As it turns out, the names of Tea cups are typically related to their shapes, while glazes, decorations, and craftsmanship also play a part. However, today we're focusing on names that are connected with the shape of the cups, most of which are blue-and-White Tea cups. Some of these names can also be applied to other types of cups. Tea cups may be called cups, bowls, or saucers, and sometimes they can even be used for drinking alcohol.

Let's start by understanding the names of these different cup shapes.

Saucer (Zhan)

1. Saucer (Zhan): A drinking vessel for tea. It has an open mouth, slanted sides, deep belly, and ring foot. The body is relatively small. During the Song Dynasty, there were black, white, soy sauce, celadon, white, and bluish-white glazed tea saucers, with black glaze being the most prized. The Tenmoku cup is also known as a Tenmoku saucer or Jian saucer.

In fact, starting from the Song Dynasty, the saucer became a dedicated utensil for tea, signifying that the act of Drinking Tea had evolved from a simple daily activity into a spiritual enjoyment.

Cup

2. Hand-Pressing Cup: The mouth is flat and slightly flared outward, the sides are nearly vertical, and the base tapers inward. It has a ring foot. When held in the hand, the slightly flared rim fits perfectly along the edge of the hand. Its size and weight are moderate, making it comfortable and well-suited for holding, hence the name “Hand-Pressing Cup.” The most famous example is the Yongle blue-and-white hand-pressing cup.

3. Flaring Mouth Cup: The mouth is slightly flared outward, and the belly is slightly gathered. It has a rounded ring foot. This shape is thin-walled, finely made, and commonly used. The roundness of the tea entering the mouth is greater than the previous one, but it feels more natural and true. The concentration of aroma and flavor is higher than the previous one, giving an overall feeling of naturalness and truthfulness.

4. “Bowing” Cup: This cup is named after a historical reference to bowing down to serve others, originating from the biography of Tao Qian in the “Book of Jin.” Since then, “not bending the waist for five bushels of rice” has become synonymous with having integrity. The “bowing” cup is of moderate height and size, concentrating aroma and flavor, and conforms to the curve of the hand.

The next time your boss invites you to have tea, remember to check if it's a “bowing” cup.

5. Hexagonal Cup: Anyone who loves collecting Ru kiln cups should find the hexagonal shape irresistible. It is of moderate size and shape, hexagonal in form, upright, with clean lines and clear angles. When coated with Ru glaze, it becomes even more rounded in use. The hexagonal flow is straight and upward-curving, square with a hint of curvature.

The boss prefers this hexagonal cup with a curved surface, embodying both square and round elements.

6. Lotus Petal Cup: Coated with Ru glaze, the difference from the flaring mouth cup is the tiny lotus petals adorning the rim, like new life. It is ancient, elegant, glossy, and practical. The body features fish-scale-like cracks, and over time, the color of the tea stains the cracks, creating a beautiful and unpredictable pattern.

7. Straw Hat Cup: A straw hat is an old tool for protection against rain and sun, still commonly seen in villages and waterside towns. The straw hat cup resembles a fisherman's straw hat, with a large opening and a small base, capturing the beauty of ease and comfort. Its lines are simple and elegant, and it is challenging to produce. In its simplicity lies great wisdom, making it particularly precious. Drinking from this cup is like Jiang Shang fishing by the Wei River, contemplating the world amidst the mountains and rivers, and discerning the path of great wisdom in the ordinary.

8. Round Fusion Cup: The belly is slightly bulging outward, and the mouth is slightly drawn inward. However, the concentration of aroma and flavor is noticeably better, providing the best overall mouthfeel.

This cup is excellent, with a large belly capable of holding much.

9. Square Bucket Cup: A type of cup popular during the Jiajing period of the Ming dynasty, named for its resemblance to a square bucket. In ancient times, making square vessels was more complex than making round ones, which could be directly formed on a potter's wheel. The process involved shaping clay pieces and attaching them together. Due to the complexity of the technique and technical limitations, many Jiajing period square bucket cups were irregularly shaped. During the Kangxi period of the Qing dynasty, a handle-type square bucket cup appeared. Inside the cup was a crossbar connecting the two inner walls, strengthening the cup during firing and ensuring uniformity of shape.

The advantage of this wide-mouthed cup is that the tea feels the most rounded when entering the mouth. However, this is due to the physics principle that the larger opening and lower height result in maximum surface tension, not the inherent roundness of the tea. In terms of concentrating aroma and flavor, this cup is the least effective.

10. Ear Cup: Also known as “feather libation cup.” A type of wine vessel. Modeled after Han dynasty lacquer feather libation cups, the body is elliptical with a pair of symmetrical small ears on either side, hence the name. Popular during the Eastern Han to the Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties, varieties include green-glazed Pottery and celadon.

This type of cup is rarely seen nowadays, except perhaps in historical TV dramas. But doesn't it look quite similar to the fruit plate at my home…

11. Chicken Bowl Cup: Flared mouth, shallow belly, and a flat base. The cup is decorated with colorful scenes of roosters, hens, and chicks, interspersed with mountains, orchids, and peonies, hence the name Chicken Bowl Cup.

Chicken Bowl Cups from the Chenghua period of the Ming dynasty once gained fame. Subsequent dynasties imitated them, especially during the Kangxi and Yongzheng periods, with some reproductions almost ind