The essential mineral of Zisha pugs are rock quartz, mica,clay and hematite, etc, they formed a symbiotic crumb structure. During the firing process, further formed the double stomatal structure. This kind of stomatal structure, can make a pot had the impermeable barrier and good breathability. Purple clay's unique properties make it ideal for brewing tea. The quality most immediately apparent is the attractive color of purple clay. This color, sometimes augmented by natural pigments, is never hidden on YiXing teapots by glazes. Similarly, the inside of YiXing teapots are always left uncoated. The porous nature of purple clay absorbs the flavor, smell,and color of the tea that is brewed in it. All of purple clay teapots are certified to be lead free. And since no glazes are used on the teapots, they are free from the chemicals that one might find in other teapots.
Yixing teapots were relatively unknown for many years until the late Ming Dynasty (1600s) when their use and production began to flourish. Demand from Europe and throughout China fueled an active industry in which many artists developed their craft to high levels of mastery. The famous Yixing Zisha teapots were made by clay slices, but different shap had different modeling techniques, such as round Dashentong, square Xiangshentong(inlaid cylinder shape of body). Other modeling can hand made, also can use the mould modeling.
Category of Zisha slurry materials
The porous nature and rich of purple clay in Yixing are divided into three categories such as white clay, Jia clay, Nen clay. The raw material of purple clay pottery is the purple silty mud in the Jia clay ledge.
Raw materialsof Yixing Zisha pottery include purple day, green day and red clay, collectively called as purple sand clay. The Jia clay ledge is a large production interlayer. The green clay is intra-mud in the Jia clay ledge, so also be called as "mud in mud". Because the small amounts of green clay, it is misfit for producing large products, a few products made by green clay- Tuanshan(lumpiness) clay is mixed clay by purple clay and green clay, can be used for making large products. Red clay is the bottom of ledges, thus used for making small products and engobe ordinarily.
For thousands of years, the ceramics in Yixing continued and never flopped, the industrious and intelligent people of Yixing potters utilized the local pottery clay sufficiently, and developed to the perfection. During the Republic of China Period,Yixing ceramics divided the lottery into six categories due to the characteristic of Yixing pottery day such as bluish, yellow, Xi(stream), sand, crude, black. The bluish was on the top position.
The purple clay, green clay and red clay all have its intrinsic chemical compound, mineral constituent and process feature. When a raw material recovered from the ledges, common named as "raw mud" similar to the argillaceous rock, needed to pile up, weather exposure, after it loose, crash it with grinder; in the cottage craft studios, use the millstone mill crash the efflorescent granular size purple sand into fine powder, then sieve and classify it, add water coordinating the raw mud, then beat by wooden club for making the ripe clay. Or else, put the raw mud into the vacuum deairing machine and make out the ripe clay which can be use.
In recent years, people proportioned different clay materials for riching the surface of color of purple clay teapots and fit for the requirements of craft variety and creation, some of them put metallic oxide colorant into mud materials, to make the finished products get rich color. If we added the crude sand, metal sand, the stains will recover after finished, the changes will show out much more.
Main tools in making purple clay teapots
Yixing Ziasha teapots are famous for special slices moulding method. The base modeling of Zisha teapots is an important link in making purple clay teapots, the quality of pot arts relative to the raw materials and firing process, but in largely, it depends on the modeling method of the pot, and the various molding can not do without tools of making pot.
Therefore, for the potters, not only have the skills of different kinds of modeling, but also be familiar with kinds of tools, sometimes they should do and process a few tools, all of these can make them to show their designs and purposes out completely.
Our ancestors ever said, "if you want to do something, do ready first." What we point is the authoring tools. A success art of teapot need lots of instruments to provide assistant moulding, dozens of tools at least hundreds of at most.
The modeling tools have a great variety, they pay particukar attention to the practicalness, as well as the quality of textures and artistics. After the generations researches on tools, it formed a system, ft reached hundreds of categories on quantity, the texture contains metal, wood, bamboo, oxhorn, leather, plastic, plaster, resin and so many materials. Now let me introduce some common tools.
Lug, the major instrument in moulding, use for beat the clay slices. The texture includes Ju(elm) wood, ebony wood, jujube wood,etc.
