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 fur. Primarily produced by the Jianyang kiln, these bowls have a slightly constricted rim, sloping sides, and a deep belly, with a small foot ring. The exterior glaze does not reach the bottom, exposing the rust-colored or grayish-white body. Historical texts referred to this pattern as jade fur, variant fur, or hare's fur, with the thread-like streaks appearing in yellow, white, or gray, known respectively as golden hare's fur, silver hare's fur, and gray hare's fur.
Famous Quotation: Emperor Huizong of Song: “The hare's fur bowl brewing cloud liquid can dissolve the drunkenness of a beautiful woman.”
Iridescent Tenmoku Bowl
On a black glaze base, there are oil-drop-like yellow spots surrounded by a blue halo. These spots change color like a rosy glow depending on the viewing angle. Only three such bowls are known to exist today, all in Japan, designated as national treasures.
Black-Glazed Porcelain
Black-glazed porcelain refers to ceramics coated with high-temperature black glaze. In ancient literature, it is called “Wuni Jian,” “Hei Jian,” or “Zi Jian,” and the Japanese term is “Tenmoku.” Developed from celadon, the coloring agent is iron. Due to the high iron content in the clay, the body is dark and dense, and the pieces are heavy. A “zhan” is a small bowl, and the black-glazed tea bowls produced by the Song Dynasty's Jian kiln are also known as Jian zhan.
Oil Spot Bowl
On the glaze surface of black-glazed porcelain, there are many small round or star-shaped spots with a silvery metallic luster, resembling oil drops, hence the name “oil spot bowl.” Also known as “partridge spots” due to their resemblance to the pattern on a partridge's chest. Oil spots form where iron oxide crystals gather at the site of bubble expulsion during firing. The temperature range for forming oil spots is very narrow, requiring precise control to allow bubbles to escape without dispersing or disappearing, making it difficult to produce bowls with clear oil spots.
Paper-Cut Decoration Bowl
Appropriate parts of the inner wall of a black-glazed bowl are decorated with paper-cut patterns, then covered with a layer of yellow-brown bamboo ash glaze. This type of pattern is well-suited for round tea bowls and often uses the same paper-cut shapes arranged evenly in threes or fours, with a border of continuous band patterns around the rim, creating diverse yet harmonious compositions. The paper-cut patterns employ techniques of cutting and engraving to create contrasts between black and white, solid and void, achieving a silhouette effect that emphasizes the shape of the object.