10.6092/issn.1973-9494/5441
According to precise and scientific literature that recorded, Chinese tea culture has a documented history of more than 1700 years. During which period, Yuan Dynasty was considered a crucial turning-point with great changes. The current tea culture in China is an adoption and innovation of Ming and Qing dynasty, especially in the form of processing technology. For those elements inherited from Tang and Song dynasties, however, they were more directly adopted systematically by Japan. Ever since powdered tea culture from Song dynasty was accepted in Japan, Jianzhan, the tea bowl that gained renowned reputation in the Song tea culture was also introduced and became tenmoku (tianmu) after localization. As the transformation of Chinese tea culture ended in Japan, Japanese tea culture of wabi-cha was shaped after the tenmoku’s obvious decline in value. Jianzhan’s prosper, and tenmoku’s emergence and transition, all proved a definitive impact from intangible culture.
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Jianping Guan
Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage
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On Tea Bowl from Jianzhan to Tenmoku: Material Culture and Intangible Culture in Cultural Diffusion
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Articles
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Jianping Guan
2014/12/30
10.6092/issn.1973-9494/5441
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School of Art Design, Humanities & Tea Culture
Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University
Zhejiang, China
1973-9494
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intangible culture
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On Tea Bowl from Jianzhan to Tenmoku: Material Culture and Intangible Culture in Cultural Diffusion
https://conservation-science.unibo.it/article/download/5441/5154
14
O    N TEA BOWL FROM JIANZHAN TO TENMOKU: MATERI-
     AL CULTURE AND INTANGIBLE CULTURE IN CULTURAL
     DIFFUSION

   Guan Jianping
   School of Art Design, Humanities & Tea Culture
   Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University
   Zhejiang, China


   Keywords: Jianzhan; tenmoku; China; Japan; cultural diffusion; material culture;
intangible culture


  1.Introduction

    Tea culture is Chinese precious contribution to the world, with more than 1,700
years of history documented in accurate and systematical way -- during which period,
it also witnessed a transition of tea culture in Yuan dynasty. The current tea culture
in China is an overall inheritance and innovation of Ming and Qing’s tea culture after
transition, in the form of processing technique. For those elements inherited from Tang
and Song Dynasties, however, were more directly adopted systematically in Japan.
For that reason, Chinese tea culture not only admires Japanese tea culture, but also
regrets its own heritage “loss”. However as culture belongs to the entire mankind, with
its strong universal nature, tea culture would make no exception. During the formation
and development of the tea culture, Chinese people devoted their national wisdom.




                                                                                                  CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
Therefore through calm rethinking, they may feel grateful for Japan’s relative complete
inheritance of the ancient Chinese tea culture.
    Tea bowl has become the most concentrated reflection of tea-drinking technique and
the aesthetic feature of the tea culture, so that has become an illustration of cultural
change from the material cultural perspective. In this paper, by investigating the move-
ment of the tea bowl and the cultural dislocation, especially the shift from Jianzhan (建
盏) to tenmoku bowl (天目茶碗), Japanese inheritance of Song Dynasty’s tea culture
and its history that created Japanese tea culture will be explored, and functions of mate-
rial culture and intangible culture during the diffusion will further get examined.


   2. Tea Culture that epitomize Life Cultures

   In the Song Dynasty, tea culture has been developed into a culture that epitomized
other cultures in life. Synthesized characteristics are reflected from the understanding
of the Song people, towards the tea culture. In his Grand View of Tea (大观茶论), Jie
ZHAO (赵佶) described tea’s value in life, its spiritual effectiveness and cultural char-
acteristics of the time, as follow:
   For those plants from the earth, when categorized according to human need, their
functions diverse. Crops against hunger, fabric plants against chill -- of those known for
the public and are necessities for the daily life, they will not prosper or get abandoned

                                                                                             41
                                                                                                                         due to different accommodations. As for tea however, gathering regional elegance
                                                                                                                         from the Southern (Southern China) and gifted from the magnificent nature, removing
                                                                                                                         dirt and stagnation, clearing to achieve harmony, is neither acquirable nor appreciable
                                                                                                                         for the mediocre obedient. Tea’s peaceful indifference, with its charming elegance, will
                                                                                                                         not be appreciated during fear and panic.
                                                                                                                             ZHAO believed that tea is not born for a favor nor a necessity, as tea drinking not
                                                                                                                         only need insurance in physical -- i.e. tea products of good quality provided by tea
Guan Jianping - The tea bowl - from Jianzhan to Tenmoku: material culture and intangible culture in cultural diffusion