Sharp minted knife, with lots of categories such as metal sharp knife, bamboo sharp knife, curl sharp knife, etc, it is a common instrument for cutting the mouth, handle, roundish feet, small flat sides,etc.
Rhodeus knife, the most widely used tool in moulding, in the makeing process, use knife to carve, cut, scrape, poke, pick, dig, shave, press,etc, it should be used for many times from start to end. The texture is metal.
Wooden bat, mainly used in beating cylinder body, pat the slices and mouths, as well as arrange the cylinder body. The best material is red wood, Ju(elm) wood, ebony wood, jujube wood also could be use. It requires symmetric on both sides, the sides pat are flat and neat, face of bat is Hun, handle is thick, with natural change, the rim of handle is half-round. They have many sizes, but they all are same length with the contractible sizes base on the big bats.
Gui Che(cutting measure), used specifically to cut slices and mouths. Kinds of sizes, the textures mostly are bamboo, wood. The nails are metal.
String tools, used for buffing of kinds of decorative lines. The texture includes oxhorn, metal, bamboo, wood, plastic,etc. Because the different shapes and parts of strings, every string needs a corresponding tool.
Mingzhen(shming needle), used for the further processing after the surface of moulding, with lots of categories and sizes.texture is oxhoni. Clay ruler, used for hold the clay slices and big slices,made by bamboo, became narrow from handle to top gradually, the back should be flat, with a side is mouthed.
Lezhi, a tool used for glazing the connection of neck, bottom and body, material includes oxhorn, bamboo, wood, metal,etc. It can process the shape from different angles and radians.
Bizi, for reshaping. The texture is bamboo slice or wood block, you can make the different radians to sizes of Bizi according to different overall outlines of teapots, to make sure its basic shape as same as the teapots.
Fuzhi, generally made by bamboo or shining needle as thick as 2mm - 3mm, the angles of Fuzhi should be bigger than the practical modeling.
Bamboo pat,sizes includes big, middle, small, there are flat top, knife-top and so on categories. The big and middle sizes of pat used for clapping the body and making square pots, the small is used for scraping the bottom, making mouth and handle,etc.
Dig-knife, used for digging the hole of mouth, made by thin steel wire as thin as 2.5mm, pressed it and add handle on it, different sized should be processed as a certain bending with knife-top.
Bobbin, used for probing the different sized eyelets.
Duge(single), used for making roundish eyelets and mouth. Materials include bamboo, oxhorn, ivory, hard wood,etc. One is a sharp top and a flat top, the other kind is a pointy ends, with a thin top and a thick top.
Water-colour paint brush,a traditional tool which made by cloth. It had been taken place by writing brush right now.
Besides these, such as Nicheng (worktable), Dingzhu(used for making seals), wooden hammer, Oaizuo (used for processing the cover). Every set of cover-making includes variety of sizes, round and square. The wheel( as well as the dynamoelectric wheel used for making case mold), wooden turntable, blow can, turning tool, roundish-mouth steelyard weighty pure cotton cloth, etc.
Molding and making methods of teapots
The molding of purple clay teapots includes round, square, natural, rib pattern, new shape wares. The model change is the most abundant in single vessels. The shape of purple clay teapots are different varieties of kinds of molds, in tradition, it has a wording of "no same square, no similar round". The development of contemporary art of Yixing pots, on the basis of the following in the traditional modelling, there is inheriting, imitation, as well as innovation.
The sphere ware is the earliest for the shape of purple clay teapots in the historical and archeological physical findings. Using the transformation of curved shape, appearance the model changed a lot, compare to the other molding methods, molding by clay slices.
Molding by clay slices flashed on th early-Chengbeixi culture in the Neolithic Age, then had been taken place by throwing molding method. In the early-Neolithic Age what we called molding by clay slices was twisting the clay into mud ball, pressed into the mud pieces, then pinched and patted by hand, to make the mud coherented together.
Molding by clay slices of purple clay teapots is an unique molding method in the history of Yixing teapots, it based on the potters,acknowledges and understandings on Yixing porcelain materails. The round, square, natural, rib pattern, new shape wares all could be made by this method with lots of tools and careful process.
