Coffee, Tea, or Just Make Your Own!

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My Teashake brings all the Boys to the yard,

And they’re like, it’s better than yours

Damn right, it’s better than yours

I can teach you, but I’ll have to charge.

-Some Song dynasty (10th-13th century) literati/ courtesan who adapted Kelis’ Milkshake lyrics

You know, this is actually a believable line in ancient Song dynasty (10th to 13th century) when it comes to tea, shaken (not stirred). And there is a 50-50 chance of it being sung by a Song courtesan, or narrated by a Song literati.

You’re probably thinking, why would anyone want to shake a cuppa tea? And why would it be sung or talked about by a Courtesan or Literati? Isn’t it just, tea?

So I would have to bring you to about a thousand years ago.. and introduce you to the wonderful world of Tea Battles where one’s brilliance is not measured by how big your muscles were, but swiftly they can help you move. In particular, your wrist. I will talk about that more soon.

THE TEASHAKE THAT BRINGS ALL THE BOYS TO THE YARD

But first, here’s the entire process of tea preparation from breaking it down to smaller tea leave bits, to whisking it (that’s where the wrist part comes in, and is also one of the highlights):

You see, people of that period were drinking powdered tea, pretty much like the Japanese matcha that you are familiar with. The Japanese matcha was a continuation of that Chinese tradition, in fact, while the Chinese have long lost it although efforts have been made in recent decades to revive it with reasonable success.

An iconic Intangible Cultural Heritage tea practitioner of China who has been reviving this art for over 40 years said they looked to Japanese whisked tea practice and cross referenced with historical Chinese texts to understand and deduce how it might have been done in the past. How the Japanese have retained so much of ancient/medieval Chinese cultural practices is fascinating, and almost like how Chinese diasporas so faithfully tried to preserve their heritage after they have left China. Of course that being said, the Japanese definitely injected their own life and philosophies into whatever they brought over from China, and it became part of their very own, unique identity.

Kenny whisking up a storm in a teacup

A good cup of tea, to the Chinese of Song dynasty, would be leaves from Fujian Jian’an region, plucked in the earliest part of Spring sometime in March (today, we generally thought of tea leaves from the middle of Spring in April as the best). Of course, there were specificities by the Song Imperial family on how exactly the tea leaf should look like—an eagle’s claw (lol, good luck figuring that out!)—and with a tiny bit of pale green (not green yet).

And this is the part where the tea gets shaken…really badly until it froths up like that hard peak when you beat your egg white for baking really fluffy cakes. Except that you use machine, and the Song people used their bare hands and a bamboo brush, sometimes with just a silver spoon (this is torture I tell you…).

Kenny still whisking away.

And this is also the part where the flexibility and tenacity of your wrist muscle comes in…

If you can whisk some bubbles up, you have failed.

If you can whisk some foam up, you have barely passed.

If you can whisk thick foam up but it has some large bubbles, you probably can get a C grade.

If you can whisk thick foam with extremely smooth texture (like no visible bubbles), you can probably get a B grade.

The ideal state would be like the consistency of wax… so the most modern connection I can make would be whipping the egg whites till it has a hard peak for baking. Yes, those of us who bake knows how long it takes for a machine to do that, try doing with your hands….

If you can whisk thick foam that’s like the texture of wax and can last like 20 minutes without dissipating into the bowl of tea and can retain its thickness and texture when poured out well enough that you can even paint stuff on it with water or powder (phew that’s a super long sentence), then you can get an A.

Bowl, China, Song dynasty (960–1279) Pottery (Jian ware); H. 2 5/8 in. (6.7 cm); W. 4 3/4 in. (12.1 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rogers Fund, 1919 (19.55.1) http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/52602

But wait, as Asians, an A is hardly enough. You need Full Marks. So that means you need to ensure that your water temperature is right, and that in the entire process, you add 7 times water (no more, no less, you can’t shortcut this) with a specific type of water pitcher into a specific type of black glazed Chinese ceramic teabowl (click on link to see the Met Museum collection). This is observed and theorised in a book by the Song emperor Hui Zong, one of the most artistically acclaimed emperors in Chinese history with an exquisite taste and eye for great details.

THE DIFFERENT BOYS WHO ARE BROUGHT TO THE YARD

The middle class commoners

Song Dynasty was a period of great commercialisation and capitalism and the general middle class population were relatively more educated with a great appreciation for the finer quality of life. They were generally quite wealthy, and definitely enjoyed good shopping and parties. They started the first Night Market in Chinese history which operated till about 1am, and they take a break for 2 hours and reopens at around 3am. Even our nightclubs today doesn’t have that kind of vitality! So yes, the boys (and girls) were often out in their yard partying and getting high on tea (amongst other things, like booze but that’s a different topic for a different day).

Based on paintings from that period, it was also a period that greatly celebrated the middle class commoners and their lifestyles. Whereas periods before were much more of aristocratic-focused society.

Market competition in a Tea Garden by top Song dynasty painter Liu Song Nian 刘松年《茗园赌市图》

The Literati, the Emperor and all his men

Song emperor Hui Zong was one of the most highly acclaimed artist-emperor of all times. He was a tea aficionado and as mentioned earlier, wrote his own theory about tea with great detail in a book called Treatise on Tea.

During the Song dynasty, literati and poets were often at the core of its political realm, philosophising and discussing state politics with the emperor thus further blurring the lines between arts and politics.

Detail of a painting by the famously tasteful Song emperor Song Hui Zong on a social gathering with tea served 宋徽宗《文会图》

Monks

Definitely Zen Buddhist monks were one of the pioneers in pure tea drinking culture as it helped them with focus and meditation. It started earlier than Song in the Tang monasteries and there was a famous monk who could whisk tea so beautifully that for each bowl of tea he whisked, he could write a stanza of poem on the froths and together they formed a poem.

Full marks might be the gold standard for Asian moms, but this is like an A+ student who also got top achievement in the arts. Bragging rights for sure.

Drinking Ground Tea by Liu Song Nian of Song dynasty 刘松年《撵茶图》

Later on, the Japanese buddhist monks who went to China to study Zen Buddhism arrived at Mount Tian Mu in Zhejiang and also tea. They brought back the black Jian Ware ceramic teabowl to Japan thinking that it came from the Tian Mu mountains in Zhejiang, and gave it the name Tenmoku. This type of tea bowl became so highly regarded and ceremonial that you required to take courses on it and become certified before you can serve people in this teabowl. But that is another way that the Japanese government and system protects its traditional craftsmanship and ensure continuous patronage and a healthy ecosystem of funding for its arts, cos in Chinese, even I can own one and serve you tea though I know next to nothing about preparing them.

Coffee, Tea and Art

I mentioned earlier the monk who could write poems on tea froths. You probably are thinking about the similarity of that and Latte Art that was in vogue a while back?

So this is similar except with tea, and done 1,000 years before.

I asked Kenny and he said there were two ways of doing it, either with clear water like this:

So the water would dilute the coloured froths and lightening it. So you either pour, drip or paint with plain water to reveal the artwork you’ve painted.

so now you ask, I thought the best froths were supposed to be white and thick like wax, so how does white show on white? Can it get any whiter? I’m sorry this sounds racist but I assure you this is just about tea art and froth.

So there is apparently another method that Kenny shared—it was using tea powder, and sometimes you mix with some water to form a paste-like ‘tea paint’ to be painted over the white froth.

Some said that the Green Matcha is more Japanese and the White one is more Chinese. But Kenny clarified that both types existed in the Song dynasty and they gave them very poetic names—Jade Froth for the white one, and Emerald/Kingfisher Froth for the green one. Yes, Jade were often associated with white nephrite jade for the ancient Chinese (though there were red, green and other coloured jade as well but white was deemed desirable for gentlemen). The Green Jadeite that we often associate with ‘traditional Chinese jade’ is actually relatively much modern, in the last 100-200 years or so, and it is not Chinese but Burmese in origin.

So… Here’s the part that is the whole point of my article..

I Can Teach You, But I’ll Have To Charge

So if you don’t already know, we’re running a Yaji event which historically would be a social gathering of literati friends who engage in a range of artforms and with knowledge exchanges and discussions. The inaugural edition, we’re basing it on the Song dynasty and the Autumn theme.

