guangzhen zhou on fri 4 may 01
Chinese art related web sites.
CHINESE CLAYART, May 2001, Vol. 21
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"CHINESE CLAYART" is a newsletter emailed bi-monthly to professional
artists, curators, collectors, writers, experts, educators and students i=
n
the ceramic field, who want to know about ceramic art in China and things
related. This newsletter will be a bridge between China and Western
countries for the ceramic arts. Comments and suggestions are very welcome=
=2E
(Copyright 2001, The Chinese Ceramic Art Council, USA. All rights
reserved.)
-------------------------------------------------------
The Chinese Ceramic Art Council, USA
P.O. Box 64392, Sunnyvale, CA 94088, USA
Tel. 408-245-6271, Fax. 408-245-8756
Email: editor@chineseclayart.com
Web: www.chineseclayart.com
Chief Editor: Guangzhen "Po" Zhou
English Editor: Deborah Bouchette
------------------------------------------------------
LETTER from the Editor:
Twenty issues of our monthly newsletter have been published, and in 2001 =
we
have gotten over 10,000 visitors to our website every month. I very much
appreciate the hard work of the newsletter's English editor Deborah
Bouchette and our web designer Tyler Hannigan. Unfortunately, due to the
busy schedule of my work and life, I have to change the newsletter to
bi-monthly.
We have several Chinese ceramic experts on our trip to China this year, a=
nd
I am going to use some of their articles in the newsletters. Also, if you
have anything related to the Chinese ceramic art or culture, please send =
it
to us, it may get published in our newsletter. Thank you for your
understanding and support!
- Guangzhen "Po" Zhou
-------------------------------------------------------
FEATURES
Tea and Teapots, Yixing, and Europe - Carolyn Broadwell
Although the history of ceramics is thousands of years old, the teapot's
first documented appearance in China was only a few hundred years ago. It=
s
arrival in Europe occurred with shipments of tea during the sixteenth
century, and this arrival became an integral part of the development of t=
he
stoneware and porcelain industries of several countries, particularly
Holland, Germany, and England. In order to have a more complete picture, =
it
is necessary to learn a little about tea itself.
Tea was discovered approximately forty-five centuries ago, and according =
to
all historical evidence, it was in China. There are two popular myths or
legends explaining the origin of tea. The first credits the divine Chine=
se
ruler, Shen Neng, in 2737 BC, with its discovery. One day he was drunk fr=
om
drinking 72 different herbal concoctions, and was heating some water when=
a
camellia bough accidentally fell into it; he was both relieved of his
drunkenness and entranced with the taste and aroma. From this myth the u=
se
of tea as a medicinal drink evolved. The second myth is somewhat more
farfetched; when Bodhidharma was meditating for seven years without sleep=
in
order to prove his faith, he found it difficult to stay awake, so he cut =
off
his eyelids and threw them on the ground. They grew into tea bushes!
The tea shrub is Camellia sinensis. In the natural state it grows as hig=
h
as forty to sixty feet, but generally on tea plantations it is pruned and
picked from bushes about three feet tall. For lesser teas, as many as th=
e
youngest or last four or five leaves on each branch may be picked. For th=
e
finest teas, just the terminal bud and next two leaves are used, but for
ancient Chinese emperors, only the top bud was collected.
Tea requires a wet and temperate climate, and the most productive tea
growing countries are China, Taiwan, Japan, India, and Sri Lanka. Tea is
also grown in over twenty other countries; some of the major producers ar=
e
Iran, Georgia, Cameroon, Kenya, Brazil, Argentina, and Indonesia.
Many teas are named in the same manner as fine wines; that is, after the
area where they are produced. Familiar examples of this are Darjeeling,
Assam, Ceylon, and Kenya, all of which are black teas. Chinese teas, more
frequently green or oolong teas, are often given descriptive names, such =
as
Water Fairy, Dragon's Well, Bright Virtue, or Iron Goddess of Mercy. Gree=
n
teas are unfermented, black teas are fermented, and oolong teas are a
combination of green and black leaves.
