A girl reveals the hidden rules of the tea utensil industry, something anyone who drinks tea regularly must know

Truly original-mine zisha clay, masterfully handcrafted by renowned masters! Unique craftsmanship

Hello to all you teapot lovers who love zisha. I am Zhang Li, a zisha teapot-making craftswoman from Shuzhen Zisha, a native of Dingshu Town, Yixing, born into a traditional Yixing teapot-making family, and a disciple of Pan Chunfang, a researcher-level senior craft artist. I have always followed my family's tradition of hand-making teapots. Many teapot lovers ask me how to tell a good teapot apart, wanting to buy one to collect at home, so today I will explain it all in detail for you.

Recent transaction data shows that from 2015 to 2017, the prices of zisha teapots made by senior artists generally rose by 30%-50% per year, and the prices of certain famous masters' teapots soared several times over. The higher the grade of the zisha ceramic masterpiece, the more its price rose rather than fell. The price trend of zisha teapots is closely related to the development of China's economy. An industry insider from Yixing, Jiangsu, the "China Capital of Pottery", who wished to remain anonymous, boldly predicted that by 2020, the annual price increase of zisha teapots would be no less than 30%.

Thanks to growing up in a zisha family, I was immersed from childhood in the influence of my grandfather and father, and came to understand a great deal about zisha.

Every day I watched my grandfather and father insist on making teapots with traditional handicraft, holding strict standards for every detail of teapot making. In the past I did not understand why a teapot just for drinking tea had to be made with so much effort over so long a time. Looking back now, it was their attitude toward zisha teapots that had a great influence on my own mindset when I later learned to make teapots. Friends who are interested can add me on WeChat.

Because I grew up in a teapot-making family, my understanding of zisha was deeper, and once I formally began learning to make teapots, I took to it with ease. The teapots I made soon won my father's approval. During this time, besides learning teapot making from my grandfather and father at home, whenever there was time my father would take me to visit renowned masters to learn from them and seek their advice, and my teapot-making skills grew day by day.

After years of effort, I not only inherited my family's teapot-making craft, but also received guidance from many masters. My teapots can be said to gather the strengths of many schools and blend them into my own style. Now I also often cooperate with zisha elders and local zisha masters, regularly releasing their treasured fine teapots and new works. Among them are fine pieces by hundreds of local zisha artists such as Li Changhong, Mao Guoqiang, Gu Shaopei, Tang Minggao, Shu Dansheng, Cheng Hui, Jiang Yan, Chen Honglin, Shentu Guohong, Bao Zhenglan, Wang Ye, Yang Yaofen and others! Every piece is a handcrafted work of a renowned master, complete with a personally signed certificate and a photo of the master holding the teapot, and an in-person appraisal with the teacher can be arranged. The collectible value and room for appreciation are especially high!

I hope you can add me on WeChat, so you can gain some understanding of zisha and won't buy a fake zisha teapot.....

Our family has made teapots for three generations. Local teapot-making families all have the habit of storing clay, so we make teapots from these old family-stored materials. Others may have the same teapot, but it is hard to find zisha clay as good as ours. Whether or not you choose our zisha teapots, I hope my zisha knowledge can help you choose and distinguish genuine zisha.

I guarantee to everyone here that every teapot I sell is guaranteed to be made from locally mined raw ore material from Yixing, 100% handmade. If it is fake, I will pay ten thousand for one. Zisha ceramic tea utensils fired from Yixing zisha pottery clay from Jiangsu are recognized worldwide as tea utensils of excellent quality.

Selecting clay material is a daily essential task. A good teapot must use good material, and the aging room has its own particular rules. The refined clay must be kept at an appropriate temperature, and the door must not be opened carelessly to go in and out.

All my teapots are made from local raw ore material, all from the Huanglongshan raw ore material stored by my ancestors, and now it can be said that every bit used leaves a bit less.

From the clay material to the firing and final shaping, I track the entire process, watching and controlling every stage well, ensuring that everything that comes out is a fine piece.

Purely handmade teapots

Throughout the whole process, if I find a teapot that does not meet standards, I will destroy it directly to prevent it from flowing into the market.

First taboo: bloatedness. The way of shaping: add one part and it is fat, take away one part and it is thin.

Second taboo: excessive clutter. In fact it means overdoing the craftsmanship, carving, molding and engraving elaborate decoration on the body of the teapot, destroying the simplicity it should have.

Third taboo: slackness. Handling the lines in a sloppy, dragging way, the spout emerging without strength, the handle not drawn in and released with enough spirit, the body not shaped with any momentum.

