Hanwa Yixing Teapot: Shape, Origin and 23 Real Examples

Hanwa Yixing teapot in Chijin Zini clay, 180 ml

The Hanwa (汉瓦) is a Yixing teapot built like a short drum: a squat cylinder with a big, flat, pressed-in lid and a bridge-shaped knob. Its name means "Han tile", and the design takes its cue from the round end-tiles of Han-dynasty roofs. It looks simple — and that is exactly what makes it hard to make well.

This guide covers what defines the shape, where it comes from, what to check, and what our own catalogue of 23 Hanwa-type pots says about sizes and clays. All 23 are listed at the end.

Hanwa Yixing teapot in Chijin Zini clay, 180 ml, side view
No. 161 — Hanwa, Chijin Zini clay, 180 ml, by Hu Xiuping. Short cylindrical body, flat lid, short straight spout.

What defines the shape

A short cylinder with tension. The body is a squat drum. The walls run nearly straight up and down, but the best examples carry a slight swell through the middle, so the cylinder looks taut rather than stiff. The rim is a touch wider than the base.

A large, flat, pressed-in lid. The Hanwa has a wide mouth, and the lid sits down inside it almost flush, with only a gentle curve.

Hanwa teapot with its lid removed showing the wide mouth and flat pressed-in lid
No. 377 with the lid off: the wide mouth and the flat, pressed-in lid are what give the Hanwa its drum-like top.

A bridge knob in the style of a roof tile. The knob is a low arch. On some pots the knob face carries an incised or pierced motif, often a four-lobed crabapple (haitang) shape.

Close-up of a Hanwa teapot lid with a bridge knob pierced by a four-lobed opening
No. 377 — Hanwa, Dicaoqing Zini clay, 70 ml. The bridge knob is pierced with a small four-lobed opening.

A short straight spout and an ear handle. The spout is short and straight and pours fast. The handle is an ear shape, somewhere between round and square and slightly flattened.

Where it comes from

The Hanwa is one of the Mansheng Eighteen Forms: designed by Chen Mansheng and made by Yang Pengnian, dated to the Jiaqing–Daoguang period of the Qing dynasty — roughly 1813 to 1816, while Chen Mansheng held office in Liyang. The inspiration was the Han-dynasty roof tile (wadang) and antique Han tiles, which is also where the knob gets its tile-like form. Hanwa bodies often carry Mansheng-style inscriptions or carving.

Hanwa Yixing teapot in Tianqingni clay, 180 ml
No. 145 — Hanwa, Tianqingni clay, 180 ml, by Xu Chengzu. An undecorated example: the plain cylinder hides nothing.

Why a plain Hanwa is hard to make

A classic Hanwa is a plain round form with no decoration to hide behind. Every surface is visible, so the potter's burnishing work (mingzhen) has to be flawless across a large, flat lid and a long, even wall. That is why sources describe it as one of the teapots hardest on a master potter. When you look at a plain Hanwa, look at the light on the wall: it should run smoothly around the cylinder without ripples or flat spots.

Which clays and sizes

Sources say the Hanwa is most often made in original-ore zini or aged zini, and also in Benshan Luni, duanni and zhuni. Typical capacities run from about 120 to 300 ml, most commonly 150 to 250 ml.

Our 23 Hanwa-type pots follow the clay pattern: zini-family clays (Aged Zini, Tianqingni, Dicaoqing, Chijin Zini and plain Zini) account for 9 of them, and the rest spread across 11 other clays including Benshan Luni, Duanni and Zhuni. Sizes are a different story. Ours run from 70 ml to 200 ml, with a median of 140 ml, and 13 of the 23 hold 150 ml or less. As with other gongfu-oriented shapes, today's pots sit at the smaller end of the traditional range.

200 ml Hanwa in Hei Duntou clay held in hand
No. 137 — 200 ml Hanwa in Hei Duntou clay, by Fan Weibing, the upper end of our range.
70 ml Hanwa in Dicaoqing Zini clay held in hand
No. 377 — 70 ml, our smallest Hanwa: the same drum shape at less than half the volume.
Hanwa in Benshan Luni clay, 180 ml, held in hand
No. 140 — Hanwa in Benshan Luni clay, 180 ml, by Fan Weibing.
Wood-fired Hanwa in Golden Duanni clay, 190 ml, held in hand
No. 179 — Hanwa, Golden Duanni clay, wood-fired, 190 ml, by Wu Jianqiang.