The Chinese character for tea is usually pronounced ch'a, but in the sout=
h
east of China, ch'a in some dialects is pronounced as t'e. Depending on t=
he
route tea took to arrive in other countries, it is everywhere called by a
variation of this word. Tea first traveled from the east during the eight=
h
century, in Persian caravans, via Siam, South China, Assam, and Burma. B=
y
850 AD the Arabs were sipping ch'a and eventually those countries on the
overland route (i.e. Russia, Central Asia and India) also used a variatio=
n
of this pronunciation. Most tea arrived in Europe via ships from ports i=
n
the south east, so the most common word used in western languages is a
variation of t'e. These two variations are said to be the most universal
word in all languages.
Tea was introduced to Europe in 1610 by the Dutch East India Company, and
tea drinking is still very popular in Holland. Charles II learned to
appreciate tea while in exile in The Hague, and when he was restored to t=
he
English throne, he introduced this exotic drink to the English court. Tea
has been a significant factor in western history, and has influenced much=
of
East/West relations. While it is fascinating to explore the far reaching
influence of such a simple pleasure as a cup of tea, our concern here is
primarily with the utensil designed to make it, the teapot.
(To be continued).
-------------------------------------------------------
PROFILE
The Terra-cotta Warriors Museum
The Museum is located 35 km east of Xi'an and 1.5 km from the actual buri=
al
mound of the Emperor Qin's (259-210 B.C.) mausoleum. About 10,000 life-si=
ze
terra-cotta warriors, horses and many other metal weapons and objects wer=
e
excavated from three pits. The warriors are either standing or kneeling,
=66rom ordinary soldiers to the general, and each of them has different f=
acial
features. The pits were discovered by a local farmer who was digging a we=
ll
in March 1974. The site is regarded as the "The Eighth Wonder of the Worl=
d."
-------------------------------------------------------
EXHIBITION
"Collision Course", MFA Thesis Exhibition by Sin-Ying Ho, will be held at
Foster Hall Gallery, Louisiana State University, from April 23 - 27, 2001=
=2E
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Sin-Ying Ho has studied in Canada, and move=
d
to the US few years ago. She is a very active female artist, and has
participated in many East and West exchange activities.
For morn information: casyh@hotmail.com.
-------------------------------------------------------
ACTIVITIES
The Ceramics Program of the Office for the Arts at Harvard presents
Symposium - China Trade Porcelain
The Ceramics Program of the Office for the Arts at Harvard presents the
third in a series of annual symposia focused on major cultural traditions=
in
the ceramic arts. This year's symposium features China Trade Porcelain an=
d
the world's largest collection of Asian Export Art at the Peabody Essex
Museum of Salem, Massachusetts. Salem was a major seaport participating =
in
this fascinating and complex story of global trade and influence. Scholar=
s
and artists will give slide lectures, collection tours, and master classe=
s
on the technology, history, and contemporary legacy of this cross-cultura=
l
exchange.
July 11 - 13, 2001, Wednesday - Friday, 9 am - 5 pm
Tuition: $350; Application fee: $35; Professional Development Points* fee=
:
$20
Funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts
Seminar - China Trade Porcelain
This intensive three-week studio-seminar will combine the study of China
Trade ceramics history and technology with creative studio work. For
seminar participants who are art educators there will be projects for
incorporating the course content into interdisciplinary curriculum
development lesson plans. During the first week the participants will att=
end
the Symposium's slide lectures, master classes, and collection tours. At
other sessions they will work closely with the visiting artists and semin=
ar
instructor on the development of their skills as artists and as educators=
=2E
Seminar participants will have access to the studio facilities 7days and
evenings per week from July 9th to September 2nd.