                                                                                                                         farmers -- it also require individuals to have good personal accomplishment to deeply
                                                                                                                         understand tea, and have good social conditions to gracefully appreciate its taste.
                                                                                                                         Song dynasty, however, did possess these conditions for tea ceremonies to prosper:
                                                                                                                             At the beginning of our dynasty, as years of tributes from Jianxi (建溪), Dragon and
                                                                                                                         Phoenix Cake (Fujian Gong tea) get renowned worldwide and this way of “drinking val-
                                                                                                                         ley-sourced product” started to prevail. Inherited until today, with full-scale reconstruc-
                                                                                                                         tion undertaken, the country is eased with domestic peace, and fortunately reached
                                                                                                                         laissez-faire. Literati and officialdom that receive edification and moral enlightenments,
                                                                                                                         being praised highly of decorousness and esteem, started tea-drinking. So in recent
                                                                                                                         years, tea-leaf picking, production processing, species ranking and boiling techniques
                                                                                                                         are with no exception popularized to the peak. Though the rise and fall of things has
                                                                                                                         its own rules, they also conform to dynasty’s prosperity and decline. During fear, panic,
                                                                                                                         with people suffering, where daily necessities are greatly in need, how could there be
                                                                                                                         leisure to drink tea? In flourishing age, with calm in heart and rich in resources, enjoy-
                                                                                                                         ing the endurance and fortune, people do compete to entertain for leisure -- spending
                                                                                                                         money on tea drinking, absorbing essence from heaven and the earth, comparing
                                                                                                                         the leaf-picking of the tea, examining and appraising – as even the bottom class, at
                                                                                                                         this time, will not regard hoarding tea as a shame, which indeed is a pursuit during a
                                                                                                                         prosperous time.1
                                                                                                                             In the Song dynasty, famous tea emerged in large numbers. ZHAO Jie expressed
                                                                                                                         great fondness of ego for Song’s tea ceremony fashion, where “even the bottom class,
                                                                                                                         at this time, will not regard hoarding tea as a shame” seems to have reference, since
                                                                                                                         there were critics against tea tributes and against excessive attention to seek plea-
                                                                                                                         sures. “Big and small dragon tea began from H.E. DING JIN (晋公) and prevailed
                                                                                                                         thanks to JUN Mo (君谟). Upon OU’YANG Yongshu (欧阳永叔) hearing JUN Mo’s trib-
                                                                                                                         ute of small dragon tea cake, he said with surprise, as a scholar, how could JUN Mo do
                                                                                                                         this!”2 LUO Dajing (罗大经) also expressed with regret, “honest and kind that similar to
                                                                                                                         FAN and OU, while giving tea as tribute like JIN, being a man of noble character, how
                                                                                                                         could one be that imprudent?”3 SU Shi (苏轼) also compared DING Wei (丁谓) and CAI
                                                                                                                         Xiang (蔡襄)’s tribute of tea to the tribute of litchi during the Tang dynasty:
                                                                                                                             Hope that god will love his children, not to let the living turn into ruins. With good
                                                                                                                         weather and harvesting yield, no hunger or cold will be a grant. You didn’t see the tea
                                                                                                                         leafs near Wuyi (武夷) brook, where all were packed to be tributes. People compete


                                                                                                                         1         ZHAO Jie, Daguan chalun; TAO Zongyi and others, Shuo Fu, Chapter 93, see from
                                                                                                                         Shuofu Shanzhong(Shanghai guji Press, 1988)//（宋）赵佶：《大观茶论》；（明）陶宗仪等编
                                                                                                                         《说郛》卷93，《说郛三种》，上海古籍出版社，1988年。
                                                                                                                         2         WANG Shipeng, Zengkan jiaozheng wangzhuangyuan jizhu fenlei dongpo xiansheng
                                                                                                                         shi, Chapter 10, Lizhi tan, see from Sibu congkan//（宋）王十朋：《増刋校正王状元集注分类东
                                                                                                                         坡先生诗》卷10《茘支叹》，四部丛刊。
                                                                                                                         3         LUO dajing, Helin yulu, Chapter 3, Jiancha, see from Siku Quanshu//（宋）罗大经
                                                                                                                         《鹤林玉露》卷3《建茶》，四库全书。

                                                                                                                   42
to bribe with new ideas for tea competition this year. Would this be what our majesty
demand? Entirely fulfilled and does not need this shame.4
   This story has been reproduced repeatedly, thus showing that this view did gained
wide recognition from the public5. To some extent, ZHAO Jie’s recognition reflected the
subtle changes of the social value at the end of the Northern Song dynasty.
   ZHAO positioned tea as “literati and officialdom’s”(缙绅之士) “pursuit during the
prosperous time”. However, actually in the Wei-Jin era, tea customs has been en-
dowed with positive cultural implications. In face of the lavish social fashion, HUAN
Wen (桓温) started a party with only seven dishes of fruit with tea6, while LU Na (陆纳)
took the practice of tea fruit hospitality as “simplicity”, and 7LU Yu (陆羽) in Tang dy-
nasty further came up with the idea that tea “best matches people with clean behavior
and thrifty virtue”. Compared to Jin and Tang dynasty, though tea drinking culture in
the 8Song dynasty lacks strenuous enterprising spirit, it still symbolized the lofty and
free spirit from vulgarity.
   Tea drinking is a kind of romance, a life style, and reflects one person’s accomplish-
ment, which requires his physical participation. Therefore, scholars were not only keen
to ranking, but also boiling tea by themselves. Early Song TAO Gu (陶谷) did “boiled
tea with snow water”. 9 Even the emperor always enjoyed it. Song Hui Zong (宋徽宗,
Song Emperor HUI) ZHAO Jie even boiled tea in person several times, dispensing
to courtiers, as an expression of favor. XuanHe year first (year 1119) on September
12, ZHAO Jie called on CAI Jing (蔡京) et al for a feast in Baohe Palace (保和殿).
Later as “tea granted in Quanzhen Palace (全真殿), the royal poured tea by himself,
as white soup overflowing the surface, courtiers frightened to come to the front, ‘Your
majesty ignore the hierarchy, boiling tea for us, we are extremely frightened, and not
dare to drink’, then kowtow and worship”. In the capital, BianLiang (汴梁), in the im-
perial palace10 “there are eight pavilions, naming piano, chess, calligraphy, painting,
tea, alchemy, scripture, and incense”11. The combination of tea and other life cultures,




                                                                                                 CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
especially made tea’s application another technical index that represents tea culture’s
epitomizing function of the life culture.
   Emperor’s participation is a reflection of the social fashion, and also further imple-
mented the tea fashion. The whole society started to follow the fashion from the upper