One of the highlight workshop is a Song dynasty reconstruction tea workshop by Kenny Leong, a private tea practitioner who mainly hosted corporate guests like banks and luxury brands (you can read more in his bio). So I’ve known Kenny for a while now, and I’m always rather wary of extremely commercialised practitioners of traditional craft because I feel that if most of the times, traditions were just a fancy costume party while money making is the real deal for them. So I was relieved to know that Kenny is not one of those unscrupulous jade sellers or fengshui masters in Chinatown (you know that type..), and like me, we have a full time job so that our passion can be as pure and not tainted by commercial interests.

As part of this workshop, you can also opt to get your own Song dynasty tea kit set as in the photo below (completed with grounded tea powder) and whisk in your own leisure time at home:

The tea towel is based on an actual painting of auspicious cranes by the Song emperor Hui Zong whom I’ve mentioned several times in this article on his love for tea.

Because I themed it to be Autumn/Fall, I’ve also added some finer touches to the Song tea set to include a touch of season—A polished shell cut and engraved into the shape of a gingko leaf.

The whisk in the set is a Japanese chanoyu style of tea whisk, while the original one from Song would most likely be closer to an Okinawaian Bukubuku Tea

You probably would associate the gingko leaf with the Japanese culture more, but the gingko is actually native to China although the Chinese term we use today were based on Japanese and Korean words for it when Gingko was introduced to these two places from China.

There are still Gingko trees of 1500 years old in China, believed to be planted by Buddhist monks in their monasteries as it was believed to be a holy tree.

The most viral one has to be this 1,400 year old one in Zhongnan Mountain in a Buddhist temple. Like the article said, it is definitely a perfect celebration of Autumn:

In case you would like to celebrate Autumn in Song style with us, we have a whole afternoon of activities lined up for you on 24 September, Saturday at the Stamford Arts Centre.

Traditionally, the elegant gathering would’ve been by invitation only amongst a close group of friends who shared similar taste in the arts or worldview. We are adapting the idea of it into a more public affair to open up to those whom we might not know personally, but would like to be part of this interpretive experience on ancient culture and arts.

This is our invitation to you, and you can get your tickets HERE or click on the image to access the ticketing site:

We are selling early bird tickets now until 24 August, and it is definitely a very worthy deal to purchase your tickets now!

Yaji: Seasons | An Autumn’s Song 雅季: 宋秋

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So Mid Autumn festival’s around the corner there’s much more to Autumn and Chinese social gatherings than mooncake and lanterns. In fact, what we do at Hanfugirls Collective has always been to challenge those stereotypes and what better time to do that than this Autumn!

We’re relooking at Autumn celebrations and social gatherings this Yaji series, and yes we’ll have the tea, we’ll have the dessert/cakes, and we’ll have the social gathering, but we will not do the Mid-Autumn, Winter Solstice, Spring Festival and Dragon Boat Festival clichés since you really don’t need us to help you celebrate those, do you?

While people are busy with revenge travel, Yaji: Seasons will be the ultimate historically-based cultural experience for those who are dying for some solid historical content delivered as immersive as you can possibly hope for.

You will get to experience a world of ancient Chinese culture (without all the fluffy mysticisms) that you never knew existed, in one afternoon.

It is the first in a series of Elegant Gatherings paying homage to gatherings where ancient literati would enjoy great poetry and exchange thoughts through the finest sensorial experiences. Like the ancients who curated their lives around nature’s offerings, we commence our quarterly Yaji series, themed around the blooms and glooms of seasons – much akin to the rise and fall of ancient Chinese dynasties.The entire series is made up of 4 quarterly events pegged to each season and each event is themed according to an ancient dynasty and their culture, customs and arts.

The concept of Yaji (loosely translated to Elegant Gatherings) is similar to the French Salon, except more chilled/laid-back and bourgeois in form.

I know, the image looks so understated and probably doesn’t quite fit what you have in mind. But that’s the whole point of this entire afternoon—To let you experience the understated luxury valued by ancient Chinese literati. In fact, during the lecture (that’s right at the start) of the afternoon’s programme, I’m going to share about how to appreciate the understated Song aesthetics and how it was a departure from previous periods in fashion and socio-political norms.

We are starting off with the Song dynasty because its aesthetics and life philosophies are still very much in vogue today, as seen in the rise of Minimalism and the pursuit in the fine quality of life. You’d be surprised to know that the highest auction price for Chinese ceramics in the world today actually came from the Song dynasty, yes, with all these very very simple and plain looking wares. And you’ll hear more on why and the stories behind them.

Yaji: Seasons | An Autumn’s Song

A dynasty of oxymorons, the Song dynasty pioneered Chinese capitalism and consumerism while remaining devoted to the practice of Minimalism in its artistic expressions. While the modern Japanese whisked tea ceremony known as chanoyu traces its roots to the whisked tea customs of the Song, and the former’s wagashi from similar periods, the two remain distinctly different in essence. Come into the realm of the Song literati and discover an ancient Chinese world that blends high art with popular culture, kitsch with minimalism, and the understated luxury of the Chinese that you’ve never seen.

If you’ve been watching The Story of Minglan and A Dream of Splendour, you might want to sign up for the introductory lecture that explains the Song society and fashion through A Dream of Splendour.

Yaji, the Elegant Gatherings of ancient literati

The Palace Museum in Taipei did a Special exhibition on Yaji just before COVID (Yes, a little bit of cosmic irony there), naturally nobody get to experience it for the last 2 years at least. The highlight in these by-invitation only events were the poetry and arts experiences and we see how Crazy Rich Asian’s Tanhua viewing scene might be an homage to that cultural tradition (although definitely very diaspora perspective since there’s no poetry, cultural or literary exchanges!).

But one thing that Crazy Rich Asian got right was how seasonal such gatherings were, or rather how the Chinese had such reverence for nature and seasonal changes such that everything revolves around that.

Which is why I thought of having the first series based on seasons and you do see in the feature images that I had Chrysanthemum, Gingko, and Maple leaves. All of which are generally not associated with the Chinese but with the Dead, Japan, and Canada but actually quite quintessentially Chinese.

The entire collection of Yaji: Seasons consists of:

1. Yaji: A Song dynasty Autumn Dream (24 September 2022)
2. Yaji: The Qing dynasty’s Ode to Winter (Q4 2022/Q1 2023)
3. Yaji: Spring blooms in Ming (Q2 2023)
4. Yaji: The Cooling Summers of Tang (Q3 2023)

Song dynasty Tea Reconstruction & Customs

One of the highlight of the entire afternoon, in my opinion is the special historical reconstruction of Song Tea custom masterclass by Kenny Leong. I’ve known Kenny for the longest time and he is a professional Tea practitioner who has a profound understanding and appreciation for Tea and its role in Chinese societies, philosophies and aesthetics in history. He has been invited by luxury brands and corporates to conduct workshops related to Tea so it’s really as a favour that he’s come on board to conduct a special Masterclass for our Yaji series.

Yaji: An Autumn Experience

I’m working with @HerHeartefact and Kenny for this experience which allow participants to actually get a taste (pun intended) of the actual Song period with snacks and tea recreated from historical sources and recipes. This session follows the introductory lecture of the period, and allows more interactive and experiential type of engagement. You will even get to see replica Song period paintings and have a chat (if you’re into casual engagement) or long discussions (if you are passionate about arts and culture) on the various artforms.

The concept of Yaji might seem daunting and unfamiliar to us at first sight, but it’s really meant to be a fun gathering packed with intellectual and cultural exchanges and engagements!

Get Dressed For the Occasion

There is no formal dresscode for the afternoon, but you are encouraged to turn up dressed in Natural fibre or Autumn’s colours. I am also collaborating with Dressed Up Dreams Photo Studio to offer dress up and styling service to 4 lady-guests. I will be working with the guests for the best look, and the studio will help you get ready in that look with a professional make-up artist and some collector’s item Song era inspired dresses and accessories of mine.

You can opt to have a modern twist to your look, or go all the way authentically Song.

WARNING

I have to give you a warning before you click on the event ticketing link. It’s not cheap because, well, you can never get this anywhere else and the kind of people and experience we can bring to the table, if you’ve been following me long enough, you would know. Also, these sessions are extremely exclusive due to the high interactivity and requirement for tutelage.

