Major Teaware Styles | from Past to Present

dposkin5
Feb 23, 2023
6 min read

All Teaware are Artifacts

Teaware is defined by the time of its creation; the craft technologies, the needs of the public, the values of the society, the style of tea consumed, the environment in which it is enjoyed, all these things have a great influence on the teaware being produced. Thus, to look at any style of teaware, we see reflected in its bright glossy glaze or dark patinaed clay a reflection of the age and era that gave it rise.

In this blog we want to not only talk about Major Teaware Styles, but more specifically about the styles that have their roots in the earth of the past, whose flame of production has carried its name into the present era. Many of these styles you will be familiar with, some you might know by other names, but all of them have seen generations of appreciation by humans all over the world.

Many different styles of teaware are on display — Can you guess how many eras of teaware are visible in this photo?

Our focus at Fire and Earth is primarily with Chinese teaware, so it is there that we will start, looking at styles from the dynasties that saw the greatest love of tea: the Tang (618 - 907), the Song (960 - 1279), and the Ming (1368 - 1644).

Teaware in the Tang | The Green Phase

When it comes to Tang dynasty teaware, no style can hold a flame to Celadon. Celadon is that thick, glossy, soft, green glaze we can still find all around China and the West today. Since there is a bit of nuance and no one to this day has defined what exactly is this green glaze (celadon) we call it the Jade Glaze for simplicity. THAT is the attribute we are looking for!

While celadon is a technical ceramics name, the name is very much a Western invention, as the true name for this style of teaware in Chinese is qīngcí 青瓷 which is simply means blue/green porcelain. A few interesting points about this name, is it's a bit of a misnomer. First of all, qīng 青 is often translated as blue/green, but if you ask many Chinese people what the real color is, the jury is still out. What it means poetically is the color of mountains, the way a forested mountain is green closeup, but blue from a distance, it is a color steeped in a deep affection for nature. Additionally, the green in celadon comes from a reduction firing of the kiln, if fired without reduction (as many kilns no doubt did in the early days of its origin), the color comes out more of an earthy yellow (see the comparison photo below.)

A comparison in colors between green celadon and yellow celadon — While Celadon is often seen as green, if fired in oxidation, the resultant teaware is of a yellow hue

The second misnomer about Qīngcí 青瓷 is that cí 瓷 means porcelain, which in truth celadon isn't, Celadon is often a stoneware clay body (fired at mid temperatures) which is covered by the green glaze. Thus, the Qīngcí 青瓷 the "Blue/green porcelain" is neither blue nor porcelain (spoiler: blue painted porcelain comes later to take the place of celadon in the highest courts of China). However, these are modern understandings placed on an ancient tea style, so we shouldn't judge it too harshly. This is also why you'll hear us calling it the Jade Glaze in lieu of even Celadon. Jade Glaze teaware was valued throughout China, Eastern Asia, and abroad for 500 years, before the rise of fine Jingdezhen porcelain in the later Song dynasty.

Ruyao in the Song | Everything It's Cracked Up To Be

The popularity of tea and teaware grew wildly in the Song dynasty, and with this development, we see not only a boom in new styles of teaware production, but five legendary kilns (五大名窑) in different regions all throughout China responsible for creating game-changing ceramics. Much like other Chinese famous items these are grouped in one simple phrase 汝管哥均定(rǔ guǎn gē jūn dìng). These kilns are the Ruyao, Guanyao, Geyao, Junyao, and the Dingyao (Yáo 窑 in Chinese means kiln).

Five Song Dynasty Kilns: the Guanyao, Geyao, Junyao, Ruyao, and the Dingyao — Each of the Five Famous Song Kilns created their own specific style of Teaware

As we believe that teaware is the timeless bridge between the past and the present, we have worked hard to find and carry exemplary pieces made in each of these five styles. While all five of these styles can still be found today (except for the most traditional black and white Dingyao style porcelain) no style has been more beloved than the Ruyao.

An example of a Ruyao teacup with visible cracks in the thick glaze — Ruyao is known for its soft thick crackled glaze over an earthenware clay body

The Ruyao style is made by covering a piece of earthenware in a thick and soft glaze. The pieces themselves feel almost soft to the touch and are a delight to handle, reminding us of the joys of touching true jade. While the texture of these pieces are just lovely, it is the cracks in the glaze that truly make this style iconic and timeless. Overtime, as tea is brewed in these pieces, their oils and essence seep into the cracks in the glaze, creating a unique and natural staining pattern called Crazing.