4         WANG Shipeng, Zengkan jiaozheng wangzhuangyuan jizhu fenlei dongpo xiansheng
shi,Chapter 10, Lizhi tan, see from Sibu congkan//（宋）王十朋：《増刋校正王状元集注分类东
坡先生诗》卷10《茘支叹》，四部丛刊。
5         HU Zi, Shaoxi yuyin conghua houji, Chapter 46, Siku Quanshu//（宋）胡仔：《苕溪
渔隐丛话后集》卷46，四库全书。
6         TANG Taizong, Jinshu, Chapter 98, Huanwen zhuan//（唐）太宗：《晋书》卷98《桓
温传》：温性俭，每宴惟下七奠木半茶果而已。
7         Jinshu, Chapter 77, Luna zhuan//《晋书》卷77《陆纳传》：谢安尝欲诣纳，而纳殊无
供办。其兄子俶不敢问之，乃密为之具。安既至，纳所设惟茶果而已。俶遂陈盛馔，珍馐毕具。
客罢，纳大怒曰：“汝不能光益父叔，乃复秽我素业邪。”于是杖之四十。
8         LU Yu, Chajing, Chapter 1, Yi zhi yuan, Baichuan xuehai ben//（唐）陆羽：《茶经》卷
上《一之源》，百川学海本。
9         WU Shang, Wu zong zhi, Siku quanshu//（宋）吴垧：《五总志》，四库全书。
10        WANG Qingming, Huizhulu yuhua, Chapter 1, Shiwu caiyuanzhang baohedian quyan
ji yanfugong quyan ji, Sibu congkan//（宋）王明清：《挥麈録余话》卷1《十五蔡元长保和殿曲燕
记延福宫曲燕记》，四部丛刊。
11        WANG mingqing, Huichen yuhua, Chapter 1, Siku quanshu//（宋）王明清：《挥尘余
话》卷1，四库全书。

                                                                                            43
                                                                                                                         class, therefore formed a tea custom that prevail in the entire society12. “Famous tea
                                                                                                                         coming from Jianning (建宁); either common or gracious, everyone knows how to boil”.
                                                                                                                         Although prepared by the public, it still got connected with the taste of elegance. The
                                                                                                                         following historical data highlighted the series features’ cultural elements. OU’YANG
                                                                                                                         Xiu (欧阳修), WANG Gongchen (王拱臣) took use of the gap before the not yet arrived
                                                                                                                         before the party, preparing tea, playing instruments and chess to entertain. “ In the
                                                                                                                         year of 1063 (癸卯)，Junkuang (君贶), Gongqi (公期), Daozi (道滋) came to the pa-
Guan Jianping - The tea bowl - from Jianzhan to Tenmoku: material culture and intangible culture in cultural diffusion




                                                                                                                         vilion in east Xiangyuan court, while Gongqi boiling tea and Daozi playing instrument,
                                                                                                                         Junkuang and I were playing chess.13” This scene makes people think of the painting
                                                                                                                         “Figure of Yingzhou Scholars (瀛洲学士图).”
                                                                                                                             For the involvement of tea, instrument, chess, calligraphy and painting, it has been
                                                                                                                         accomplished as early as the Tang dynasty. In addition to literature, painting works
                                                                                                                         have also been documented. When Emperor Qin (秦王) -- LI Shimin (李世民) -- found
                                                                                                                         that the country was stabilized, he started to pay attention to governance, and hired 18
                                                                                                                         ministers double as museum scholars to giving lecture in palaces, namely 18 Scholars.
                                                                                                                         The world regarded being selected as boarding Yingzhou. Therefore came YAN Liben
                                                                                                                         (阎立本)’s painting of “Figure of Yingzhou Scholars”. Let’s look at how GONG Dun
                                                                                                                         (龚斆) think of this painting in Ming dynasty:

                                                                                                                                Among which there were three people wandering, one peddling and looked
                                                                                                                            back, two playing chess and another two watching as seated. Next to them, there
                                                                                                                            sits a person thinking, and holding a pen; two seemingly talking to each other, two
                                                                                                                            standing with sleeves down, three sitting and looking at paintings, and one is boil-
                                                                                                                            ing tea. They all dressed in Tang and are similar to the current. There are three kids
                                                                                                                            in the picture: one boy holding a washbasin, one extending a painting, and one girl
                                                                                                                            washing a vase.14


                                                                                                                            In this painting that figured the top Chinese literati’s life, the elements of literati gath-
                                                                                                                         erings are chess, composition, viewing paintings and tea drinking. Researcher Liao
                                                                                                                         Baoxiu from Taipei’s national Palace Museum once noted that the combination of tea,
                                                                                                                         instrument, chess, calligraphy and painting is common in Song and Yuan paintings15.
                                                                                                                         This is a conclusion drawn from statics on numbers of painting, however in the few
                                                                                                                         paintings from Tang dynasty they also showed time to time. The combination of tea
                                                                                                                         and various life culture was not constrained to the scope of literati’s private lives, but
                                                                                                                         also developed into a social goods, most typically the proverb that prevailed in Song
                                                                                                                         dynasty that “burning incense, boiling tea, hanging a picture and arranging flowers that
                                                                                                                         are leisure, not tiring”. 16“Leisure” expressed non-productive features of these cultural


                                                                                                                         12       ZHOU Qufei, Lingwai daida, Chapter 6, Qiyong men, Siku quanshu//（宋）周去非：
                                                                                                                         《岭外代答》巻6《器用门》，四库全书。
                                                                                                                         13       OU’YANG Xiu, OU’YANG Wenzhonggong ji, Chapter 125, Yu yi zhi, Sibu congkan/
                                                                                                                         （宋）欧阳修：《欧阳文忠公集》卷125《于役志》，四部丛刊。
                                                                                                                         14       GONG Xiao, E’hu ji, Chapter 6, Yingzhou xueshu tushuo wei feiyunzhong bian, Siku
                                                                                                                         quanshu//（明）龚斆：《鹅湖集》巻六《瀛洲学士图说为费允中辨》，四库全书。
                                                                                                                         15       LIAO Baoxiu, Ye keyi qingxin—Chaqi, chashi, chahua(Guoli gugong bowuyuan, 2012),
                                                                                                                         P.85//廖宝秀：《也可以清心——茶器·茶事·茶画》，国立故宫博物院，2012年，第85页。
                                                                                                                         16       WU Zimu, Mengliang lu, Chapter 19, Sisiliuju yanhui jialin, Siku quanshu//（宋）吴自
                                                                                                                         牧：《梦粱录》卷19《四司六局筵会假赁》，四库全书。

