Tenmoku

The tea of the Song Dynasty favored white, while the tea wares were revered for their black-glazed bowls, unique in history. Silver-threaded hare's fur, shimmering with brilliance; paper-cut decorations, vivid and lifelike; partridge splashed, with spots that change in light. The clear black and white contrast between the black-glazed bowl and the tea highlights the beauty of the foam. The Song Dynasty revered Daoism, and the white tea in black vessels embodied the principles of Yin and Yang. The Jian kiln, located in the area of Houjing and Chizhong Village, Shuigai Town, Jianyang County, Fujian Province, is renowned for its production of black porcelain. The Jian kiln was one of the major kilns during the Song Dynasty, initially established in the late Tang and Five Dynasties period, primarily producing celadon. By the Song Dynasty, a cluster of kilns emerged in Jianyang, with 99 long dragon kilns, producing a large quantity of black porcelain. Jian ware can be categorized into six main types based on the glaze patterns: Ujim (dark blue-black), hare's fur, oil spot, partridge, iridescent, and miscellaneous colors. Hare's Fur Bowl A hare's fur bowl features fine brownish-yellow or rust-colored thread-like streaks on a black glaze surface, resembling hare's…

Due to being part of the same Eastern cultural sphere, Japanese tea wares emphasize connotations just like those in China. This piece shares content from Chapter Five of “Tea Pleasures in Variegated Colours: The Spread of Chinese Tea and Foreign Tea Affairs,” written by Yu Yue and published by Guangming Daily Press in August 1999. Since the 13th century, the custom of drinking tea has been widespread in Japan. After Kato Saemon studied porcelain making in our country and returned home, he began to pay attention to the porcelain industry. Kato, also known as Tojirō, settled in Seto, where generations of potters have maintained the traditional production of Seto ware. In 1510, Goro-taifu came to Jingdezhen, China, to study porcelain manufacturing and returned to Japan in 1515. He brought back the techniques and materials needed for producing blue-and-white porcelain from Jingdezhen, setting up a kiln in Arita, known for its clay, marking the beginning of porcelain production in Japan. While in China, he went by the pseudonym Wu Yangrui, and the porcelain he made was also called Xiangrui. These products were limited to using Chinese techniques and materials without significant innovation but later became rare and expensive porcelain. By the…

When creating a beautiful piece, the more variables involved, the weaker the human control becomes. However, luck always stands by every craftsman who truly invests their life and wisdom in it. As long as you have sufficient accumulation and patience, fine works will naturally emerge. Shoe firing ceramics are both man-made and reliant on nature, a collaboration between heaven and humanity, with its wonders lying within. Shoe firing refers to the production of ceramic wares using wood as fuel. This is an ancient technique with a high degree of difficulty, where the success or failure of the work depends on the relationship between clay, fire, wood, and kiln. Returning to nature, the fusion of fire, earth, and ash gives rise to a natural, thick, and primitive beauty. Shoe firing seeks the natural combination of wood ashes and earth, not bound by formal aesthetics, but rather without any artificial embellishment. The beauty of simplicity is attached to everything, and only in the formless yet shaped shoe-fired ware can one touch the soul. Shoe firing is mainly divided into two categories: glazed (base glaze) and unglazed (natural glaze). For example, Song Dynasty Tenmoku bowls and celadon glazes are glazed, while Bizen-yaki from…