The purpose of this is to ensure sustainability in high quality content experiences in the long run. So, I guess I’ll see you there soon?

If you’re interested, here’s the Programme list and QR code to the main listing page! I’ve got all the events in one listing, and also individual events, whichever is more convenient for you to find and register!

Click HERE to access the details & booking page

Are we really more progressive than women of the past?

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With the overturn of Roe v Wade in the States, discussions on the regression of female rights once again resurface. While I am not familiar with the situation in the West, I have been thinking about Chinese women from over a thousand years ago and how they were remarkably progressive even by today’s definition.

I binge-watched two Northern Song dynasty drama (10th-12th century)while recuperating from COVID infection— A Dream of Splendour featuring the gorgeous Liu Yifei (mostly known to the Western audience as the actress of Mulan), and The Story of Minglan. It set me thinking about women, our marriage rights and protections, and if female rights have been progressive or regressive.

Poster: A Dream of Splendour (2022) 梦华录

FROM TANG TO SONG, WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN MARRIAGE

UNILATERAL DIVORCE BY MEN: SEVEN REASONS TO AND THREE REASONS NOT TO

It might surprise you to find out that divorce was actually legally and socially possible for women over a thousand years ago in the Chinese society. While men still had the upper hand in a marriage, the law offered certain protection for women as well (especially when compared to the last 800 years, women who lived over 800 years ago had it much better).

For instance, while men were allowed to unilaterally divorce their wives if their wives infringed on any of the 7 reasons (these reasons were formally accepted as part of the law in the Tang period though it originated from over 2,000 years ago) :

1. Child/Son-less (Chinese were huge on child-bearing to continue the family lineage)
2. Adultery
3. Not cordial or obedient to the parents of the men
4. Gossipy
5. Theft
6. Jealousy (including disallowing the husband from having concubines)
7. Having a virulent disease

Tang women were quite comfortable and confident in sitting cross legged, instead of kneeling. Had this happened 500 to 1000 years before, they might face the accusation of being rude and have their husbands divorce them.

The legendary ‘sage’ Mencius from some 2,500 years ago almost divorced his wife for her poor sitting posture! So he complaint to his mother about his wife sitting with crossed legs instead of kneeling down, and he found it incredibly rude and had the urge to divorce her as a result (oh my god… I know…). His mother, being a much more sane person, told him off for barging into the room without sounding out his wife, and intruding into her private moment unannounced and pointed out that Mencius was the rude one instead. Mencius, realising his stupidity, was overwhelmed with shame and never mentioned the divorce again.

HOWEVER, the men CANNOT divorce their wives if she fulfilled any of the 3 exceptions:

1. She doesn’t have her own family to return to after the divorce
2. Observed 3 full years of mourning period for her in-laws (the man’s parents)
3. She went through thick and thin with the man, from rags to riches

Poster: The Story of Minglan (2018) in which there were many exploration of women and their status at home, in society, and their rights

We saw how easily women were abandoned by their husbands in the show A Dream of Splendour, with San Niang, one of the female protagonists which should not have been the case in the Song Dynasty as the period before (the Tang Dynasty) had already a properly legislated law on unilateral divorce by the husband.

UNILATERAL DIVORCE BY WOMEN

If you think men were ridiculous and could come up with all sorts of excuse to get out of a marriage, women of the period didn’t let their social disadvantage stop them from doing similar things as well. The most amusing reason for divorce cited by a woman during the Song Dynasty, was that her husband was too ugly!

In The Dream of Splendour, the female protagonist (left) was made to divorce by her husband (right) who went to marry a widow after that. I think she should have just divorced him for being too ugly, or for having an affair, or for neglecting her.

Of course there were many other much more legitimate reasons such as husband not returning home for over 3 years, husband having an affair, husband got too busy/obsessed with other pursuits in life and neglected the wife, husband’s family members or relatives tried to sexually harass/violate the wife etc.

Essentially, the Chinese legislators/society at that point believed that if two people were not happy together, there was no point in forcibly keeping them together. Which, on hindsight, was pretty advanced and enlightened even by today’s standard!

This was clearly displayed in The Story of Minglan when her relative requested for divorce with her husband who was really quite a bum. From the show, you could also see that the dowry which were brought to the marriage by women, remained the property of the women and she had rights to them after divorce. Marriage laws in ancient Chinese were pretty well-developed.

MARRYING A DIVORCÉE

Empress Liu of Song Dynasty (11th century) was not only a divorcé who married the prince, but she was also previously a courtesan/singing girl.

And it was perfectly acceptable for divorced women to remarry. There was a famous empress who remarried the emperor when he was a prince after she divorced! So no, the British monarchy was not the first nor will they be the last to marry a divorcée, although it’s interesting that it still was such a big deal even in the 21st century.

What was more amazing than Empress Liu’s identity as a divorcé who married a prince who later became the emperor was that she was also a courtesan/singing girl! That makes her somewhat similar to Eva Perón. I must clarify that courtesans in ancient China were not prostitutes in that sex was not part of the deal, though they were free to have sex with their clients or whoever they fancy (similar to the Geisha). Courtesans were skilled artists who sold their companionship and time to patrons with their performances.

COURTESAN IN LITERATURE: THEN AND NOW

So what’s the big deal about A Dream of Splendour? It was based on a Yuan dynasty (13th century Mongolian rule of China lead by Genghis Khan’s troops) theatre script of a courtesan by the name of Zhao Pan’er and how she used her wit and courage to save her fellow courtesan from an abusive marriage. The content from this script formed the basis of the storyline for the first 8 episodes of A Dream of Splendour, and the modern playwright continued developing the content for the subsequent 32 episodes.

Liu Yifei (Mulan) acting as Zhao Pan’er in A Dream of Splendour.

While the original script 700 years ago was meant to give an empowering voice to the courtesans who were of the lowest social status (even though many of them were of exceptional artistic talent and admired by literati and royalties alike, but they faced systemic discrimination), the modern adaptation revealed just how backward our society has been after all these years.

In A Dream of Splendour, the main female protagonist who was supposed to be a courtesan, was ‘whitewashed’ into being the daughter of a famous general who offended the emperor. And there was this part where she proclaimed to the male protagonist that she was a virgin and this topic of her being no longer of slave caste and an entertainer who ‘sells her smile and beauty’ kept coming up as a redeeming and admirable quality. It was problematic for me because it perpetuates the elitism and narrow definition of an admirable woman.

A scene in A Dream of Splendour where the friends all supported each other through thick and thin

That being said, I do appreciate the show’s effort in having positive reinforcement for female friendship and community building in that unlike many tens and thousands of dramas where women were pit against each other and did lots of nasty things to sabotage each other, this show has none of that at all. In fact, women looked out for one another so much that the only villains were men. LOL. So it kind of lived up to its tagline/hashtag/selling point of girls help girls. The irony is, however, in the 21st century, we’re still just coming around to this idea of girls helping girls when that has been done in a script 700 years ago.

So… I have nothing to say except to emphasise the importance of studying history because it always repeats.

YAY OR NAY?

I’m not a typical TV drama person, but COVID made me one. I love the sets in the show, the costumes are hits and misses (some of them could be a bit cringy but I think it’s an improvement from the typical period drama cliche costumes). I personally preferred the first 8 episodes the best (and it showed the brilliance of the original writer who lived 700 years ago), and it got a bit draggy later on. But there are definitely some interesting moments later on relating to women in commerce in ancient China, and the economic prosperity of the 11th century Chinese capital.

So I would say, if you’ve got some spare time, it’ll be a fun show to watch!

Return of the Condor Hero cosplay attempt

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Growing up, I was more into mythology than Wuxia, and I admit that I have never read any Wuxia books or watched Wuxia shows from start to end. I missed that window in my developmental phase, and now to me, Wuxia stands for something that perpetuates a lot of the stereotypes about Chinese culture which I don’t necessarily identify with.

It presents to the world, and to Chinese unfamiliar with Chinese history, a world of Chinese fantasies where women were expected to be perfectly beautiful, or awfully vicious; where men were expected to be spectacularly heroic, or hatefully conniving; and they all let their hair loose in life or even during swordfights in a very Taoist-aspirational-deity/fairy manner. I felt alienated from that narrative. I grew up not having long hair as a child, and I was never slim with porcelain skin. So that perhaps put me in a category of the ‘evil witch’ or ‘hysterical evil sorceress’ of sorts. Even they were kinda beautiful in a stereotypical manner. Maybe I would just be the matchmaker sort, with a big mole on my face no less (think Mulan’s matchmaker in Disney version and that stereotype).