To understand and familiar wii the processing methods of purple clay teapots, is the basic way to judge the quality of purple clay teapots.
1. Processing procedure of round pots
The round shape is common in purple clay teapot, the major styles inclueded the sphere, hemisphere, cylindrical, sphere variation, coordinate the shape, mouth, handle, feet, cover, button and body can make the variation diversified.
Making round teapots, cut the clay slices according to the dimension requirement at first, then process the body, mouth, handle, cover, assemble and install them, open the kettle's spout, put the cover on the mouth. Just as famous potter Mr.Bao Zhenglan set an example.
Step1, patting the clay strips into slice by wood lug.
Step2, using the flat side of lug to pat the clay slice well-proportioned.
Step3, using the wooden-knife scratching and pressing neat and in order.
Step4, using the measure cut the need width with the slices.
Step5,pricessing the muth slice, bottom slice accrding to the need size.
Step6, using the cutting measure cut a piece of slice as same as belly caliber, put it in the middle of wheel machine, waiying for surrounding the clay slices.
Step7, surrounding the clay slices on the cut bottom, and form a cylinder.
Step8, cutting the unnecessary parts off.
Step9, using the writing brush with water to cohere.
Step10, using tools pressed and adjusting the joint, leave a sign on the joint.
Step11, put left hand into the cylinder in 1/2 position, using the wooden-bat patting this part to make it convergent inside until it fit close to the bottom's diameter.
Step12, putting the slurry on the convergent rim of mouth, inlay the measured bottom slice to the mouth, use the wooden bat patting the joint neat and in order, and caulking.
Step13, turnover the body, using the small bamboo bat scraping out the redundant clay.
Step14, using the wooden-bat patting this part to make it convergent inside until it fit close to the pre-measured cutting slice.
Step15, putting the slurry on the convergent rim of oral part, inlay the measured bottom slice to the mouth.
Step16, using the wooden-bat patting the measured body and gauging the shape of shoulder,belly and bottom.
Step17, painting the slurry on the measured cutting slice and affix on the bottom.
Step18, making the bottom slice connected with the roundsih body.
Step19, keep the body flat, painting slurry on the neck, you should cafe the round orifice in the middle of body to align.
Step20, using Fuzhi made a small arc os die connection to fit for its natural look. Then, use Lezhi compress the connection of neck and body.
Step21, using the shining needle and Bizi process the body time and again, to make it bright and clean, neat and in order.
Step22, using the Rhodeus knife seek out the redundant parts of clay slices.
Step23, arranging the rim-slices by line-tools to make them unified.
Step24, using the Rhodeus knife seek out the redundant parts of bottom slice.
Step25, clothing a circle shiny on the bottom using Fuzhi to process the joint formed a small arc, using the shining needle unify the bottom to make it smooth finish and nature.
Making button
The shape of button includes a lot, with different modelling method, mow I introduce a traditional way.
Step1, twisting a strip clay with the soft clay material.
Step2, twisting with wooden bat again to make it round and neat.
Stqp3, to withstand a top of roundish strip, the other top stand up to the pit of the stomach, patting the tap of strip to semicircle in shape.
Step4, taking the bamboo torsion to make the top round and formed a button.
Step5, adjusting the parts with wooden bat.
Step6, cut down the button from the clay strip.
Step7, the processed button.
Making flow-miuth and handle
1. Twist a conical contour strip clay with the soft clay material.
2. Twist with wooden bat again.
3. Insert the metal sharp pointed knife to the center of thick top of the conical contour strip clay, rolling the strip, penetrate the strip willi knife.
4. Making the shape of mouth by the processed strip.
5. Cut out the redundant parts of flow-mouth, hollow the flow-mouth by dig-knife to make sure it well proportioned.
6. Take another piece of soft clay, twist a roundish strip clay with this soft material, then use the wooden bat patting it standardization.
7. Modelling the finished strip into shape of hanldle.
8. Bending it to fit for the body of teapot.
9. Cutting the unnecessary parts off.
Making pot cover
Step1, cutting the slice by Guiche according to the size of the mouth of teapot.
