The origin of teapot

The teapot became popular in the Song Dynasty, and great writers such as Su Dongpo and Mei left some famous tea poems and sentences. Among them, Mei's "Small Stone Cold Spring Leaves First Taste, New Purple Mud Pan Chunhua" is about making tea in purple clay pots. However, there are few materials left to make purple sand in the Song Dynasty, and there are few physical objects. What it is remains to be confirmed. The history of purple sand production was not clear until the Ming Dynasty. The appearance of teapot mainly comes from people's practice. People find it meaningful and fragrant to make tea in a teapot. Because the teapot can absorb tea juice, the longer the time, the better the taste of tea. Purple clay pot tea became popular, and purple clay producers came into being.

According to reliable literature records, Gong Chun (Gong Chun) in Zheng De and Jiajing periods of Ming Dynasty was an important figure in popularizing teapot. Some people say that he is the founder, but teapots began to appear in the Song Dynasty. Naturally, it is inappropriate to say that Gong Chun is the founder. Gong Chun is the most famous producer of Zisha, but his works can't prove it. Gong Chun passed on his craft to Shi Dabin and Li Zhongfen. Together with Xu Youquan, Shi Dabin's disciple, they were called the three great purple sand masters in Ming Dynasty after Wanli. The teapot made by Shi Dabin is elegant in shape, smooth and flexible, and it is incredible to ask for simplicity and firmness instead of skillful carving. Xu Youquan, with exquisite craftsmanship, is good at making ancient bronzes into teapot. Gu Zhuo is solemn, simple and energetic. The above four people can be called the first generation of teapot masters.

The second generation of Zisha Pot Masters was the harmony and benefit in the early Qing Dynasty. Chen Mingyuan's greatest contribution is to change the rigorous style of the teapot, putting daily shapes such as walnuts, chestnuts, water chestnuts and peanuts into the teapot, and being good at piling flowers and accumulating mud, making the teapot extremely vivid and gratifying, creating a generation of atmosphere; At the same time, he also invented the form of printing on the bottom and lid of the teapot, which formed a fixed technological procedure and influenced the development of the teapot later. (Because Chen Mingyuan's works were exquisite and became famous for a while, a large number of imitations and fakes appeared. Mr. Gu Jingzhou said that he had only seen a few genuine products in the half century from youth to old age, and collectors should be especially careful not to be deceived. Hui was good at making small pots during the Apocalypse and Chongzhen in the late Ming Dynasty. Chen Meng's pot is carved with a bamboo knife, and the "Yonglin" seal on the lid of the pot is a fine product.

The third generation of masters of teapot was born in Jiaqing and Daoguang years in the middle of Qing Dynasty, represented by Chen Hongshou and Yang Pengnian. Chen Hongshou is a famous painter and seal engraver. His artistic ideas are novel and refined. He believes that "poetry, calligraphy and painting don't have to be very homely", but they must look at "the interest of nature". He integrated this artistic concept into purple sand pottery. The first contribution is to combine poetry, calligraphy and painting with zisha pot pottery, and write poems and depict them with bamboo knives on the pot; The second contribution, with his own talent, he improvised many novel styles of teapot at will, which brought great vitality to the innovation of teapot. His cooperation with Yang Pengnian is exemplary. What we are seeing now is the teapot made in Jiaqing period. The handle and bottom of the teapot are printed with the words "Peng Nian" or "Man Shou", both of which were designed by Chen Hongshou and made in Yang Pengnian, and later called "Man Sheng Pot". Chen Hongshou makes Zisha pottery more cultured. Although the production technology is not as exquisite as that in the middle of Ming Dynasty, it has a great influence on later generations. Yang Pengnian pioneered a new technology of pinching the mouth. He doesn't need a mold, but he pinches it by hand, which is quite interesting. After Qianlong, the production of teapot declined, and there were not many experts. Shao Daheng, the master of Jiaqing period, and Shao Youlan, Shao Youting, Jiang, Cheng Shouzhen and others are not as good as their predecessors. Like other handicrafts, porcelain, lacquerware and jade are conservative and rarely innovative. It was not until the appearance of Gu Jingzhou, a modern master of purple sand, that the art of purple sand was revived.