                                                                                                                   44
projects in life, where these pure consumption items were typical cultural products, and
for leisure. Relevant departments in the four divisions and six bureaus brought servic-
es like burning incense, boiling tea, hanging pictures, arranging flowers to customers
or in a specific place, while tea treats also attracted customers to stay longer. “Bianjin
(汴京) Deli hangs pictures to seduce viewers, and attract food consumers. Nowadays
tea shops in Hangzhou also followed, arranging flowers of the season, hanging up
famous figures, to decorate the store.”17 In all kinds of diet, tea drinking and wine drink-
ing are more pure luxury consumption, not as necessity, and entered the pursuit into
the aesthetic level. However, wine drinking aesthetic is an evitable physical response
of the human bodies to alcohol that confluence with the instinct, and because alcohol
capacity for the human body is limited, once over the limit, aesthetic are destroyed.
Whereas the material composition in tea that please is weak, so that tea drinking does
not have the inevitability of aesthetic theory in principle. Tea drinking aesthetic is a
channel of self cultivation, and result of active pursuit. Starting from tea sets, through
maximized connection among elements of the life culture, they explored the space and
channel that leads to the aesthetic subject, and enabled more people to gain aesthetic
experiences of a higher level through their own efforts. In the way of performance, tea
sets enriched tea drinking life and required more in detail for the environment, and
became an important object of consumption.


     3. Jianzhan that pushed to the top by tea culture


   The history of black glaze ceramics can be dated long, during which in the Song dy-
nasty (960-1279), black glaze ceramics reached the peak of Chinese ceramics due to
tea culture and the aesthetic. Tao Gu from early Song dynasty once said, “bowls made in




                                                                                                    CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
Fujian province18, with partridge feather pattern, tried on tea and treasure”. Fujian origi-
ned, tea drinking favored and partridge feather pattern that described by Tao Gu are all
characteristics of Jianzhan, specially partridge feather spots being a keyword that praise
Jianzhan, as by HUANG Tingjian (黄庭坚) in “Full court Fragrance – Tea (满庭芳·茶)”:
With the slender hands, add some water and make the tea, which be poured into the
Jianzhan with “jinlv zhegu ban (金缕鹧鸪斑)”. At the same time, what kind of pattern that
partridge feather spots referred also built up a topic to debate for Jianzhan researchers.
   Later Cai Xiang first discussed Jianzhan in the tea book, “bright color tea is better
with black bowls. Those made in Jian’an are black, with pattern as rabbit fur, slightly
thick in body and hard to chill when warmed, and are most suitable to use. Those
from other places are either thin or purple in color, not comparable. Those light white
bowls, unless during competition, will also be used.”19 He firstly pointed out that the
reason of choosing the black glaze teacup is to present the white tea. Then by taking
Jian’an as the origin of production he further defined Jianzhan, and even pointed out its
purple black color, decorative pattern like rabbit fur, and comparative thicker wall that
make it advantageous to preserve heated from quick cooling, of which elements made
Jianzhan the best match for tea. There were various places that produce teacup, but
products from these places were either too thin or colored in purple, not comparable

17        WU Zimu, Mengliang lu, Chapter 16, Chasi //（宋）吴自牧：《梦粱录》卷16《茶肆》。
18        TAO Gu, Qingyi lu, Chapter 2//（宋）陶穀：《清异录》卷2《茗荈·锦地鸡》。
19        CAI Xiang,Chazhan, see from Chalu//（宋）蔡襄：《茶录》下篇《论茶器·茶盏》。

                                                                                               45
                                                                                                                         to Jianzhan. And, of course, this does not mean that tea drinking would only use Jian-
                                                                                                                         zhan, but as long as it’s not for tea competing, white porcelain teacup can be used as
                                                                                                                         well. And though black glazed teacups from other places are light in color, they are still
                                                                                                                         treasured by many people. Cai Xiang even described “new Zi Ou (紫瓯, purple bowl)
                                                                                                                         with Tu Hao (兔毫, rabbit fur) patterns” (兔毫紫瓯新) in “Taste Tea (试茶)”. It seems that
                                                                                                                         outstanding teacups like white porcelain, celadon, and teacups produced outside of
                                                                                                                         Jian Kiln still played significant roles in the tea drinking life, while pure black bottomed
Guan Jianping - The tea bowl - from Jianzhan to Tenmoku: material culture and intangible culture in cultural diffusion




                                                                                                                         Jianzhan are only picked for competitions. OU’YANG Xiu also mentioned Zi Ou (紫瓯,
                                                                                                                         purple bowl) in his “Responsorial poem towards MEI GongYi’s Tea Tasting (和梅公仪
                                                                                                                         尝茶)”. All again illustrated the universal favor over black glaze teacups.
                                                                                                                            As the representative of Jianzhan, Tuhaozhan (兔毫盏, rabbit fur patterned teacup)
                                                                                                                         also gained continuous attention, which appeared in literatures quite frequently, as
                                                                                                                         “rabbit fur patterned purple bowl (兔毛紫盏)” in the famous tea poem “Responsorial
                                                                                                                         poem towards OU’YANG’s Tasting New Tea (次韵和永叔尝新茶杂言)” by MEI Rao-
                                                                                                                         chen (梅尧臣) from the Northern Song dynasty, and “Tu Ou (兔瓯)” in Boiling Tea (烹
                                                                                                                         茶) by LU You (陆游) from the Southern Song dynasty. Song Emperor HUI also made
                                                                                                                         specific descriptions over Tuhaozhan,

