Xi Shi Pots (西施壶)

Xi Shi Pot (西施壶) is a very traditional teapot design. It is said that the earliest Xi Shi pot was made during the Ming dynasty by Xu Youchuen. The records by a Japanese researcher/author made reference to the pot as Xi Shi's breast as the pot was supposedly shaped like xi Shi's breast.

Three Xi Shi pots by Zhou Juefang

Who is Xi Shi? Why were potters modelled a teapot design on her breasts?

Xi Shi (西施) was one of the renowned Four Beauties of ancient China. She was said to have lived during the end of Spring and Autumn Period in Zhuji, the capital of the ancient State of Yue. Her name was Shi Yiguang (施夷光).

Xi Shi's beauty was said to be so extreme that while leaning over a balcony to look at the fish in the pond, the fish would be so dazzled that they forgot to swim and sank away from the surface. This description serves as the first two characters of the Chinese idiom 沉魚落雁, 閉月羞花 which is used to compliment someone's beauty.

Story of Xi Shi (Source:Wiki)

King Goujian of Yue (one of dozens of kingdoms) was once imprisoned by King Fuchai of Wu (another kingdom) after a defeat in war, and Yue later became a tributary state to Wu. Secretly planning his revenge, Goujian's minister Wen Zhong suggested training beautiful women and offering them to Fuchai as a tribute (knowing Fuchai could not resist beautiful women). His other minister, Fan Li, found Xi Shi and gave her to Fuchai in 490 BC.

Bewitched by the beauty and kindness of Xi Shi, Fuchai forgot all about his state affairs and at her instigation, killed his best advisor, the great general Wu Zixu. Fuchai even built Guanwa Palace (Palace of Beautiful Women) in an imperial park on the slope of Lingyan Hill, about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) west of Suzhou. The strength of Wu dwindled, and in 473 BC Goujian launched his strike and put the Wu army to full rout. King Fuchai lamented that he should have listened to Wu Zixu, and then committed suicide.

In the legend, after the fall of Wu, Fan Li retired from his ministerial post and lived with Xi Shi on a fishing boat, roaming like fairies in the misty wilderness of Taihu Lake, and no one saw them ever again.

One cannot neglect the influence of this ancient beauty Xi Shi as numerous movies and TV drama series had been produced in the past and even potters made teapots in remembrance of her (it's a pity they only remembered her breasts rather than her beauty and remarkable life ).

A black Xi Shi pot made in the 80s

A very ordinary pot

Apart from collecting pots made by masters, I also collect ordinary pots which are excellent to brew tea with. As I like to brew kungfu tea, I would prefer small teapots as they are convenient to use and easy to handle. Moreover I do not have to put too much tea leaves in the pots. Good tea is expensive and it is best to monitor the amount of tea leaves used to brew the tea. Anyway, kungfu tea is suppose to be appreciated using small cups. Who needs giant teapots?

The photo below shows a small teapot I bought in the 90s. It is called "Pan Hu" or teapot made for the Pan family. This pot is made using the red purplish clay. I particularly like teapots made from the red Yixing clay as these red teapots develop a patina quickly after a few months of brewing tea with them. This particular pot has a certain rough texture which local people call it the pear-skin pot.

An interesting thing about brewing tea with the Yixing pots is that you can always see the changes in the pots as you faithfully and patiently use them. The colour will darkened and the texture smoothened. No wonder people in Yixing give the ware a nickname, "purplish jade golden sand" to describe the ware to the equivalent of jade pieces.

When price is a constraint, it is alright to get a very ordinary Yixing pot and watch how it develops into a precious tea drinking equipment. This ordinary pot may one day becomes very extraordinary. A heavily used yixing teapots will definitely develop a patina very pleasing to the eyes. The touch is equally smooth and delicate. However, to develop these characteristics, the pot has to be a genuine Yixing ware, not to confuse with some pots made from imitation clay or chemicals-tainted clay.

A very ordinary pot becoming extraordinary

Kiln-effects pots (窑变壶)

Kiln-effects pots, or pots that do not possess a uniform colour after the firing process had taken place in the kilns. The pots usually have two distinct colours due to changes in the kiln environment. As I could not find a suitable term for it, I will call it kiln-effects pots (in Chinese they are called 窑变壶). There are some articles in cyber space on this type of pots (how the pots are formed).

I ever bought a kiln-effects teapot during the 80s from an antique shop. At first I thought the non-uniform colour on the pot meant that the pot was a defective piece. It was strange to see a teapot having two colours. As I liked the pot very much, I bought it anyway (for quit a low price). Many years later, I found that there are actually people looking for such pots to collect. In other words, they become collectors' items. They said these pots are rare and unique. That really puzzled me. I even read that there are people who would try everything to fake the kiln-effects pots.


