Return to Yunnan Part I

Autumn Woods near Lijiang, Yunnan Province

I was born on an autumn evening in the city of Kunming, Yunnan Province in Southwest China. Within a year WWII ended, my father, my sister and I in my mother’s arms boarded a transport plane and left Kunming. I never returned until another fine autumn evening more than half a century later. The city held no memory, except for a phrase from a children’s ditty that my mother and sister used to sing to me. It said something about a temple on East Street and a temple on West Lane.  To my surprise and disappointment, the temples still exist but impossible for me to reach.  The streets and lanes in the older section of town were too narrow for the tour bus and therefore not on the itinerary.

My tour began with a visit to Da Guan Lou Park – a beautiful garden with traditional architecture.  Any adjective to describe gardens in Yunnan is superfluous.  Yunnan Province is the mother garden of the world. In the period between late 19 to early 20 century, botanists from all over the world over came to  identify and collect specimens.  Many common flowers such as the Easter lily were propagated from the Yunnan originals.

A Pavilion at Da Guan Lou Park

A lake full of lotus plants

A solitary lotus flower standing

 Accustomed to small ponds of lotus in botanical gardens, this huge lake of green leaves as far as the eye could see was breath taking! But we were too late to see the lotus flowers in bloom. Many of the leaves already turned brown, but I was thrilled to find a solitary pink flower still standing.

Chrysanthemums of all varieties were on display

The next morning we boarded a plane for Lijiang, home of the Naxi, one of the ethnic minority people in China.  The Old Town, now a UNESCO Heritage site, was on the confluence of the horse and tea trade for over 800 years.  Most of the buildings around Old Town dated to the Ming Dynasty CE 1368 - 1644. 

Small horses are more tolerant of the cold temperature

 Architecture around the Old Town was restored after an earthquake.  Michael and I were enthralled with the colorful and peaceful surroundings.  The buildings were constructed with timber and rocks, and small waterways brought running water from the nearby rivers. We came to Lijiang for a personal reason.  My father the horticulturist, was a friend of Dr. Joseph Rock (1884-1962,) the famous botanist who studied ethnic minority languages, including the Naxi.  He was a local legend and his former home is now a shrine.       

Tower in the town square    

Restored buildings were interesting and pleasing to the eye, but I was glad to see a few of the more traditional houses built with bricks.

We left the city and headed for a higher altitude.  The tour brought us to a station where we boarded a ski lift for a ride to the forests above.  The trees - autumn colors in a mist, made for a good painting study.  And moss -  growing in mounds were everywhere! I was in heaven. My fascination with moss began by watching my grandfather trying to grow moss in his miniature grotto.  He knew he could not make moss grow, but that did not deter him. If he could only be with us, he would surely collect specimens out of the moss laden fallen logs.

A moss lover's dreamscape

A glimpse of snow covered mountains   

Snow capped mountain range - Jade Dragon Snow Mountain near Lijiang, Yunnan Province 2006

 After what seemed to be a long hike, we arrived at a scenic area where we could view the snow capped mountain range of the Yuelongxue Shan - the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.  It was a sight to behold!

(to be continued)

Endearing Yixing Teapots

Teapot painted with Famille Rose Enamels circa 1800's

Lately I have much success selling teapots.  Although the bulk of our inventory is in antique furniture, we still have a small collection of Chinese ceramics that includes Yixing teapots.  Most people may not associate the name Yixing to the fanciful pottery teapots they see all over China, and in tea shops and Museum gift shops in the United States.  These teapots, handmade by potters in Yixing, Jiangsu Province in Southeast China, were and still remain for three hundred years, the best vessel for brewing tea. 

Yixing, a name synonymous with tea and tea ware, is located west of Taihu in Jiangsu province.  Until the Song dynasty (960-1279), this area was known as Yangxian.  Yixing is one of the great pottery centers of China.  Moreover, it is noted for its scenic beauty and association with many people and events. The proximity to three important cities - Nanjing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou made Yixing an ideal location for a pottery center.  The surrounding hills have rich deposits of clay and plenty of fuel for firing. The nearby lake and the network of rivers and canals are convenient for transporting and distributing the finished products. The color of the fired pottery objects in rich purple brown gave the wares the popular name of Zisha – purple sand. 

Today Zisha teapots come in a wide range of colors and designs.  Some are just brilliant; they take on the most creative shapes and designs.  The plain teapots in globular or simple geometric forms are the best for inscribers to engrave paintings and calligraphy.  The teapots I have been selling were made around the turn of the century.  Collectors specially like teapots with famous potters and inscribers.  Others look for interesting shapes, and some collectors buy teapots that were imported for sale at the Chinese pavilions at International World’s Fairs beginning in 1876 in Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Chicago, St. Louis, San Francisco and so forth.

I randomly picked a few ………………..Enjoy! 

 All three teapots above were made at the turn of the 20 century, the first in the shape of a hat, the second was a fine shape to show off calligraphy and the third was in the shape of an archaic bronze vessel with a dragon spout.

 Teapot above is a typical piece that were offered for 
sale in the Chinese Pavilions in the World's Fairs.
This one in the form of a tree trunk and decorated with branches and flowers of the plum tree - or prunus, circa 1900's.

Teapot to the left is a sweet contemporary piece with an overhead handle.  It is also decorated in the theme of the plum blossoms.

 This red pottery teapot was exported to Europe and refitted with a silver spout.  A similar teapot was recovered in an 18 century shipwreck.

 A fun piece - a collection of fruit and nuts, from the 1980's: walnut, chestnut, gingko, caltrop, peanut, sunflower seed etc.

Directly above is a miniature teapot in a beautiful purple sand color clay.  The one on the top right has an unusual form with two brewing chambers. To the right is a beautifully burnished pot with a buffalo finial on the cover.  All three teapots were made in the 1900's to 1930's.

An interesting contemporary teapot in the form of a wooden well bucket.

Finally we have a large teapot with a handle that was made by a metal smith in Thailand.  The Thai imported teapots like this one and burnished it until it achieved a glass like sheen.

If you have Yixing teapots and would like to learn more about them, please leave comments. Now I am ready for a cup of tea.