Analysis of Fuliang Tea Bowls and Cups in the Tang Dynasty

When to start production of jingdezhen tea sets? Literature and archaeological excavations is not consistent. According to the latest archaeological excavations, as early as in the Tang Dynasty, Fuliang County had been an important tea producing area and distribution center. Drinking tea became a custom, tea utensils arised at the historic moment. tea market demand gave birth to Jingdezhen tea set, Changnan porcelains became famous in the world, The main tea utensils were the big bowls and the small cups equipped with saucers. People began Grinding tea into powder, so sencha replaced cooking tea.


Introduction
China is the hometown of tea, but also the cradle of tea culture. the discovery and use of China tea has a long history of more than four thousand years, and has spread all over the world. Tea is the national drink of the Chinese nation, Found by Shen Nong, known by Lu Zhou, spread in the Tang Dynasty, flourished in the Song Dynasty, popular in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Chinese tea culture, with Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism into a single one, is an exotic flower in the culture of China. China tea area is vast, tea area is divided into 3 levels, namely, fist tea area (southwest, Jiangnan region as a table), second tea area (northwest, Jiangbei), third tea area (in Southern China area as a representative). At the same time, tea has become the most popular, the most beneficial to the health of world. The tea make the world into one, advocate "the tea lovers from the different countries are families". The connotation of tea culture is actually a kind of concrete manifestation of the connotation of Chinese culture. China is known as a state of ceremonies. the spirit of the connotation of tea culture is combination by making tea and enjoy tea, the smell of tea, and customs and the cultural connotation and etiquette formed distinctive Chinese cultural characteristics of a kind of cultural phenomenon, which can also be said to be a courtesy phenomenon. In the engagement ceremony for the ancient to get along with people. In the long history of development, courtesy as the Chinese social ethics and standards of living, the cultivation of mental quality of the Han nationality the important role; at the same time, along with the social transformation and the development it has been given new content, and China life habits and to form fusion, the formation of the features all kinds of Chinese cultural phenomenon. Tea culture is a representative traditional culture in China. China is not only one of the origin of tea, but also in different ethnic groups in China, different regions, there are still a variety of tea drinking habits and customs. Lu Yu in the Tang Dynasty book "Tea Classic" system summarized the Tang Dynasty and before the Tang Dynasty tea production. Lu Yu and Jiao Ran a group of culture attaches great importance to the tea to enjoy the spirit and moral standard, pay attention to tea utensils, drinking water and boil the tea, and with Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism philosophy, and gradually make people enter the field of their spirit. In the number of scholar officials and literati of the process of drinking tea, but also created a lot of poem, only in the complete works of the Tang Dynasty, spread so far there are hundreds of tea poets, thus laying tea culture of the Han nationality.
Fuliang is located in the northeast of Jiangxi Province, belonging to Jingdezhen City, located at the junction of the two provinces of Jiangxi and Anhui provinces, is one of the Poyang Lake Ecological Economic Zone 38 key counties (cities, districts), belongs to the intensive and efficient development area. Fuliang county area of 2851 square kilometers, Total population of 300 thousand (2010), Landforms are mountains, hills, plains, rivers and so on. Subtropical humid weather. The annual mean temperature of 17 degrees, annual rainfall of 1764 mm. Alluvial gold, coal, clay, marble and limestone rich reserves of fluorite. The local specialty is porcelain and tea. world-famous Jingdezhen porcelain in the history of long-term scribe belongs to Fuliang County jurisdiction. Therefore, Fuliang is known as the "porcelain capital of the world"; Tang Fuliang tea has been known to the world, in the Dunhuang manuscripts of the treatise on tea and wine and Bai Juyi pipa were left "Fuliang Xi state, Wan Guo seeking" and "materialistic businessmen light departure, from Fuliang to buy tea" reputation. Tea first appeared in the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty. There were many kinds of tea sets in the Tang Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, the emperor of the Song Dynasty, as a gift, showed that its status was very high. The material of ancient tea sets, mainly ceramics of the Tang and Song Dynasties mostly, gradually replacing the past metal, jade tea set. The main reason is that ceramic tea set relative metal tea, prices cheaper, boiled water performance is good, and Packing of tea can keep the aroma, it is easy to promote. Famen Temple unearthed tea set is a complete set of tea tools, they are gold and silver products. To the song and Yuan Dynasties, with the change of tea art, tea will no longer be placed in the pot boiled, and the emergence of tea which is to boil water in bottles of soup to tea. This period of ceramic tea set is widely used, the shapes are attractive.

