Going potty for a cuppa
QUESTION
Who designed the globe teapot? The production of globe teapots began during the Ming dynasty in the early 16th century. Tea has been drunk in China for 3,000 years, so the late development of the teapot may come as a surprise.
The drink was first mentioned in the book Ch’a Ching in AD780 and was prepared from brick tea: a block of tea, spices, salt and rice. It was prepared over a brazier in a cauldron or the bowl from which it was consumed.
Powdered tea became prevalent in Chinese society during the Tang dynasty more than a thousand years ago.
It seems remarkable it was not made in spouted vessels, which had been known in China for at least 4,000 years and were used for wine and spirits.
The innovations in the tea ritual gave rise to the gaiwan, which translates as a lidded bowl or cup. Leaf or steeped tea brewed in a gaiwan became popular.
Pottery has been produced in the Yixing region since Neolithic times. The hills have rich clay deposits, particularly zisha or purple clay.
The area became a popular retreat for scholars and artisans and is the spiritual home of teapot production.
The story goes that Buddhist monk Gongchun was meditating beneath a ginkgo tree when he became inspired by a burl — or knotty growth — on the tree.
he made his teapots from a single lump of clay and his naturalistic designs were shaped like melons, buds, burls and tree stumps. There are examples of his teapots in the National Museum of China.
These early vessels were unglazed and were designed to be seasoned by repeated use. They should never be scoured, just rinsed and re-used.
It’s said such a teapot must be used 100 times before it captures the true aromas and flavours of tea.
Chen Jiru, a scholar and tea connoisseur who died in 1639, came up with the idea of brewing tea in small pots to truly capture its flavour.
These had narrow spouts from which the tea was drunk directly rather than poured into a cup.
Porcelain teapots were inspired by Qing dynasty emperor Yongzheng, who reigned from 1722 until 1735. he commissioned a set of delicate designs glazed in bright colours and patterns that became an important part of the royal collection.
These designs were introduced to the West by Portuguese traders.
Annabella Rice, Cheltenham, Glos.
QUESTION Why was the county of Yorkshire split into Ridings?
The historic county of Yorkshire, centred on York, was divided into Ridings more than 1,100 years ago.
The word is derived from the Danish word thridding, meaning a third. each riding was subdivided into wapentakes (corresponding to a hundred in other counties), which were administered by an early form of democratic representation termed a Thing.
Yorkshire consists of North, east and West Ridings along with the city of York. There is no South Riding, except in Winifred holtby’s celebrated 1936 novel of that name.
Allan Marsh, York.
QUESTION Who first suggested that
‘ignorance is bliss’? ThIS sentiment was first articulated by the Ancient Greek playwright Sophocles in his tragedy Ajax, set in the Trojan War after the death of Achilles.
Ajax believes he should be the recipient of the invulnerable armour made for Achilles by the god hephaestus. however, the Greek kings Menelaus and
Agamemnon award it to Odysseus. Incensed, Ajax vows to kill the kings, but the goddess Athena tricks him into attacking the livestock that were taken by the Greeks as spoils of war.
he slaughters and mutilates some of them, and takes the others back to his home to torture, including a ram he believes to be Odysseus.
On awakening from his madness, he tells his son eurysakes: ‘Because you have no inkling of these troubles. The happiest life consists in ignorance, before you learn to grieve and rejoice.’ Ajax kills himself out of shame. In 1692, in his poem to his friend, To the honourable Charles Montague, the poet and diplomat Matthew Prior wrote: ‘From ignorance our comfort flows The only wretched are the wise.’
The poet Thomas Gray put the phrase into its current form. his 1747 poem, Ode On A Distant Prospect Of eton College, concludes: ‘To each his Suff’rings: all are Men, Condemn’d alike to groan, The Tender for another’s Pain; Th’ Unfeeling for his own. Yet ah! Why should they know their Fate? Since Sorrow never comes too late, And Happiness too swiftly flies. Thought would destroy their Paradise. No more; where Ignorance is Bliss, ’Tis Folly to be wise.’
Catherine Appleton, Torquay, Devon.
QUESTION At the time of the Iran hostage crisis of 1979, was there a bigger group being held in Mecca?
AS The previous answer noted, Juhayman al-Otaybi’s audacious attack on the Grand Mosque was the first act of modern international jihad.
It was a radicalising event for a young Osama bin Laden and a preview of what became Al-Qaeda. It’s interesting to note that at the time of the crisis, the Grand Mosque was undergoing renovations led by the Saudi Binladin Group, the construction company established by Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden — Osama Bin Laden’s father.
Indeed, French and Saudi special forces were reliant on the blueprints of the Mosque provided by the Binladin Group to affect their rescue mission.
Craig Martens, London N9.
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