Popular Style: Purple clay artifacts have their roots in the soil of daily-use Pottery. According to archaeological evidence, pottery-making activities date back to the Neolithic period, around five to six thousand years ago. By the Tang and Song dynasties, the greenware and daily-use pottery produced in Yixing were able to meet the needs of people's lives and production. Popular-style purple clay artifacts use common materials, feature simple designs, are highly functional, and are affordable.
Scholarly Style: Chinese scholars have conducted extensive research into Tea culture. Since the Song dynasty, drinking tea has been a significant part of scholarly gatherings. Thus, scholars began to infuse their aesthetic tastes into purple clay Teapots. Scholarly-style teapots are made from carefully selected materials, have simple yet elegant designs, and bear inscriptions that express emotions through objects. These teapots possess extremely high cultural and artistic value.
Court Style: The sources of imperial purple clay artifacts during the Ming and Qing dynasties came through two channels: the first was local officials selecting fine works by outstanding craftsmen to present to the court for imperial use; the second was when an emperor found a Teapot unsuitable to his aesthetic standards or usage habits after using it, he would propose ideas, and the Imperial Workshop would create patterns or even wooden molds for custom-made pieces. Therefore, all purple clay teapots that entered the palace were made from carefully selected clay by the most skilled craftsmen, pouring their heart and soul into their work. In terms of style, court-style purple clay teapots have dignified forms that embody a classical and weighty artistic style. Their main achievement lies in decoration, where they pioneered various new techniques, presenting a lavish and refined courtly fashion.
These three different styles do not exclude each other. Although they serve different audiences, they influence and complement each other.
