Gardens by the Bay

Recently, we made a trip to Gardens by the Bay in Marina South of Singapore to explore Singapore's latest national gardens where a diverse range of plant life from every continent of the world except Antarctica can be found.  We took a MRT train from where we lived and alighted at Bayfront station. We walked past the casino at Marina Bay Sands towards the Gardens at the Bay at the other side of the hotel. As we walked under the hot sun, our eyes were treated with view of the city skyline of  tall buildings and busy traffic. From afar, the Marina Bay Sands Hotel stands aloof with the sky garden at the top of the twin buildings of the hotel. Most people come here because of the casinos. Fortunately we came here to admire nature; or else we would be in deep trouble.

Marina Bay Sands Hotel

The Gardens by the Bay consist of a few attractions such as the Flower Dome, Cloud Forest Dome, the Supertrees (concrete structures that shaped like trees) and heritage gardens. Tourists can buy tickets to enter the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest Dome to explore this latest national gardens of Singapore. After getting our tickets, we chose to enter the Cloud Forest Dome first. The whole dome was air-conditioned with a cool-moist feeling once we were inside.

The Singapore Big Wheel in far ground

We knew that a mysterious world veiled in mist was awaiting our adventure. Inside this Dome constructed by panels and panels of glass with intertwining metal rods, there was a 35-metre tall mountain covered in lush vegetation shrouding the world’s tallest indoor waterfall. The dome showcases plant life from tropical highlands up to 2,000-metres above sea level. We ascended to the mountain top in comfort by lift before descending via two walkways in the clouds for an aerial view of the canopy and mountainside below. We also learned about the unique biodiversity and geology of cloud forests and the environmental threats they face within the nine unique zones in this cool-moist Conservatory. There were exhibits at each level of the interior of the mountain and the exterior of the mountain was filled with all types of ferns and plants.

The interior of the mountain is hollow

Exhibits inside the mountain

Walkway through the mountain

The supertrees
 

After exploring the Cloud Forest, we went to the Flower Dome nearby. Again the dome was constructed with panels and panels of glass with intertwining metal frame. Once inside, we were amazed by so many beautiful flowers the dome houses, we were indeed standing in awe of nature. Spectacular and innovative in design, the Flower Dome is one of the icons of Gardens by the Bay. It replicates the cool-dry climate of Mediterranean regions like South Africa, California and parts of Spain and Italy. This place is also home to a collection of plants from deserts all over the world, it showcases the adaptations of plants to arid environments. Confronted by so many beautiful flowers, we couldn't helped but stopped at every flowering plant to smell the flowers and take pictures.

Besides admiring the flowers and the ambient surrounding, we enjoyed a cooling and leisurely stroll through the Flower Dome. Being an icon of Singapore, many locals (especially students) and foreigners like to come here to spend time with their family members. Tourists can immerse themselves in the spectacular view of the Marina reservoir skyline, as they embark on their journey through the Mediterranean Basin, South West Australia, South Africa, Central Chile and California.  They can also discover amazing plants and flowers from different corners of the globe, and they will be amazed by how different parts of the trees are used in daily lives across different cultures.

We were glad we made the trip to visit the national gardens of our very own and experienced the good things that nature offered us here in Singapore. If you have not been to the Gardens by the Bay, you don't know what you have missed. Take a day off and spend time with your family members, this is the best way to relax and stress-relieve.


Inside the Flower Dome



Cactus plants strive well here as well

Interesting carving by a Chinese sculptor



A collection of different flowers

Beautiful flowers

Development of Yixing pottery

Unlike glazed porcelain wares of Jingdezhen, the teapot of Yixing did not enjoy Imperial patronage and the court had no influence in its development. The real patrons of Yixing teapots were the intellectual class of scholars who lived around the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui during the 16th down to the 19th century. It was therefore the intellectual class which had the greatest influence over its development.



