Why do we find Vintage Yixing Teapots on a webshop dedicated to Taiwan Teas and Tea Crafts?

One of our most popular product categories at Taiwan Tea Crafts is our Vintage Yixing teapot selection. We’ve received many inquiries about them and have answered all of them individually. Every time, our response begins with apologies about the incomplete information our pages show about each individual pot we propose as well as our intention to take care of that matter very soon. I will not divulge how many times we wrote these lines to individual inquirers but would like to reassure you that we are not chronic procrastinators. We are simply very busy procrastinators, as our preceding post will attest. Odly enough, I’ve never had a longer list of things to do than today and here I am writing this long overdue post.

To get to the point: the reason we find Vintage Yixing teapots on a website dedicated to Taiwanese Teas and Tea Crafts has a story that starts in a classic fairy tell way: Not far away from us, in a neighbouring village lives an old man

who retired from his business trading Chinese art and Chinese tea related objects in the early 1990s because of poor health. This high-spirited gentleman visits us from time to time to come and chat, play Chinese chess, and barter a few objects in exchange for tea. It so happens that, most often, he carries boxes of teapots and sometimes various artifacts with him to show around and sell, here and there. When I met this gentleman, he had a box of pots that were of OK quality, but I soon after learnt that one had to go and visit him to see his “real” collection, which I did. To my surprise, I walked into, not a house, but a warehouse filled with art objects, vases, porcelains, drawings and so forth. Of course, the better pots were kept here and gathered dust. His house is a true treasure trove… and a maze, with piles of boxes upon boxes of stuff! It is from this collection that I select pots that seem to me of good make and offer good value. As of now, I estimate only having had a glimpse at the extent of the collection that lays scattered in every corner of the house.

Taiwan is, in many ways, more “Chinese” than mainland China can ever claim to be.

So, why bother sifting through this collection? First of all, for the fun and excitement it brings to unwrap one pot after the other from their old 1980’s newspaper pages, but mostly, if you caught on to the hint I just gave you, this house is filled with objects that are no younger that the very early 1990’s, which corresponds to the time when our gentleman’s illness forced him to stop his commercial activities. In Yixing teapot terms, this means that this house has the potential of hiding some good teapots that may have been made with Zhu Ni clay from the original Yixing mine that was still in operation in those days. In other words, all of today’s Yixing pots are made from clays that are sourced elsewhere than from the mine that established the reputation and the special qualities of Yixing pots since the middle of the 16th Century. Does this mean that a Yixing pot made today doesn’t propose the same inherent qualities and properties as their reputation carries ? I will not venture to offer a categoric answer to that question, only to say that it is virtually impossible to be 100% sure in claiming the material content of the pots. It is even more unsure to date them. All I will venture to say is that my gentleman’s operations have ceased in the early 1990’s He tells me the last batch of pots he bought from a reputable source in China was in 1988, and that his pots vary in age between the 1950’s to the 1980’s with the bulk being from the 70’s and 80’s. If you’ve read about Yixing, you know that the original quarry is closed since the end of the 70’s and stockpiles of Yixing clay have been used since, and most often blended with other clays, but the general consensus states that these original stocks have since vanished. So, there is a good chance that the pots we are offering which are from 1988 or older have a certain content of original clay in them. This is as precise as my claim will be on that subject! And this explains our use of the adjective “Vintage” in defining our selection.

… a good teapot must be the embodiment of what tea is all about: a certain aesthetic of life.

The second reason for proposing these Taiwanese sourced Yixing pots is exactly for that reason: they are Taiwanese sourced. To put it bluntly: Taiwan is, in many ways, more “Chinese” than mainland China can ever claim to be. Without venturing into a lengthy debate, one must acknowledge that Taiwan has served as the guardian of many traditional expressions of Chinese culture and arts during the dark years of the cultural revolution. These arts and traditions, including tea culture, have continued to flourish and find new expressions here in Taiwan. Taiwan not only was a protector to many artifacts and objects but also of the crafts themselves. So, it is not rare to find exquisite collections that are hidden here and there around the island about many art forms including Yixing clay pots. Modestly, I will admit that my local treasure trove is worthy of more than just a mere interest.

Finally, I strongly believe that if one is interested in Yixing teapots it should be for the right reasons, which go beyond that of the inherent claimed properties of their clays. It should be for their wonderful craftsmanship and styling that are the epitome of good design: One that combines aesthetics and function in a harmonious extension of man’s requirement for both a tool to carry out tasks as well as to be surrounded by beautiful objects that are pleasurable to use. In other words, a good teapot must be the embodiment of what tea is all about: a certain aesthetic of life. Certainly the long tradition of teapot making in Yixing and its contribution to world tea culture embodies that spirit

 

 

This is why, for Taiwan Tea Crafts, we carefully select each pot based on objective criteria only. Each one has been individually picked and evaluated. We look for good craftsmanship, precision in the fit of lids, seal of the lid, alignment of handles and spouts, overall ergonomics and ease of use. We do not go into the spectrum of debating the makers reputation and so forth as there are too many falsely labelled pots. So, you will not hear me talk about that aspect. So you will not hear me talk about that aspect. For us, if a teapot is well made even if it is a forgery, it still remains a good hand-crafted object, as long as the price is not bloated by false claims… Value for the money is our guiding light and ultimate criteria. As for aesthetics, we let your personal taste be the judge. We obviously have our favourite “coup de coeur” that we adopt to “road test” and let go after a while, like this one that’s been weened exclusively on high mountain oolongs for over a year now, and carefully brushed and polished by our tea master on a daily basis. We consider that every teapot we propose has its own individual soul and, just like humans, they need to find their soul mate. We simply wish to serve the role of the matchmaker…

As is the case for all that is tea, we do this for the pleasure of understanding a little bit more about our craft, and also to be able to share the enjoyment of tea through beautifully crafted tea objects and render experiencing this a bit more accessible to all of you. We hope you will appreciate.

If you would like to confide in us some special features or qualities you are looking for in your quest to find the right match, teapot-wise of course, we would be pleased to have a closer look for you.