Jianzhan or Tenmoku tea cup – What’s the difference between them?

“Jianzhan” or “Tenmoku tea cup”, these two words always appear together and may confuse you. What are Jianzhan and Tenmoku tea cups, and how are they related? What is the difference between them?

1. Jianzhan

Jianzhan, or Jian Zhan, is the Chinese pinyin of “建盏”. The word “Jian” means a place called Jianyang, the origin of Jianzhan. The word Zhan means small teacup in Chinese. So Jian Zhan means a small teacup from Jianyang (located in Fujian province, China). Jianzhan is black-glazed porcelain with high iron content in its raw material. Under the high temperature of 1300 degrees in the firing process, the iron will form various beautiful patterns on the glaze. It is also popular among people with its heavy texture and unique shape.

2. Tenmoku tea cup

The word “Tenmoku” is from Japanese. Tenmoku means “天目” in Chinese(“Tianmu” of pinyin). Tenmoku was originally the name of a mountain called Tenmoku Mountain, located in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, China. There is a Buddhist temple on this mountain. Because of the eminent monks, Tenmoku Mountain is famous in East Asia. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, many Japanese monks came to study here, with more than 220 recorded. In addition to studying Buddhism, these monks also practised the tea ceremony and often used black glaze tea cups (Jianzhan) for tea battles. When they returned home after learning, the monastery presented Buddhist scriptures, Buddha statues and other daily necessities as gifts, and the gifts also included Jianzhan. After the tea culture was introduced to Japan, it quickly became popular in Japan. Japanese people love these tea cups with black light, and because they were brought back from Tenmoku Mountain, people called them Tenmoku tea cups.

3. Conclusion

Now you finally know why the words Jianzhan and Tenmoku tea cup often appear together. They refer to the same thing: the black-glazed tea cups originated in Jianyang, characterized by high iron content, heavy weight and beautiful patterns. This type of teacup is also made in other parts of China, but the most famous is the Jianzhan from Jianyang, and the tenmoku tea cup is another name for Jianzhan in Japan.