The Surprisingly Little We Know about Teapots and Trade Routes: Evidence for Trade in Tea and Tea Culture from China to Vietnam in the Late Ming Dynasty

• In Event: 165. Global Tea Initiatives: Horticultural Practice and Gastronomical Perspectives in Tea History. Sponsored by UC Davis Global Tea Initiative

Abstract

This presentation investigates the trade in tea and teapots between China and Vietnam between 1550-1800, with an emphasis on the late Ming period. While we know China was trading tea to other countries at this time, this paper seeks to find out if China was trading tea and tea culture to its Southeast Asian neighbors, starting with Vietnam. It also aims to find out how Vietnam responded to this trade through its own ceramic industry. In doing so, this paper also attempts to determine exactly what is a teapot (vs. a water or wine pot), which turns out to be not as obvious a task as one might think.

Author

• Katharine P. Burnett, University of California, Davis