TEA IN THE SONG PERIOD

TEA IN THE SONG PERIOD History of the Song Tea Development in the Song Period Teaware of the Song Period Art and Tea in the Song Period Grinding Song Period-Style 抹茶 Mǒchá

Song dynasty ( 宋朝 ; Sòng cháo) 960 1279 Southern Song, 1127 1279 Song dynasty circa 1100

Ancient-style Cake Tea Tang Tea Gardens Hēi chá LóngFèng Tuán Chá Proto-Wūlóngchá Song Period Báichá Proto-Báichá Bāshān* 巴山 Famous Teas and Tea-Producing Regions During the Song Period 960 1279 Gǔzhushān* 古株山 Qīngchéngshān* 青城山 Ānjí báichá 安吉白茶 Líncāng* 臨滄 Méngdǐngshān* 蒙頂山 Yǎ'ān* 雅安 Éméishān* 峨眉山 Bǎoshān* 保山 Wùyuán gòngchá 婺源貢茶 Wǔyíshān* 武夷山 Fúdǐng báichá** 福鼎白茶 Zhènghé báichá** 政和白茶 Pǔ'ěr* 普洱 Xīshuāngbǎnnà* 西雙版納 Liù bǎo chá 六堡茶 Ānxī* 安溪 Fènghuáng shān fèng tuán chá 鳳凰山鳳團茶 Yǒngchūn* 永春 Běiyuàn lóngtuán chá 北苑龍團茶 Ancient Tea Horse Road * Region ** Anachronistic Attribution

Contemporary produced Korean 떡차 ddok cha, compressed cake tea.

Contemporary produced basket-wrapped 六安黑茶 Liù ān hēi chá, Liu An Black Tea

Various Song dynasty period Longfeng Tuancha 龍鳳團茶 ( Dragon Phoenix tea cakes ) Images of various Song dynasty Longfeng Tuancha molds from the Sì Kù Quán Shū 四庫全書 (Complete Library of the Four Treasuries), 1772.

Modern-day reproduction of Longfeng Tuancha 龍鳳團茶 ( Dragon Phoenix tea cake )

Famous Teaware-Producing Kilns of the Song Period 960 1279 Rǔ yáo 汝窯 Cízhōu yáo 磁州窯 Yuè(zhōu) yáo 越 ( 州 ) 窯 Jūn yáo 鈞窯 Guān yáo 官窯 Yàozhōu yáo 耀州窯 Jiàn yáo 建窯 Jízhōu yáo 吉州窯 Lóngquán qīngcí 龍泉青瓷

Images of wares for the preparation of making tea from the 茶具圖贊 Chájù tú zàn (Pictorial of Tea) by Shenan, 1269.

Ding ware white glaze ceramic tea grinder, 9 th to10 th Century, late Tang (618-907) to early Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127).

The Painting of Literary Gathering by Zhao Ji, Northern Song Dynasty (618-907) Handscroll, ink and colors on silk, 184.4 x 123.9 cm, National Palace Museum, Taipei.

Qingbai ewer, bowls, and pumpkin-shaped lobed container, Late Song to Early Yuan dynasties (1100s-1200s)

An incised Yue ewer and cover, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127)

Jian 'hare's fur' tea bowl, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279)

Assorted 吉州窯 Jízhōu yáo teabowls. Note floral pattern resist motif, loose brush stroke and tortoise shell patternation. Late southern Song dynasty (c. 1200 1279).

吉州窯 Jízhōu yáo teabowl with natural leaf resist decoration. Late southern Song dynasty (c. 1200 1279).

Luohans Drinking Tea, Zhou Jichang (active late-12th century), Southern Song Dynasty, from the Daitokuji denrai Gohyakurakanzu (The Daitokuji 500 Luohan Paintings). Published by Nara National Museum and National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo, 2014.

Luohans Drinking Tea, Zhou Jichang (active late-12th century), Southern Song Dynasty, from the Daitokuji denrai Gohyakurakanzu (The Daitokuji 500 Luohan Paintings). Published by Nara National Museum and National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo, 2014.

Youdi black glaze tea bowl on red lacquer receptacle, Southern Song Dynasty ( 127 ~ 1279 A.D. ), Collection at Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka.

Tea Extraction/Grinding by Liu Song Nian 劉松年 (about 1155-1218), Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) Handscroll, ink and colors on silk

Tea Extraction/Grinding by Liu Song Nian 劉松年 (about 1155-1218), Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) Handscroll, ink and colors on silk

Tea Competition 鬥茶圖 ( detail ), Liu Song Nian 劉松年, c.1200, Collection the National Palace Museum, Taipei.

Tea is of light colour and looks best in black cups. The cups made at Jianyang are bluish-black in colour, marked like the fur of a hare. Being of rather thick fabric they retain the heat, so that when once warmed through they cool very slowly, and they are additionally valued on this account. None of the cups produced at other places can rival these. Cai Xiang 茶录, The Record of Tea (c.1049-1053)

Grinding Song Period-Style 抹茶 Mǒchá 3. Remove twigs 1. Start with loose leaves 2. Begin softly grinding tea leaves

6. Continue grinding 4. Sift-out larger particles 5. Continue grinding (note tea hairs )

9. Tea is ready for whisking 7. Continue grinding (note, lighter, softer texture) 8. Intermittently sift between grinding, extracting tea hairs