July 9 - 27, 2001, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm
July 11 - 13, 2001, Wed. - Friday, 9 am - 5 pm
Instructor: Paul Briggs
Visiting Artists: Chen Guang-Hui and Kang Qing
Tuition: $650; Application fee: $35
3 graduate-level credits fee: $210 *
*Graduate-level credits and Professional Development Points from the
Cooperative Institutions Program with Massachusetts College of Art.
Presenters
William Sargent, Peabody Essex Museum Curator of Asian Export Art, has
written and lectured extensively on all aspects of Asian trade decorative
arts. During the symposium he will give slide presentations and conduct
collection tours.
Chen Guang-Hui, Instructor, College of Fine Arts, Shanghai University, wi=
ll
give presentations on the traditional and contemporary practices and the
cultural perspectives of porcelain potters, sculptors, and painters in
China.
Kang Qing will demonstrate the traditional porcelain sculpture and painti=
ng
techniques that she mastered and taught in Jingdezhen, the center of Chin=
ese
porcelain production for over 1000 years.
Barbara Broughel, New York artist, will discuss and exhibit elements of h=
er
multi-media sculptural installation which focuses on the role of opium in
the China Trade.
Ho Sin-Ying, Hong Kong artist, will exhibit and discuss her vessels that
juxtapose elements from traditional and contemporary aesthetic influence=
s
=66rom both the East and the West.
Paul Briggs will bring his skills as an artist and art educator to the
three-week seminar in China Trade ceramics. He is Head of Visual Arts at
the Storm King School in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York.
The Ceramics Program of the Office for the Arts at Harvard provides a
diverse enrollment of undergraduate, graduate, and post-baccalaureate
students and professionals with opportunities to take classes, work in a
spacious, well-equipped studio, and contribute to a dynamic educational
environment. Visiting artist workshops and seminars in architectural
ceramics, ceramics history, art education, and glaze chemistry offer
challenging professional development courses.
Application Forms:
by e-mail: selvage@fas.harvard.edu
on website: www.fas.harvard.edu/~ofa/programs/ceramics
For more information contact:
Nancy Selvage, Ceramics Program Director
219 Western Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02134
phone 617 495-8680, fax 617 496-9787, selvage@fas.harvard.edu
---------------------------------------------------------
The Chinese Cultural Related Web Sites.
These web site are provide by Dr. Daphne Rosenzweig, professor of Ringlin=
g
School of Art and Design, Florida.
Asian Art Mall: Yixing Teapots,
Jingdezhen: Ceramics Metropolis of China,
Asia Society Visible Traces Website,
Antique Chinese Porcelain Information - Ming, Qing, Export, Marks,
The first one, Asian Art Mail, is a commercial site, with very few
non-tourist-art items, but it does show what Yixing teapots are available=
on
the market, over the net.
The second one, from which the Jingdezhen article was excerpted, is also =
a
commercial site.
The third one, Asia Society Visible Traces, has many other sites listed,
useful for scholars, teachers, etc. There is a Chinese characters site
listed, haven't plugged it in yet, and several exhibitions with contempor=
ary
Chinese art.
The fourth one is the Gotheborg.com site, very large, full of ceramics
information, with some commercial links but other very useful material
including marks on Chinese ceramics.
There is also a large monthly-Asian-works-of-art auction site,
www.chait.com. And a private dealer with good Chinese and Japanese works =
for
sale, at this website, www.IchibanAntiques.com.
And for China-tour info., try http://chineseculture.about.com "The COmple=
te
REference to China/Chinese-related Web Sites" is located at:
www.aweto.com/china/. I got at it another way, throughy
http://people.physics.tamu.edu/h-yu/cgh-index.html
And finally: "www.chinese-art.com", which has an e-bulletin with
archeological finds, exhibitions and museum news, and "www.surfchina.com=
",
which is "a comprehensive colleciton of links to
Chinese literature sites" and one of my favorites, "www.chinapage.com",
which has poetry in translation as well as in Chinese text form.
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An earlier newsletter is on the Web at:
http://www.chineseclayart.com/news.html
THE END.
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