Step2, put the slice on the lug and patting it by hand lightly, make the slice dome-shaped.
Step3, painting the slurry on the rim of mouth.
Step4, covering it on the lug, assemble two slices aligned and leave an even sideline.
Step5, correcting the shape of cover and radian by Bizi, then processing the by shining needle.
Step6, using the wooden bat pat out a strip clay slices 4mm thick, make it sidelong lower extreme
Step7, cutting out a 12mm wide strip from the sidelong part.
Step8, surrounding the strip to cylinder according to the mouth size.
Step9, painting the slimy on the thicker top, coherent it on the seat slice to form the inside mouth of the cover.
Step10, using tools adjusting the inside mouth and make it standard and neat.
Step11, using the Rhodeus knife with curl head to dig the unnecessary parte out.
Step12, putting the shurry on the rim inside of cover,scraping and pressing the slurry and cut the unnecessary parts off.
Step13, put on the finished button in the center of cover.
Set on the flow-mouth and handle
Coherent the finished flow-mouth, handle, body together, the humidity level should be same when assembling these, otherwise, it will easy to go wrong.
Step1, making sure the positions of setting flow-mouth and handle by tools.
Step2, probing several small round orifices on the position of coherenting the flow-mouth by tube.
Step3, painting the slurry on the root part of flow-mouth.
Step4, connecting the slurried flow-mouth with the body of pot on the very position.
Step5, making sure the very position of handle, and setting it on.
Step6, add and press the modest hardness slurry after a little bit dried, managing the joint of handle with body and flow-mouth with body smooth and fruity.
Step7, after set on the handle and flow-mouth and polish the body, it could open the mouth of pot, and cut it with Guiche.
Step8, repairing the inside of pot with wooden bat, scraping the bottom to make it clean and neat.
Step9, repairing the mouth by the Rhodeus knife until it fit for the cover.
Step10, using tools adjusting the inside mouth and make it standard and neat.
Step11, using the Rhodeus knife with curl head to dig the unnecessary parts out.
Step12, putting the slurry on the rim inside of cover,scraping and pressing the slurry and cut the unnecessary parts off.
Step13, put on the finished button in the center of cover.
Steq14, using the handle of Rhodeus knife recondition the inside of cover.
Set on the flow-mouth and handle
Coherent the finished flow-mouth, handle, body together, the humidity level should be same when assembling these, otherwise, it will easy to go wrong.
Step1, making sure the positions of setting flow-mouth and handle by tools.
Step2, probing several small round orifices on the position of coherenting the flow-mouth by tube.
Step3, painting the slurry on the root part of flow-mouth.
Step4, connecting the slurried flow-mouth with the body of pot on the very position.
Step5, making sure the very position of handle, and setting it on.
Step6, add and press the modest hardness slurry after a little bit dried, managing the joint of handle with body and flow-mouth with body smooth and fruity.
Step7, after set on the handle and flow-mouth and polish the body, it could open the mouth of pot, and cut it with Guiche.
Step8, repairing the inside of pot with wooden bat, scraping the bottom to make it clean and neat.
Step9, repairing the mouth by the Rhodeus knife until it fit for the cover.
Step10, put the cover on the mouth, check whether they are anastomoses then processing the body of pot and calendering.
Step11, knocking the seal on the finished body as well as the small seal on the handle.
Step12, turnover the body, putting the seal onto the center of bottom,and knocking it with a small wooden hammer.
Step13, the bottom with a seal.
2. Processing procedure of square pots
The purple clay square teapot, also called as square teapots. Used in the inlay body modeling in the processing. For the standards and convenient in making, lots of potters did the moulding board first, then using the moulding board to cut the clay and these can make the clay uniform and easier to make and control the modelling. The common sgape of square teapots includes foursquare,six-sides, eight-sides, and the square rib pattern wares, etc. Compare to the round teapots, it is more difficult to make square teapots. Just as famous potter Mr.Chen Yiqun set an example.
Inlay cylinder body
Step1, cutting the processed clay materials into pieces of clay strips according to need, using the wooden lug to pat the clay slice well-proportioned.