But I can understand the aesthetics and the romantic ideal of these stereotypes. It allows escapism where good and evil are clear cut, and people get their just desserts. Everyone has a dream girl in the form of the Dragon Girl 小龙女 –the women want to be her, the men want to date/marry her. She is the hard-to-get, aloof, but fiercely loyal and extremely capable and invincible fighter who fights like she’s dancing. One of her famous moves (which strangely is rarely discussed and possibly never showcased on TV) was the Fist styles of all ancient great beauties 美女拳法 where she turns into different ancient beauties in the past thousands of years with each move that is representative of the beauties.

I’ve known the folks at Asiapac Books for a while, and one of them is in then Hanfugirls Collective. So I was happy to be able to help a friend in creating some images for her publicity for her kickstarter project to republish the comic collection of this book. Of course having not read the book, I relied on the internet to understand her better. Naturally, there seems to be really strong Taoism influence in the description of her out-of-the-worldliness and fairy-like disposition. This style is possibly a trend that was piloted somewhere in the Wei Jin era, epitomised by the story and depiction of the female protagonist in Ode to the nymph of Luo River painting over a thousand years ago.

Most TV shows in the past did not have much historical accuracy in its fashion and hair stylings, partly because of the lack of interest/resources in doing such detailed research, another would be the high artistic liberty the stylists took in trying to convey the original books’ description and overall feel, especially for fantasy-related ones. The idea of having your straight long hair hanging freely and moves gently with the wind plays up that gentle femininity in a fantasy of women archetypes, and adds to that desirable, youthful, virginal innocence of a girl. Somewhat disturbing if you think about it in a more 21st century context. Of course, I’m speaking from it from a different time-era, which isn’t fair to the original period where it was created.

But as young (kinda) women of the 21st century, many of us had our own discussions while doing this shoot about what we think about the storyline and the characters. Maybe one day, we should do a refresh look at these Wuxia stereotypes from a modern perspective, and see how that perception of female identity has evolved yet again.

In March, we will delve deeper into female identity as well as part of our lectures and workshops, the idea of dance and music, and the changing law regarding women’s rights. So stay tuned~

Meanwhile, if you’re interested in supporting the kickstarter project by Asiapac Books, do visit their kickstarter page! Link: http://kck.st/31cCO6V

Description of the Dragon Girl was very stereotypical fairy goddess kind, that goes like this: Pure and fair like snow (Snow white?), aloof and calm to the extreme. Beauty surpassing all and unique demeanour.

For the media launch event at Yanzilou, Asiapac Books invited Kenny, our traditional tea tutor for Hanfugirls Collective to do a historical introduction and demonstration of tea practice and ritual during the Song dynasty (period which the story is set in). The Song tea ritual was to later be brought to Japan to become the current Japanese tea ceremony. The interest difference I learnt from Kenny, between the Song tea ritual and the Japnese tea ceremony was that the Song Chinese used white tea powder which doesn’t have a bitter taste to it (thus no need for accompanying dessert), while the Japanese green tea comes with a dessert as it has a slight bitter tinge.

Of course the Japanese ritualised everything, so they added a lot more rules and ceremonial things to it while the Song Chinese just thought of it as a more daily enjoyment with friends kinda thing with more flexibility and room for variations.

We are also training up our Hanfugirls for the tea preparation so that when Kenny does conduct an actual tea workshop and experience at the space, we could serve you the authentic Song whisked tea experience too.

We ended the evening with a very Tang style dining set-up and experience just amongst the Hanfugirls Collective ourselves, cos I GOT NEW LIGHTS! Needed to test them for the performance in August! We’re loving the mood already!

Beyond Red: The Chinese Palette–Crazy Rich Asian Purple钧窑

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This last post goes out to the rebellious streak in all of us–however zen we aspire to be.

The Jun ware, is probably the most unpredictable, uncontrollable and random glaze in the entire series. It represented the total submission of porcelain master, however technically competent, to the higher forces of nature in determining the final outcome of the glaze. It is humility disguised in a flamboyant and rebellious appearance.

When my hanfugirls first got to know about the Jun wares, they called it the “Galaxy palette”–yea that’s our Christmas dress-up theme–The 5 glazes of Song dynasty porcelain, photos of which will never get to see the light of day–blackmail quality stuff. The process of getting them dressed up is not unlike the creation of the Jun wares–I had no control and I could only provide them whatever I have and whatever direction I could give but how they turned out was completely random and unpredictable.

You might laugh it off as the girls using a modern lingo to describe the glaze, “surely that’s not what the ancients are thinking?”

But the truth is the ancient Chinese aren’t so different from us after all! To them, this really represented the universe/night sky as they knew it, and indeed, it was their “galaxy palette” too! It represented the unity between the universe and humanity, and the term the Chinese literati love to use–天人合一.

The rise and fall of the “Galaxy palette”

The galaxy effect that appears on these wares is what is known as the “Transmutation glaze” effect, which meant that different parts of the glaze went through different chemical reactions and eventually resulted in this uneven colour mutation of sorts.

It could actually be purple with a maroon spot, or green with a reddish spot, or a wide range of colour variations. To the Song dynasty literati, and later the Emperor himself, this transition and variation captivating. The same sentiment is expressed in the Western modern world through a poem of William Blake:

To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.
-William Blake

So the Jun Ware became the official imperial ware quite naturally. Any ware that were not sent to the palace for imperial use, like the other wares from the imperial kilns, were smashed and buried–never to be used by any commoner.

However, in the Ming dynasty that followed, the appearance of red, and the unpredictability of the colour change came to be seen as signs of inauspiciousness. And when this appeared in the imperial kiln, they would smash it immediately. Furthermore, it was a taboo for anything to carry the name of the emperor and it so happened that one of the Ming emperors in the 16th Century–Emperor Wanli had Jun in his name. As a result, the entire kiln sealed up, abandoned, and the skills forever lost.

It was not until the Qing dynasty, that the transmutation glaze look made a comeback (see, told you, taste and fashion is always cyclical! We’re back to this trend again aren’t we!).
What’s even more interesting is that the Qing emperors (in particular the famous Emperor Yongzhen and Emperor Qianlong–you would know them if you watch Scarlet Heart and Yanxi Palace or Legend of Ruyi), both thought that the red appearing in the glaze was an auspicious sign! The exact opposite of the Ming emperors!

So people, just remember, if something isn’t going well for you in life, just hang in there and when the environment changes, your life would change too and often for the better!

Crazy Rich Asian Party vibe

Looking at the other glazes in this series, you have to admit that the Jun ware is really quite a havoc of its time. And the beauty of this is, the Song society and literati were really open-minded enough to accept and adore it!

Maybe to the Song literati, beauty is in everything that nature provides.

The Song literati would be considered cool parents in today’s context, and the Ming dynasty ones would be considered old school parents.

The taste of the Song elites is actually very “Old Money” taste, where there’s a lot of emphasis on understated luxury and glamour. This is a timeless preference, as supported in this recent article which reveals the preference for “discreet wealth”. Yeap, the Nouveau Riche is always represented by opulence while the “Old Money” would be so secured in their status that they turn to things that are more timeless or express a quiet confidence.

The appearance of Jun ware amidst all the more muted, conservative Old Money reminds me greatly of the Crazy Rich Asian aesthetic where they were obviously wealthy, but because they’re young and peer validation is still a thing, so they were kind of showy as well.

Yeap, Jun ware is like the Song glazes having a party and getting high. So unpredictable things happen and crazy-looking colours appear. The cool parents would laugh it off and adore it all the more, showing their CRA kids with more money and attention. Then there’re parents who would freak out (like the Ming emperors) and curtail this short burst of vitality and youth.

Tea Pairing

Gushu pu’er (raw)

If the wares of the Jun symbolise raw power, energy, vibrancy, and defiance, then pu’er harvested and made from gushu (old trees) is its match in the tea world. The finest and greatest expression of pu’er is found in gushu sheng/raw (as opposed to shu/ripe) tea, defined by its intensity, depth, length, structure, and penetrating power. It is a tea that packs a punch, echoing the same spirit of vigour and strength that has allowed the tea tree itself to grow and thrive amidst the vagaries of nature.