Fourth taboo: excessive delicacy. A grand and free-spirited work, when remade in a small capacity, may not reveal the great within the small; the partial proportions are out of balance and too slender.

Fifth taboo: absurdity. Forcibly combining utterly unrelated themes together, lacking inner connection. For example, an eggplant-segment body paired with a pumpkin handle; such teapot shapes, which are formally absurd and contradictory in artistic conception, are all morbid.

Sixth taboo: vulgarity. Purely catering to customers and market demand, blindly following market trends without considering the meaning a teapot shape should have. The work's conception is vulgar, loud but not elegant.

[Add WeChat and follow me]

Please add my shop's WeChat

I will announce the latest zisha teapots I make on my WeChat Moments.

To set your mind at ease, before shipping I can show you photos on WeChat first.

Follow me in time, and together on WeChat we can share the charm of zisha teapots

It does not matter whether you buy or not, add WeChat and let's make friends. After adding WeChat, I will give you an e-book, "A Guide to Appreciating Zisha Teapots", from beginner to expert, carefully edited by me, worth 1000 yuan. Many friends say after reading it they became half an expert. At the same time, I will post newly made zisha teapot works and zisha teapot knowledge on my WeChat Moments every day, so you can learn a little every day and avoid being cheated when buying in the future

What veteran teapot lovers pay attention to, add WeChat and I will show you

1. The collectible potential and artistic value of zisha teapots

2. Factors affecting the price of zisha teapots

3. The room for promotion in the maker's professional title

4. The degree of difficulty of the teapot's workmanship

5. Clay material is the foundation of a zisha teapot

6. How to distinguish original-mine clay from chemical clay

7. The functional beauty of zisha teapots

8. Why are zisha teapots called the king of tea utensils?

9. Why is it best to brew only one kind of tea in one teapot?

10. What kind of tea is better brewed in what kind of teapot?

A small quantity of treasures, left for those with the fate to have them. Teapot lovers who are interested can add my shop's WeChat; there are more teapots displayed in my Moments!

At present 27269 people have already chosen Shuzhen Zisha

Selected comments

153

Zen Tea One Flavor

I have already bought 3 teapots from Shuzhen. I like every one of them; the clay material is good, the workmanship is good, and the price is reasonable too.

3 minutes ago

Zhang Li replied

Zen Tea One Flavor

: Thank you for your support, dear. Lili's own teapots must let everyone use them with peace of mind.

Just now

83

Liu Shengli

A friend likes drinking tea with zisha teapots. After looking into it, he finally chose Shuzhen Zisha. Only when the goods arrived did he find the packaging was so beautiful too.

11 minutes ago

Zhang Li replied to Liu Shengli: Hehe, as long as you like it, brother. You chose right giving a zisha teapot as a gift; giving a zisha teapot is like giving health.

8 minutes ago

Striving

79

Last month I bought a Shipiao teapot from Shuzhen Zisha. Brewing tea in it really "gathers the fragrance and holds the goodness" and "the fragrance does not scatter". After a friend tasted tea from it, he snatched it away. So today I bought another one from Zhang Li.

15 minutes ago

Zhang Li replied

Striving

: Thank you, brother, for your trust in the Shuzhen Zisha brand. Your treasure has already been sent by SF Express, please watch for it.

13 minutes ago

Meeting the Future

58

This shop's zisha teapots feel and are made better than the ones I bought before. I previously bought some locally in Yixing too, but maybe the craftsmanship is different; I feel tea brewed in this shop's teapot tastes better.

19 minutes ago

Zhang Li replied to Meeting the Future: You are a connoisseur, dear. Last time what you chose was a work by a national-level master craftsman; the clay material and workmanship are beyond reproach. The one given to you has a certificate, and the room for collection and appreciation is very large, so please treasure it, dear

Falling Snow Listening to Plum

52

The first zisha teapot I ever got was bought from Shuzhen Zisha. Just after I added Zhang Li on WeChat, she gave me a set of "A Guide to Zisha Teapot Knowledge and Appreciation", which has made me, a total beginner, count as half an expert now.

23 minutes ago

Zhang Li replied

Falling Snow Listening to Plum

: Thank you for your support, dear. In order to let more teapot lovers understand zisha teapots, we especially must give it to new friends.

21 minutes ago

Ruolan

39

A zisha teapot bought for my dad. Dad says the water pours out very smoothly, the sound when tapped is very clear, and the clay material should be quite good. After opening the teapot it feels even more moist (I do not know how to put it), and it looks even more comfortable!

26 minutes ago

Zhang Li replied

Ruolan

: Every teapot in our family is made by a craftsman from family-stored clay material after years of aging, so you can use it with peace of mind

25 minutes ago

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