Gong Chun by Grand Master Xu

This is evident right from the beginning starting with Gong Chun, the pioneer potter who first made teapots for scholars. Gong Chun was a servant boy to Wu Yishan who was a scholar. It was on the occasion of accompanying Wu to the Jingsha temple that he first learned to make teapots. Wu went there to prepare for the Imperial Exam which was held once every three years. Gong went along to attend to his personal needs. On one occasion, from afar he witnessed the process of teapot making by a monk.  It was said that one day he took a lump of zisha clay and made a teapot. Presumably he also made one for his master who must have shown it to his friends who in turn asked Gong to make teapots for their own use. This was how the fashion started and then spread trough the country. Gong Chun, starting life as a domestic servant, could not have received much education and therefore unable to write his own name, not at least in good hand writing. So, he must have sought the help of his master to write it for  him and crave it on the bottom of the pot which he made. Thus, having the name of the potter carved on the base of the pot in beautiful calligraphy in the style of kaishu (formal calligraphy, not the cursive type) became one of the distinctive features of the Ming dynasty teapots. In those days, it was an honour and privilege to possess a teapot made by the legendary Gong Chun. It was said that it was easier to possess gold and silver than a pot by Gong Chun. You could imagine how valuable and previous were the teapots of Gong Chun. No wonder in 1926 when a collector accidentally found one pot by Gong, it was recorded that people from British Museum was willing to pay 20000 sterling pounds for it. Also during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai, the Japanese were trying very hard to locate the person who owned the pot by Gong Chun. The owner eventually donated the Gong Chun pot to a museum in China.

Gong Chun's pot

When master potter Shi Dabin, a student of Gong Chun, came unto the scene about the middle of the 16th century, even he had to seek the help of scholars to write his name and engraved onto the teapots he made. But he soon learned to do it himself and he did it so well that he could carve straight onto the teapots without first writing it in ink and brush on the pots. It was said that in his later life, he could wield his carving knife as if he was holding a brush pen.

Monk Hat design created by Shi Dabin

Scholars' participation in Yixing Wares

The beginning of the 19th century saw the revival of Yixing pottery. It was brought about by one man whose name was Chen Hongshou or Chen Mansheng (陈曼生) . Chen was born in 1768 during the reign of Qianlong emperor of the Qing dynasty. He was a scholar, a man of great culture. He studied classics, practiced calligraphy and painting and achieved high proficiency in both. He also practised seal carving and was later admitted as one of the eight members of the exclusive society of seal carvers of Yixing. He was appointed magistrate of Yixing, a post which he held for only three years before he was transferred to Haifang where he died in 1822.

Soon after he took office at Yixing, Mansheng set about the task of reviving the interest in the flagging pottery industry. He is said to have come up with eighteen new designs (曼生十八式) of teapots and went on to engage a number of top ranking potters to make them for him. Among those he recruited were Yang Pengnian, his younger brother Ponian and sister Fengnian, Shao Erquan, Shen Xi and Wu Yueting. Then he asked a group of literati friends to assist him in decorating the pots with painting and calligraphy which were then carved into the body of the teapots. They were great scholars in their right and only came out to assist him solely out of their interest. These men had distinguished themselves in either painting, calligraphy or seal carving. Many of their surviving works are still much sought after by collectors up to the present day.

At Chen Mansheng's instigation, the making of a teapot requires the work of three persons. First, the potter makes a pot, and when it is leather hard, another person decorates it with either painting or calligraphy. Then yet another person is asked to carve it out before the teapot is finally sent for firing. Thus, very often a finished pot has four seals, that of a potter, a painter, a carver and the person who commissioned it. The collaboration between scholars and potters was at its height during the first half of the 19th century. Their concerted efforts help to produce some of the most charming piece of art out of a simple teapot. The scheme was o successful that within a short period of three years of Chen's term in Yixing, Yixing's pottery had not only regained but even surpassed its former prosperity. It has been recorded that the calligraphy and painting on the teapots were of such superior quality that people were willing to pay three times the price for a well decorated teapot than a plain one.


