China is the hometown of tea. Chinese people drink tea, which is said to have started in the Shennong era, at least more than 4,700 years ago.
To this day, compatriots of all ethnic groups in China still have the custom of drinking tea as a gift. As one of the seven things that open the door (firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea), drinking tea was very common in ancient China. China's tea culture is very different from that of Europe, America or Japan. Chinese tea culture has a long history, is extensive and profound, and includes not only the material cultural level, but also the profound spiritual civilization level. The Tea Book of Lu Yu, the tea sage of the Tang Dynasty, sounded the clarion call for Chinese tea culture in history. From then on, the spirit of tea penetrated the court and society, and penetrated into Chinese poetry, painting, calligraphy, religion, and medicine. Over thousands of years, China has not only accumulated a large amount of material culture about tea planting and production, but also accumulated rich spiritual culture about tea. This is China's unique tea culture and belongs to the category of cultural studies.
When it comes to drinking tea, we have to mention tea sets. Our country’s tea sets are of various types and beautiful in shape. They have both practical value and artistic beauty. Therefore, it is well-known at home and abroad and has been favored by tea drinkers of all ages. In the history of tea drinking in China, both tea drinking customs and tea processing have gone through many changes.
When it comes to tea sets, we naturally have to mention Ru Kiln. Ru Kiln tea sets are the first of the five famous kilns. They are named after being produced in Ruzhou. In the history of Chinese ceramics, they are known as "Ru Kiln is the leader". The glaze color category is mainly azure glaze. The shape of your porcelain is simple and elegant, with precious agate as the glaze. It has a unique color and is praised as "resembling jade but not jade, but better than jade".
By chance, I went to a friend’s house to chat and drink tea. I saw him drinking tea with a lotus-shaped utensil. After questioning, I learned that it turned out to be a Taiwanese brand Ruci purchased online. The tea cup is called "Qingdan Kiln Ru Porcelain Azure Lotus Petal Cup". He bought a pair and gave one to me so that I could take care of it at home. I took it and looked at it carefully. First of all, my first intuitive feeling was that this lotus petal cup was made to imitate a lotus flower, with a generous and elegant shape. The shape of the device is lifelike, the workmanship is exquisite, the glaze color is azure, the glaze tentacles are like silk, and when you caress it, your skin is as moist and transparent as a baby. At that time, I couldn't help but feel a burst of joy, as if I had found a treasure.
I have been using this Ru porcelain lotus cup for several months. Every time I drink tea, I am looking forward to it. The process makes me very happy. Next, I will write down some of my own feelings about using it. , and make a pertinent horizontal comparison with Ru porcelain brands, prices, product features, and workmanship of the same type.
Fetal quality:
From the picture, you can see that the leftmost one is Qingdan Ru porcelain, and the rightmost ones are Dongdao, Baicai and Henglian. Please take a closer look at Qingdan It is not difficult to see from the cross-section of the fetus. Qingdan's fragrant ash tire is relatively good. In addition, it can be seen from the fragments that after the Qingtan embryo body is broken, the cross-section is neat and has a glassy luster. The tire glaze is tightly combined, indicating that, The firing kiln temperature may be higher, and there are good temperature control parameters. You must know that Ru porcelain must be fired in the kiln at high temperatures above 1280° for several times before it can be porcelain. Only in this way can Ru porcelain be made thick, hard and durable. Call it "Ru porcelain". Next is Bai Cai, but the glaze on Bai Cai is really thick! Compared with mass-produced Henglian, Qingtan's embryo repair technology is better than Yishou, and the price is not difficult to see that it is a real business, unlike some brands that use their products to hype their products. Okay, in the middle picture of Heng Lian Ru Porcelain, those who have observed carefully should have discovered that at the fault point of the porcelain piece, there are several places where the tea soup is soaked under the glaze opening. This should be the tea soup soaking into the soil at the opening when drinking tea. parts. It cannot be ruled out that it is a problem with the manufacturing process, and it also proves that the color of the tea juice in the slice is not just a shallow layer, but 3 points at the same time. Therefore, it is recommended that all friends who love cleanliness should not use chemical detergents to clean your porcelain. Avoid chemicals remaining in the cup body, leaving health risks.
