Wu Guanzhong Gallery

"The fundamental elements of formal beauty comprise form, colour and rhythm. I used Eastern rhythms in the absorption of Western form and colour, like a snake swallowing an elephant"
                                                                                    ------ Wu Guanzhong 1919 - 2010

Just visited the inaugural exhibition of  paintings of Wu Guanzhong  in the opening of the Wu Guanzhong Gallery at the National Gallery of Singapore. The exhibition is free until the end of this year, to celebrate SG50. Do visit the National Gallery as the exhibition offers an insight into the artist's prolific career, chronicling how his style evolved over five decades. Comprising about 80 pieces, the exhibition showcases key works from his practice. Many of these works, some on loan form museums in China and private collectors, are being shown public for the first time outside China.

Wu Guanzhong is one of the most significant artists of the 20th century in China. His distinctive style integrates Western and Chinese art traditions, setting a new direction for modern Chinese art.

The Wu Guanzhong Gallery showcases works donated by Wu and his family, within the larger context of ink history and aesthetics. The most valuable art donation ever made to Singapore museum to date, this is the largest holding of of his works in a public museum in the world.

Entry to the Wu Guanzhong Gallery

Wu belonged to a generation of Chinese painters who went to France to study in the 1940s. Trained in traditional Chinese ink and brush techniques as well as Western style oil painting, he developed an innovative approach that was a synthesis of both artistic traditions. His paintings are marked by colours and formal principles of Western art, but imbued with a distinctively Chinese spirit and fluidity.

While Wu is most celebrated for his landscapes, his paintings have explored various themes across the span of his career. From the late 1950s to the 1970s, he focused on adapting oil paintings to Chinese ink to express modern aesthetics. His early landscapes also gave way to graphic, nearly abstract works in the later stages of his life.

A towering figure in modern Chinese art, Wu is admired by many and remains an inspiration for young artists today.

If you can't go to the National Gallery of Singapore for whatever reasons, don't worry. I have captured most of the works on display and present them to you. Just enjoy them at the comfort of your home, over a cup of puerh, of course.

The horse gang 馬幫

Do you know how puerh tea was transported to the rest of the world in the early days?

As  there there were no ships and transport planes, the only possible means of transportation was via the horses' back. This gave rise to what is called the horse gang (馬幫) whose members were actively involved in the delivery of puerh tea to where it was needed. The horse gang was really a group of dedicated people who worked diligently and traveled thousand of kilometers to ensure that the tea reached its destination. Now you would appreciate why puerh tea had such unusual packaging, seven in a pile and 12 piles in a rectangular basket and each piece weighs 357g. All were made necessary so that the horses would survive the tedious journey.

In a typical tea expedition, hundreds of horses were employed to transport puerh tea across rugged terrain and mountainous regions from Puerh city to the north (Tibet) and to the south (Loas and Burma). Apart from horses, donkeys were also employed to carry the tea as donkeys were stronger, they ate less and complaint little. With so many animals involved in the process, workers were needed to supervise and take charge of the flock and the goods.

This journey normally took several months to a year before the job was done. Members of the horse gang had to endure unimaginable hardships and difficulties through out the journey. Not only they had to leave their love ones, they had to deal with the harsh weather conditions, the attack from wild animals and the ruthless robbers and also the corrupt officials that demanded bribes before letting the group to pass the border. It won't be surprise to know that some might not even survived the harsh journey and returned home safely.

The journey of the horse gang

Horses were used to carry the tea to its destinations

As the journey was a long one, there were resting places (Stations) every 20 kilometers along the way for the horse gang. Hotels were built to cater for the needs of this group of people. Some of these hotels are still around today in the Yunnan province and they are preserved to their original states for tourists to visit. If you happen to be in Yunnan, you can visit these places to find out how members of the horse gang lived their lives during those difficult times. If the group missed the stations, they had to stay overnight in the wild where attacks from wild beasts were not uncommon.

The inn where the group stayed overnight

Members of the horse gang passed through many villagers and towns. They had to direct and guard the horses to the final destination. Most often they had to travel on hard ground, roads that were just stone pavements. Today, one can still see these stone pavements inter-linking villages and towns in Yunnan.

Some of these ancient stone pavements had been trampled upon by members of the horse gangs for hundreds of years. The state of these rugged pavements seem to tell people the hardship and difficult lives of the people that ploughed through them for a living.