How to check a Hanwa

Side view at eye level. The cylinder should look firm and very slightly full, not like a straight pipe and not like a barrel.

Lid off. Ask for a photo with the lid removed. The mouth should be wide and round, and the lid should drop in flat without rocking.

The knob. A bridge knob, low and tile-like. If the knob is a ball, a button or a sculpted motif, you are looking at a variant or a different design — ask which one.

Inside. A photo of the filter behind the spout shows how the pot will pour.

Inside a Hanwa teapot showing the filter holes behind the spout
Inside No. 447 (Hanwa, Golden Duanni clay, 130 ml): a multi-hole filter behind the spout.

Carved Hanwa

The straight wall of a Hanwa works like a small scroll, which is why inscriptions have been part of the shape since Chen Mansheng. Four of our 23 are carved.

Hanwa in Golden Duanni clay carved with Chinese calligraphy
No. 447 — Hanwa, Golden Duanni clay, 130 ml, carved with calligraphy around the wall.
Carved Hanwa in Aged Zini clay held in hand
No. 426 — Hanwa, Aged Zini clay, 130 ml, carved, by Wang Wei.

Variants in our catalogue

Sources name the Ruyi Hanwa and the flat-lid Hanwa as common variants. Our workshop records also file several pots under the Hanwa family that carry their own design names — Ma Dao Cheng Gong, Lianyi (ripple), Shoutao (peach), Lingzhi — and change the knob, lid or wall decoration. We list them exactly as recorded, so you can see how far the family stretches.

Lianyi ripple-form teapot of the Hanwa family pouring tea
No. 309 — Lianyi (ripple), Zini clay, 90 ml, filed under the Hanwa family, pouring.

All 23 Hanwa-type pots in our catalogue

Every pot below has a full photo set on its product page. Click a number to see photos, price and availability.

No. Variant (as recorded) Clay Capacity Craft Maker
161 Hanwa Chijin Zini 180 ml Fully handmade Hu Xiuping
140 Hanwa Benshan Luni 180 ml Fully handmade Fan Weibing
137 Hanwa Hei Duntou 200 ml Fully handmade Fan Weibing
113 Hanwa Shihuang 200 ml Fully handmade Hu Xiuping
145 Hanwa Tianqingni 180 ml Fully handmade Xu Chengzu
166 Hanwa Longxuesha 130 ml Fully handmade Hu Dazhen
179 Hanwa Golden Duanni 190 ml Wood-fired Wu Jianqiang
101 Hanwa Jiangponi 160 ml Fully handmade Gu Peijun
374 Hanwa Zhuni 90 ml Fully handmade Workshop potter (unnamed)
377 Hanwa Dicaoqing Zini 70 ml Fully handmade Workshop potter (unnamed)
361 Hanwa Dicaoqing Zini 110 ml Fully handmade Workshop potter (unnamed)
217 Ruyi Hanwa Tianqingni 200 ml Fully handmade Xu Chengzu
119 Ruyi Hanwa Luni 170 ml Fully handmade Fan Weibing
108 Jingyan Hanwa Jiangponi 140 ml Fully handmade Gu Peijun
210 Lingzhi Hanwa Dahongpao 120 ml Fully handmade —
243 Jinghe tall Hanwa Aged Zini 150 ml Hand-carved Workshop potter (unnamed)
426 Carved Hanwa Aged Zini 130 ml Hand-carved Wang Wei
447 Carved Hanwa Golden Duanni 130 ml Hand-carved Workshop potter (unnamed)
244 Ru Meng Ling, carved Aged Zini 80 ml Wood-fired with hand carving Workshop potter (unnamed)
346 Shoutao (peach) Duanni 180 ml Wood-fired Workshop potter (unnamed)
309 Lianyi (ripple) Zini 90 ml Fully handmade Workshop potter (unnamed)
271 Ma Dao Cheng Gong Duanni 80 ml Wood-fired Workshop potter (unnamed)
267 Ma Dao Cheng Gong Qing Jiangponi 80 ml Fully handmade Workshop potter (unnamed)

More shape guides: Xishi, Dezhong, Shipiao, Hanwa, Fanggu, Shuiping, Rongtian, Longdan, Qinquan, Palace Lantern, Gongchun.

Clay guides: Zhuni, Zini, Duanni, Jiangponi.

For clay names, start with Yixing clay types and colours.