Credits/Acknowledgement:
Flowers and styling by @blancstudios.co
Model styling and photography by @hanfugirl
Tea recommendation by Kenny from Teatle-Tattle

Beyond Red: The Chinese Palette–The Calm After Storm Blue 汝窑

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If you’re a Jay Chou fan, you’ve GOT to know this colour–Greyish blue sky colour 天青色 which was part of the lyrics written by his lyrics Fang Wen Shan in his famous song 青花瓷. This is a colour-term that is imperially unique and reserved for the Ru ware of Song dynasty.

The Ru ware, for all its understated simplicity, is seen as the king of Chinese porcelain. There’s even a Chinese saying that regardless of how wealthy a person is, it pales in comparison to just a fragment of the Ru ware.

The colour of Ru ware was said to be inspired by the colour of the sky after rain, where the clouds parted and the sky revealed itself.

Although the song title referred to the blue-and-white porcelain which most of us are more familiar with, based on the lyricist’s reflection article, we know that he was actually really referring to the Ru ware of Song dynasty. After all, the lyrics did mention the Song calligraphy writing!

The Ru ware celadon

The Ru ware is most famously known for its record-breaking high auction prices, having fetched almost 0.3 billion HKD in 2017’s auction by Sotheby’s HK. And, Sotheby’s has a really nice video dedicated to the Ru ware.

You must’ve find it extremely underwhelming to have anyone paying so incredibly much for something you probably can find in Daiso. I know what you’re thinking.

Except that you can never find it in Daiso. Even with today’s technology, artisans are struggling to replicate it to no avail.

There’s something that pictures cannot capture, I was told, about these Ru wares that there’s a faint purplish glow to its greyish-blue-green glaze that is matte-ish.

Also, apparently they are all extremely dainty in size, with most of the items ranging between 10-16cm, and very few above 20cm, almost none that’s more than 30cm. Thus the saying–nothing big ever comes out of Ru ware 汝窑无大器 (oh the irony).

As always, Emperor Qianlong of Qing dynasty likes to mark his collection with his chops and comments. Neither he nor his dad Emperor Yongzhen was able to replicate the beauty of Ru ware, so I guess the best that he could do was to mark his territory.

So from a mercantile pov, it’s an extremely high price per cubic cm price. That’s why one can never look at works of art or antiques through a monetary lens.

Today’s replicas are generally too glossy and are made of coloured pigments so the colour isn’t a result of the chemical reaction that the glaze underwent when heated unlike the original. It was said that the ancient craftsmen mixed agate (a semiprecious stone) powder amongst others in the glaze to produce this look.

So let me tell you why people, even in 2017, fought for good 20 minutes at the auction, over 30 bids, to arrive at such an astronomical amount for a simple, understated, minimally decorated plate.

Unattainability
There are only about 100 pieces known to exist in this entire world, with only about 10 in private collection and the rest under the collection of various museums (strictly prohibited from auctioning and reselling). So there’s almost no circulation of such in the private market.

Notice the faint purplish ream around this greyish blue glaze

Rarity
These pieces were only produced as imperial ware for a very short period of 20 years (this is extremely short compared to others that have been around for centuries) and dynasties. It has a jade-like quality, but some researchers believed that its production ceased partly because they ran out of the right material to produce this exact glaze. Another reason was because of foreign invasion during that period, the production ceased and after relocation, they weren’t able to reproduce them anymore perhaps due to access to raw material or other limitations.

Irreplicability

The skills and knowledge of creating such glaze are lost. Even in subsequent eras and dynasties, artisans were unable to recreate the glaze to its original glory, let alone current day artisans who have been long-removed from that past.

In case you suspect that the high price of Ru ware might be from its lack of crackling lines–The Ru wares also have really fine crackling lines, but it differs quite a bit from the harsh lines of Ge and Guan wares. The Ru ware’s lines were really fine and there is a lot of variations between the weight of the lines (thickness and thinness vary greatly).

Definitely a dainty glaze for the dainty ware.

Ru for the Romantics

Besides the extremely elegant and minimalist design, the Ru ware is also associated with romantic ideals of the Song dynasty, and in particular that of, the Song emperor Song Huizong.

Nope, not this guy. But maybe close.

“Albert Camus wrote a novel, The Stranger, in which his character, Meursault, is condemned to death. Three days before his execution, he was able for the first time in his life to touch the blue sky. He is in his cell, he is looking at the ceiling. He discovers a square of blue sky appearing through the skylight. Strangely enough, a man forty years of age is able to see the blue sky for the first time. Of course, he had looked at the stars and the blue sky more than once before, but this time it was for real. We might not know how to touch the blue sky in such a profound way. The moment of awareness Camus describes is mindfulness: Suddenly you are able to touch life.”–Thich Nhat Hanh

Very much like the character in Camus’ novel, Song Huizong was an emperor who wanted to be reminded of life in a mindful and deliberate manner. He was a firm believer of Taoism (almost to a bit of an extremist state actually), and there has been a long-established tradition amongst Chinese literati to aspire towards being one with nature through acts such as having bonsai and stone formations in their gardens. The discovery of Ru ware, too, was in line with that romantic aspiration.

As usual, there are several versions of stories on the founding of Ru ware. My favourite and the most romantic one was that in the deepest of the imperial palace over 900 years ago, Emperor Song Huizong had a dream. In it, he dreamt of a beautifully calming scene where the rain had just stopped, and the clouds were started to part. He found the part of the sky where the clouds were parting particularly charming and ordered for his men to make a glaze according to that colour in his dream.

After multiple trial-and-error, they finally succeeded in creating it around 1090 CE.

The blue and white porcelain that we are most familiar with was very much used for foreign export or commoners in its ancient past (thus the universal familiarity with it), whereas the Ru glaze was very much something owned by only the Chinese imperial family.

Knowledge of such glaze is a symbol of your cultural capital or social status–so now you’re all qualified to parade around pretending to be of the literati class! I’m sure mentioning this would earn you quite some respect from the more learned Chinese!

I’ve read that there is a Taiwanese artisan who managed to almost replicate the colour and lustre of the Ru ware, using agate and gold powder as ingredients. Judging from the images, I would say that it really seems like quite a close match with quite a reasonable price tag of about 1800 SGD for a cup (it’s relative!)!

As self-orientalising as this sounds, this scene reminds me of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly’s Cio-cio san and Pinkerton (before the separation).

I am aware how this set of dresses look very Japanese, but it’s actually Tang dynasty style of dressing toned down to blend with the Song aesthetics. And that’s why this looks very Japanese–because a large part of the Japanese aesthetic and arts is very much inspired by the Tang and Song period of China.

The Ru ware and its calming qualities (haha I’m making this sound like crystals or some new age thing) remind ancient literati and emperors alike the importance of nature, simplicity, and authenticity. It’s ok to appear plain and simple if you have greater depth to your existence, and your value will be appreciated in time like a beacon of clear light shining through the messy opulence.

My model will probably kill me but, I have decided not to edit his beard to stay true to the Song aesthetic belief–there’s beauty in imperfection and simplicity.

Tea Pairing

Fenghuang Dancong

A highly versatile tea with a sweet alluring profile, Dancong is perhaps best known for its ability to evoke myriad aromas and flavours like tropical fruits and flowers — think peach, apricot, jasmine, orange blossom, citrus, and so on. Like a soft, gentle, shy, and sweet summer kiss, Dancong is at once intoxicating and invigorating, veiled ever so thinly in an aura of exoticness and mystery.

Credits/Acknowledgement:
Flowers and styling by @blancstudios.co
Model styling and photography by @hanfugirl
Tea recommendation by Kenny from Teatle-Tattle

Beyond Red: The Chinese Palette–Sensual White定窑

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White colour is most likely to be voted the most unlikely colour for Chinese wedding with Black being the only other contender for top spot. However, it might surprise you to know that both Black and White have been used for weddings in various points in Chinese history. I’ll talk about black another time, but now, let’s focus on White and its symbolism and cultural importance in the Chinese culture.

