Monday, July 28, 2008
Posted by Miss Neddy at 10:42 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Categories: Tea Related Teapots

Of the four beauties, there is one who is arguably a fictional character. While she plays in important role in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms (三国演义), Diaochan (貂蝉) is not found in any historical accounts or records of the Three Kingdoms period. Morally too, she seems an ambiguous character, as her seduction of the foster father and son Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu in order to cause conflict between them was primarily motivated by her filial piety towards her own foster father, Wang Yun. However, there are later accounts of her death by the hand of Guan Yü, a righteous general who served Liu Bei, when she attempts to seduce him.

As Diaochan is somewhat a cipher in history, I find the teapot named after her somewhat puzzling too. Of the four teapots, the grey clay Diaochan teapot is the heaviest and most angular. From certain angles, it has a light grace, seeming to float a little off the surface of the table, and its notched ear hints at feminine curves . But from other angles, it seems squat and awkward, perhaps to hark back to Diaochan’s humble origins; she was a peasant, supposedly nameless, until sold into Wang Yun’s household. On the other hand, she had seduced both Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu with her dancing, her singing and music playing, so she could not have been too clumsy a girl. My friend A. speculated that the grey clay and squatness hint at the animalistic qualities of her name, lending a primeval and primitive air to the teapot.

There are 2 qualities of the teapot that I love, though; it is the smoothest of the four, as it feels like a river-worn stone, and the grey hues make it resemble a natural object even more. The other is that despite its angularity, it sits very comfortably in the hand. The handle is generously large enough and the wide lid allows for a relaxed hold. It feels robust enough that I do not fear breaking it if I held it too tight, as I do the other teapots, although I do not quite consider that a point in its favour; after all, it is named after a graceful dancer, and should have a certain level of delicacy to it. Nonetheless, its somewhat contradictory qualities make it stand out, and it is worthy of the equivocal lady herself.

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