A Never Ageing Tradition
According
to popular legend, tea was discovered by Chinese Emperor Shennong in
2737 BCE when a leaf from a nearby shrub fell into water the emperor was
boiling. Tea is deeply woven into
the history and culture of China. The beverage is considered one of the seven necessities of
Chinese life, along with firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar.
The
accepted history of
the tea set begins in China during the Han Dynasty (206-220 B.C.). At this
time, tea ware was made of porcelain and consisted of two styles: a Northern
white porcelain and a southern light blue porcelain. It is important to
understand that these ancient tea sets were not the creamer/sugar bowl
companions we know today. An
archaeological dig turned up an ancient kiln that contained the remnants of a
Yixing teapot. They are named for a
tiny city located in Jiangsu Province, where a specific compound of iron ore
results in the unique colouration of these teapots. They were fired without a
glaze and were used to steep specific types of ‘ool ong’ teas. Because of the porous nature of the
clay, the teapot would gradually be tempered by using it for brewing one kind
of tea. This seasoning was part of the reason to use Yixing teapots. In
addition, artisans created fanciful pots incorporating animal shapes.
The Song Dynasty also produced exquisite ceramic teapots and tea bowls
in glowing glazes of brown, black and blue. A bamboo whisk was employed to beat
the tea into a frothy confection highly prized by the Chinese.
After hundreds of years the Chinese made the most beautiful the tea
sets. There are numerous variations of designs of tea sets, it has art mixed
with culture.