The Song Dynasty’s Ding porcelain ware was known for its white colour range which in turn was supposed to represent the white jade (nephrite) of ancient Chinese traditions. There were of course other glaze colours but white was by far the most valuable and highly sought after one by collectors then and now.

Although a colour that none would associate with the Chinese wedding today, white was not always seen as inauspicious. It depends on the context of use, and in fact, the practice of wearing white for a wedding in China also took place some 1,800 years ago! There were a few hundred years in Chinese history where white was sought after by rulers and commoners alike and was prized as one of the more desirable colours to wear for weddings!

History of White in Chinese culture

As early as over 2000 years ago in China, there was a strong belief in the 5 elements–Fire, Metal, Earth, Wood, Water.

They each represented a direction (North, South, East, West, Centre), a colour (Red, White, Blue/Green, Black, Yellow) and many many other things like your internal organs and health, medicine, seasons etc.

So long story short–the 5 elements were seen as governing your entire system of living, the ecosystem, the rule of life.

White, corresponds to the Metal element. But for thousands of years before that, it has been seen as a plain colour/style for dressing and which was used for funerals. So it is true that it has always been associated with the inauspicious and the dead.

However, there was a (relatively) short period after the Han Dynasty in the 3rd century or so, where the traditional symbolic meaning of White was disregarded in daily wear, and transformed into a fashionable colour all because a powerful and influential ruler liked it.

The ruler is none other than the famous warlord Cao Cao 曹操 of the 3 kingdoms, who was also known for his chronic spitting headaches, and for killing a famous Chinese physician Hua Tuo for suggesting skull operations (but that’s another story for another day). So basically he felt much better after wearing a white scarf on his head when having the headache (placebo effect alert on high!), and then it kickstarted the trend of people wearing white headscarves, and even white for weddings!

In fact, there is also a record mention in a Qing dynasty book in the 17th century 陇蜀余闻 compiled by a scholar about the sightings and customs of the Sichuan region. In it, he mentioned that the Sichuan/Shaanxi border place, white was a highly prestigious and popular colour and that men and women would wrap their head with white scarves. In another neighbouring area, the people would wear white dresses/costumes for their new year and auspicious occasions. These people were regarded as the “original” descendants of Han people and culture. It was believed that they wore white in memory of Zhuge Liang (a miliary strategist during the 3 kingdoms in the 3rd century), and that tradition continued and evolved to become auspicious wear.

But more than just a colour, the white dresses iconic in many paintings from that era also represented the spirit of the time. It was a period where the overbearing Confucianism of the period era was breaking apart, and people opted for a more free-spirited look–which was white! Along with it, people also started wearing slippers to official events to express their rebellion against Confucianism.

It was the start of the pursuit of minimalism as an influence from Taoism and Neo-Taoism school of thought. The emphasis is on nothingness, beauty in nature and a pursuit for the simple and true form of things （以无为本，返璞归真）–something that made a comeback in the Song dynasty some 1000 years later around the 10-12th century.

The White porcelain glaze of the Ding kiln （定窑） during the Song dynasty

Some consider Ding ware as “stoneware” instead of porcelain as its chemical make-up doesn’t seem to contain any “porcelain stone”.

Song dynasty is known for its Minimalist taste, and this would then go on to influence the Japanese minimalist which we are so familiar with today. And the Ding wares were considered one of the top porcelain wares produced during that period, in accordance with the Song taste.

The kiln which fired this type of porcelain ware started production of such in the period before during the late Tang dynasty (circa 9th century), but reached its peak during the Song dynasty(10-12th century). And what started out as a civilian’s kiln before was elevated to the status of an imperial kiln later on where only the imperial family had access to. With the passage of time, it evolved to producing other coloured wares such as black, purple and green Ding wares, but none was as famous as the white ones. Kinda like how every brand has a signature design, though they also produce other designs, the best seller is always its signature (and also the highest pricing one).

The shallow relief patterns on white porcelain of Ding wares was the predecessor of the blue and white porcelain that is so iconic of Chinese ceramics later on.

Its aesthetics was said to be smooth, thinly and lightly applied, and opaque with a slight tinge of yellow, like the top quality white Jade adored by the Chinese. Yes, opaque nephrite (AKA soft jade软玉 AKA real jade真玉), not gemstone-like translucent/crystal clear jadeite (AKA hard jade硬玉), were seen as extremely valuable and desirable by the Chinese for its lustre, and how it probably reminded one of the femininity, and soft and tender skin of a woman (my own theory).

The porcelain pillow below is a fine example of the Ding ware collection of the Beijing Palace Museum. History of porcelain pillows goes all the way back to the Sui dynasty (7th century), was popularised during the Tang dynasty after, and reached its peak in the Song dynasty all the way into the Mongolian rule in the 12th century or so. What started as being purely functional took on a more aesthetic and artistic identity and all kinds of animals and motifs were incorporated into its making. Eventually, it faced its decline in the Ming and Qing dynasty (from 13th century onwards) due to the availability of softer and better material for the pillow.

Norther Song dynasty Dingware porcelain pillow with child

I remember someone lamenting right next to me in a museum when standing in front of a porcelain pillow, about how uncomfortable that must’ve felt. However, I think that it is very much a question of preference and shifting taste. For one, I feel that the traditional Chinese has a huge preference for harder materials (wooden sofas, beds etc.) and my parents always complain about mine being too soft and lack the form and support they require. Also, they said it’s much cooling that way. Likewise for porcelain pillow I guess!

There’s a quick and interesting article from Christie’s on this!

There are jades, and there is Jade

Tang dynasty top quality white jade bangle with gold setting and connecting parts vs my cheaper replicas. One would’ve thought that my jade is of better quality, but I would have to sell my kidneys to buy an opaque white “mutton fat”/Lanolin jade whereas the translucent one costs much less.

Just like how the Eskimos have 100 over words for snow (that’s a myth btw),  and how the Japanese are familiar with hundreds of fish names (that’s true), the Chinese have many types of stones which they call jade. There are serpentine jade, jadeite jade, nephrite jade, jasper jade etc. So basically Chinese like to call pretty stones of similar colour and texture jade. And naturally, certain jades are more authentically and traditionally Chinese than others. It might surprise you to know that Jadeite jade (翡翠feicui) is not one of the ancient-traditional ones despite its pervasiveness in the world and in Chinese culture today.

One thing that set ancient Chinese aesthetics apart from the West (besides porcelains) and our general taste today is their preference for more muted and understated pieces of jade. Nephrite jade has been highly regarded in Chinese culture for over 5,000 years, whereas Jadeite Jade, which the rest of the world is more familiar with, only has a history of about 500 years in Chinese culture as it was originally from Myanmar. When Jadeite was first introduced to China during the Ming dynasty, it wasn’t popular nor expensive, and it was only about the last century or so that its price skyrocketed (possibly because of the shifting aesthetics towards more gem-like translucent stones).

And the most prized type of white nephrite jade is what is known as the “mutton fat jade” (I would like to translate it as Lanolin jade) 羊脂玉 from Xinjiang region (Western China). The empress’s seal from Western Han dynasty over 2,000 years ago was found to be made of this type of nephrite. To the Chinese, white (slightly yellow tinge), opaque jade that looks like a smooth and rich crystalised fats represented the righteousness and purity of values they so look up to.

The English translated name definitely sounds quite gross (thus my own proposed name Lanolin), since the Chinese term for fats/cream–Zhi脂, has an extra quality of delicateness often associated with women. The smooth and fullness of the jade are described as 润Run (lustre is the closest word), and together with the concept of this full, white Zhi/fat/cream, they create an idealised image of a beautiful woman with her soft, tender skin/bosom. There’s even a Chinese saying that someone (a woman’s) skin is like frozen Zhi /fats/cream (some things are just better in its original language and pronunciation 肤如凝脂). Think of it as being closer to tofu, than uh, fats.

My husband said I might be overthinking this, but as an ex-Lit student, reading into words and picking out nuances is what I love doing!

Flower & Plant Pairing

When I collaborated with Blanc Studios for the shoot, I briefly explained to them the Ding kiln aesthetics through images, and while I work on the model styling, they worked on the floral and composition stylings.