Kiln-effects pot

 

If you see carefully, the colour on the left is reddish brown while the colour on the right is greyish. You can tell that something must happen to the pot during the firing process. As the pot was probably made in the 60s, it could have been fired in a traditional dragon kiln where old techniques were employed in the firing process. Actually I love to use this pot to brew tea. As hot water is poured into the pot, the colour of the pot turns greyish black (a bit like twilight) and this is what I call the true purplish colour. The teapot has a name, imitate-ancient pot.

 

Kiln-effects pots were the results of early pots being fired in traditional dragon kiln (a long kiln where the firing process may take many days to complete) where wood was used  as the only source of energy. Here the workers controlled the kiln temperature by observing the colour of the fire in the kiln and feeding wood accordingly. Apart from skills and expertise (which were crucial) the success of the firing process depended on many factors such as availability of oxygen (to assist combustion of the wood and the conditions/environments inside the kiln.  Temperature and atmosphere are also contributing factors. As the kiln was not always operating in optimum conditions, occasionally too much oxygen might be present in the kiln causing some oxidation to take place on the wares. As a result, the fired wares would showed different colours on the surface (may also be due to the fact that different parts of the wares were exposed to different firing conditions).Incidentally, the Yixing clay needs to be fired to certain temperature before the clay colour can fully develop.

 

 

Today the dragon kilns had been phased out. All the pots are fired in electrical furnaces where temperature control is precise and firing conditions are very consistent. In the absence of surplus oxygen, there could hardly be any kiln-effects pots produced in electrically fired wares. Some prefer to use the term "baked in oven" as compare to "fired in kiln" when pots are made these days. 

 

As people are looking for this type of pots to collect, businessmen begin to fake the wares by artificially creating the environments and conditions necessary for colour changes to occur on the pots.  

Wang Hongjuen's teapot

Due to the recent craze in teapot collection and a high demand for high quality teapots, the price of teapots made by established craftsmasters has increased more than ten folds. These teapots are too expensive for ordinary folks who are keen to collect teapots. Likewise, the teapots made by grand masters are scarce (they only made 3 to 4 teapots a year) and definitely beyond their reach. As such the advice given to beginners is to look for up and coming Yixing potters whose works are still affordable and have great potential in the future. These potters are hard-working, talented and have high aspirations. They send their pots to participate in competitions. It is just a matter of time before their work is recognized and won awards and accolades from their peers. If you look for an opportunity to invest in teapots, you should consider getting teapots from these talented potters. Of course, you need to consult reliable sources for your teapots as their teapots are also targeted by unscrupulous businessman who fake their work for a living.

Recently I spotted a teapot made by a female potter by the name of Wang Hongjuen in an antique shop. I knew that she was just a craftswoman in Yixing as I have read and seen her work in cyber space. Obviously I would not pay a high price for it. Also the shopkeeper did not quote a phenomenal price. As I insisted that the potter was only a craftswoman (more like a technician in the trade), I managed to knock the price down further. After I purchased the teapot, he handed me a small booklet that showcased her pots, there were a few of her pots which had won gold awards in national competition. The teapot I just bought was also featured in the booklet. This would be hard evidence to authenticate the originality of the pot (better than a guarantee card). Later I found out from internet sources that the potter was recently promoted to assistant craftsmaster in 2012.

Wang HJ's green teapot

This teapot is greenish in colour and has a crack-like (what they called broken-ice) appearance. The unusual green colour of the pot would make people suspect that pigment was used in the clay. But the book-let also introduced her husband whose job in Yixing involved the blending and mixing of clays used for making teapots. In fact he is the supervisor in the factory in-charge of matter (like R & D work) relating to Yixing clays. It is said that he has stockpiled more than ten tonnes of good Yixing clay, a common practice among Yixing potters to store this precious clay in huge quantity for their own use due to rapid decline in the stock.

王红娟，国家级助理工艺美术师，江苏省工艺美术学会会员，北京紫艺经贸有限公司名誉参谋。1967年出生于丁蜀陶艺世家，从小受到紫砂艺术的熏陶，长期从事紫砂创作与研究，并进修于中心工艺美术学院，所创作品既传统又追求新意，具有强烈个性，曾多次发表专业刊物，并在海内外陶瓷评选中屡屡获奖。其作品施法严谨，手法独特，喜欢从形、气韵、意趣入手，作品细部处理精致，装饰恰到好处整体布局虚实有致，吸收了中国传统工笔画的意趣布局，气魄生动有光鲜的个人特色，其作品深受国内外人士喜爱并珍藏。

Round Yixing pots

The Yixing teapots revolve around two popular shapes, round or square. Round teapots look very elegant and sexy (like a lady) while square pots look rugged and macho (more like a man). Although square teapots are difficult to make (one square pot is worth three round pots), I still love the round Yixing teapots, especially those that come with exaggerated covers that look unusually big compared to the body. With a small round knobs on the covers, the pots look rather out of proportion, but in a way the overall shape of the pots are quite pleasing to the eyes (that's why I use the term 'sexy'). This is what people in the trade called Zuocheu Pots or globular pots. When this design of the pot appeared in the Panama Expo in 1915, it immediately caught the attention of everyone at the Expo because the pot really looked magnificent. It received so much praises and eventually the pot won a gold award and brought fame and recognition to the potter who created the design. The potter was a Yixing native by the name of Chen Xoujen who was active in the 19th century.

