Zisha clay

Two old teapots, one was given by a colleague and the other bought in a shop in Marina Square. I really like the zisha clay of the early years. It was of such high quality and purity that reflected on the teapots it produced.

The zisha clay was of the finest quality, noticeable from the shine produced on the body of the pots. Undoubtedly, teapots from the early years were all made from good yixing zisha clay. There was no concern of buying teapots made from fake clay or chemical-tainted materials. There was plenty of good clay around and authority did not bother to impose any ban on mining the zisha clay.

Raw zisha clay

With the ever increasing production of zisha ware for export, the authority in the Yixing County eventually imposed a ban on mining zisha clay from the famous Yellow Dragon Mountain which supposedly produced the finest zisha clay in the region. The rationale behind this ban was to preserve the precious resources for the future generations. However, most potters had already started hoarding the clay long before the ban was imposed. Some potters when interviewed, revealed that they had stored enough clay to last them a lifetime. There was even someone who had 3000 tonnes of clay in his ware house.

Yellow Dragon Mountain, now 1/3 its original height

Yellow Dragon Mountain site

In those early days, no body paid attention to the clay used to make teapots. The potters also didn't bother to emphasize the clay they used. It was understood that all the clay used must have come from the Yellow Dragon Mountain. Today, you will find potters and promoters alike would always highlight the premium clay used in their teapots. They used terms that described the clay and these terms were unheard of during those years.

Hoarding of zisha clay by potter's family