in Japan's Koshi Prefecture (now known as Ikegami Tea Plantation), which spread to the central and southern parts of Japan.

In the Southern Song Dynasty, the Japanese Zen Master Eisai came to China twice, to Tiantai, Siming, Tiantong and other places, Song Xiaozong presented him with the title of "Thousand Lights Venerable Master".

Rongxi Shan Shi not only deep attainments in Buddhism, Chinese tea is also very good research, and wrote a book "eating tea to maintain health," a book, is honored by the Japanese people as the tea ancestor.

The Southern Song Kaiqing years, the Japanese Buddhist monk Zen Shi came to Zhejiang Temple to study Buddhism, returned home with the Temple's "tea props", "tea table", well will be the Temple's "Tea Banquet" and "Matcha".

▲ China's Song Dynasty, there have been *** merchants settled in Quanzhou, Fujian Province, the transportation and sale of tea; the Ming Dynasty, Zheng He went to the West, tea is also with the sale of Southeast Asia and southern Africa countries.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Dutch merchant ships first transported tea from Macao to Europe in 1610 AD, opening the door for Chinese tea to be sold to both sides.

▲ China's earliest record of teahouses, to be counted in the Tang Dynasty during the Kaiyuan years Feng Yan's "Feng's Witness Book", which has "since the Zou, Qi, Cang, Li, and gradually to the capital city, the city more open store, cooking tea to sell, do not ask the common people, put money to take a drink".

After the Tang and Song dynasties, many places have opened to sell tea for the business of teahouse.

By the Qing Dynasty, folk music into the teahouse, so that the teahouse has become a place of cultural entertainment and rest.

▲ Legend has it that the largest teahouse in China is the "Huahua Tea Hall" in Sichuan, which has three halls and four courtyards.

Chengdu teahouse has big back chairs, which are extremely comfortable for drinking tea, chatting or napping.

▲China's people have always had the habit of "guests to tea", which fully reflects the civilization and politeness of the Chinese people.

The ancient Qi Shizu, Lu Na and others have advocated tea instead of wine.

Liu Zhenliang of the Tang Dynasty praised "tea" has ten virtues, that drinking tea in addition to fitness, but also "tea to show respect", "tea can be elegant heart, "Tea can be feasible".

During the Tang and Song dynasties, many literati such as Bai Juyi, Li Bai, Liu Zongyuan, Liu Yuxi, Pi Rixiu, Wei Yingwu, Wen Tingyun, Lu You, Ouyang Xiu, Su Dongpo, etc., not only do they love to drink tea, but also in their own masterpieces of praise and description of tea.