                                                                                                                                 “Black and dark colored tea bowls are precious, with the bottom deep and slight-
                                                                                                                              ly wide. With deep bottom so that the tea would easily mixed with milk, being wide
                                                                                                                              so that the stick would not strike the body. Therefore the volume of the tea should
                                                                                                                              be measured, for the size of the bowl. The tea color will be covered if the bowl is tall
                                                                                                                              with few tea, while the liquid will be not enough if the bowl is small with much tea.
                                                                                                                              The tea will stand long if the bowl would keep warm”.20


                                                                                                                             As for color and decorative patterns, Emperor HUI shared the same opinion with Cai
                                                                                                                         Xiang. As for specific shape of Jianzhan, deep bottom are needed and cannot be too nar-
                                                                                                                         row, since deep teacups help to froth easier while teacups with slightly larger diameter
                                                                                                                         enabled tea getting easier to stir. However, the size of teacup should be chosen according
                                                                                                                         to the volume, since tall cup will cover tea color if tea is few, while small cup cannot hold
                                                                                                                         enough water for more tea. Only when temperature are kept by the cup, the froth will not
                                                                                                                         easily disappear, which is not implicit by Emperor HUI when talking about the thickness.
                                                                                                                             Either in the court (palaces) at the pyramid of politics and culture, or at the most
                                                                                                                         basic tea producing origin, Jianzhan is widely chosen by professionals, where its lofty
                                                                                                                         value is easily shown. The representative of Jianzhan as Tuhaozhan might be traced
                                                                                                                         from its high yield, so that a value system can be established; at the same time rabbit
                                                                                                                         fur patterns’ thinness not only possess a kind of flow movement, but also doesn’t have
                                                                                                                         any spare of flowery, which especially met Song dynasty literati’s aesthetic as simplic-
                                                                                                                         ity. The partridge spot, I’m afraid, relatively to the feeling of the black glaze teacup, is
                                                                                                                         the assembled outside Tuhao design. Unpredictable and various pattern of firing kiln
                                                                                                                         has great chance, so that the output of products for the similar pattern will not be large,
                                                                                                                         whereas universal value cannot be established based on few products, let alone those
                                                                                                                         quirky aesthetic is not consistent with those of literati in the Song dynasty, so that Tu-
                                                                                                                         hao seems to be more representative even partridge feather patterns are greatly paid
                                                                                                                         with attention.


                                                                                                                         20        ZHAO Jie, Daguan chalun, Zhan//（宋）赵佶《大观茶论·盏》。

                                                                                                                   46
   4. Sino-Japan Buddhism exchanges and the diffusion of tea culture

    As Mongolian entered the central plain, the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) witnessed
sharp transition of tea culture, where both aesthetic consciousness and tea process-
ing technique were not inherited from the Song dynasty. Yuan’s tea culture during the
transition period is rich and colorful. While as all sorts of tea and their corresponding
method of drinking coexisted at the same time, traditional Dust Tea relatively declined.
Though the northern nomadic ethnical tea culture that based on Dust Tea intended to
take the leading position along with the political momentum, it was the significant differ-
ence in living habits with the majority Chinese population that defeat. The emergence
of Flower Tea attempt to govern tea culture from another angle, only from the grass-
root, also do not have the appeal to lead tea culture’s direction, while from the point of
view of conclusion it is only colorful but lacks the theme.
    However, basically, the Japanese Kamakura era (鎌倉時代, 1185-1333) that over-
lapping the Southern Song dynasty (宋朝，1127-1279) witnessed Japan’s successful
introduction of temple tea culture, and prospered along with Japan’s thrive in economy
and culture. In stark contrast to Yuan’s abandon, the Japanese placed high degrees of
enthusiasm towards Chinese tea culture, sparing no efforts to study and imitate, thus
being a successor the Dust Tea culture. This inheritance not only includes intangible
cultural contents as tea processing and tea drinking method, but also involved material
cultural contents as tea trees, tea sets and tea bowl.
    Actually since ancient times, Japan constantly imported Chinese products, called
Tang. In Kamakura era, they started to import ceramics, lacquer ware, paintings, tex-
tiles, metal products, etc. that was directly related to the tea culture, and laid a solid
foundation for the Japanese tea culture. Muromachi period experienced the flourishing
age for the import of Tang, but the tenmoku bowl that imported during the Kamakura
era is second to none.




                                                                                                   CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
    Japanese monks of the Kamakura era used to bring items used in Tenmoku Temple
back to Japan, so that “tenmoku” was born. Monk is the intelligentsia in Japan, un-
dertaking the mission of the construction of Japanese culture. During the Southern
Song dynasty, they went to Chinese temples that centered with Tiantai Mountain to
play pilgrimage, and established different zen in Japan after returning. According to
KIMIYA Yasuhiko (木宮泰彦) in “Sino-Japan cultural exchange history” (日中文化交流
史), there were 109 nameable monks entering the Song dynasty, including founder of
Kyoto Kernel-ji (建仁寺) Eisai (栄西) and founder of Kyoto Tofuku-ji (東福寺)Enji Benen
(円爾弁円), et al. While monks into the Yuan were up to 220 people, they came to wor-
ship the Five Mountains and Ten Temples (五山十刹) of China, i.e. five mountains as
Wanshou Temple (万寿寺) in Yuhang Jing Mountain (余杭径山), Lingyin Temple (灵隐
寺) in Hangzhou Lingyin Mountain (杭州灵隐寺), Jingci Temple (净慈寺) in Hangzhou
Nanpin Mountain (杭州南屏山), Jingde Temple (景德寺) in Jin County Tiantong Moun-
tain (鄞县天童山), Guangli Temple (广利寺) in Ningbo Ayuwang Mountain (宁波阿育王
山), and ten mountains as Yongzuo Temple (永祚寺) in Hangzhou Zhong Tianzhu (中
天竺), Wanshou Temple (万寿寺) in Huzhou Chang Mountain (湖州场山), Longxiang
Temple (龙翔寺) in Wenzhou Jaingxin Mountain (温州江心山), Baolin Temple (宝林
寺) in Jinhua Yunhuangshan Mountain (金华云黄山), Zisheng Mountain (资圣寺) in
Fenghua Xuedou Mountain (奉化雪窦山), Guoqing Temple (国清寺) in Taizhou Tiantai
Mountain (台州天台山), Chongsheng Temple (崇圣寺) in Fuzhou Xuefeng Mountain
(福州雪峰山), Linggu Temple (灵谷寺) in Nanjing Jiang Mountain (南京蒋山), Bao’en


