Tea, flourishing in the Tang Dynasty and peaking in the Song Dynasty!

History of Tea Drinking

Looking back at the history of tea drinking, it is evident that the Song Dynasty's methods were the most elegant and refined. This is closely related to the aesthetic orientation dominated by Neo-Confucianism during that period. The Song Dynasty was an era that "suppressed martial arts and promoted literature." Due to the emphasis on culture, literati held relatively high status. In a society led by literati, tea drinking became more cultural and sophisticated, with tea whisking and tea competitions being the most distinctive practices of the time.

Standards for Tea Competitions

The standards for tea competitions included two main criteria: first, the color and uniformity of the tea foam, with pure white, fine, and even foam being ideal; second, the presence of water marks where the tea foam met the cup's edge. The longer the foam clung to the edge without receding, the better, known as "biting the cup." If the foam scattered quickly and water marks appeared early, it was considered a loss, referred to as "chaotic cloud feet."

Black Glazed Cup

The black glazed cup was one of the most iconic tea utensils of the Song Dynasty, produced in large quantities to meet the demands of tea whisking and competitions. Black-glazed porcelain appeared almost simultaneously with celadon in China. The difference between celadon, black-glazed, and white porcelain lies in the iron content in the glaze. Generally, celadon contains less than 3% iron, while black or brown-glazed porcelain contains 4%-9% iron.

During the Han and Jin Dynasties, the Deqing Kiln in Zhejiang was famous for producing black-glazed porcelain. By the Tang Dynasty, black-glazed porcelain developed rapidly, with the Wuzhou Kiln in the south and the Yaozhou Kiln in the north producing distinctive black porcelain. However, during the Wei, Jin, Sui, and Tang Dynasties, black-glazed porcelain was not favored by the court, possibly because the Tang Dynasty's aesthetics prioritized white and celadon porcelain.

By the Song Dynasty, black-glazed porcelain's status rose dramatically, especially the tea utensils from the Jian Kiln in Fujian, which became imperial tributes. This shift was influenced by the Neo-Confucian master Zhu Xi's emphasis on introspection, the era's aesthetic preferences, and the tea whisking and competition practices.

Jian Kiln

The black glazed cups of the Song Dynasty were represented by those from the Jian Kiln, partly because the imperial tea garden was located in Jian'ou's Phoenix Mountain in Fujian. The production of dragon and phoenix tea cakes further stimulated the development of Jian Kiln porcelain.

In Song Dynasty tea competitions, finely ground tea powder was placed in a cup, and boiling water was poured from a teapot while whisking with a tea whisk until the tea became suspended, with foam gathering at the cup's rim. The winner was determined by the absence of water marks on the cup. Song Dynasty tea competitions favored white tea, and the contrast between black and white made black-glazed cups essential. Emperor Huizong of Song noted in his Da Guan Cha Lun, "Tea cups are best when black with distinct hare's fur patterns."