What is Gaiwan, the Past and Present
In the history of Chinese tea sets, gaiwan is a young utensil that is still widely used today.
Our common tureen generally has two shapes: the first one: In the "Chinese Tea Dictionary" by Academician Chen Zongmao, the tureen is explained as "cooking utensils, mostly porcelain, with a cover on the top and a saucer on the bottom, and the heat insulation of the saucer is easy to hold." drink". What is described here is a three-piece gaiwan-shaped system with a cover on the top, a support on the bottom, and a bowl in the middle. The cover is "heaven", the bowl is "person", and the support is "earth".
The three talents of "heaven, earth and man". This type of tureen is also called the Sancai Cup, which means "Three Talents, Heaven, Earth and Man". There is also a style of tureen, which is a two-piece bowl and cover-only the cover and the bowl. It is explained in the "Chinese Ancient Ceramics Illustrated": Gaiwan, a small bowl with a cover, tea set, popular in Qing Dynasty.