Winner winner, chicken teapot.
天鸡
–
tianji
–
celestial chicken
When I first saw this yixing teapot, I thought it was a joke…but alas, this is a thing. A heavenly chicken teapot is a yixing pot with a round body and the head of the chicken as the spout and the tail as the handle. These features can be subtle or really prominent and everything in between. Another name for it is 鸡首壶 ji shou hu (‘chicken head teapot’), but I will just call it chicken teapot from now on.
There are also teapots and ceramics with other animals, but the chicken is the most representative. Also keep in mind that this is not some regular old chicken but a heavenly chicken! Chickens were an essential part of everyday life, not only for eggs and meat but the rooster also announced the start of each day. Also, 鸡 ji and 吉 ji sound similar, so the chicken pot represents luck and auspiciousness (吉祥 ji xiang).
Mansheng also designed a chicken pot. Curiously enough, Mansheng’s chicken teapot doesn’t have any other chickenly features, neither chicken head nor tail. But the inscription is interesting: 天鸡鸣，宝露盈 tiān jī míng, bǎo lù yíng meaning ‘when the heavenly chicken crows, one collects the precious dew.’ Dew, snow and rain was considered ‘heavenly water’ in ancient China – unpolluted water perfect for tea. Important especially when ‘earthly water’ such as rivers, ponds, lakes etc. were probably not safe to drink directly. In the famous Chinese novel ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’, there is a tea scene where the characters discuss the merits of brewing tea with plum blossom snow water and there is lots of flexing about tea knowledge going on.
But the origins of the chicken teapot date further back: During the Han Dynasty, the chicken was seen as a virtuous bird. Chicken earthenware was found from as early as the 晋 jin Dynasties (266-420 AD). Porcelain or ceramics decorated with chicken were widely spread. Believe it or not, but there were also different styles of chicken teapots developed over the years.
For matching teaware, you could look at some Ming Dynasty porcelain chicken cups. Yep, those were also a thing.
Get yourself some ‚Teapot Shapes I‘ and ‚Teapot Shapes II‘ postcards!
LY