                                                                                              47
                                                                                                                         Guangxiao Temple (报恩光孝寺) in Suzhou Wanshou Mountain (苏州虎丘山), and Yu-
                                                                                                                         nyan Temple (云岩寺) in Suzhou Huqiu Mountain (苏州虎丘山). At the same time, there
                                                                                                                         were a lot of Song and Yuan monks entering Japan to preach a sermon. So in the
                                                                                                                         Muromachi period, Japan imitated China and established a system of Five Mountains,
                                                                                                                         which greatly contributed to Chinese literature in Japan and even to the society in
                                                                                                                         many aspects. Wanshou Temple, as the top of the Five Mountains, is located in Jing
                                                                                                                         Mountain that belongs to the northeast peak of Tenmoku mountains, and named after
Guan Jianping - The tea bowl - from Jianzhan to Tenmoku: material culture and intangible culture in cultural diffusion




                                                                                                                         its path towards Tenmoku.
                                                                                                                             Buddhism literatures as “Chanyuan Qinggui (禅院清规)”, ”Chixiu Baizhang Qinggui
                                                                                                                         (敕修百丈清规)” comprehensively documented the tea etiquettes of Song and Yuan
                                                                                                                         temples. Monks exchanged between China and Japan brought the Chinese daily tem-
                                                                                                                         ple tea etiquettes to Japan to worship Budda, and to hospitalize guests, and also of
                                                                                                                         a decoration as dedicated monk portraits. This decoration method is inherited by the
                                                                                                                         later Japanese tea ceremony, and is of great significance for Japan’s tea culture. Un-
                                                                                                                         der Song dynasty’s direct influence of tea culture, Japan imported various tea bowls
                                                                                                                         from China, among which Jianzhan gained a particularly high value, hence created the
                                                                                                                         tenmoku bowl and tenmoku.

                                                                                                                           5. The birth of Tenmoku bowl

                                                                                                                            Circulation situation of Chinese tea sets imported from China revealed the tip of the
                                                                                                                         iceberg, due to the salvage of the sunken Xin’an (新安) boat. In 1976, Korean salvaged
                                                                                                                         an ancient Chinese merchant boat from the Jeolla Xin’an waters off the west of the Ko-
                                                                                                                         rean peninsula. In 1323, this merchant boat carried more than twenty thousand items
                                                                                                                         sailing from Ningbo, with the destination designated by the Kamakura Shogunate as
                                                                                                                         Fukouka, in Kyushu, Japan. It might have encountered typhoon, and unfortunately
                                                                                                                         sank. The goods salvaged this time includes ceramic, metal, wood, lacquer, stone
                                                                                                                         made products and medicinal materials, incense wood, copper coin, etc. Among those
                                                                                                                         ceramic vessels, there include 9842 pieces of celadon, 4926 pieces of porcelain, 568
                                                                                                                         pieces of black porcelain, and 1989 pieces of pottery, of great number of volume and
                                                                                                                         is breathtaking. Interestingly, besides 270 pieces of new black glaze teacup, there are
                                                                                                                         also 50 pieces Jianzhan with a trace of use, and two of them are even kept in round
                                                                                                                         wooden boxes, appears to be particularly valuable. Jian Kilns had stopped producing
                                                                                                                         at that time, as these Jianzhan were traded from users or antique shops and then
                                                                                                                         shipped to Japan, it means their price of Jianzhan in Japan is well above those during
                                                                                                                         Yuan dynasty in China. Only a merchant ship would have so many art products sold
                                                                                                                         to Japan, including Jian Kiln’s black porcelain, then how many would that be for the
                                                                                                                         entire Kamakura period? It would be remarkable. At the time of regretting Chinese cul-
                                                                                                                         tural antique relic’s loss, it also formed a perspective to understand how Japan would
                                                                                                                         become a country with large collection of Chinese cultural relics.
                                                                                                                            It was already late Yuan dynasty when the boat wrecked in 1323. Through the
                                                                                                                         condition of Yuan dynasty’s tea drinking, we will get the reason of Jianzhan‘s outflow.
                                                                                                                         According to WANG Zhen (王祯), who was “aged and erudite, travelled and played
                                                                                                                         across”, in his summary of Yuan dynasty’s tea drinking he said:


                                                                                                                              There are three forms of tea: the Ming Tea (茗茶, leaf tea), Matcha (末茶, pow-
                                                                                                                            dered tea) and the La Tea (蜡茶, tea paste). As for the Ming tea, choose the buds


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     to boil, firstly soak to remove odor, then boil and drink. Matcha is even fantastic,
     when buds are fried to dry, put into a millstone to fine, for later use. When process-
     ing the Matcha, much liquid with little dust will be scattered, while little liquid with
     much dust will be sticky. Take a small spoon of tea powder, pouring in water and
     stir until smooth, pour in water gradually, strike in loop and circle, watch the color
     to turn white, till no water stain would show on the bowl. This tea is both sweet and
     smooth. Though the southern is the origin of tea, few would know this method. La
     Tea is most precious, and the process to make it is also unusual. Select the best
     buds and finely grounded into a container, mix into varieties of perfume and oil,
     and adjust according to proportion, then press into cake of any shape. When dried,
     apply perfume and oil again to decorate and moisture. Its product can be round or
     stripe shaped, in different sizes. This product was only used as a tribute, and rarely
     seen in the folk. 21


