Why Song Dynasty Tea Culture and Jian Zhan Go Together Best | Cultural China Tour

1. Heating the Cup and Grinding the Tea: After being gently roasted over low heat, tea cakes were ground into a fine powder in a tea grinder and put into Jian Zhan cups that had already been heated.
2. Pouring and Mixing: The initial boil was achieved by boiling spring water over charcoal. After that, the hot water was added to the tea cups, combining with the tea powder to create a viscous paste. More water was slowly and gently put in.
3. Whisking and Seeing the Foam: Participants frothed the tea with a bamboo whisk as they were pouring, forming foam designs that stuck to the cup's inner rim. It was referred to as "biting the cup." The best foam, according to the highest standards, was bright white, stuck to the cup firmly, and left no water stains.

The whiteness of the froth was a crucial factor in tea contests. Jian Zhan cups with a black finish brought out the white foam more than other tea bowls, highlighting its delicate texture and brightness. The tea's visual attractiveness was further boosted by patterns like "hare's fur," "partridge feather," and "oil spot," which gave the experience a hint of brilliance.

Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, a scholar of literature, art, and tea culture, was closely associated with Jian Zhan's popularity. He researched Jian Zhan in great detail as well. "Mother-of-pearl and jeweled cases store the treasure, Jian sprout tea gives its fragrance in glass jars," is one of the lines from Huizong's poetry.
Even the most exquisite beauty can be intoxicated by Hare's fur cups, which brew the essence of clouds.

Huizong described Jian Zhan's categories and functions in depth in his Treatise on Tea (Daguan Cha Lun), written in 1107. He served Tai Ping tribute tea made with Huishan spring water to Cai Jing in 1112, together with Jian Zhan adorned with hare's fur glaze. Known historically as "Imperial Tea Preparation," Huizong personally made tea for his ministers in 1119, during the Xuanhe dynasty.

Cities were the main markets for Jian kiln black-glazed porcelain since they were important centers of trade and culture. The concentration of Jian Zhan's archaeological discoveries in coastal cities such as Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Hangzhou, and Ningbo reflects the urban population's and scholar-official class's desire for upscale tea items. Jian Zhan was also utilized in the Northern Song imperial court during its height of production. Items bearing the inscriptions "for imperial use" or "presented cup," discovered during excavations at kiln sites including Houmenshan and Yuantoukeng in Jianyang, have verified Jian Zhan's position as a royal tea mug.

The export of black-glazed cups, symbolized as Jian Zhan, began with the growth of Song Dynasty tea culture throughout East Asia. Local tea cultures were greatly impacted by the export of Jian kiln ceramics to places like Japan and the Korean Peninsula as a result of the expansion of maritime trade after the late Northern Song Dynasty.

Jian Zhan became closely linked to the evolution of the tea ceremony in Japan. According to historical research, Jian Zhan was used to prepare tea by Japanese monks studying Buddhism at Tianmu Mountain in Zhejiang Province during the Southern Song Dynasty. Later, these monks returned Jian Zhan to Japan, where it was widely praised and became an essential part of the cultural exchange between China and Japan.

As of right now, the only shipwrecks that contain Jian Zhan ceramics are the Kurakizaki Shipwreck in Japan, the Sinan Shipwreck, and the Ma Island II Shipwreck in South Korea. Conversely, the majority of the black-glazed items found in shipwrecks close to China's coastline originate from the Dongzhang, Cizao, and Yulinting kilns and are primarily from the mid-Southern Song to early Yuan eras. This implies that these goods were uncommon and priceless jewels rather than mass-exported commodities because of the drop in international trade during the mid-Northern Song and mid-Southern Song periods, as well as Jian Zhan's specialized consumer base, high production costs, and limited output.

Jian Zhan's main importer was Japan. Jian Zhan is one of many Chinese ceramics that have been found in the seabed of Hakata Bay and at the Hakata archeological site in Japan since the 21st century. A merchant vessel that was traveling from China to Hakata, Japan, sank off the southwest coast of Jeollanam-do, Sinan, South Korea, in 1323. Among the more over 20,000 porcelain pieces the ship transported were both official and private trade goods, with 68 Jian Zhan pieces classified as Song Dynasty treasures. Jian kilns were no longer making black-glazed goods by that point. Together with other tea pots from the Song era, including Ganzhou kiln "willow-leaf" jars and Jizhou kiln ceramics, these Jian Zhan were seen on the Sinan merchant ship bound for Japan.

This phenomenon is strongly associated with the fall of conventional compressed tea and the Southern Song tea-whisking technique during the Yuan Dynasty, the rise of Zen Buddhist temples and the warrior class during the Kamakura era in Japan, and the rise in desire for “Tang treasures” (Chinese cultural objects).

A collection of black-glazed porcelain-making kilns appeared throughout northern and eastern Fujian, as well as portions of Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Anhui provinces, throughout the Song and Yuan dynasties, influenced by Jian kiln porcelain-making techniques and styles. Wuyi Mountain's Yulinting Kiln, Fuqing's Dongzhang Kiln, Yanping's Chayang Kiln, Jian'ou's Xiaosong Kiln, Guangze's Maodian Kiln, and Songxi's Huichang Kiln were among the notable kilns. These kilns developed unique regional features while incorporating Jian kiln technology and aesthetics. The famous Seto ware, which was based on Jian kiln ceramics, is an example of how the artistry of Jian kilns had a significant impact on the creation of porcelain in Japan.