Step2, cutting the clay slices of body by the moulding board according to the requirement.
Step3, using the moulding board cut out the bottom slices.
Step4, putting the processed slices on the special trayer when processing the six sides.
Step5, pressing out the shape of six sides on the trayer.
Stcp6, painting slurry on the curl clay slices.
Stcp7, pressing out the shape of six sides on the trayer.
Step8, finished six-sides body.
Step9, using the small bamboo bat scraping out the redundant clay of the joints.
Step10, cover the bottom slice, painting slurry on the rim of mouth well-proportioned, inlay the six-sides clay.
Step11, turnover it and painting and inlaying as the same way.
Step12, using the small bamboo bat adjusting the whole body after setting done.
Step13, cutting out the slice for neck by moulding board.
Step14, putting the slurry on the rim of neck part and bonding on the bottom slice, which is in the central position.
Step 15, using Fuzhi made a small arc on the connection to fit for its natural look.
Step16, use Lezhi compress the connection of neck and body clean and smooth, neat and in order after it is dry.
Step17, managing the finished bottom slice and cut the redundant clay off.
Step18, using the Rhodeus knife seek out the redundant parts of bottom slice.
Step19, using the water cleaning rag moisten the six-sides slice.
Step20, clothing a circle slurry on the rim of mouth, bonding the processed slice on the neck slice, arranging the rim-slices by line-tools to make them unified.
Step21, the finished six-sides cylinder body.
Making flow-mouth and handle
The flow-mouth of six-side square teapots is similar to the flow-mouth of round pots, so we use as same processing method as flow-mouth of round pots.
Step1, twisting a conical contour strip clay with the soft clay material.
Stqp2, Insert the metal sharp pointed knife to the center of thick top of the conical contour strip clay, holding the metal knife by hands, penetrate the strip with knife and rolling strip in a same direction. Bend it as the shape of flow-mouth.
Step3, cutting the redundant parts off.
Stcp4, processing the flow-mouth into six-sides which with the shape of cylinder body.
Step5, using the dig-knife to cut out the redundant clay materials in the mouth and fix them up.
Step6, the processed flow-mouth.
Step7, take another piece of soft clay, twist it as a long roundish strip clay,then use the wooden bat patting it into six-sides.
Step8, finished six-sides long strip.
Step9, bending the processed six-sides long strip into the shape of handle, cut out the redundant clay materials. Processing the button with soft clay, to make the shape of handle anastomosis with the shape of cylinder boby.
Step10, the finished handle.
Making button and cover
1.Cut a thick clay slice by the clay materials,which anastomosis with the height of button. And cutting out the six-sides of button on the moulding board.
2. Processing the six-sides of button first.
3. The processed six-sides in an early form, after dry a little and continue to processing.
4. Using the Rhodeus knife to process the button smooth and nrat in order.
5. Using the dig-knife to cut the redundant clay materials out from the button.
6. Cutting the slices by slice board according to the size of designed. Patting the cut slices by hand side on the trayers, to make it as six-sides square arc. Painting the slurry on the rim of six-sides slice.
7. Bonding the cover slice on the pro-cut slice which is in the central position, assemble two slices aligned and leave an even sideline.
8. Using Fuzhi specified the figure and the radian of cover, then processing by shining needle.
9. Patting the clay slices by wooden bat, which are well-proportioned and fit for the processing mouth insides.
10. Using the Rhodeus knife to cut out the redundant clay materials of the mouth insides.
11. Painting the slurry on the rim of mouth inside, pasting the mouth insides without my leaning.
12. Processing the six-sides of mouth insides by Lezhi to make it smooth and squaring.
13. Using the Rhodeus knife to dig the redundant clay materials out.
14. Foil filled the empty space in slices with the soft clay materials, then repair the mouth insides by sharp pointed knife.
15. Scraping the spackle clay into circular arc by Fuzhi. Then repair the mouth insides with Lezhi.
16. Setting the button on the cover. Because of the six-sides, it should be cared the six-sides of button and cover are aligning.