A popular Mansheng pot

 Perhaps never in the history of Chinese ceramics, has any quarter exerted more influence on the final product than the class of literati on the Yixing teapots. Some of the pieces that are housed in various museums of the world are testimonies of their artistic achievements and everlasting tribute to the man who first initiated it - Chen Mansheng.

Some of Mansheng teapots made by recent potters are shown here.


Overhead handle pot


  陈曼生创作的十八种款式紫砂壶。传世“曼生壶”，无论是诗，是文，或是金石、砖瓦文字，都是写刻在壶的腹部或肩部，而且满肩、满腹，占据空间较大，非常显眼，再加上署款“曼生”、“曼生铭”、“阿曼陀室”，或“曼生为七芗题”等等，都是刻在壶身最为引人注目的位置，格外突出。尤其值得特别指出的是陈曼生一反宜兴紫砂工艺的传统作法，竟将壶底中央钤盖陶人印记的部位盖上自己的大印“阿曼陀室”，而把制陶人的印章移在壶盖里或壶把下腹部。


Mansheng Pot by Yang Pengnian

 

Mansheng Pot by Yangpengnian

Tradition of Teapot Making

In the early 2000s, the process of teapot making was classified as a cultural heritage of the people of China. The potters of Yixing have inherited this process many centuries ago and there have not been any major changes in the art of teapot making. The craftsmen over the years have been able to pass on these skills to their disciples. Generally the intention is to ensure the tradition of teapot making can be handed down from generation to generation.

 

 Old potters at work in the Yixing factory

You may admire the aesthetic beauty of a teapot, do you know the complicated processes of making it? Before the potters can start making the teapot, they have to prepare the clay. The zisha raw materials (rocks) have to be ground to powder. This is mixed with water to produce clay which is well beaten to expel the air form the clay. The clay in rectangular shape is then wrapped in plastic sheet and kept for two months to season it. Then only the potters can start moulding the clay into teapots.

Zisha clay is suited to fine modelling treatment as it is highly plastic, strong in its biscuit form, and has a low degree of contraction during the drying and firing (sintering) process.

The basic forms of zisha wares are produced by two methods, da shentong (beating the round body) and xian shentong (joining parts together by gluing). Round vessels are produced by the da shentong method. A piece of clay is beaten to uniform thickness, cut to a strip and formed into a cylinder, which is then beaten into a desired shape with a spatula. Parts including the neck, legs, handle and sprout are then added, as well as the cover which is carved out of the round form of clay.The whole process to produce the body is rather complicated. That is the reason why teapots which are hand made command a higher price. The teapots made by craftsmasters and grand masters of the trade are generally beyond the reach of ordinary folks. There are also teapots made by machines which are really mass-produced teapots that lack quality.

Zisha clay

Da shentong method for round teapot

Square teapots are formed by the xian shentong method, by which flat sheets of clay are cut to the desired dimensions and glued together using wet clay. The other parts like sprout, cover, knob and handle are again glued to the body using wet clay. Good quality square teapots require professional skills from the potters as they are more difficult to make.

Xian shentong method for square teapot

Next the surface of the vessel is smoothened with a scraper made of buffalo horn. This treatment gives a smooth, refined texture on the surface of the vessel and clear, crispy outlines to the form. It is the final finish on the clay body and a demonstration of the potter's skill.

Smoothening the surface with a scraper

The smoothening process with a scraper accounts for the heat retaining quality of the vessel. In the process, aggregates near the surface are pressed towards the interior, producing a dense and compact exterior surface which after firing becomes impervious. However, in the firing process, aggregates contract, and some of them are burnt away, and producing pores around and within themselves. This pore structure of the interior walls is an asset to the purple clay vessel. This minute porosities are highly absorbent, enabling the vessel to retain the flavor and temperature of tea for a longer period of time then porcelain wares.

Purple clay has a relatively low rate of contraction during drying and firing. This accounts for the tight fit of the cover and the mouth rim of the teapot. This feature minimises the channels which air-borne germs can enter the teapot, and effectively delays the souring of the tea soup.

An interesting square teapot