Jonathan’s design is inspired by serenity and the surface of water. So we got in the lotus, and had the chair decorated as if it’s a leaf-boat that’s floating on the surface of water. The model, then has this Thumbelina feel, like a lotus that’s resting atop the leaf.

Beyond its religious association with Buddhism, culturally, the lotus was seen as a symbol of purity in China. There is a Chinese phrase that is used to describe the beauty and purity of the flower–出污泥而不染，濯清涟而不妖。

Surprise, surprise, this phrase actually came from a Song dynasty writer!

Here’s a poetic translation of the relevant passage:

“[M]ore worldly people have adored the peony ever since the Tang dynasty. But my special love is for the lotus which grows out of the mud but remains unsoiled, is cleansed by pure rippling water and which, for all its beauty, remains free from seductive guile.”
-Translated by Mark Friggiths

I really like the combination of green and white even though green was not part of the original palette for Ding wares. It adds to the entire feeling of being at one with nature, and that lotus with its lotus leaves just floating atop water, drifting down the river.

The white lotus (yes it’s lotus, not peony!) and tulips worked really nicely in bringing out Elizabeth (the model)’s gentleness.

You probably wouldn’t realise, but she was seated on a Song dynasty style armchair! Chairs weren’t really popular in China until this period actually! In the past, people used to kneel on the floor just like how the Japanese are still continuing with this tradition. Then the Chinese started using stools, and chairs, and then in Song dynasty, there was this foldable armchair being invented and even then, that’s really meant for men or really important people of the household. Women just stand around or sit on stools generally. Yes, gender politics of the furniture!

So I’m really quite happy that Jon (Blanc Studios) actually turned the chair into a beautiful frame and support for a woman, kind of subverting its original history.

Tea Pairing

Just to complete this entire shoot with a bit of tea, I have also invited Kenny, a Tea sommelier, to recommend the type of tea that would complement the light and gentleness of the Ding wares.

Bai Mu Dan (white peony)

Connoting light and translucency with the gentleness of white jade, wares of the Ding kiln make us reach out for a glass of white tea such as this wild-grown Bai Mu Dan. The light pale colour of the tea and its soft gentle aromas and flavours evoke a sense of calming brightness and warmth, coupled with a deep and comforting expression of purity and elegance.

Credits/Acknowledgement:
Flowers and styling by @blancstudios.co
Model styling and photography by @hanfugirl
Tea recommendation by Kenny from Teatle-Tattle

Beyond Red: The Chinese Palette–Perfect Imperfections哥窑

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Just like how John Legend’s All of me would have you believe, your perfect imperfection is deeply valued by ancient Chinese over 1000 years ago. And we have porcelain glazes from the imperial court of Song dynasty to prove it.

Greatly influenced by the school of Zen Buddhism under Mahayana Buddhism of Tang dynasty (7-10th Century), the Song (10-13th Century) aesthetics infused it with Taoism of its period and started the trend of wabi-sabi in its art, literature and of course, porcelain. This highly refined Chinese aesthetic went on to influence Japanese aesthetic sensibility profoundly as it embraced Zen Buddhism and Chinese tea-drinking practices and culture.

Chinese Minimalism and the love for imperfection

For those unfamiliar with the concept of Wabi-Sabi–essentially it was about the appreciation of the impermanence, asymmetry, humiliation and imperfection. These concepts are the opposite of the Western pursuit of symmetry, permanence, grandeur and perfection (of course this is a very sweeping statement, but generally that’s the rough idea).

If you’ve read my interview with artist/designer-artisan Lijing, you would be introduced slightly to the Chinese hierarchy of taste. One that is based on the taste of the scholars and literati and which has a strong Han Chinese sensibility and pursuit for the understated and the minimalist.

I’m sure the term Chinese minimalist is something that feels rather foreign to most people as we generally associate the Chinese culture with kitschy opulence and loud, excessive colours. But if you think about the traditional Chinese ink paintings, and how stylised and minimalist they are, then it might not seem so unrelated after all.

Such an aesthetic sensibility was not democratised and popularised amongst the average population in ancient/feudal Chinese societies as it requires a large amount of cultural capital. Access to those is strictly determined by your social hierarchy officially registered with the government (and hereditary). So essentially there’s no way a merchant class, however wealthy, would have the means or environment to be surrounded by a culture and people of that type/level, let alone the other poorer peasants. Since we mentioned hierarchies, the caste system is not unique to India, Chinese had it too, and it might surprise you to know that merchants are the lowest of the hierarchy (the opposite from modern society it seems!).

As such, it remained aloof and exclusive to the aristocrat and literatis of Han-Chinese culture in its early days. Then, with warfare and changing rulers, other aesthetic sensibilities overshadowed it.

侘び寂び

The term wabi-sabi is a uniquely Japanese term which pervades throughout its history and art forms. Although it was brought to Japan from China, there is no formal term for it today in Chinese and the Chinese now use the borrowed word 侘寂  (cha ji) instead. Perhaps the closest Chinese phrase I could think of would be 残缺美 or melancholy.

In the aspect of the love for an imperfect appearance, we could see it when the Chinese ladies of the Tang court painted scar-like shapes on their temples to look beautiful. And in the instance of the Song porcelains, the crackling effect was intentionally created in pursuit of this sense of beauty.

The difference between the Japanese and the Chinese understanding as expressed in their artforms would most likely be the difference in degree in which they pursue this sense of imperfection.

For the Chinese, the concept of balance and moderation is still the basis of its cultural philosophy. So when they create beautifully sculpted vases or containers, the compliment it with some crackling lines to display the balance between perfection and imperfection, and also to add greater interest and depth to it.

The Japanese seem to pursue this imperfection to a great extent and would intentionally create imperfect and raw-looking vases and containers to amplify this concept.

This palette is full of earthy tones, and interweaving linework.

While many of the other porcelain glazes of the period had intentionally created crackling lines, the Gare ware took it to the next level of having dark/black crackling details that emphasised the imperfection even more.

The Ge Ware AKA The Elder Brother porcelain ware story

The story of Ge Ware is basically a familiar one about sibling rivalry. There were actually two kilns, one by the elder brother called Ge Kiln (which means elder brother kiln) and another by the younger brother called Di Kiln (which means younger brother kiln) or Long Quan kiln (based on the location of the kiln).

The elder brother was the hardworking one, and produced really premium porcelain. The emperor heard about his work and made an order. Obviously, the younger brother was unhappy with the praises that his elder brother has been receiving and wanted to sabotage his brother for this critical order from the emperor.

One day, the elder brother had to run some urgent errand and asked the younger brother to take care of the kiln for him. It was a golden opportunity for the younger brother to sabotage the WIP porcelains of the elder brother, and he did just that. When the elder brother returned, he opened up the kiln and was shocked to find that the otherwise perfectly smooth glaze of the porcelains had millions of cracks appearing.

He didn’t know what to do, but like any good Chinese man, decided to have a cup of tea while he regains his composure using the ‘ruined’ porcelain cups. When he did so, he realised that the tea has stained the cracks into brown lines, and then he dapped some Chinese ink on it which formed the black lines.

He brought them to the market to see if anyone would like them, and some literati walked by, and gave it really high praise, willing to pay high price for these bowls. Encouraged by the validations of the gentlemen/literati, he sent these to the emperor. The ware was very well received by the empror and this highly unlikely but nevertheless accept tale became the “Founding” tale of Ge ware.

As expected, the Chinese literati also gave those black and brown cracklines a very poetic name–Golden silk-threads and silver strings 金丝银线.

In a way, isn’t that what we love about mosaic artworks? That fragile balance between the is and isn’t, the positive and negative space, and that sense of peek-a-boo.

Like John Legend being in love with the perfect imperfections, this has been a forgotten but very much indigenously Chinese aesthetic concept. Cracks on the surface, like stretch marks (in today’s Dove-advert context), were meant to be unique prints of an object. Viewers who appreciate these unique marks were deemed to be more sophisticated and therefore more worthy of befriending by the literati (I concur) as they saw beyond the superficial perfection and understood the uniqueness and depth of an object.
I came across an elegant English quote that beautifully expresses the abstract idea of the attractiveness in such imperfection.

“At the beginning and end of time, Truth was a beautiful glowing orb. One day, the orb was shattered into shards that outnumbered the stars in the universe by one to infinity. These shards became souls. Thus it is that each soul represented one part of Truth. But Life intervened, and many souls believed that they were Truth, and so Hatred was bred. But some souls held onto the memory, and attempted to remind the souls who’ve forgotten.

