The Gongdao Cup is an ancient Han Chinese porcelain product used for drinking, and its design is based on the siphon principle in physics. The characteristics of the Gongdao Cup is that when wine or water is poured into the cup, if the water level is lower than the upper mouth of the hollow porcelain tube in the center of the cup, the water will not leak out; but once the water level exceeds the upper mouth of the porcelain tube, the water will leak out through the leakage holes at the bottom of the cup. But once the water level exceeds the top of the porcelain tube, the water will leak out through the leakage holes at the bottom of the cup, leaving not a single drop. This design reflects the principle of “fairness”, that is, the wine can only be shallow and flat, not overfilled, otherwise the wine in the cup will leak all the way out. The shape of a fair cup is usually an old head or faucet in the center of the cup, with a hole in the bottom of the cup, through which its unique function is realized.
The history of the Gongdao Cup can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty during the reign of Hongwu, when the government opened the “Imperial Ware Factory” in Jingdezhen, specializing in the manufacture of Imperial Porcelain for the Imperial Palace, which included the Gongdao Cup, a unique drinking utensil. The Gongdao Cup is not only a practical drinking tool, but also a part of traditional culture that has been widely spread and appreciated for its unique design and function.
In modern times, fairway cups are designed and made from a variety of materials, including glass and alabaster, etc. Among them, glass fairway cups are loved by tea lovers because of their high transparency and the ease of observing the color of the tea broth. The material used to make glass fairway cups is mostly high borosilicate glass, which is a material with good heat resistance, able to withstand sudden changes in cold and heat and remain stable, and is one of the commonly used utensils in the modern tea ceremony!