A brown clay small globular pot

A purplish clay medium globular pot

If you notice, teapots of conventional designs like the globular pots can stand the test of time. There is a saying in Yixing, one ought to implement changes in designs (be unique and bold in applying changes) in order to survive peer competition. I am not against innovation but basic rules have to be adhered to when designing a pot to avoid losing functionality and practicality. As a result, new-age potters want to  be innovative and creative; and teapots of all sorts of funny shapes are made in the pretext of innovation. These pots do not follow conventional rules when critical parts are designed and positioned. As a result, some of these pots may look good but lack functionality and practicality. For instance, the pot may be difficult to hold (handle too small), tea may not flow out easily from the sprout (hole too small or sprout wrongly placed) or tea leaking everywhere when pouring tea (who know what went wrong). Without functionality, they are just some sorts of pottery art pieces and are no longer suitable as tea-brewing utensils. Even great masters fall into this trap and produce teapots that shaped like an ancient bird, a dog or even a mystical animal that has nothing to do with tea drinking. Generally, teapots should be designed for tea drinkers. As such, they should be made for the sole purpose of brewing a cup of good tea. If the design is unique and the pot is elegantly made without compromising its functionality, then the potter has done a great job.

Teapots of traditional shapes like the globular ones are the best for brewing tea. Thy are also easy to handle as there are no sharp corners or square features that can hinder its movement. Don't forget, these pots can be easily damaged when knocked against something hard. The round design is particularly pleasing to the eyes. It symbolizes smoothness and completeness. The round features is also not boring and it keeps you wanting to probe into the roundness more as if to uncover its inner secrets. 

 

 

 The picture above is another version of the globular shaped teapot. Don't you think it looks very elegant and sexy (like a pregnant lady). To be honest, it is also marvellous for brewing tea (due to its size). The pot was made by Zhou Juefang, a student of Prof Pan Chunfang. The picture below shows my other favourite round pots designed by Xu Xihai. These pots are ideal to brew kung-fu tea due to their small size and round feature. If you want to start tea drinking, be sure to get some round pots to begin your journey into the art and culture of tea drinking. 

 

 

Prof Pan Chunfang



Prof Pan Chunfang learnt and mastered the art of teapot making from the legendary Chu Kexin during the early 60s to 70s. As a teenager, he was a brilliant student in a local school and scored well in his examinations. Unfortunately, he was not able to continue his University studies as his parents were poor and could not afford the fees. At that time, the factory that Chu set up advertised for apprentices to work and train at the factory. Pan applied and got accepted as an apprentice under the tutorship of Chu from whom he mastered all the skills and techniques of the Yixing clay. Due to his diligence and hard work, he was promoted to the rank of senior craftsmaster.

In the 80s, he was transferred to the Nanjing Academy of fine arts to study art, creative designs and innovation under a Professor. Later he wrote a book on the subject and began training potters from Yixing to enhance their skills in design and innovation. Many early potters benefited from his teachings. He was greatly appreciated by his peers for this contribution.

In the 90s, Prof Pan visited Singapore to hold a teapots exhibition cum sale. I had the opportunity to meet him and have a photo taken with him. I also bought several of his teapots, some are featured in a book published by a Taiwanese author. I was holding one of his pots while he was holding another pots I bought. Later he signed on a guarantee card and gave me his name card and invited me to visit him if I were in China. He was such a friendly person and very easy to get along with.

 

Myself (in the middle) at a younger age

Prof Pan signed on the certificate

I particularly like a set of teapot he created, the teapot that shaped like a pumpkin which is slightly distorted or twisted as shown above with four cups. The body is made of segments of clay of different sizes joined together. The surface texture is rough and uneven. This is how one would expect to find the fruits that grow in nature. Most potters however would make the pumpkin teapot in a perfect round shape with a smooth surface texture. But for this design, Prof Pan created a pot  not in perfect roundness as most pumpkins in nature do not grow to normal round fruits. Every part of the pot was hand made. This must have taken him a very long time to complete the job. Come to think of it, what I paid for this set of pot was far too  little compared to the effort and energy this great master had put in to achieve these creative pieces of art. Under the lids and on the side, he even engraved some Chinese characters that read "the world is funny the pumpkin grows abnormally". This shows the man's great dedication in his work. I truly admire his workmanship and talent in the art of Yixing clay.

Later he was persuaded to make another set using the purplish clay. Today, I must say I am very fortunate to own these magnificent teapots from a great master of teapots. It gives me pleasure just to look, touch and rub these teapots. Without any doubt, this is also the reason why I got addicted in teapots in the early years of my collection.

 

Prof Pan's elegant teapots

Other potter's perception of the pumpkin

Pumpkins in nature