Main Body: Tea Drinking Habits and Tea Sets
China is the hometown of tea, tea culture has a long history, tea is one of the articles for daily use, "daily necessities sauce vinegar tea", and spirit of enjoyment of life, "piano, chess, calligraphy and painting poem liquor tea." Utensil is the father of tea, the need promotes the tea service. Tea set, also known as tea service, ancient tea set refers to tea service for a variety of tools, including tea plucking, tea making, tea storage, tea drinking and other categories, Tang Dynasty poet Pi Rixiu listed ten tea sets in the Ten Tea Poems, there were 24 tea things in LuYu's Tea Classic. In this paper, the tea set is defined as a special apparatus, which is related to tea drinking. Mainly refers to the teapot, the bowl and the cup. Records of the tea set is generally believed that can be traced back to the Western Han Dynasty Wangbao's Tong Yue (59 BC) which records Wuyang to buy tea, cooking tea and wishing tea sets. In 1990, Shangyu City, Zhejiang Province unearthed a celadon tea storage jars, with a word tea at the end of it, during the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25 -220). archaeologists believed that this is the world's first tea set. Tea experts recognized the earliest tea literature is in the Western Jin Dynasty (A. D. 265-316) Zuo si's poem of heart for tea Chuan drama, boast to Ding Li. But the tea set stays mixed with wine set and tableware, the system of special tea set is not yet born, so that before the Tang Dynasty is the tea set formation period.
In the Tang Dynasty, national unity, social stability, Li Yu biography" said: "the tea for food, like rice and salt is common people's most favorite." Tea had become the hobby of scholar-bureaucrat, the poet Bai Juyi said: "after eating food, sleep, then drink two cups of tea, that's wonderful." the monk Jiaoran first mention of tea ceremony, there was the famous "three drinks" said, advocated "the laity is fond of wine, of whom love tea?" Lu Yu, visited major tea producing area, with the help of Jiaoran under the previous set of tea, written in the world's first system tea monograph of tea Tea Classic. Tea was used as medicine to drink, Shennong Bencaojing said, Shennong met seventy-two cases of poison, tea was the solution". Before Middle Tang, tea still was an kind of food, eating tea was popular, usually the tea, green onions, ginger and other spices were mixed and boiled soup porridge to eat, the Three Kingdoms Zhang Yi's Guangya said, in theJing and Ba, picking leaves for cake, leaves to a paste of rice, if cooking tea to drink, first bake, when it becomes red, pounding in the set of porcelain, to cover it with soup irrigate, with onions, ginger, orange returning, the drink hangover, a sleepless. Tea Classic recorded that drink thick tea, loose tea, powder tea and cake tea, by Zhuo, by boiling, by baking, by hitting, storage in a bottle or fou, refers to the tea. Or with onions, ginger, jujube, orange peel, dogwood, Bo Hezhi etc., boiling many times, or boiled to foam, abandoned water in the ditches, and custom unceasingly. In Lu Yu's advocacy, the tea changed from tea porridge into tea soup. With the change in the way of tea drinking, tea set in the Tang Dynasty gradually went to independence from the wine and tableware, become an important part in the system of tea culture. The book of What Mr Feng saw contained most family had a pair of tea set with admiration. In1987, some silver gilt tea sets were unearthed in Famen Temple, Fufeng, Shanxi which were made in the year of 874, For Emperor Xizong to worship Buddha. This is the highest level of ancient tea set found so far, which is basically consistent with Tea Classic.
According to the existing data, a typical representative of the tea set in the Tang Dynasty is a large bowl and a small cup with a saucer. Bowls can be verified from the following several aspects such as literature records Lu Tong's poem: A bowl of tea can nourish the throat... If I drink seven bowls, I will be a fairy. Seven bowls of tea poem showed that people drink tea with a bowl, as the unit of measurement. the monk zhaozhou often said: let's go for tea.. "Tea Classic" said: "the bowl of Yue kiln is best... Shouzhou's, Hongzhou's last." Special mention tea utensils for the bowl. "Old Tang" recorded: Tang Dazhong three years (AD 849) Emperor Xuan Zong asked a120-year-old monk longevity secret, the monk replied: " not medicine, the tea, everywhere only tea is for, or on over a hundred bowls, as usual, also forty or fifty bowl." Today there are still "a large bowl of tea", "seven bowls of tea". In addition to bowl tea poetry and many, such as XuYin: "gold filigree and grinding incense at the end, the ice bowl light Han Cui wisp of smoke." By Yuan Zhen tea poem: "Diao fried yellow pistil color, turning flower dust bowl." Dai Shulun "Hengshan Temple": "my question for the tea cup, setting off a boat." "Shi Jianwu" Shu Tea: "the early and prosperous new Shuming bowl, stir evenly to thin smoke light." And as from ancient paintings of the Tang Dynasty palace described "shows: after cooked tea into overboard with the tea table, tea with long handle tea scoops will tea from the tea Sheng, scoop into the bowl to drink, the harmonica tea map" is a handmaiden holding bowl stand on the right side. Archaeological excavation unearthed at the more convincing, such as 1975 Ningbo and Yi Lu Tang wharf site unearthed in Yue Kiln celadon bowls, pots, bottles, Shaanxi Fufeng Famen Temple in 1987 unearthed the secret color bowl silver bowl, and glass bowl, the treasure account monument civilization indeed record: "secret color porcelain bowl seven mouths and two Silver mouth edge... And a soup bowl... A pair of glass bowl holder." In 1999 the wreck of the Tang Dynasty "Blackstone" whose porcelains from Changsha Kiln is the largest Cultural relics, some in the bowl clearly written with the words " tea cup". In 1953, Changsha City, Hunan Wangcheng County Shi Zhu on the northern shore of lake blue coast mouth kiln were collected to a bowl of written word "Tu Wan" Yuezhou kiln jade lip bowl. These are fully illustrated the use of the tea bowl. "Tea Classic" said: "Ou, Yue kiln is best, the lips don't roll, bottom roll and shallow, by half a litre of the following." With more than a small saucer bowl tea cup, the holder often designed lotus leaf curling shape, on the Tuolian petal tea cup. In poetry of the Tang Dynasty more than a description of tea cup called Ou, such as Meng Jiao's: "Mongolian Mingyu spend as, more Ou lotus leaf air"; Gu Kuang the tea Fu"" Shu Tieru jinzhiding, the mud like jade Ou"; Bai Juyi" sleeping after Cha Xing Yi Yang TongZhou": "white porcelain Ou very clean and red furnace carbon square Chi"; Cui Zhiyuan:" cooking milk in Jinding, pan balm Yu Ou; PI Rixiu even made a special song "tea in the Miscellaneous Poems -tea Ou": like a round on the soul fall, the soul like clouds of light. Paintings handed down the Xiao Yi earn Lanting "in a small slave holding paint care tea ou to wind the fireside, archaeological excavations unearthed the earliest saucer is the southern Hongzhou kiln lotus petal grain celadon saucer, Ningbo Museum in possession of a" Yue lotus lamp holder "tea Ou base, unearthed in Ningbo in 1975 and Yi Lu Tang wharf site, is supporting the Tang Dynasty tea ou with physical testimony.
"Fuliang tea, Famous in the world." Fuliang is an important tea producing area and distribution center in the Tang Dynasty. Dunhuang Wang Fu "tea wine theory" mentioned: "Fuliang Xizhou, 000 to beg." Tang Zhen Yuan for nine years (AD 793 years) the introduction of tea tax, every ten tax, "since then every year old money forty riches", Bai Juyi Pipa (A. D. 806) said: "materialistic businessmen light departure, from Fuliang to buy tea." Li Jifu "element and counties map" (the year 813) volume 28 "Rao Zhou Fuliang County") records: "tea annual expenditures per million pack, the tax 15 more than riches." Tea tax in a county of Fuliang, has been more than the sum of the national mineral tax. Tang Yanghua the meal husband handled recorded, "said:" floating, Rao Liang tea, this Kansai, Shandong Lu Yan village all eat. Day after day do not eat in the still, not a day without tea also. The economic man, 100 to Shucha, but no longer than Sichuan tea flavor." Jingdezhen is the ancient Fuliang, and Yi Tao, "Fuliang county" records: Xinping Ye Tao, Han began in the world. "Jingdezhen Tao recorded" records: Tang Wude years (AD 626 -618 years) there are pottery kilns and Huo kiln, good Ying Run, such as jade, known as "fake jade", due to the ceramic into the Guanzhong, porcelain into the imperial, the South china. The year 813 ad Liu Zongyuan was on behalf of the Rao Zhouci Shi Yuan Cui wrote a "into the porcelain shape", praised the Jingdezhen porcelain "fine arts Potter, of scale". Coincidentally, 2012 -2013, two archaeological excavations of Fuliang Tang Dynasty Lantian kiln and Leping Tang Dynasty Nan kiln were unearthed a teacup and tea grind, can be described as the best example of Jingdezhen tea in the Tang Dynasty, is a microcosm of Fuliang porcelain and tea Aioi.

Conclusion
In the middle and late Tang Dynasty, tea was popular, Fuliang tea is well-known in the world. Fuliang in the Tang Dynasty was an important tea producing area and distribution center. In the middle and late Tang Dynasty, People liked drinking tea. Fuliang tea had large output, and high taxes, affecting the whole country, tea market demand gave birth to Jingdezhen tea set, Changnan porcelain became famous in the world, The main tea utensils were the big bowls and the small cups equipped with saucers. Grinding tea into powder, sencha replaced cooking tea.