001.gif (23024 bytes)
002.gif (62132 bytes)

004.gif (90 bytes) Museum Home/Tea Equipment
005.jpg (2080 bytes) 006.jpg (1881 bytes) 007.jpg (1817 bytes) 008.jpg (1930 bytes)
   
Museum Home
Famous Tea
Tea and Water
Tea Traditions
Tea and History
Tea and Art
    Tea and Life
    Tea Equipment
    Tea Library
    Tea Forum
 

 

ch.gif (3156 bytes)

 

Gallery of Tea Equipment

in the Ming and Qing Dynasty

 

  this part is under construction

 

The Development of Tea Equipment in the Ming and Qing Dynasty

(1368 -- 1911 A.D.)

The compressed tea was replaced by the dispersed tea in the Ming Dynasty. The procedure was also simple. The tea can be soaked in hot water directly and then ready to serve. The tea equipment was also much simpler than the previous dynasties. However, it also became more exquisite and fashionable. The technology of porcelain also had a great jump in the Ming Dynasty. The design, color, pattern, material and glaze also developed greatly. There were many treasured tea containers in the Ming and Qing Dynasty. The tea equipment in the Tang Dynasty was of primitive simplicity; in the Song Dynasty the black was the major color of the tea equipments, but in the Ming and Qing Dynasty, the tea containers were diversified in any aspect. 

In the Ming Dynasty, the major color of tea equipment was white. The size tended to be small. In the late Ming Dynasty, the ZiSha (purple sand pottery) was created and came to be known as a big type of tea container. 

The invertor of the ZiSha pot was called GongChun, some other versions said it was a monk of the JinSha Temple who is a little earlier than Gongchun. There were another three famous ZiSha makers in the Ming Dynasty: Shi DaBin, Li ZhongFang and Xu YouQuan. In the Qing Dynasty, more ZiSha makers contributed to the progression of ZiSha technology such as Chen MingYuan, Hui MengChen, Chen HongShou, Yang PengNian and Shao DaHeng. ZiSha pot has been widly used in many tea ceremonies. 

In the Qing Dynasty, the colored and gold-gilded porcelain in GuangZhou and lacquer work in FuZhou were also developed. In the Capital Beijing (also called Jing Shi at that time), the characteristic GaiWan was introduced to every corner. A whole set of GanWan includes a lid, a cup and a tray. They also symbolize the sky, human being and the earth. The inventor of GanWan was not traceable. It was said that the creator was the daughter of the Sichuan governor CuiNing in the Tang Dynasty. It was popularized in the Qing Dynasty. Today it is still being used, especially in Beijing and the Sichuan Province. 

The tea equipment had become a valuable art since the Ming Dynasty. Many families collected fine tea containers and use them as a show off to their honored guests.

 

>>back

 

Chinese Tea Culture Online Museum   January, 2007