Rong Jiang's Floriated Zisha Teapots

The Zisha teapot, produced in Yixing, Jiangsu, is well known throughout China. These teapots are mainly classified according to their typical shapes into Smooth-bodied and Floriated Zisha teapot. Rather than having ornate decoration, the Smooth-bodied Zisha teapot emphasizes its geometric shape and spatial form and relies on bright lines and plain, natural forms to embody the features of the shape of the teapot. By contrast, the Floriated Zisha teapot, based on the spatial modeling of the smooth-bodied Zisha teapot, is created by mimicking the vivid shapes found in nature (such as those of flowers, birds, insects, and fish). These floriated teapots have designs of bionic pictographic models delivered through relievo, demirelievo, and round carving in various parts of the teapot, such as the spout, handle, and base. Their external features, materials, and texture are made to appear completely lifelike.

The bionic history of the floriated Zisha teapot in the Yixing dates back to the periods of the Ming and Qing dynasties. The , created by Gong Chun during the Ming dynasty, is considered the earliest floriated Zisha teapot. It is shaped in the form of the gall knot of a ginkgo tree in Jinsha Temple. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing dynasty, Mingyuan Chen, an artisan from Yixing who made purple clay teapots, created many floriated Zisha teapots. Chen’s work was inspired by natural forms; he truly carried forward the development of floriated Zisha teapots. Over the past 100 years, most teapot artisans in Yixing have produced only smooth-bodied teapots, most of which are imitations of ancient teapots and considered to have an extremely high collection value. By contrast, although floriated Zisha teapots have the same value as smooth-bodied teapots, artisans skilled in making these are few in number and the great masters of this art are even fewer. Moreover, the