    Ming Tea was the emerging steamed green flower tea, and occupied the majority
market for tea consumption in Yuan dynasty. The modern Japanese processing prin-
ciples and basic processes of Sencha are exactly the same. As for drinking method, not
only is the same with the Japanese Sencha, but also the same with the modern Chinese
tea. Ming Tea of the Yuan dynasty was a transitional product from traditional Dust Tea
and the modern Flower Tea. Although WANG Zhen spoke highly of the Dust Tea, it still
cannot save Dust Tea’s fate to fail, as even in the producing region in Southern China
there were few Dust Tea drinkers. Waxed Tea was the most valuable, but was only pro-
vided to the imperial court, and had nothing to with the folk tea drinking. Therefore as we
can see, due to drinking behavior’s transition, Jianzhan had already lost its social value
in the Yuan dynasty, and its previous lofty position in Song had been a past, where at
the same time Japan provided a new space for Jianzhan for Song dynasty’s tea cultural




                                                                                                     CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
inheritance. The value was recognized again, and the tenmoku bowl was born.
    Early in the Muromachi period (室町時代，1338-1573), the word “Tenmoku” ap-
peared in literature. Archaeological findings of the earliest tenmoku bowl were between
Southern and Northern Song dynasties, which made imports of black glaze teacup
during Kamakura era possible. In Muromachi period,” Kundaikansoucyouki (君台観左
右帳記)”, written by Nouami (能阿弥, 1397-1471) and Souami (相阿弥, ?-1525), who
were in charge of the decoration and crafts custody of the General’s “club”, had docu-
mented all kinds of tea bowls, and set classification of Jianzhan bowls that having been
inherited till now.
    Among Jianzhan, Yaobian is precious and unique. Covered by inky background,
there laid full of glass tinea of different thickness. The glaze made glaze tinea of yel-
low, white and other colors with diverse in thickness, and looks like flowers. Worth ten
thousand hiki (疋, monetary unit) of textile.
    Youdi ranks second. Also being black, light purpled bright star-spots are laid all over,
with more in number than Yaobian. Worth five thousand hiki of textile.
    Jianzhan’s ink can be compared with Youdi. Black walled with golden needled line,
Jianzhan also have star-spots like Youdi. Worth three hiki of textile.
    Biezhan uses the mud from Tenmoku, with glaze colored in dark yellow, and have
diverse patterns of flowers and birds. Worth one hiki of textile.


21        WANG Zhen, Nong Shu, Chapter ten//（元）王祯《农书》卷10。

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                                                                                                                             Nengpizhan uses the mud from Tenmoku as well, with glaze that colored in yellow
                                                                                                                         and light purple star-spots scattered all over. Low in price.
                                                                                                                             Tenmoku, commonly used. Ones with a layer of dust are the best. Not used in the
                                                                                                                         upper class.
                                                                                                                             Chinese black glaze teacup is more specifically categorized into “Yaobian”, “Youdi”, “Ji-
                                                                                                                         anzhan”, “Biezhan”, “tenmoku”, and so on. Among them “tenmoku” refers to the similar “grey
                                                                                                                         dusted tenmoku” in current Wabi-tea set, while the word “tea bowl” then refers to tea bowls
Guan Jianping - The tea bowl - from Jianzhan to Tenmoku: material culture and intangible culture in cultural diffusion




                                                                                                                         of celadon and white porcelain. Black glaze teacups as “Yaobian”, “Youdi”, “Jianzhan” were
                                                                                                                         used in schools, clubs for indoor etiquettes and tea drinking. Upon formation of Wabi-Tea
                                                                                                                         in the mid 16th century, “tenmoku” has become a general term for tea bowls that are low in
                                                                                                                         base, funnel-shaped in body, with bowl rim flipped out, and getting narrower and narrower
                                                                                                                         to the bottom. Thereafter the Japanese tea bowls also began to be named as tenmoku,
                                                                                                                         such as the seto tenmoku. In order to tell from each other, names as Yaobian tenmoku and
                                                                                                                         Youdi tenmoku followed to appear. Into the Edo period (江戸時代，1603-1867), tenmoku
                                                                                                                         became a household essential for ostentation and extravagance. Tenmoku tea bowl as a
                                                                                                                         Japanese translation from black glaze Jianzhan began to be popular in use starting from the
                                                                                                                         end of Meiji (明治時代，1868-1912) and beginning of Taisho (大正時代，1912-1926). Thus
                                                                                                                         tenmoku today is granted with symbolic existence, and is the tea bowl of the highest grade.


                                                                                                                              6. Conclusion

                                                                                                                             Compared to Yuan and Ming’s abandon of Song dynasty’s tea culture, starting from the
                                                                                                                         late Kamakura era, Japan comprehensively adopted the Song tea culture, and inherited
                                                                                                                         Song’s tea cultural value. Therefore along with the inflow of Jianzhan into Japan, tenmoku
                                                                                                                         was born. After hundreds of years of accumulation, high-quality tenmoku emerged in Japan,
                                                                                                                         and the Japanese launched intensive researches over those tenmoku bowls. The name
                                                                                                                         tenmoku also reflects the special role that Buddhism played during tea culture diffusion.
                                                                                                                             Even in the Yuan dynasty, the Chinese did not give up tea drinking, as commented
                                                                                                                         by WANG Zhen in <Book of Agriculture>, “Tea, plant with intelligence, enrich interests
                                                                                                                         to grow, and clear minds when drinking. High to the king and the noble, and low to the
                                                                                                                         mediocre and obedient cannot live without it. Admittedly being the endowment of liveli-
                                                                                                                         hood necessity, and support to national taxation.”22 The primary cause for the flow of
                                                                                                                         tea from China to Japan, continuously from Yuan and Ming dynasties, was the transi-
                                                                                                                         tion of tea drinking method, rather than a giving up of the tea itself. We can say that
                                                                                                                         the intangible cultural heritage has shaped the value change of material culture, and
                                                                                                                         enforced the material flow along the law of values. Jianzhan’s flow to Japan proved the
                                                                                                                         decisive significance of intangible culture.
                                                                                                                             The value of tenmoku in Japan is not stably appreciated. In the mean time as Wabi-Tea
                                                                                                                         started to prevail in the late 16th century, valuations towards tea bowls experienced drastic
                                                                                                                         changes. In his “Yamanoueno Souji Diary (山上宗二記)”, YAMANOUENO Souji (山上宗
                                                                                                                         二), whom self-styled as Sen no Rikyu’s student, recorded that “speaking general of tea
                                                                                                                         bowls, Chinese bowls have been abandoned; as for current Korean bowl, Imayaki Cyawan
                                                                                                                         (今焼茶碗) and seto bowl, as long as the size fit, they can be used in tea ceremony”. TANI-
                                                                                                                         HATA Akio (谷端昭夫) examined various evaluations during that period and pointed out, “it
                                                                                                                         is not to negate tenmoku or celadon bowls themselves, but to replace Yaobian tenmoku


