Chusha Hu

Red zisha was depleted in Yixing decades ago. Hence teapots made from red zisha are valuable. The pots are usually called chusha hu meaning red zisha pots (chusha in Chinese means red sand and Hu means pot).

This 3-legged teapot is made by Jiang Soonyin, a female potter active around the 80s in Yixing. The pot stands firmly on 3 legs and the texture has a sandy feel. One thing about the red zisha pot is that when it is filled with hot water to make tea, a dark red colour will develop on the surface of the pot. As tea is consumed, the tone of this dark red colour will change gradually. When the pot cools down it will return to its original colour. It is interesting to note that the colour of zisha can respond to temperature changes. When you make tea using zisha pot, do observe this change of colour on the pot as the temperature changes.