Liu Fang Tian Di Fang Yuan 六方天地方圆 - 140ml Yixing Teapot in Zini Purple Clay
High-grade Yixing clay teapot fully handcrafted with experience and passion by our trusty artist Yuan Weixin. Each of his teapots has its own personality, which will improve over the years it will spend with you, brew after brew.
The teapot is titled 天地方圆 (Tiāndì fāngyuán) meaning "heaven and earth, circle and square". The hexagonal shape (六方 liú fāng) of this teapot combines the square solidity of its bottom for stability, and the curved softness of its top for a sense of lightness. This dual nature is frequently employed to express the roundness of the sky and the squareness of the ground, referencing ancient Chinese cosmology and the duality of yin and yang.
One side features a hand-engraved poem, called 云观 (yún guān), which translates as "cloud gazing" and evokes a serene and meditative state of contemplation, as if you were lying back and watching the clouds drift by. While the reverse showcases a delicate carving of bamboo leaves.
The teapot is crafted from aged Zini 紫泥 purple clay. Its porosity and rich colour hues are further enhanced by the delicate hand-carvings.
Each teacup comes with the artist’s signed certificate.
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Note: each Yixing is a unique, hand-made piece; the measurement may vary slightly.
The Yixing clay has been known to be the best material for steeping tea for at least one thousand years, and what we use today is the perfected result of a centuries-old artisan tradition.
The central characteristic of a Yixing teapot is its porosity, that frees the tea fragrance and allows a unique seasoning of the pot.
Every time we steep the tea in it, our pot absorbs the tea oils and color, gaining a natural coating that enriches the essential taste of the tea. For this reason it is recommended to steep only one kind of tea in your Yixing pot, rinsing it with pure water, without any soap, and air-drying it.
Before you first use your Yixing pot we advise you to follow an easy and effective procedure, that will ensure the best quality brewing for the years to come:
1- steep few grams of the tea you intend to use with your Yixing teapot in a normal kitchen pot full of water;
2- boil the water for about half of an hour, brewing a very strong tea;
3- remove the tea leaves, leaving a clear brew;
4- wrap your Yixing in a rug or cloth, taking care to wrap its lid in a different piece of cloth. We will boil it in the same pot we have prepared, so we need to ensure the best protection for our Yixing teapot;
5- submerge the Yixing teapot in the strong tea for another half hour;
6- let it cool down naturally, then rinse with fresh water.
Our Yixing teapots come from the studio of Yuan Weixin 袁伟新 and his wife Lian Meiping 连美平, grand-daughter of Luyao Chen, one of the rare 国家级大师, the National Level of Master.
From him they have inherited a priceless stock of the best clay, seasoned through the decades.
Their pieces are fully hand-made, carved and baked multiple times in different kilns, according to the clay and the final results.
ABOUT YUAN WEIXIN 袁伟新
Yuan Weixin has achieved theNational Senior-Master 高级工艺美术师 (国家) level in this art, which can only be mastered through a lifetime of experience; in addition to pottery, he is a calligraphy master and a renown calligraphy teacher.
A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP
We visit their studio every three months to choose the teapots, and to fulfil our eyes with their creation. They are among the warmest people we have ever met, and living in their studio for few days always restore our mind.
They are happy to customise your tea pot choosing your preferred clay, shape, and carving: write us for booking and further information.
CERTIFICATE OF GUARANTEE
Each teapot is shipped with a certificate of guarantee signed by the artist.