I do not know the end of the story as it is yet to be written. But I do know that when all the souls are reunited, the space between the shards would be where the light shines through. And that Truth’s beauty would then take another form.”

Flower Styling

When Jon conceptualised the floral styling of this set, he was greatly influenced by his ikebana training (which has Buddhism origin as well). He wanted to create a composition that has interweaving of lines, positive and negative space, and a play on simplicity in complexity. So a fair bit of branch work was added into this simple arrangement to add greater layer and complexity.

We wanted to create a new East Asian aesthetic for weddings, which isn’t too over the top as what people have stereotyped/orientalised it to be. East Asian floristy often features leaves, trees, branches and lines more than flowers per se.

Tea Pairing

Since the story revolves around how tea made a difference in the success of Ge ware, naturally it’s time to introduce the tea pairing for this set!

Lishan oolong or Dong Ding

On the surface, oolong may seem like a relatively simple class of tea, when in actual fact it requires the most tedious and complex processing methods. Within oolong there are plenty of regional and stylistic differences, but they are most appreciated for their outstanding bouquet and breadth of flavours. Wares of the Ge kiln, both in their simplicity and complexity as well as its range of varying colours and expressions, work up in us a thirst for Lishan or Dong Ding, teas that are enjoyed for their floral/fruity nuances or deeper mellower characters.

Credits/Acknowledgement:
Flowers and styling by @blancstudios.co
Model styling and photography by @hanfugirl
Tea recommendation by Kenny from Teatle-Tattle

Beyond Red: The Chinese Palette–Imperial Turquoise 官窑

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There’s Tiffany blue, and there’s Imperial Turquoise.
One has a history of 200 years, the other has a history of almost 1000. And we’re going to talk about the more ancient one in this article.

Finally kicking off my latest collaboration that is done with my good pal from Blanc Studios which relooks at the traditional Chinese wedding aesthetics! In this series, I will reveal a new palette that is built on the finest of traditional Chinese taste–the Song dynasty glaze palette and a bit of jade history.

And yes, because Red, however beautiful and auspicious, is overrated.

We know how the Chinese love rankings, so this series will be based on the top 5 porcelain glaze and kiln during the Song dynasty–a period known for its incredibly fine and sophisticated taste, and the original inventors of minimalism.

The Song dynasty (10-13th Century) was a period where great Chinese arts flourished and so many different types of porcelains were being created and produced in specialised kilns with unique glazes across the land. Out of the 170 ancient sites for porcelains in China, the Song dynasty ones occupied 130 sites which made up 75% of the total. That makes Song dynasty the most China period in China (haha!).

The term Guan ware is not unique to the Song dynasty, because it simply meant the imperial/official kiln where such wares are made. So you would have Guan ware from various era displaying a range of different characteristics. However, I’m going to focus on the Guan ware of Northern Song dynasty (the period was split into Northern and then Southern Song due to warfare).

Having the imperial brand meant that these wares were only supplied to the imperial family to be used, and not to be, under any circumstances, be owned by a commoner. The imperial kiln Guan ware production during the Song dynasty took it a step further and was personally managed and directed by the emperor himself!

The emperor with the highest artistic achievement in the entire history of China is generally believed to emperor Song Huizong who ruled China around the 11th century. He was really more of an artistic genius with impeccable taste, than a strategic ruler. Which is also why even till today, the Chinese still looked to the Song dynasty and in particular, the taste of emperor Song Huizong as the epitome of sophistication and finesse. In contrast, the Qing dynasty emperor Qianlong has often been mocked (especially in pop culture lately) for his opulent and ‘crude’ taste.

Unfortunately, good taste is not enough to run an empire.

This artist, calligrapher, poet, lyricist, collector, emperor, who excelled in everything artistic was hopeless at running a country. As a result, he lost half his empire to the Jurchens and lived in captivity for 9 years.

Not the most auspicious thing to say about weddings but… one cannot talk about Song dynasty art without mentioning this genius. After all, he was the one who brought us this imperial turquoise colour which precedes tiffany blue by about 700 years. Yeap, no biggies, just 700 years.

The Imperial Turquoise glaze of the Guan kiln (官窑) during the Song dynasty

Characterised by a thin porcelain base coated with a thick glaze of turquoise, the Guan ware was also marked by web-like crackling lines that spread across its entire surface. This aesthetic was personally designed by emperor Song Huizong as he was unsatisfied with the porcelain wares that were created for his use at that point.

This craft was made by combining techniques and colours from a few other separate kilns–one of which has a very similar look and colour as this Guan ware–The Ru ware (AKA the most expensive porcelain ever auctions). We will get to the Ru ware in time. So in a way, this is technically more precious/highly regarded in its time than the Ru ware.

There are extremely few (if any) Guan ware in the commercial market because it was only owned by the emperor and passed down the lineage (since they were not to be used for burial), so one can only see them in the palace museums (Taiwan and Beijing)!

The emperor basically commissioned a compilation of all the ancient bronze ware collection he had and got his imperial kiln to create porcelain wares based on the form of those historical items but in an aesthetic that resembles jade more. His purpose? To embed greater meaning and sense of origin in every piece created.

Yeap, he’s my man.

Since I mentioned jade, I would like to clarify that the ancient Chinese refer to pretty stones as jade in general. But the jades they usually refered to are Nephrite jades which have a history of over 5,000 years in Chinese culture. Ancient Chinese did not use Jadeite jade until the last 500 years or so, and even then, the status of Jadeite was quite low.

This is why you would see that they linked porcelain to nephrite jades–because both were rather opaque-looking materials.

The wedding look book

Of course, I am not a cultural revisionist! I do think that traditions are important, so although I’m proposing a different colour palette for Chinese weddings, it can still fit very well into the traditional Tea Ceremony!

The idea of the Guan ware fits this traditional (kind of) Chinese embroidered/embellished wedding dress perfectly! For one, the beads that lined the dress are very similar to the air bubbles that lined the Guan ware surfaces, which apparently is another unique aesthetic of the glaze. Also, there is this formality that is not too overpowering about this set due to the cool light tone.

A word of caution to all Chinese brides–don’t wear your hair down if you want to go for a traditional Chinese dress look. Traditionally, women had to have their hair up after the coming of age (around 16 years old) or after they get married (whichever is earlier). So unless you want to look like a XX-year-old virgin refusing to accept your new found status and long-established age, I suggest having them styled up neatly.

I told Jon during brainstorm stage, that the overall colour is like turquoise with a bit of purplish tinge, so naturally, hydrangeas (my favourite flower!) was chosen for this set. The styling of the backdrop and flowers were all by Jon, and he went along with the idea of a formal ceremony that remains somewhat light and fun!

So we had a lot of symmetry in this set (something which you’ll find missing in the rest of the series later on), to express that sense of order which is often associated with the Chinese empire.

Jon also invited a cake artist brand Sherramelts on board for this collab and I think the combination of the round backdrop with the square cake works really well along the ancient Chinese idea of a round heaven and a square earth (天圆地方). You see this aesthetic perpetuating the Chinese culture in many aspects such as their architecture design and layout, their ancient bangles designs etc.

In a way, when a reunion is between heaven and earth, I think it would be considered supremely auspicious and in order from a Chinese perspective!

Tea Pairing

Just to complete this entire shoot with a bit of tea, I have also invited Kenny, a Tea sommelier, to recommend the type of tea that would complement the light and gentleness of the Ding wares.

Wuyi yancha, Laocong Shuixian

The Song court highly favoured tribute tea that came from the area of Wuyi in Fujian.

This was clear especially to tea aficionado and poet Su Dong Po, who wrote: 君不見武夷溪邊粟粒芽，前丁後蔡相籠加，爭新買寵各出意，今年鬥品充官茶。Today, Wuyi tea is considered to be some of the finest in the world. Among them, Shuixian from old tea trees is particularly highly prized for its richness and depth — truly an icon of class and finesse in its own right.

Credits/Acknowledgement:
Flowers and styling by @blancstudios.co
Model styling and photography by @hanfugirl
Cake by @Sherramelts
Tea recommendation by Kenny from Teatle-Tattle