Mei Ren Jian Yixing Zisha Teapot – Zhuni Clay, 90ml – No. 039

This is a 90 ml mei ren jian teapot in Zhuni Clay, hand-carved, made in Dingshu, Yixing. Its Chinese name is 美人肩.

The clay. Very high in iron, fired to a bright vermilion, and dense enough to ring when the lid is tapped. Zhuni shrinks by up to twenty percent in the kiln, so a large share of every batch cracks — the Yixing saying is that a zhuni pot without wrinkles is not zhuni. Dense and low-porosity, so it holds aroma at the surface instead of absorbing it. This is the clay that makes fragrant teas smell like themselves.

The form. The Mei Ren Jian form (美人肩) dates to the Qing dynasty. 'Beauty's shoulder' — the line from the neck out across the shoulder and down is the whole point of the form, and it is taken from the way a robe falls on a woman's shoulder. Tall, narrow-necked and softly sloped. Unforgiving of any flat spot in the curve.

How it was made. Decoration cut into the leather-hard clay by hand with a steel blade, in the Yixing engraving tradition that goes back to Chen Mansheng's collaborations with potters.

Size and tea. At 90 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 oolong, dancong and green tea.

This pot. Catalogue no. 039, 90 ml, US$150. Photographed individually — the images show the pot you receive.

Made by 陈敬. 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

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Or browse every Zhuni pot · the full Yixing catalogue.