China & JapanASIAN POTTERY

Part 1

CHINESE PORCELAIN

Chinese Pottery• Chinese ceramics dates back as early as to the Paleolithic Era• Pottery has been found in southern China that dates back

18,000 years ago• China’s raw material resources provide it with the materials to produce their own clay• White clay, otherwise known as Porcelain, is the most pure

clay• As clay gets darker and more red, it is considered to have

more impurities in it• The Chinese created a wide variety of ceramic wares• Tiles• Bricks• Hand-built pottery• Wheel-thrown pottery

Chinese Porcelain• Porcelain is where we get the

term “Fine China” from• Porcelain is so pure that it is

translucent when thrown thin on the pottery wheel• Porcelain is made from the

following natural materials:• Kaolin• Feldspar• Quartz• Petunse

• Dynasty: the succession of rulers from the same family

• Han Dynasty, 202 B.C.-220 A.D.• Produced first true Porcelain• Sui & Tang Dynasties, 581-907• Low fire and high fire Porcelains• Created a new lead-glaze• Beginnings of Imperial Porcelain• Song & Juan Dynasties, 960-1368• Main production time for Imperial

Porcelain• Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644• New technologies allowed for more

advanced ceramics techniques

Imperial Porcelain• Imperial Porcelain was believed to have been started during the Tang Dynasty• Only the very wealthy could afford to buy these wares, such as

the Imperial Court members, thus the name• Cobalt Oxide was mixed with water and painted onto the green ware pot as an under glaze.• Artists would apply multiple layers to achieve a richer blue

tone

• Imperial Porcelain was exported to Japan• Tea masters would use it for their tea ceremonies

Porcelain Plates• Radial Symmetry• When a pattern or image

repeats and rotates itself around a central axis

• Chinese potters usually decorated their wares using radial symmetry• Most often a singular image

was painted in the center of a plate or bowl and a radial symmetrical border was added to the edge

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Part 2

JAPANESE TEA CEREMONIES

History of the Tea Ceremony• Green tea originated in China• Green tea plants were brought to Japan from China during the beginning of the Tang Dynasty• Relations between China and Japan at this time were excellent• Chinese Buddhist priest wrote a book on the proper method of preparing tea called “Cha Ching” • Correct temperature of hot water • Use of tea vessels• Toward the end of the Tang Dynasty, their relationship deteriorated• Japan had to cultivate their own traditions for tea now

History of the Tea Ceremony cont.• During the Nara and Heian periods

in Japan, tea was a rare commodity• Rules were created for the

consumption of tea• In 1187 Myoan Eisai, a Japanese

priest, traveled to China to study philosophy and religion• He became the founder of Zen

Buddhism• He was the first one to cultivate tea for

religious purposes• Eisai was the first to suggest and

teach the grinding of tea leaves before adding hot water. • A Sung emperor named Hui Tsung,

referred to a bamboo whisk used to whisk the tea after hot water was poured over it

• Eisai suggested that the drinking of tea had certain health benefits and cures• loss of appetite• Paralysis• Beriberi• boils • sickness from tainted water.

Not just for drinking!• There are many different

types of tea ceremonies• Seasonal• Time of Day• It is considered a fine art to

master tea serving for a ceremony• Takes up to 10 years to master!• Table must be set a certain way• A certain meal must be cooked• Certain flowers must be

arranged in a certain way• Must dress in a kimono• Tea ceremonies show rank in

society!• Higher rank = better “fine

China”!

Religious Ceremony• Many use the tea ceremony

as a spiritual experience• Zen Buddhism is a huge

influence on the spirituality of the tea ceremony• Harmony between nature and

self• Being calm and centered• Tea ceremonies will often

happen in special gardens

Part 3

JAPANESE SUMI-E

The Four Gentlemen• The Four Gentlemen are the four plants that are needed to

be mastered in order to become a master Sumi-e painter. • To master each plant takes years of study under excellent tutelage.• They are called the Four Gentlemen because of their style

and grace.• Each plant has certain brush strokes needed to complete it in

the Sumi-e style. • As you complete each plant you build on the brush strokes mastered, and learn

new techniques for the next, more complicated plant.• Japanese style of painting creates asymmetrical balance,

thus creating empty space, and simplicity.• The Four Gentlemen are bamboo, the wild orchid, the

chrysanthemum, and the plum blossom branch.

The First Gentleman: Bamboo• The Father of brush painting,

representing simplicity of life and humble spirit.

• Bamboo represents Summer and is the most painted subject in East Asia. It represents strength in the face of adversity, and what the Japanese believe to be the virtues of the male - perfect balance, upright integrity, and tremendous flexibility.

• Bamboo is the “perfect gentleman” because at its center it is hollow, which suggests modesty, and it is always of service and used on a daily basis.

The Second Gentleman: Wild Orchid

• The Mother of brush painting, representing grace, beauty, and a happy spirit.

• The wild orchid represents Spring and what the Japanese believe to be feminine virtues - beauty and grace, yet fragile and gentle.

• The orchid invites you to celebrate life because it symbolizes reviving earth’s energy from the winter.

The Third Gentleman: Chrysanthemum• The chrysanthemum is the imperial symbol of Japan’s royal family.

• The chrysanthemum represents Autumn because it is sturdy and it defies the brutality of the frost.

• It associates fragrant plants with being strong and unwavering with the change of the season.

The Last Gentleman: Plum Blossom• The plum blossom is the symbol of hope and endurance.

• It represents winter because it perseveres with life and beauty within it.

• The plum blossoms are the first to bloom, signaling the end of winter.

• The beauty of the plum blossom lies in the contrast of the gnarled, rough trunk and the soft, tender blooms.