Tea pet
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| Tea Pet | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Tea pets for sale in a shop | |||||||
| Chinese | 茶宠 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 茶寵 | ||||||
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Tea pet or tea lover's pet (simplified Chinese: 茶宠; traditional Chinese: 茶寵; pinyin: cháchǒng), also known as chachong, is a small pottery figure which is kept by some tea drinkers for good luck.[1] They are usually made of zisha or Yixing clay, from the region near Yixing in Jiangsu province, China. Similar to Yixing teapots made from the same clay, tea pets are unglazed, and are mostly monochromatic with a rough surface.[2]
A tea pet is typically placed on a tea tray and has tea poured over it during tea time. Due to the tea pet not being glazed, the figurine absorbs some of the tea, resulting in the tea pet changing color over time, as well as building up a tea scent.
One of the most popular models for the tea pet is the "pee-pee boy", which, when first soaked in cold water and then showered with hot water, will squirt out the water it previously absorbed.[3] Tea pets are also molded into zodiac animals or Chinese mythical creatures such as dragons, pixiu and qilin to symbolize good luck, fortune and happiness, as well as historical or mythical characters such as Guanyin, Maitreya and Zhuge Liang.
History
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The birthplace of tea pets, Yixing, was first famous as the birthplace of Yixing clay in Song dynasty (960–1279 CE).[4] With the popularity of the Yixing clay teapot, Yixing became a major production center for tea pots, mugs, and other things used for making tea. Teapot artisans then began molding Yixing clay into various mythical creatures or animals as mascots for tea enthusiasts, with production still concentrated in Yixing region in the modern day.
Despite the longevity of Yixing as a production centre for tea products and accessories, little was written on the development of tea pets in Chinese history, with few literary sources detailing their use and production.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Hendren, Jay (2012). "Gongfu Cha: A New American Luxury". Colorado Journal of Asian Studies. 1 (1): 59.
- ^ Pan, Chunfang (2004). Yixing Pottery: The World of Chinese Tea Culture. San Francisco: Long River Press. pp. 41–49
- ^ a b Lee, Vincent; Attinger, Daniel (2016-07-19). "Thermodynamics and historical relevance of a jetting thermometer made of Chinese zisha ceramic". Scientific Reports. 6: 28609. Bibcode:2016NatSR...628609L. doi:10.1038/srep28609. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 4949419. PMID 27431925.
- ^ Lo, Kuei-hsiang (1986). The stonewares of Yixing: From the Ming period to the present day. London: Sotheby's Publications.
External links
[edit]- "Tea Pet: Tea lover's pet" (in Chinese). Sina.com. Retrieved 2014-02-03
- "Do you know Tea Pet?" (in Chinese). YNET.com. Retrieved 2014-02-03