Don't be afraid of the stains. A used teacup is a loved teacup.

Although Ruyao is a world famous and very beloved in the Song and in the Present, its processing was lost in the Yuan dynasty and wasn't rediscovered until the 1950's!

Song's Secret Kiln | Jianyao Dark Silver Metallic Glaze

Although it didn't make the cut to be one of the Five Famous Kilns of the Song, the Jianyao a kiln in Jianyang District just beside the Wuyi Mountains, is responsible for the production of Jianzhan teaware. This teaware is dark, mysterious, and unforgettable for anyone who has seen one of the big bold shapes with narrow bases, wide mouths, and thick dripping silver-spotted black glaze.

This metallic glaze always amazes us, and although the contrast between dark tea and the dark glaze is not too stunning, the glaze itself is mesmerizing. Many connoisseurs of the lighter tea styles (green, raw puer, white) don't often appreciate the beauty of these thick dark cups, as they don't show off the natural beauty of the tea brew. However, this style has remained present in the tea scene around the Wuyi mountains for the past 1,000 years! There have arisen a few main styles with regards to the way the iron shines through in the glaze, but the main ones we see to this day are the Rabbit Fur, the Oil Drip, and the Partridge (or Partridge Spot).

Three Jianzhan cups, each with a unique style of metallic iron glaze shining through the dark surface — These are the three most commonly seen styles of Jianzhan Teaware

While Jianzhan teaware has been mildly popular of the past thousand years, no style of Chinese porcelain is so iconic as the next style: Blue Painted Fine Porcelain.

The Birth of China's Namesake | Qinghua Porcelain

Although production of Qinghua porcelain began as early as the Tang Dynasty, it wasn't until Ming and Qing Dynasty that it really flourished as the king of China. This is when we see the birth of the still-famous cultural hub of Chinese ceramics, Jingdezhen county in Jiangxi. With the creation of Qinghua, Jingdezhen found a name for itself that is impervious to the passage of time. Bold in style and bright with its cobalt blue glaze painted directly onto the white porcelain, we see something unique arise in this style: our first delicate underglaze.

Two modern pieces of Qinghua teaware, white porcelain with blue paint — A modern take on the classic Qinghua: Blue Painted Porcelain ceramic style

Underglazing is what makes Qinghua bright, elegant, and eternal. By painting the clay itself, the cobalt-rich paint fuses with the clay body on a molecular level indelibly changing the porcelain forever. In addition to this, by adding an transparent overglaze onto the underglazed teaware, this blue never fades, and in fact even the ancient pieces which are still unearthed to this day bare the untarnished rich blue on their white porcelain body.

Mother of all Clay | Yixing Stoneware

If Qinghua from Jingdezhen can be called the father of modern Chinese ceramics, then Yixing Teapots from Yixing, Jiangsu should be called the mother. Slab-built, (not wheel-thrown), we can find the most elaborate shapes when it comes to Yixing. Some of their most famous pots have angular edges that are simply impossible to create on a wheel. The clay is fired at stoneware temperature (1100-1210c), allowing a greater porosity than porcelain but lower porosity than a planters which water seeps right through.

As mentioned, Yixing teapots can come in many different shapes, but they can also come in a few different colors based on the type of clay used. While the topic of Yixing teapots lends itself to several individual blog posts, here we will only briefly mention different clays often employed. The umbrella term for all Yixing clays is Zisha - Purple Sand. Under this heading, we can find a few sub-clay types: Zini, Zhuni, and Duanni (purple, cinnabar, and mixed).

A few Yixing Teapots all of a different shape and color — Green, Red, Purple, Yellow, and Black Yixing Teapots

Within these three types of clay we can find the expression of five different colors: purple, red, yellow, black, and green. While the purple, red, and yellow are often the expressions of pure Zini, Zhuni, and Duanni respectively, the black and green are much more rare. Often times the black clay is created by using reduction firing the zhuni, while the green can be an adulterated Duanni with green dies. The true black and green clay is very rare and difficult to produce.

Additionally, Yixing teapots have a high heat retention. Due to their ability to absorb tea water, they can keep a tea warm for a long time and although they retain this heat, they are often warm to the naked touch, rather than scalding as we would find with a hot piece of thin porcelain.