Handmade Yu Hua Long Yixing Zisha Teapot – Zhuni Clay, 170ml

This is a 170 ml yu hua long teapot in Zhuni Clay, fully handmade, made in Dingshu, Yixing. Its Chinese name is 鱼化龙.

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 Yu Hua Long form (鱼化龙) dates to the Qing dynasty, attributed to Shao Daheng. A carp becoming a dragon — the classical image for passing the imperial examinations. The body is worked in waves, with a dragon's head emerging on one side and the tail forming the handle. On the finest examples the head moves as the pot is tipped. The most theatrical of the traditional forms, and among the most technically demanding.

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 170 ml this fills three or four cups at once — enough for guests without moving to a full teapot. Best suited to oolong, dancong and green tea.

This pot. Catalogue no. 381, 170 ml, US$550. 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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