Outside the inn where the horse gang rested

The leader of the horse gang is known as Ma Kuatou, and was in-charge of the day-to-day operations of the group. He managed the external affairs  like dealing with the custom officials (paying taxes), fending off attacks from wild beasts and robbers, deciding when to stop overnight, etc. At the same time he was also responsible for the welfare of the animals and his fellow workers. He needed to look after the animals and his fellow workers when they were sick. He had to handle emotional problems that might arise form his mates. To be a leader, he had to be brave and strong, otherwise the horse gang would not be able to make the trip and return safely.

Simple furniture inside the inn

Items used by the horse gang on display

Generally members of the horse gang would rest where the tea was unloaded from the horses' back. Usually the tea in their baskets were rested on wooden structures, so the men would have to sleep underneath these structures. This could prevent the tea from being stolen by unscrupulous people around. You could imagine tea at that time was also a rare and expensive commodity. If not the horse gangs would not be commissioned to bring the tea to its destinations.

The leader of the horse gang would normally stay in the upper floor. His bed was also specially made in that there was a compartment when the mattress was unrolled. Why it was important that he slept on such a bed?

The bed for the leader

A secret compartment under the mattress

Usually the leader handled a large amount of cash and valuable. He knew that he was miles away from home and a lot of people and animals depended on him for survival. He could not afford to lose his money and valuables. As there was no safe for him to deposit such valuables, he had to hide it somewhere. The compartment under the mattress was an ideal place for safe-keeping of money and valuables. If anyone wanted to steal from him, he had to first roll him over before he could uncover the compartment and the things inside. In this way, the leader of the gang could have a good night sleep without worrying about losing his valuables.

Some of the things used by the leader

He drank tea from this funny utensil

Various Gods to pray for a safe journey

As there were so many uncertainties in the journey, he had to pray to many gods to ensure that no mishaps happened to him and the things under his charge. He was sure to be under tremendous stress when he took over the job as the leader of the horse gang. When one had to survive in those days, one had to be strong and courageous. Don't forget, in this world no one would promise you a free lunch.

Recently in the early 2000s, some people were trying to repeat this remarkable tea expedition of the horse gangs. They recruited many tea traders and employed hundreds of  horses to carry the tea through this ancient route. Guess what happened, only 2 horses survived the harsh journey and reached the destination.

Today when we sip our cups of fragrant puerh tea in the comfort of our homes, just remember its rich history and the people that contributed to its success.

7 pieces of puerh cakes in a bundle

One Piece (Zhi) contains 12 bundles

Cute Labradorite animals

I have in my collection a pair of squirrels and a rhino carved out from Labradorite.

Labradorite is a member of the Feldspar family.  It is treasured by collectors for its remarkable play of color, known as labradorescence. The term labradoresence is defined  as the peculiar reflection of the light from submicroscopical planes orientated in one direction (rarely in two directions); these planes have never such a position that they can be expressed by simple indices, and they are not directly visible under the microscope.

The stone, usually gray-green, dark gray, black or grayish-white, is composed in aggregate layers that refract light as iridescent flashes of peacock blue, gold, pale green, or coppery red. The predominant blue varies within the light, displaying hues from deepest blue to various shades of pale, almost blue-green. It was discovered in Labrador, Canada in 1770 and hence the name Labradorite.

Here are the photos of the Labradorite animals.

 

 

Just looking at the iridescent flashes of peacock blue, gold, pale green coming out from these animals would make one happy. Nature is wonderful, there are so many different types of minerals to enrich our life on this planet.

Tea containers

I like puerh tea. And also like tea accessories, the things you need to brew a nice cup of tea.

Apart from teapots, tea cups and other utensils, I also like to collect different types of tea containers. I like to admire my tea accessories while brewing my cups of puerh tea.

Recently, I bought some tea containers and a blue-n-white vase that can double up as a container for tea. The first is a porcelain tea container made in 1949, the year The Nationalist China under Chiang Kaishek fell to the communist  China under China Mao. This is a blu-n-white piece with painting of prawns swimming in search for food.

