Bamboo stove
Encyclopedia
The original bamboo stove was made in China
in the late 14th century. A monk named Xing Hai in the Ting Song temple on Mount Hui in Wuxi
asked a travelling bamboo
artisan to make him a stove on which he could boil water for tea. Surprisingly, it included bamboo to form the frame of the stove. The sides were cemented with clay and the inside walls and the ring on top were iron. It was about a foot tall, with a cylindrical top and square bottom, similar in shape to the Qian Kun (Heaven-Earth) mythological pot or a Cong (jade)
.
There are several paintings including a bamboo stove, amongst which are The Bamboo Stove by T'ang Yin (1470-1524) and the later Tasting Tea made from Spring Water by Chin T'ing-piao (latter half of 18th cent.). Poems praising the stove were written and these were mounted on a scroll known as "The Bamboo Stove Painting Scroll".
Founded in the late 15th cent. was a society called the Blue Mountain Poetry Society which had built a meeting hall and garden at the foot of Mt Hui. They found the stove which had been lost and returned it to the temple. Early in the 17th century the stove was lost again and the temple also burned down. The scroll was found again during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor
(1662 - 1722) and a poet from Wuxi called Gu Zhenguan had two copies of the stove made. He took these and the scrolls to Mount Hui where a new Ting Song temple was built.
The original stove was also found again at a farmer's house by a monk and returned to Wuxi. In 1751 the Qianlong Emperor
visited the temple because of the fame of the bamboo stove! He wrote about it and the Second Spring Under Heaven (or Er'Quan (Second Spring) for short), whose water was famous for making wonderful tea. The emperor wrote four poems about the stove and visited it again six years later. This time he wrote two more poems and named its room "The Bamboo Stove Mountain Chamber". He then had a copy of the stove made and constructed a Bamboo Stove Mountain Chamber in the Western Hills.
The emperor made more visits to the temple in later years and wrote more poems about the stove. In the Taiping rebellion
of 1860 the temple was again destroyed and the rolls of poems which were found again in Shanghai given to the Mount Hui temple in Wuxi
.
by Frank Ching. Pub. Harrap, London 1988
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
in the late 14th century. A monk named Xing Hai in the Ting Song temple on Mount Hui in Wuxi
Wuxi
Wuxi is an old city in Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. Split in half by Lake Tai, Wuxi borders Changzhou to the west and Suzhou to the east. The northern half looks across to Taizhou across the Yangtze River, while the southern half also borders the province of Zhejiang to the south...
asked a travelling bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
artisan to make him a stove on which he could boil water for tea. Surprisingly, it included bamboo to form the frame of the stove. The sides were cemented with clay and the inside walls and the ring on top were iron. It was about a foot tall, with a cylindrical top and square bottom, similar in shape to the Qian Kun (Heaven-Earth) mythological pot or a Cong (jade)
Cong (jade)
A cong is a form of jade artifact from ancient China. The earliest cong were produced by the Liangzhu culture ; later examples date mainly from the Shang and Zhou dynasties....
.
There are several paintings including a bamboo stove, amongst which are The Bamboo Stove by T'ang Yin (1470-1524) and the later Tasting Tea made from Spring Water by Chin T'ing-piao (latter half of 18th cent.). Poems praising the stove were written and these were mounted on a scroll known as "The Bamboo Stove Painting Scroll".
Founded in the late 15th cent. was a society called the Blue Mountain Poetry Society which had built a meeting hall and garden at the foot of Mt Hui. They found the stove which had been lost and returned it to the temple. Early in the 17th century the stove was lost again and the temple also burned down. The scroll was found again during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor
Kangxi Emperor
The Kangxi Emperor ; Manchu: elhe taifin hūwangdi ; Mongolian: Энх-Амгалан хаан, 4 May 1654 –20 December 1722) was the fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty, the first to be born on Chinese soil south of the Pass and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, from 1661 to 1722.Kangxi's...
(1662 - 1722) and a poet from Wuxi called Gu Zhenguan had two copies of the stove made. He took these and the scrolls to Mount Hui where a new Ting Song temple was built.
The original stove was also found again at a farmer's house by a monk and returned to Wuxi. In 1751 the Qianlong Emperor
Qianlong Emperor
The Qianlong Emperor was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. The fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, he reigned officially from 11 October 1735 to 8 February 1796...
visited the temple because of the fame of the bamboo stove! He wrote about it and the Second Spring Under Heaven (or Er'Quan (Second Spring) for short), whose water was famous for making wonderful tea. The emperor wrote four poems about the stove and visited it again six years later. This time he wrote two more poems and named its room "The Bamboo Stove Mountain Chamber". He then had a copy of the stove made and constructed a Bamboo Stove Mountain Chamber in the Western Hills.
The emperor made more visits to the temple in later years and wrote more poems about the stove. In the Taiping rebellion
Taiping Rebellion
The Taiping Rebellion was a widespread civil war in southern China from 1850 to 1864, led by heterodox Christian convert Hong Xiuquan, who, having received visions, maintained that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ, against the ruling Manchu-led Qing Dynasty...
of 1860 the temple was again destroyed and the rolls of poems which were found again in Shanghai given to the Mount Hui temple in Wuxi
Wuxi
Wuxi is an old city in Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. Split in half by Lake Tai, Wuxi borders Changzhou to the west and Suzhou to the east. The northern half looks across to Taizhou across the Yangtze River, while the southern half also borders the province of Zhejiang to the south...
.
Resources
Adapted from Ancestors: 900 Years in the Life of a Chinese FamilyAncestors: 900 Years in the Life of a Chinese Family
Ancestors: 900 Years in the Life of a Chinese Family is a book first published in 1988 written by the Hong Kong-based journalist Frank Ching, in which he tells the story of his ancestors in the Qin family, beginning with the 11th-century Song dynasty poet Qin Guan. He also relates many details...
by Frank Ching. Pub. Harrap, London 1988
Special names
- kujiejunKujiejun-Intro:"苦節君kujiejun" this is a type of bamboo stove and is also a special term for "chazao茶灶" tea stove.Popular during Song Dynasty the bamboo windscreen stove frame would fit on top of a brazier.-Tea Ware:...
is a special name for bamboo stove, popular during the Tang and Song Dynasty. - tea stoveTea stoveA tea stove is a specialized type of Chinese brazier or stove designed to boil water.-Styles:The basic brazier has been made of different materials and shapes throughout Chinese history. Lu Yu had a special brazier designed just for heating water for tea, which is described in The Classic of Tea....