17. Processing the button by Lezhi to make it neat and in order, smooth and clean.
18. At last, processing carefully with the shining needle till it be finished.
Setting mouth and handle of pot
1. Put flow-mouth on the body to make sure where the position is, opening the osculum by special purpose tool, the sizes and number are depend on the size of flow-mouth.
2. Painting the shiny on the root of flow-mouth, stick the flow-mouth on the body.
3. Make sure the central position of setting handle.
4. Painting the slurry on the both top of circle handle. Then check from several directions whether the petition is good.
5. Using the bamboo sharp pointed-knife to process the sticked flow-mouth and handle carefully and meticulously.
6. Processing carefully with the shining needle various of parts to make them neat and in order, smooth and shining.
7. Using the Rhodeus knife to refined the mouth of pot, open the moutii of pot at last.
Opening the mouth of pot
1. Using the Rhodeus knife scraping the exact position of mouth.
2. Dig out the slices and the fitful slice.
3. Using the Rhodeus knife to repair the mouth of pot.
4. Using small bamboo bat repair the inside of pot, to make it clean and smooth.
5. Knock the seal and inscription. Put it upside down, to stand up to the position for inscription, put the teal on it, with a wooden hammer beat lightly in proper.
6. Repairing the osculum one by one by Wan(bent tool), to make water flow unhindered.
7. Put the cover on and repair it totally, make sure the six-sides of cover can fix with each other. After it dry a little, use a soft pure cotton cleaning rag to wipe the variety of parts of pot surface, common called as" washing face' it can dean the all making vestige and the figureprints. Then it is finished.
8. The finished six-sides roundish pot.
3. Processing procedure of rib pattern pots
Making a rib pattern vessels includes two methods, one is hand-making, the other is making the mother moulding, reproduce the moulds and modeling. We introduce the first one, making rip pattern sets by hand.
The cylinder of rip pattern body which is hand-making is basically similar to the body shape of round ware. Just it needs using the bamboo sharp pointed knife to press out the rib pattern on the processed cylinder pot, As the famous potter Mr.Li Yuanlin set an example.
Step1, patting the clay strips into slice by wood lug, using the flat side of lug to pat the clay slice well-proportioned.
Step2, using the wooden-knife scratching and pressing neat and in order.
Step3, using the measure cut need width with the slices.
Step4, processing the mouth slice and the bottom slice according to the need size by measure cut.
Step5, put the cut slice in the middle of wheel machine, waiting for surrounding the clay slices.
Step6, surrounding the clay slices on the cut bottom, and I form a cylinder, and cutting unnecessary parts off.
Step7, using the writing brush with water to the joints and seams, stickup. Using tools compressed the beams and adjusting the joints, leave a sign the joints.
Step8, put left hand into the cylinder in 1/2 position, using the wooden-bat patting this part to make it convergent inside until it fit close to the bottom's diameter.
Step9, putting the slurry on the convergent rim of mouth, inlay the measured bottom slice to the mouth, use the wooden bat patting the joint neat and it order, and caulking.
Step10, using the wooden-bat patting this part to make it convergent inwards until it fit close to the prc-measured cutting slice.
Step11, the finished bottom with processed slice.
Stepl2, scraping the redundant olay out and patting this part with wooden-bat to make it convergent inwards until it fit close to the pre-measured cutting slice of mouth.
Step13, putting the slurry on the finished convergent rim of oral part.
Step14, using the Rhodens knife holding the slice of month and inlay on the mouth part.
Step15, using the wooden-bat patting the measured body and gauging the shape of shoulder, belly and bottom.
Step16, find out the points of rib pattern be carved and link them by ruler.
Step17, the painted rib pattern lines should be equidistant one by one.
Step18, using the bamboo sharp pointed knife compress the rib pattern from bottom to shoulder of pot according to the lines.
Step 19, when compressing,with even enforce on one line by another one. Then change the tools gradually, to make the rib pattern become clear gradually.
Step20, patting the clay strips into slice by wood lug, for making the mouth slice and bottom slice.
Step21, using the rib pattern moulding board to cut the mouth slice and bottom slice out.
Step22, painting the slurry on file around bottom slice, and stickup on the body bottom of cylinder pot It should be on the central position, using Fuzhi made a small are on die connection between the bottom slice and the body, to fit for its natural look and become as a whole.
