What is a celadon tea set?

As early as the Eastern Han Dynasty, the production of pure, transparent and luminous celadon began. In the Jin Dynasty, the Yue kilns, Wu kilns and Ou kilns in Zhejiang had reached considerable scale. In the Song Dynasty, the celadon tea sets produced by the Ge Kiln in Longquan, Zhejiang, one of the five famous kilns at that time, had reached their peak and were sold far away. In the Tang Dynasty, the porcelain industry had become an independent department.

Chinese name celadon tea set
Foreign name Porcelain tea set

Category Porcelain
Region China

Table of contents
1 Introduction
2 Introduction to Celadon
3 Celadon’s reputation
4 development
5 Celadon Tea Set Craftsmanship

Introduction

In the Ming Dynasty, celadon tea sets were famous both at home and abroad for their delicate texture, dignified shape, green glaze, and elegant patterns. At the end of the 16th century, Longquan celadon was exported to France and caused a sensation throughout France. People compared it with the beautiful green robe of the heroine Xuelatong in the famous drama "The Shepherdess" that was popular in Europe at that time, and called Longquan celadon "Xuelatong". Considered a rare treasure. In contemporary times, Zhejiang Longquan celadon tea sets have made new developments, and new products are constantly coming out. In addition to having many advantages of porcelain tea sets, this kind of tea set is also more beneficial to the beauty of the color of the soup when used to brew green tea because of its green color. However, using it to brew black tea, white tea, yellow tea, and dark tea will easily cause the tea soup to lose its original appearance and seem to have shortcomings.


Celadon is a type of traditional Chinese porcelain. A celadon glaze (turquoise glaze with iron as colorant) is applied to the body and fired in a reducing flame. The porcelains called porcelain, Qianfeng Cuise, Ai Se, emerald green, pink green and so on in the past dynasties of our country all refer to this kind of porcelain. Yue kiln in the Tang Dynasty, Longquan kiln, Guan kiln, Ru kiln, Yaozhou kiln in the Song Dynasty, etc. all belong to the celadon system.

Celadon reputation

Celadon is famous for its exquisite porcelain quality, bright and smooth lines, dignified and simple shape, pure and beautiful color. The porcelain industry in the Tang Dynasty has become an independent department. The poet Lu Guimeng of the Tang Dynasty once praised celadon with the famous line "the wind and dew of nine autumns bloom over the kiln and capture the green color of thousands of peaks". Celadon is "as green as jade, as bright as a mirror, and as loud as a chime". It is called the "flower of porcelain" and is rare and valuable.

Celadon tea sets began to develop in the Jin Dynasty. At that time, the main production area of celadon was in Zhejiang. The most popular one was a spouted teapot called "Jitou Liuzi".

After the Six Dynasties, many celadon tea sets were decorated with lotus flowers. The teapot of the Tang Dynasty was also called "Chazhu" and the spout was called "Liuzi". It was short in shape and replaced the Jitou Liuzi of the Jin Dynasty. It is said that the daughter of Cui Ning, the governor of Xichuan during the Tang Dynasty, invented a tea bowl holder. She made a circle of wax to fix the position of the tea bowl on the plate. Later it evolved into a porcelain saucer, which was the common saucer later, and is now called "tea boater". In fact, as early as in "The Rites of Zhou", saucers such as cups and bottles were called "zhou", which shows that "zhou" The name "ship" has existed since ancient times.

In the Song Dynasty, tea cups were popular for drinking tea, and the use of cup holders was also more common. The tea cup, also known as the tea cup, is actually a small tea bowl, which is conducive to bringing out and maintaining the aroma and taste of tea, which is in line with scientific principles. If the tea cup is too large, not only will the fragrance be easily dispersed, but also a lot of boiling water will be injected, which will carry a large amount of heat and easily burn the tea leaves, causing the tea soup to lose its freshness. Due to the competition from porcelain kilns in the Song Dynasty and the improvement of technology, the types of tea sets increased, and tea cups, teapots, tea cups, etc. were produced in a wide variety of styles, elegant colors, and very different styles. The celadon tea sets produced by Ge Kiln in Longquan County, Zhejiang were first exported to the European market in the 16th century and immediately aroused great interest. Gu Kuang's "Tea Ode" of the Tang Dynasty said: "The smooth iron is like a golden tripod, and the thickened mud is like a jade bottle"; Pi Rixiu's "Tea Ou" poem has "Both Xing Ke and Superman can make porcelain, round as the moon and soul falling, It is said to be as light as clouds and the spirit rises"; Han Xie's "Hengtang Poetry" says that "the more Ou rhinoceros liquid produces the fragrance of tea". These poems all praise the beauty of the emerald-like Yue kiln celadon tea sets. During the Song Dynasty, Zhejiang Longquan Ge Kiln, one of the five famous kilns, reached its peak period, producing various types of celadon, including teapots, tea bowls, tea cups, tea cups, tea trays, etc. The two sides of the Oujiang River were unprecedentedly prosperous, with clusters of kilns and fireworks facing each other. Transport ships come and go in a hurry. A scene of prosperity.

Celadon tea set craft

Royal celadon is a product of the fusion of north and south. As we all know, the regional environment, water and soil are very different, and the cultural differences are also vast. The celadon fired in the south and the north have their own characteristics. For example, Longquan celadon from the south is generally hard and delicate in texture, light gray in color, and has a crystal-clear and pure glaze color that is similar to ice but jade-like; while Yaozhou celadon from the north has a thick body, strong glass texture, high fluidity, and a green-yellow glaze color. After doing a lot of textual research and research on the porcelain from the north and the south, the Royal Classic combined the characteristics of both sides and took advantage of the different properties of the northern and southern firing materials to create the unique strength of the Royal Classic mixed with softness and greenness. A magnificent celadon tea set.

The royal family has professional kilns and advanced equipment. No matter how many times it is fired in the fire, the celadon ware can maintain perfect color and will not crack or break. The fired celadon ware is evenly heated, has a clear color, and the glaze is blue and green. The layer is thick and moist, comparable to jadeite.

Each celadon work of Royal Classic is the crystallization of wisdom and the continuation of the thousand-year cultural spirit of the Chinese nation. They are like jade and water, beautiful and clear, sensual and ethereal. It contains the fine character of the Chinese nation, which has been passed down for thousands of years and will never fade. It has been passed down from generation to generation across the long river of history. Through these celadon tea sets, we can see the strength of fire, the elegance of water, and the honesty of earth, which illustrate the true meaning of life. They are not only a piece of handicraft, but also a historical witness of the five thousand years of Chinese spirit and national culture. follower, follower. As the best porcelain, the royal classic celadon is also loved by literati at home and abroad. Along with other ceramics, it has been widely spread to Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe and other places. No matter in terms of craftsmanship, modeling technology or visual aesthetics, its artistic achievements have pushed my country's ceramic firing technology to the top, added a strong touch to the cultural exchanges between China and the West, and also brought a healthier and more artistic style to the world. A more tasteful tea experience!