                                                                                                                         22        WANG Zhen, Nong Shu, Chapter ten//（元）王祯《农书》卷10。

                                                                                                                   50
that were almost perfect, there are still no highly valued and suitable Tang tea bowl for
Wabi-Tea. The popularity of Wabi-Tea changed the evaluation standard of tea bowl.”23
The emergence of Wabi-Tea symbolized Japan’s completion of their reconstruction over
Chinese tea culture, and marked the formation of their own tea culture. As the natural,
simple and incomplete wabi-tea aesthetics were shaped, it is inevitable that the acquitted
Chinese tea bowl was no longer an option, but the Japanese porcelain with uneven and
out-of-straight plain sense became quite a match instead.
   The decisive significance of intangible culture, once again, was illustrated.

   Some cited poems in Chinese:

                                      黄庭坚《满庭芳·茶》


                              北苑春风，方圭圆璧，万里名动京关。


                                   碎身粉骨，功合上凌烟。


                               尊俎风流战胜，降春睡、开拓愁边。


                                纤纤捧，研膏溅乳，金缕鹧鸪斑。


                               相如虽病渴，一觞一咏，宾有群贤。


                                   为扶起灯前，醉玉颓山。


                               搜搅心中万卷，还倾动、三峡词源。




                                                                                                  CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
                                归来晚，文君未寝，相对小窗前。




                                     欧阳修《和梅公仪尝茶》


                               溪山击鼓助雷惊，逗晓灵芽发翠茎。


                               摘处两旗香可爱，贡来双凤品尤精。


                               寒侵病骨惟思睡，花落春愁未解酲。


                               喜共紫瓯吟且酌，羡君萧洒有余清。


                                 梅尧臣《次韵和永叔尝新茶杂言》


23      Guduan Zhaofu, Tenmoku and the Tea Eating Culture, see from Tenmoku—bei Chixu
wanshang de Chicha Wenhua, P.29//谷端昭夫「天目と喫茶文化」，『淡交』別冊56号，淡交
社，2009年11月，第29页。

                                                                                             51
                                                                                                                           自从陆羽生人间，人间相学事春茶。


                                                                                                                         当时采摘未甚盛，或有高士烧竹煮泉为世夸。


                                                                                                                           入山乘露掇嫩觜，林下不畏虎与蛇。
Guan Jianping - The tea bowl - from Jianzhan to Tenmoku: material culture and intangible culture in cultural diffusion




                                                                                                                           近年建安所出胜，天下贵贱求呀呀。


                                                                                                                           东溪北苑供御余，王家叶家长白牙。


                                                                                                                           造成小饼若带銙，斗浮斗色倾夷华。


                                                                                                                           味甘回甘竟日在，不比苦硬令舌窊。


                                                                                                                           此等莫与北俗道，只解白土和脂麻。


                                                                                                                           欧阳翰林最别识，品第高下无欹斜。


                                                                                                                           晴明开轩碾雪末，众客共赏皆称嘉。


                                                                                                                           建安太守置书角，青蒻包封来海涯。


                                                                                                                           清明才过已到此，正见洛阳人寄花。


                                                                                                                           兔毛紫盏自相称，清泉不必求虾蟆。


                                                                                                                           石缾煎汤银梗打，粟粒铺面人惊嗟。


                                                                                                                           诗肠久饥不禁力，一啜入腹鸣咿哇。




                                                                                                                                陆游《烹茶》


                                                                                                                             麴生可论交，正自畏中圣；


                                                                                                                             年来衰可笑，茶亦能作病。


                                                                                                                             噎呕废晨飧，支离失宵瞑。


                                                                                                                             是身如芭蕉，宁可与物竞。


                                                                                                                             兔瓯试玉尘，香色两超胜。


                                                                                                                             把玩一欣然，为汝烹茶竟。


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  Biographical notes

   GUAN Jianping (1962- ), male, PhD in Arts (Japan), Associate Professor in School
of Art and Design, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, and mainly focus on
Cultural History research under Cultural Anthropology.

  Summary

   According to precise and scientific literature that recorded, Chinese tea culture has
a documented history of more than 1700 years. During which period, Yuan Dynasty
was considered a crucial turning-point with great changes. The current tea culture in
China is an adoption and innovation of Ming and Qing dynasty, especially in the form
of processing technology. For those elements inherited from Tang and Song dynas-
ties, however, they were more directly adopted systematically by Japan. Ever since
powdered tea culture from Song dynasty was accepted in Japan, Jianzhan, the tea
bowl that gained renowned reputation in the Song tea culture was also introduced and
became tenmoku (tianmu) after localization. As the transformation of Chinese tea cul-
ture ended in Japan, Japanese tea culture of wabi-cha was shaped after the tenmoku’s
obvious decline in value. Jianzhan’s prosper, and tenmoku’s emergence and transi-
tion, all proved a definitive impact from intangible culture.




                                                                                                CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE




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