Handmade Chao Xu Bian Yixing Zisha Teapot – Dahongpao Clay, 60ml

This is a 60 ml xu bian teapot in Dahongpao Clay, fully handmade, made in Dingshu, Yixing. Its Chinese name is 超虚扁.

The clay. The top grade of zhuni — an intensely red ore, scarce, and so prone to shrinkage that most of a kiln load is lost. The pots that survive are vivid and even. The most aroma-forward clay in the catalogue. Nothing is absorbed; everything is thrown forward into the cup.

The form. The Xu Bian form (汲直) dates to the Qing dynasty, Jiaqing–Daoguang era, attributed to Chen Mansheng and Yang Pengnian. One of the eighteen Mansheng forms, named for a vessel for drawing water. A straight cylindrical body, flat shoulders, short and forceful spout. Structural and upright — bone rather than flesh. Reads as clean well water on a tea table.

How it was made. Built entirely by hand — the wall is beaten out from a slab and joined without a mould. Inside the body you can still read the tool marks and the joint line, which is how the method is verified.

Size and tea. At 60 ml this is a solo pot. One person, short infusions, and the small volume means you can push a good leaf through eight or ten steeps without ever brewing more than you drink. Best suited to dancong, yancha and high-fragrance oolong.

This pot. Catalogue no. 209, 60 ml, US$85. Photographed individually — the images show the pot you receive.

Made by 门静. We buy directly from the workshop rather than through a wholesaler, so the attribution comes with the pot.

New to zisha? Read how to season a Yixing teapot before first use.

Similar teapots

• Handmade Xishi Yixing Zisha Teapot — Dahongpao Clay, 100 ml, $85
• Handmade Dezhong Yixing Zisha Teapot — Dahongpao Clay, 110 ml, $85
• Chao Xu Bian Yixing Zisha Teapot — Golden Duanni Clay, 60 ml, $101

Or browse every Dahongpao pot · the full Yixing catalogue.