Handmade Xishi Yixing Zisha Teapot – Zhuni Clay, 100ml

This is a 100 ml xishi teapot in Zhuni Clay, fully handmade, made in Dingshu, Yixing. Its Chinese name is 西施.

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 Xishi form (西施) dates to the late Ming, attributed to attributed to Xu Youquan. Named for the classical beauty Xi Shi. Round and full-bodied, with a bead knob, a short spout, an inset lid and a reversed handle. The best-known small zhuni form there is — compact, soft-shouldered, and comfortable in one hand.

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. 100 ml is the classic gongfu size — comfortable for one drinker or two sharing small cups, and the volume most Chaoshan-style brewing was built around. Best suited to oolong, dancong and green tea.

This pot. Catalogue no. 428, 100 ml, US$600. Photographed individually — the images show the pot you receive.

Made by an independent Dingshu potter working outside the titled-master system. We do not attach a name we cannot verify.

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

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