Glaze color:
The pure color of Qingtan Ru porcelain is azure, which is a living color and a living color. Just like when the sun rises after rain and the clouds illuminate the sky, but under different lighting and different angles, the color will change differently. We usually experience that under bright light, the color will be green with yellow, just like the golden sunshine on the clear blue sky after the rain has cleared and the clouds have cleared and the fog has dispersed. And in places with dim light, the color is green and slightly blue, like clear lake water.
Glazed surface:
Looking at the glaze surface again, the glaze surface of the lotus petal cup gives me an intuitive feeling. It is moist and transparent, lustrous and full, the color is green and delicate, and it is soft under the light. Subtle, bright but not dazzling.
If you look carefully, the glaze is as smooth as a pile of fat, like jade and dotted with stars, and the tentacles are like silk, and the caressing is like trickling water. How wonderful! Hold it in your hand and play with it carefully, and then compare it with other ordinary Ru porcelain on the market. In order to deliberately achieve a certain kind of opening effect that can be seen with the naked eye, the result is that the glaze will peel off or even cut your hands.
Opening:
Next, let’s talk about opening. The left side of the picture is a real shot of Qingtan Ru porcelain opening. Most of the openings are large pieces, with gold lines evenly arranged and orderly. Clear and natural, as smooth as flowing clouds and flowing water, it adds a lot of viewing pleasure and fun when drinking tea, truly realizing the principle of "people cultivate their utensils, and utensils cultivate their minds". Look at the picture on the right, which is another so-called "Ru kiln tea cup" that I bought from a certain treasure store for 68 yuan with free shipping. I have used it for more than a month. I can only say that you get what you pay for. It should be used with split glaze water. The low-temperature and low-quality Ru kiln produced is also made of ordinary loess, which cannot meet the high-temperature porcelain standards at all. The glaze is turbid and even melts. After several uses, it becomes full of dense lines. It looks messy, dirty and without any traces. The use experience is outstanding. Now it has been unused, and it is a dispensable utensil.
Gold lines along the mouth;
The mouth of the lotus cup is colored in kiln to produce gold lines. In some Ru porcelain types, the mouth rim will be decorated with gold lines. These gold threads are produced by mixing rock ore soil and using special exposed tire techniques. Kiln changes occur during the firing process, giving them a "gold edge" decorative effect after firing. Although it is not a difficult craftsmanship, the overall improvement brought by the gold thread on the cup mouth is more than just a little bit, making the tea set more graceful and gorgeous. From this, we can also see the innovative craftsmanship and attentiveness of a brand.
Beveled sole:
Qingtan Ru Kiln, the sole of the tea cup is repeatedly polished, using bevel technology, the base is engraved with the "Qingtan" LOGO, look for the trademark. Beware of authenticity. Compared with other flat-footed products on the market, the process is more complicated and cumbersome, but the advantage is that when you pick up the cup to drink tea, there will be no tea soup on the bottom, and the tea soup will not drip onto the body and stain clothes, and it is more durable than the Ru Kiln tea cup with flat feet. Beautiful, you can see the attention to detail. Looking at pictures 2 and 3, there is no craftsmanship at all. To me personally, I feel that it is a bit coping or even perfunctory. Qingtan interprets the literal meaning of "seeing the true chapter on the soles of your feet" very well.
Green Dan Ru porcelain is "as green as the sky", "face as jade", "cicada wing pattern", "morning stars are rare", "gold thread mouth", "beveled feet". As for whether it is as I described it, you may wish to discuss and exchange Ru Kiln porcelain tea sets with us in the comment area after experiencing it for yourself. This article is purely the author's personal opinion. I apologize for any offense caused.