Hanyuan Yixing Zisha Teapot – Xiekeqing Clay, 180ml

This is a 180 ml zisha teapot in Xiekeqing Clay, wood-fired with hand carving, made in Dingshu, Yixing. Its Chinese name is 汉圆.

The clay. Named for its colour — the blue-grey of a crab shell. A cool, muted body with a fine sandy grain, most often seen wood-fired, where the ash brings the grey to life. Sits between duanni's openness and zini's steadiness, and stays visually calm on a crowded tea table.

The form. This is the Hanyuan form — 汉圆 in Chinese. It is one of the many shapes carried in the Dingshu workshops outside the small set of canonical forms, and it is built by the same slab-and-beat method as the classics. We describe what we can verify: the ore, the method and the proportions.

How it was made. Wood-fired, with carving cut by hand before the firing — so the ash settles into the incised lines.

Size and tea. At 180 ml this fills three or four cups at once — enough for guests without moving to a full teapot. Best suited to raw pu-erh, light oolong and green tea.

This pot. Catalogue no. 193, 180 ml, US$80. Photographed individually — the images show the pot you receive.

Made by 刘群. 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

• Lianzi Yixing Zisha Teapot — Xiekeqing Clay, 210 ml, $80
• Ji Zhi Yixing Zisha Teapot — Xiekeqing Clay, 220 ml, $80
• Shipiao Yixing Zisha Teapot — Xiekeqing Clay, 180 ml, $80

Or browse every Xiekeqing pot · the full Yixing catalogue.