Li Pifang, a senior craftsmaster of Yixing, was famous for her skills and talent in Yixing in the 80s. She and Prof Pan CF were regarded as famous potters with very high compliment such as 'in male potters there is Chunfang, in female potters there is Pifang' meaning literally these two were the highly skilled and talented potters among their peers. Pan Chunfang was later transferred to the Nanjing Academy of Fine Arts while Pifang remained in the Yixing factory. She later passed away at the peak of her career. Some rumour had it that she committed suicide (yet to confirm) and there seemed to be not much reporting on her death.
She came to Singapore in the 90s for an exhibition cum sale of her works. As the organiser was my close friend, I had the opportunity to meet her and buy her teapots.
This is a particular teapot design that modelled on the shape of a well. This particular teapot was acquired by Chong Nanhai (the central office of the Chinese Communist Party) of the Chinese government for permanent display. This teapot was also featured in a book written by a renown Taiwanese writer in the 80s.
Li Pifang's works are well received by collectors. It is indeed a privilege and honour to have owned such a well-made teapot.
White jade has been very special to Chinese people, past and present.
White jade had been crafted into various forms used in ceremonies in the past thousand years. The leaders of various tribes that lived thousand of years ago used to wear jade pieces as a symbol of sovereignty and power. They even fought among themselves to occupy territories where jade was found.
Through out the dynasties that rule China, the art of jade carving flourished and peak during the Qian Long era of the Qing dynasty. Jade carvings of that period were of very fine quality and the workmanship of the jade craftsmen were unmatched even if you consider today's technology in terms of tools and equipment. Undoubtedly fine jade pieces of the Qian Long era fetched millions in auction markets.
With the over-mining of white jade, the resources are diminishing and raw jade boulders are scarce. Where exactly is the white jade come from?
There are two types of raw jade, one from the mountain (Kun Lun Shn) and the other from the river beds of Xiangjiang in western China. Usually the raw jade from the river beds are more valuable than their mountain counterparts.
How did the jade boulders ended up in the river beds?
Actually, all the white jade comes from the Kun Lun mountain range. As the jade boulders fell off the mountain, they ended up in the river. As they were carried by the river water over long distances, they broke up into smaller pieces in the process. Only the stronger and denser jade boulders survived the journey along the river. Eventually the outer jade boulders became polished and developed skins of distinct colours (some brownish, some greenish or even dark brown in colour). In those days, if you walked on the river bed bare-footed, you could step on these smooth jade boulders and made a valuable find. When the mining reached its peak in the early 2000s, several thousand earth moving equipment were seen on the river beds busily excavating for the jade.
When jade boulders with their unique skin colour are sent to a jade carving masters, the masters usually retain the skin colour on the carvings as a birth mark, meaning the jade boulder comes from the river beds. These carvings of white jade (especially those with the mutton-fat colour) are indeed very valuable. On the outside they look very greasy, like the white fat of mutton.
Here is one white jade boulder weighing 2 kg from the river beds. The surface is smooth and full of small minute holes, evidence of long time exposure under the river. With interaction from the environment and chemicals in the water, a greenish tone appeared on the skin with patches of brown stains.
Gong Chun was generally recognised as the founding father of Yixing pots. He was a servant of a scholar who found refuge in a temple to prepare for the civil exams at the Imperial court during the reign of the Ming dynasty some 600 years ago. It was in the temple that Gong Chun learnt the art of teapot making from a monk who used the Yixing clay to make pots.
After Gong Chun had mastered the art of teapot making, he became very famous and his pots were well sought after by scholars of the time. It was indeed an honour to own a pot made by Gong Chun. Before the Ming dynasty, tea was boiled in a big vessel and tea was usually made in bid compressed cake. The first Ming emperor then issued a decree that tea was to be made in smaller vessels. This started the fashion of brewing tea in smaller pots where smaller quantity of tea would be consumed.
Ever since the introduction of this decree and the spread of Gong Chun pots, the use of Yixing clay became an indispensable material to make teapots. There were several famous potters after Gong Chun (like Shi Dabin, Xu YouChuen, etc) and their pots were comparable to gold in terms of their values. Common folks were not able to own these Yixing pots. Most poor country folks were not even able to see one, let alone owning it.
Here are two modified form of the Gong Chun pots made from the yellow Zisha clay.
The water chestnut is actually not a nut at all, but an aquatic vegetable that grows in marshes, underwater in the mud. Water chestnuts have a crisp white flesh and can be eaten raw, slightly boiled, or grilled, and are often pickled or tinned. They are a popular ingredient in Chinese dishes. They are unusual among vegetables for remaining crisp even after being cooked or canned, because their cell walls are cross-linked and strengthened by certain phenolic compounds. The corms are rich in carbohydrates (about 90 percent by dry weight), especially starch (about 60 percent by dry weight), and are also a good source of dietary fibre, potassium, copper, and manganese.
Water chestnuts
Raw water chestnuts are slightly sweet and very crunchy. Boiled water chestnuts have a firm and slightly crunchy texture, with a flavor that is very mild and slightly nutty, so it can be easily overpowered by any seasonings or sauces with which the water chestnut is served or cooked. Water chestnuts are often combined with bamboo shoots, coriander, ginger, sesame oil, and snow peas. They are often used in pasta or rice dishes.
Teapots having a water chestnut design is not uncommon in Yixing. The renown female potter of Yixing by the name of Jiang Rong 蒋蓉 had created a teapot modelled on a chestnut and received recognition for her creativity and skills in teapot making. Many other potters have since imitated that design for years.
Here I have a chestnut pot made by Chang Jianzong, a nephew of Jiang Rong, who studied the Yixing art of pottery from her. The teapot was made under the supervision of Jiang Rong as indicated by the seal at the bottom of the pot.
Flat and round pots are very suitable for brewing green tea. Do you know why?
If you buy a packet of green tea from a tea shop, like Iron Goddess of Mercy, you will notice that the tea comes in little granules. This is because when green tea is processed from tea leaves, each tea leave is rolled into a little granule after processing. Hence, green tea comes in the form of rolled-up granules. To brew this tea, you will need a broad base utensil or pot so that there is plenty of space for the leaves to stretch themselves when hot water is poured into the pot. As the leaves spread out in the pot, the fragrance and aroma of the tea can then be released. For this reason. flat and round teapots are ideally suited to brew compressed green tea in the form of granules.
A branded Taiwanese tea, Tongting Wulong
I own quite a couple of flat teapots. The ones that I like most are made by craftsmaster Zhou Juefang. The purplish colour of the Yixing clay stands out very nice when hot water is poured into the pots. With its broad base, tea leaves have plenty of space to breathe and release the aroma of the tea. It really a pleasure to use the pots to indulge myself in tea drinking.
The fruit mangosteen is seldom appeared in Yixing teapot design. The reason could be that this fruit is not popular in China and many potters have no idea how the teapot will look like when crafted into the shape of a mangosteen. As you know, most potters would rather like to copy existing teapot design or modify somebody's design.
Here are two mangosteen teapots crafted by craftsmaster Zhou Juefang. They are cute and lovely. Don't you think so?
A second teapot of the legendary Chu Kexin, master of masters in the teapot kingdom of Yixing, in my collection.
The teapot was probably made in the early years of his career using the true purplish clay from Huang Long Shan (Yellow dragon hill). This type of clay was completely depleted many years ago. The pot is relatively large in size. When you hold it in the hand, it's like kind of macho type of feeling (you know what I mean). If you serve tea with it, you can remind your guest that tea is plentiful, let's drink to our hearts' desire.
