The Glaze Looks Fabulous! But Is It Poisonous?

With the popularity and value of Jian Zhan soared in the Far East region, there are many unethical businesses trying to rip off unknowing investors/collectors by recreating beautiful glaze pottery which resembles Jian Zhan, however, the authentic Jian Zhan glaze is because of the rich iron ore clay which reacts with the high temperature in the kiln. While the fakes are added with artificial chemical which is extremely harmful to the human body.

1. Some of the benefits of drinking from Jian Zhan are: Heat Retention: An authentic Jian Zhan is rich in iron content, even at 1,300 Degree Celsius, the shape of the pottery remains as the clay transformed into ceramic form which increased the density of Jian Zhan. The cup feels dense as you hold onto it. This high density helps to retain heat of your tea, coffee or hot drink better.

2. Taste Improvement: Jian Zhan is also known to "smoothen" liquid which is due to the high iron content of the glaze. This chemical reaction when hot liquid comes into contact with the glaze of Jian Zhan improved the alkalinity of the hot fluid.

3. Health Benefit: Divalent iron ions are released continuously by the high iron content of Jian Zhan, and these ions absorb chlorine ions in water, which can be easily absorbed by the human body, increasing the carrier of hemoglobin and the function of red blood cells. It can prevent anemia and high blood pressure, regulate the central nervous system of the human body, and achieve a soothing effect. It is also effective in balancing the endocrine system and absorb bacteria and reverse the inhibition of the enzyme activity that bacteria depend on and oxygen to achieve a sterilization effect.

However, these benefits are absent from the fakes and instead, is highly toxic to consume from. So how do we ensure we are using the authentic and not the fake?

There are several ways to test the authenticity, a few ways are discussed in a separate post "How to Tell a Fake from an Authentic Jian Zhan?" You may wish to visit the post. If those methods sound too profound to execute, you can also try to pour lemon juice or vinegar in the cup and check after 24 hours if the color of the glaze changes, then you might have purchased a fake. Buying from a reputable source is always the best way to obtain authentic Jian Zhan, some online stores are selling fakes at really low price since they are able to mass produce these Jian Zhan which the authentic ones success rate per kiln is only around averaging 3%-6%. Therefore, not only are the authentic ones unique but valuable as well. Hence, learn more and buy from the right sources will you be assured that you are owning a piece of Song Dynasty culture, and feel assure when using it.