The second one is also a porcelain tea container made during the Qing dynasty. At the bottom one can see inscription of such words as for the use in the Imperial Kitchen of the Qing court. Incidentally the words on the top of the container indicated the Chinese characters Puerh Tea. If you shake it, you can hear the rattling sound of tea leaves inside. I was told that the tea must have been stored inside for a very long time. You may ask, why not open the lid and take a good look of real vintage tea (from Qing dynasty, definitely a hundred years old). Or perhaps make a brew and enjoy for yourself what the Emperors used to drink in those good old days at the palace. I surely want to do that but I cannot. For a simple reason, the lid was closed so tight that it was impossible to open it. Unless you want to risk breaking it. Anyway I got it for a song due to this problem. I told myself, even if I were to break it, the value of the tea inside would have surpassed what I have paid for the container. Even tough I like to drink vintage puerh, I did not break the container for I really like it, a lovely piece of art and also piece of history (from Qing dynasty). Maybe someday I will meet someone who has the know-how to open it, of course without breaking it. Then I will have both the antique container and some equally antique puerh tea.

The lid is not level, due to tight fit.

The third one is a celedon ware, a tea container in a greenish glaze. I do not know its age but I guess it cold have been made in the 1980s or earlier. This container is ideal for putting tea leaves as there is a cork that can close it tightly to seal the fragrance of tea inside. Obviously mature puerh need to kept in this type of container to protect it from the harmful environment.

The last one looks like a vase but it is not a vase, It has a big opening or mouth and an equally big lid. The shop owner told me it is from the Qing dynasty, could well be early era of the dynasty due to the glossy state of the glaze and the quality of the painting on it. With a magnifying glass, I could see tiny bubbles and the blue-n-white glaze is beneath, not above the glaze (fired in kiln instead of electric furnace). This a huge container, if I may say so, to put my tea leaves inside since it has a lid. May be this is good place to age my puerh for a couple of year before it turns mellow.

Menghai 8582 tea cakes

Recently my relatives brought me some Menghai 8582 green puerh tea cakes. It is produced under the famous brand Da Yee. Da Yee literally means great benefit in Mandarin. This brand name has been adopted by Menghai tea factory many years ago in a bid to promote its brand of high quality puerh tea, made strictly following proven recipe such as 7542, 8582, etc.

Menghai tea 8582

Although this tea is very recent, surprisingly it is quite pleasant to drink. The after taste, kind of sweet-bitter feeling, lingers in your mouth reaching into the throat. It can only produce this effect if the tea leaves are fresh and of high quality. No wonder Menghai green puerh tea, especially the 7542 and 8582, are very sough after by tea drinkers all over the world. Incidentally, this type of puerh tea will be a good investment as the appreciation is expected to be 20% every year. However, watch out for fake products. The whole tea market is infiltrated with imitation puerh tea that carries such renown brands. An advice to new comer, drink more and get used to the fragrance of puerh tea and experience the after-taste that lingers in your mouth after swallowing the tea. This sweet-bitter sensation is what you need to go after when discerning good puerh from the ordinary one. No body can impart this skill-set to you and you have to learn and experience it yourself. The sooner you acquire this skill, the faster you can enjoy the pleasure and excitement in the world of puerh.

Old Gongdin puerh

Another brand of old puerh is the so-called Gongdin puerh, literally means puerh from the palace court yard. It is made from fine puerh tea leaves. It has a deep aroma and a pleasant fragrance. I virtually run out of vocabulary to describe the character and quality of this tea. May be I will have to borrow some vocabulary from the wine connoisseur in future. Puerh tea and wine are my favorite beverages. Next time.... Cheers.

A beginner's Guide to Puerh tea

Puerh or Pu'er is a type of tea produced in Yunnan province of China. The tea derived its name from the town (Puerh City) in Yunnan where the tea was traded during imperial China. Good quality puerh tea has a deep, rich flavor that many consider to be earthy or mushroomy. Bad quality puerh often tastes muddy or mouldy and is unpleasant to drink. 

A collection of puerh tea

Puerh tea comes in two varieties: Green or raw tea (sheng cha) and ripe or cooked tea (shou cha), depending on how the leaves are processed. Both Green and Ripe varieties follow the same steps of Withering - "Kill-Green" - Rolling/Forming - Drying and Steaming/Shaping. The Ripe variety has the additional step of processing (Piling/Heaping) which is heaping the leaves in a pile to facilitate fermentation. Both varieties are then stored for aging. Puerh tea develops its unique flavor and characteristics due to these different methods of manufacture.

