Famous writers, kings and purple clay teapots
It should come as no surprise that many eminent people throughout Chinese history have loved tea. What is peculiar, however, is that some of the most famous, cultured individuals China has ever seen also fell in love with a particular kind of teapot, made out of a material called Yixing purple clay.
Ancient poet Su Dongpo (1037 - 1101) and his original purple clay teapot
In the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279), the title of the most outstanding poet belongs to Su Dongpo (Also: Su Shi). If you wonder how many literary works he had created, listen up. Apart from the lost works, he still passed more than four thousand ancient poems and three thousand ancient separate works of prose on to contemporary Chinese. The artistic appeal of his work lies in its great imagination and enthusiasm. And what is more, he was a brilliant artist and calligrapher too.
What's important for us is that Su was an avid collector of purple clay teapots, and he even invented his own special style of teapot. This kind of pot, named after the man, is quite large and has an overhanging handle much like that on a lantern.
For a period of time, Su used to live at Yixing, the only place that has natural purple clay. He would savor the joy of tea while doing his work. However, the teapots at that time were all so small that he had to keep drinking one pot after another after another. This caused much trouble for him, as his creative inspiration had to be interrupted time after time.
Therefore he intended to make a big teapot by himself. He bought some purple clay, and started to shape and work with it. But several months passed, and he still failed to complete a decent pot. Can you imagine how anxious he was?
One night, a boy attendant carrying a lantern came and asked Su to have a snack. All of a sudden, a good idea came to Su's mind: Why not make a pot in the shape of this lantern?
After just a few tries, Su perfected the lantern-shaped teapot. But there was a problem: it was heavy and slick, so no one could hold it. Even attaching the standard teapot handle was not enough. After thinking for some time, Su crafted a long, U-shaped handle that hung over the pot and attached to both the front and back. This handle was easy to carry, and gave great leverage when pouring tea out of the large belly of the pot.
From then on, Su often enjoyed tea carrying the 'beam' of his large purple clay teapot. He loved this pot as if it was his own son. To memorize this uniquely shaped teapot, a lot of potters have tried to imitate it. They named this kind of pot after the famous writer: Dongpo Cross Beam Pot.
Take a look at the photo of a real Dongpo Cross Beam Pot. It was taken at San Su Temple, the former residence of Su Dongpo, in the southwestern part of Sichuan province.
Emperor Qianlong and purple clay teapots
Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799) was on the throne for 60 years. He lived to be 89 years old and was the oldest emperor in Chinese imperial history.
This emperor was addicted to tea all throughout his old age. He once said, "A monarch should not go without tea for even one day." Apparently, he saw drinking tea as a vital element to his health. In his lifetime, he traveled all around the country and tasted various varieties of famous tea.
To go with his fanaticism over tea, Qianlong was also serious about his teaware. He thought Yixing purple clay teapots were the finest in the world. Almost every time he had a cup of tea, he demanded that it be brewed from a purple clay teapot. He thought these teapots brought the best out of his tea.
Emperor Qianlong appointed specialists to select the best purple clay teapots from Yixing, or to design the most appealing styles. Favored by emperors like Qianlong, Yixing purple clay teapots earned a great reputation soon. Nowadays, people are proud of owning good purple clay teapots. Although we have no chance to being an emperor for even one day, we can pick a purple clay teapot and experience the pleasure that emperors used to have.