TEAPOTS, by Woon Siang Tong

Here is an excerpt of Easterntea.com's interview with Mr Woon Siang Tong, an advisor to Easterntea.com.

Teapots that were made of clay were not trendsetters till Ming China. During Ming China, teapots made of purple clay and red clay were made in limited numbers.

However, these types of teapots soon became trendsetters in Qing China where more and more elaborate teapots were made and introduced into the market. The royalty and other powerful members of society's fascination with such teapots helped in its propagation as well.

It is widely said that the artistic talents of clay teapot potters reached its epitome in the early era of communist China where works of art were limited to a handful of skilled potters and carvers and they produced beautiful works of art which are priceless today.

Some of these artists include Zhu Ke Xing, Jiang Rong, Bei Shi Min, Wang Yan Chun, Wu Yun Gen and Gu Jing Zhou. It was also widely acknowledged in the 1980s that the region of Yixing that produced some of the best teapots was Hong Chun. Teapots from that region were subsequently known as Hong Chun Hu (Teapots).

Interview with Mr. Chew Teng Hock