Featured image: Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji), Auspicious Cranes, 1112. Liaoning Provincial Museum. Image via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain.
The first thing we notice about Ru ware is often its glaze. Its soft blue-green tones bring to mind the sky clearing after rain. Ru ware is a type of Chinese celadon, a family of ceramics known for green and blue-green glazes, with celebrated examples made for the Northern Song imperial court. British Museum: Northern Song Ru wares
At TEAVOIR, we want to share the stories that help us look at these objects more closely. This one brings together two emperors: Zhou Shizong, associated with a later legend about Chai ware, and Emperor Huizong of the Song dynasty, whose court forms part of Ru ware’s history.
Zhou Shizong and the Sky After Rain
.jpg){kind=link}
A later legend about Chai ware tells of Zhou Shizong, an emperor who wanted his ceramics to capture a fleeting color in the sky.
When asked what color he desired, he is said to have answered:
“After rain, where the clouds part and the sky turns blue—make this color.”
Tao Shuo quotation
Imagine the last clouds drawing apart, revealing a blue still softened by the passing rain.
For a potter, the wish holds an extraordinary challenge: to give something so brief a form that can endure.
At TEAVOIR, this is where the story draws us in—the thought that a vessel might hold a small memory of the sky.
Where Ru Ware Was Made
To trace Ru ware’s historical origins, we turn to Henan in central China. At Qingliangsi, in present-day Baofeng County, kilns produced the ceramics now associated with the Northern Song court. The area belonged to the historical prefecture of Ruzhou, which gave Ru ware its name. Palace Museum: Ru ware
Archaeologists have uncovered kilns, workshop areas and broken vessels there, bringing the work behind the finished objects into view. British Museum: Ru brush washer The imperial wares belong to a brief period in the late Northern Song, although the precise dates of production remain debated. Palace Museum: Ru ware research symposium
Here, the story of a color becomes the story of people working with clay, glaze and fire.
Emperor Huizong’s Dream of Blue
One popular retelling of Ru ware’s origins begins with a dream. A modern retelling
Emperor Huizong sees rain clouds opening to reveal a delicate blue, a color he longs to keep after waking.
In the story, he asks his potters to bring the blue of his dream into the glaze of a vessel.
The task invites a wonderful question: how can clay, glaze and fire preserve something seen only in sleep?
At TEAVOIR, we return to this image when light moves across a softly glazed cup, revealing a blue that seems a little different each time we look.
Beyond the legend, Ru ware belonged to the world of Northern Song imperial ceramics. Museum research places its court production across the reigns of both Huizong and his predecessor, Emperor Zhezong. British Museum: Ru bowl stand
Huizong helps us understand the artistic life surrounding these objects. A calligrapher, painter and collector, he took an active interest in the imperial painting academy and valued careful observation alongside poetic expression. Palace Museum: Huizong and court painting Seen in that setting, a softly glazed bowl or dish offers us a way to imagine the attention paid to objects within the palace. Its profile, proportions and surface reward a second look.
His distinctive “Slender Gold” calligraphy is known for its fine, taut strokes and sharply defined turns. In Ode to Peonies, these details offer another way to enter the artistic world of the Northern Song court.
A written account from Huizong’s era brings Ru ware into sharper focus. After visiting the Korean kingdom of Goryeo in 1123, the Chinese envoy Xu Jing compared its ceramics with the new wares of Ruzhou. His comparison suggests that Ru ceramics were already a recognizable reference for judging other wares. National Palace Museum: Goryeo celadon and Northern Song Ru ware
Together, these objects and accounts bring the artistic world of Huizong’s court into view. Behind every finished piece were potters shaping the clay, preparing the glaze and tending the firing.
Looking Closely at Ru Ceramics
One detail we like to linger over is the underside of a piece. Many historic Ru wares have tiny marks left by supports used during firing, sometimes compared to sesame seeds. British Museum: Ru ware firing supports
Such small traces make the process of making feel close, even across the centuries. They encourage us to look beyond the famous color and notice how an object was formed, supported and fired.
On the underside of this contemporary TEAVOIR piece, three small marks show where supports touched the vessel during firing. Looking closely at these traces brings a usually hidden part of the making process into view.
Some TEAVOIR pieces use this firing method, but methods vary across the collection: our Rounded Mug, for example, is not fired on these small supports.
Ru potters also drew on older objects: one surviving incense burner echoes ancient bronze or lacquer vessels, while its glaze recalls jade. British Museum: Ru incense burner
A Place for the Story in Everyday Life
From Zhou Shizong’s legendary wish to Huizong’s dream of blue, these stories invite us to see a little of the sky in a ceramic glaze. At TEAVOIR, sharing both is part of how we invite people to spend more time with the ceramics they use.
Our interest lies in the place this beauty can have today, through traditional teaware and contemporary forms for tea and coffee.
The next time you lift a cup, take a moment to notice its curve and the way light rests on its glaze. That moment of attention is where we hope the story continues.
For a closer look at the glaze and its place in daily life, read our guide to Ru ware.
0 comments