Development History of Purple Clay Pots Development History of Purple Clay Pots Based on the unique properties of purple clay pots, they were mostly used as tea sets in history. The development history of purple clay tea sets is actually a basic part of the development history of purple clay teapots. Song Dynasty people Ouyang Xiu and Mei Yaochen all wrote poems praising "Zi Ou". They may think that purple clay tea sets were born in the Northern Song Dynasty and were welcomed by the upper class. In July 1976, in Yangjiao Mountain in Dingshu, Yixing, an accumulation of waste pieces from the ancient kiln site was discovered. Among them were fragments of early purple sand. The mud was purple-red in color and rough in texture. The craftsmanship was not high and the finished product had obvious fire defects. The restoration Most of the proceeds are pots. It is estimated that the upper limit of the age of the Yangjiaoshan kiln is no earlier than the mid-Northern Song Dynasty, it was popular in the Southern Song Dynasty, and the lower limit is extended to the mid-Ming Dynasty. This discovery is considered to confirm the view that purple sand began in the Northern Song Dynasty. The history of purple sand accurately recorded in the literature began during the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty when it was used by monks from Jinsha Temple in Chunxue to make tea pots. According to the "Yangxian Teapot Series" written by Zhou Gaoqi during the Qing Dynasty, the first monograph on purple clay art, it was extremely rare to see it at that time. There are two famous spring pots that have been handed down from generation to generation. One is the "tree gall pot". It is said that it was once owned by Wu Da and later by Chu Nanqiang. The two characters "gongchun" are engraved under the handle. It was prepared by Pei Shimin. The lid was named by Huang Binhong and is now in the Museum of Chinese History; the other was originally collected by Mr. Luo Guixiang and later stored in the Hong Kong Tea Ware Museum. On the bottom of the pot there is a "six-petal round bag" inscribed in regular script with two lines of "Spring in the eighth year of Zhengde in the Ming Dynasty". pot". According to Mr. Gu Jingzhou, he has seen as many as twelve tree gall-shaped pots. They do not match the characteristics of the Spring Festival described in the literature, and it seems difficult to determine them as authentic. However, as a symbol of purple clay in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the spring pot passed down from generation to generation cannot be ignored. Archaeological excavations have found purple sand objects with clear dates, and now the first collection of them is from the Nanjing Museum. This is a handle-shaped teapot with a height of 17.7 centimeters. It was unearthed in 1965 from the tomb of Wu Jing, the Ming Sili eunuch, in Majiashan outside Zhonghuamen, Nanjing. It was also unearthed from the brick epitaph of the 12th year of Jiajing. The texture and production method of this pot can be compared with the specimens unearthed from Yangjiao Mountain. Its carcass is similar to that of a vat but has a finer texture. The surface of the pot is adhered with "glaze tears from the vat", which proves that the purple clay was fired at that time without the addition of a sagger, and that it was fired in the same kiln as ordinary vats. The pot unearthed from the tomb of Wu Jing has great reference significance for identifying the purple clay wares made in the Gongchun period. Shi Peng, Dong Han, Zhao Liang, and Yuan Chang were famous potters during the Jiajing and Wanli periods, known as the "Four Masters". "Yangxian Famous Pottery Records" written by Wu Qian during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty said: Dong Han pioneered the Linghua style pot, and Zhao Liangduo made the Liang style pot. Their works have been handed down, of course not many, so collectors and connoisseurs pay great attention to identification and verification. Shi Peng's son Shi Dabin is the most famous pottery master after Gongchun. He lived during the Wanli period, and the pottery he used was mixed with sand, so the pots he made were simple, elegant and solid. At first, he made a large pot after imitating Gongchun. Later, he met the writer, calligrapher and painter Chen Jiru and others, and was inspired by the theory of tea tasting and tea testing. He went against the old system and specialized in making small pots. This is an important event in the history of purple clay pot art. It is said in the Tea Treatise: "The pot is used to offer real tea, and the fire is activated in the new spring, and it is swirled and sipped to exhaust the color, sound, fragrance and flavor. Therefore, the pot should be small rather than large, shallow rather than deep, the lid should be generous and not peeled, and the potency of the soup should be high." Mingxiang. "Li Maolin, Li Zhongfang, and Hui Mengchen, who were contemporary or later than Shi Dabin, all made small pots in line with the fashion of the times. Shi Dabin's inscription was written with a sword and his calligraphy was elegant. The description also records that the Dabin teapot has a unique sign, which is that the lid of the pot matches the body of the pot, and the pot can be lifted up together with the lid by hand. See Zhang Yanchang's "Yangxian Tao Shuo" quoted in the lower volume of "Yangxian Ming Tao Lu". The purple clay ware of the Dabin era was mixed with natural ammonium chloride, a natural ammonium chloride, in the raw materials. After firing, the body of the vessel showed golden dots. Wu Qian also noted this feature in "Yangxian Famous Pottery Record": "The earth color of the pot, which comes from the spring and the early years, is all fine earth and light ink color, with flashes of silver sand on it. It is made of fine sand and grains. The whole body is made of grain crepe, and the beads are faint, making it even more eye-catching." Shi Dabin According to his contemporary Wang Shizhen in "Chibei Occasion", his work was "well-known overseas" when it was published. Chen Zhenhui also wrote in "Autumn Garden Miscellaneous Peiments": "It is still known in the remote area of ??Xiazuo"; Zhou Gaoqi even once said There is a saying that "tea pot travels all over the world"; it is even described in popular literary works at that time. The second chapter of "The Surprise at the First Carving" published by Shang Youtang in the first year of Chongzhen describes Wang Xi's interior furnishings; On the evening of the Zhou Dynasty, Dabin was painting a sand pot on the table. "Unfortunately, this tea pot, which is "once in a thousand years" (Qian Wu Qian in the Qing Dynasty), was also mentioned in Li Jingkang and Zhang Hong's "Illustrated Research on Yangxian Sand Pots". Only sixteen pieces.

Today, we can see some physical objects and picture descriptions. Although there are Dabin famous coins, there are very few that can be confirmed as authentic. Fortunately, archaeological discoveries in recent years have provided us with precious information, which is very helpful for verification and identification. This point will be further discussed below. The most famous maker after Shi Dabin was Chen Yuan during the Kang and Yong dynasties of the Qing Dynasty. Chen Yuan's nickname is Ming Yuan, and his nickname is Hu Yin. Wu Qian said that he was "unique in his ability in one skill", and even Gongchun and Shi Dabin "couldn't compare to him". He interacted with literati such as Yang Zhongna, Cao Lianrang, Ma Sizan, etc. He made dozens of elegant tea sets, and his style and calligraphy were in the style of the Jin and Tang Dynasties. He made melon and fruit-style utensils, such as the Shuchai Sanyou pot, the cicada leaf-shaped saucer, the plum-dried pen holder, the imitation bamboo arm rest and the six types of fruits offered by the Qing Dynasty (water chestnuts, mushrooms, water chestnuts, chestnuts, walnuts, peanuts), etc. Exquisite, lifelike and meticulous, it was regarded as a masterpiece at the time. Before him, there was Chen Ziqi (Chongzhen poet) who was good at making pomegranates, crabs and other animal products. It is said that he was Chen Yuan's father, but he was not quite the same age. Although there are only ten works by Chen Yuan in the records written by Li Jingkang and Zhang Hong, he is actually