Yixing clay teapot
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A Yixing clay teapot (also called zisha, or purple clay teapot) is a traditional pot made from Yixing clay and commonly used to brew tea. It originated in China and is made from clay produced in the region of the town of Yixing, in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu.
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[edit] Origin
According to literature, during the Ming Dynasty, a monk from JingShaShi (Golden Sand Temple) in Yixing made a teapot from local clay. Over time, such teapots became regarded as fine sculpture pieces, and became collectors items to the local inhabitants.
[edit] Ming Dynasty
[edit] 20th century
Yíxīng teapots are not actually made in the regional city of Yíxīng, but rather in nearby Dīngshān. Hundreds of teapot shops line the edges of the town's crowded streets and it is a popular tourist destination for many Chinese. While Dīngshān is home to dozens of ceramics factories, Yíxīng Zǐshā Factory Number 1, which opened in 1958, processes a large part of the clay used in the region, produces fine pottery ware, and has a large commercial showroom. [citation needed] In addition to the better known teapots, frescoes, oil and grain jars, flower vases, figurines, glazed tiling, tables, ornamental rocks, and even ornamental garbage bins are all manufactured in the community.
[edit] Revolution teapots
An interesting class of Yíxīng teapots is so-called "Cultural Revolution teapots." Such teapots were manufactured sometime in the decade following 1966, during China's Cultural Revolution. The bottom of these pots is stamped "Yíxīng, China" and devoid of a teapot maker's mark.
Cultural Revolution teapots are distinctive, due to a large part for their lack of distinction. These plainly styled teapots were manufactured during Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution, when the assertion of pre-Revolution Chinese culture were frowned upon. Workers and master potters alike were strongly discouraged or disallowed entirely from placing personal marks on individual pieces. The state exercised complete control over all aspect of a Yixing factory's products.
Many revolution teapots are of poor quality. Some have muddy odour from being fired at too low a temperature, while others have lids that are not level, and some cannot pour water in a straight line. Despite the sometimes low quality of revolution teapots and their non-distinctive artistry, they still command relatively high prices because the zǐshā clay mined during that period allows for a roughness in the teapots, which produces a rich patina after some use that many collectors find appealing.
[edit] Characteristics and use with tea
Yíxīng teapots are meant for use with black and oolong teas, as well as aged pǔ’ěr tea. A special characteristic of zǐshā clay is that it holds heat for a long time. This make it easy to overcook delicate green teas during their preparation, which typically need lower temperature water. Other characteristics of zǐshā clay are also distinctive: unlike more ordinary clays, it is remarkably tough; seemingly perfect teapots made of clay from Cháozhōu, for example, tend to have spouts that break because of the undesirable presence of sand. Zǐshā’s exceptional malleability allows for a variety of shapes that other types of ceramics simply can’t match. Moreover, the studied technology of the dragon kiln, as well as more modern kilns, along with awareness of the characteristics of the clay and its interaction with heat, makes an enormous difference in whether a zǐshā pot cracks during firing, or looks perfect but eventually imparts an undesirable muddy flavor to the tea.
