Standard Historical Designs of Yixing Teapots

What is a standard design and which of Yixing wares’ myriad of forms can be said to be standard? The design of a teapot is comprised of its shape, size, and functional attributes; its form and function. The art of Yixing has maintained a thread of consistency throughout its aesthetic evolution, from its origins in the Ming dynasty to the present day: preserving, developing, and refining its ceramic-material, form, and function. A standard design is one with universal recognition by artisans and patrons of the artform, an aesthetic leitmotif. The materials, sizes, and forms, that have withstood the test of time[1], remaining preferred within the historical incubating culture of dynastic China and the adopted culture of tea practitioners in the east and west, can be said to be standard.

Who defines what is standard, expected, or desired from an artform? The definition of standard arises from negotiation within the artistic field[2] between artists, patrons, and critiques. Art is made by craftsmen, artisans, and artists, who through personal skill and artistic vision, produce a range of art, from kitsch to desired to the avant garde. The patrons of the artform and their contemporaneous cultural critiques debate, define, and demand from artists “what is good now?"[3] , allocating economic capital to the art and artists they prefer. The aesthetic preferences of Yixing’s patrons remained in constant evolution from its earliest developments in the mid-Ming, through the imperial meddling[4] and rise of the merchant class in the Qing, thriving in a contest of modernism versus traditionalism in the RoC, surviving the Communist era collectivization with the founding of Yixing Factory 1 (“F1”), and finally landing in the contemporary period searching for authenticity and meaning.

The process of art production, innovation, patronage, and critique for zisha wares within the sub-culture of tea enculturated an evolving aesthetic preference and desired outcomes[5] from which each successive generation progressed: ceramic craftsmen progressing the praxis of Yixing’s functional art; critics and patrons progressing the praxis of appreciation and use. By analyzing the origins, evolutions, and cultural forces that shaped the aesthetic development of Yixing teapots, we can interpret how the preferences of dynastic craftsmen and the literati predecessors of our sub-culture continue to resonate in our praxis today[6], and the sources of their contribution on the development of Yixing’s standard designs.

 Thesis

近百年中，壶黜银锡及闽豫瓷，而尚宜兴陶，又近人远过前人处也。陶曷取诸，取诸其制，以本山土砂能发真茶之色香味，不但杜工部云“倾金注玉惊人眼”，高流务以免俗也。至名手所作，一壶重不数两，价重每一二十金，能使土与黄金争价。世日趋华，抑足感矣。因考陶工陶土而为之系.

In the past hundred years, the [zisha] teapot has displaced silver and tin ware and the porcelain of Fujian and Henan, and people now prize Yixing pottery – yet another case of the present surpassing the past. The reason [Yixing] pottery is preferred lies in its material and make: using clay from the local hills can bring out the true color, fragrance, and flavor of tea. Not only did Du “Gongbu”[7] note that ‘pouring from gold [vessels] into jade [cups] dazzles the eye,’ but a truly refined gentlemen makes a point of avoiding the vulgar[8]. When crafted by famous masters, a pot may weigh only a few ounces, yet its price is 10 to 20 coins, so that mere clay competes in value with gold. The world grows more extravagant by the day – indeed enough to make one sigh. It is for this reason that I examined the potters and their clay, and compiled this record.”

-          An Account of Yang Xian Renowned Teapots (阳羡茗壶系, Yang Xian Ming Hu Xi), Published c. 1640 CE (late Ming) by Zhou Gaoqi (周高起, c. 1596 – 1650 CE)