Traditionally, puerh tea was processed as the green variety where leaves were harvested from tea trees hundreds of years old. The newly processed tea was harsh in flavor and taste. The new tea was undrinkable as a result. However, when the green tea was allowed to age, the tea leaves underwent microbial fermentation. This fermentation process removed the harsh characteristics of the green tea and turned it into a dark tea which is mellow with rich and complex flavour. Unfortunate the natural ageing process takes many years to accomplish. In 1973 a new process of artificial fermentation was developed. This involved heaping the tea leaves into a pile and applying water to accelerate the ageing process. It is the heaping of the leaves into a pile and the application of water that start the natural enzymatic breakdown process of fermentation. The heat created in the process “cook” the leaves and ripe puerh is sometimes referred to as “cooked” puerh. This new process produces the Ripe variety of puerh tea which only requires weeks to accomplish. The new processing method opens a new wave of tea products for immediate consumption and add complexity, depth and smoothness to the tea.

An interesting aspect of puerh is that it is in a constant state of change. As you chip away the leaves from a cake to drink over the months and years, no two brews will taste the same. Some puerh tea is delicious to drink when fresh: it's vegetal and fragrant with gentle bitterness and a tickling sun-dried pungency. Other puerh te needs years of aging for profound bitterness or harsh, smoky flavors to mellow out into something smooth, sweet, and dignified. Half the fun of drinking the stuff is watching your tea grow and change as you do.

Other unique characteristics of puerh tea is its many shapes and diversified packaging. Puerh commonly comes in compressed forms such as bricks, cakes (which are disc-shaped), mushrooms and 'tuo cha' (which are shaped like tiny bowls). These compressed shapes enable the tea to be transported to other regions of the world. They also facilitate the storage of puerh in large quantity. The tea can be packaged into different sizes from few kilograms to several grams.

Puerh tea is also available in loose form (like other loose-leaf teas). It can also be packed into pomelo fruits or bamboo stalks. In s to supermarkets, the tea is available in teabags for the average consumers.

Generally speaking, puerh tea in the market today can be broadly classified into three types as discussed below.

Young 'Raw' Puerh: This tea resembles any green tea in the market. It's either too new or not old enough to develop any of the aged characteristics of some mature puerh. It usually has a harsh and grassy taste and its bitter nature generally turns away tea drinkers. However, there's an undeniable youth and grassy freshness in this tea that others specifically seek it out for collection. With time, this new tea could well turn into a mellow mature puerh of great value.

Aged 'Raw' Puerh: When green puerh tea is stored under controlled heat and humidity for several years, its harshness and crudeness smoothen out and the tea becomes a darker, deeper and more mellow tea. Aged puerh tea usually has some woodsy, earthy qualities and fragrance like camphor or fruit and flowers. Other than specific flavors, an interesting about puerh tea is the depth and body the tea develops. There's enormous range in how that character manifests; a seven-year-old puerh cake won't be as good as a 30-year-old one. So the only way to get a sense of how aging affects puerh tea is to drink a lot of it.

Raw puerh made in 2001

'Ripe' Puerh: This puerh replaces the natural aged puerh that takes decades to mature. The leaves are piled in rooms and left to fermentate for months in the heat and humidity from their own biomass. The process cuts ageing time down from decades to months. However, ripe puerh usually ends up tasting less complex than good aged raw puerh. But a good ripe puerh can be thick and luscious as a latte with a rich, mushroomy sweetness that sinks to your belly, and it's usually cheaper than comparable quality aged raw puerh. Note that you can age ripe puerh, its character will evolve far less over time as the tea has been pre-aged during processing.

Ripe puerh brick of late 70s

Finally, some tips on brewing your very own cup of puerh tea if you are beginner.

First you need to gently pry off some tea leaves from this compressed cake. You can use a puerh knife (available from most puerh retailers) or another small, dull knife to do this.

Once you have weighed some (around 10 grams) puerh tea leaves, you then place the tea leaves in a brewing vessel (teapot), pour near-boiling water over them and then quickly discard the water.
This step is to 'rinse' the tea leaves to remove dust that has settled on the tea during the aging process. It also removes the dust that formed on the tea during fermentation.  Tea experts say that the rinsing step 'awakens' the leaves (prepare them for infusion).


After rinsing the puerh tea, you are ready to brew it to enjoy its flavor and character. Then you pour very hot boiling water over the tea leaves for 15 to 30 seconds.  Then your pour the tea soup into drinking cups for tea appreciation. In subsequent brews, increase the infusion time before decanting the tea from its brewing vessel. Usually up to 6 infusions can be achieved before the tea leaves are removed from the vessel.



Collection of variety of puerh tea