Step23, the rib patten pot with processed bottom slice.
Step24, setting the mouth slice on the rim of mouth with painted slurry and stick up to the cylinder body. When splicing, it should be directed at the central and every rib should be interconnected.
Step25, using wooden bat patting the mouth slice to make it neat and in order.
Step26, surrounding the soft clay strips on the connection of mouth slice and shoulder. Steep the soft clay strip into water before surrounding.
Stcp27, using Fuzhi made a small arc on the connection to fit for its natural look and to make the surrounding strips formed a small round arc between the mouth slice and the shoulder.
Step28, using the bend sharp pointed knife to adjust die shoulder to make it smooth and nature finished.
Step29, arranging the every rim-slice by line-tools to make diem clearly.
Step30, using the shining needle to process the alternation between Yin and Yang of rib pattern lines.
Step31, using the Rhodeus knife seek out the redundant parts of clay slices to form a rib pattern roundish feet.
Step32, using Fuzhi paint the slurry on the roundish feet inside.
Step33, using the Rhodeus knife seek out the redundant parts of clay slices after use up.
Step34, the processed body of rib pattern cylinder pot.
Making the flow-mouth of pot
The flow-mouth of rib pattern pot is as same as the processing techniques, only some of the flow-mouth of rib pattern pot should be aligned with the cylinder body. But this one is same to the flow-mouth of round pot.
Step1. twist a conical contour strip clay with the soft clay material.
Slep2. insert the metal sharp pointed knife to the center of thick top of the conical contour strip clay, rolling the strip, penetrate the strip with knife.
Slep3. trending the hollow clay strip into the shape of mouth by the processed strip.
Stcp4. repair the outline of figure of flow-mouth by bamboo sharp pointed knife.
Step5. cutting out the redundant parts of bended handle.
Step6. processing it carefully by using the bamboo sharp pointed knife.
Step7. processing the button shape with soft clay, to make the shape of handle harmonious with the shape of cylinder body.
Making handle of pot
Step1. take a piece of soft clay, twisting to a roundish strip clay with this soft material by hand.
Step2. then use the wooden bat patting it standardization to form a long clay strip which form coarse to very fine.
Step3. bending the long strip into the shape of handle.
Step4. The basic shape of bended handle.
Step5. cutting out the redundant parts of bended handle.
Step6. processing it carefully by using the bamboo sharp pointed knife
Step7. processing the button shape with soft clay, to make the shape of handle harmonious with the shape of cylinder body.
Making cover of pot
Step1. Patting the round well proportioned slices by using the wooden bat.
Step2. Cutting the cover slice by using the moulding board.
Step3. Putting the slices on the trayer and patting the cut slices by hand side lightly, to make it formed as dome-shaped.
Step4. The processed dome-shaped slice.
Step5. Cutting out the seated slice for cover by moulding board.
Step6. Painting the flurry on the inside rim of slice.
Step7. Putting the cover slice onto the seated slice, assemble two slices be placed in the central position and aligned, as well as leave an even sideline.
Step8. Using wooden bat patting and compressing the cover slice.
Step9. Using Fuzhi specified the figure and the radian of cover.
Step10. The processed roughcast slice cover after it dry and go further processing attentively.
Step11. Patting the clay slices by wooden bat, which are well-proportioned and fit for the processing mouth insides.
Step12. It also has rib pattern on the mouth insides which cut by moulding board, when stickup the cover slice, it should be cared all rib pattern ate aligning.
Step13. Processing the button base on the basic shape of round vessels carved the rib pattern which is in line with the cover and rib pattern cylinder pot.
Step14, Setting the button on the central position of cover. Because of the every rib pattern lines should are aligning, then go further processing.
Setting mouth and handle of pot
1. Put flow-mouth on the body to confirm the position, opening the osculum by bobbin, stick the flow-mouth on the body.
2. Adding the soft clay on the joints of flow-mouth, handle and body, which by bamboo sharp pointed knife after the slurry dry a little, carve and polish it over and over again until the joints are smooth and shining, mellow and full.
3. Opening the mouth of pot, cut the redundant slices off. Repairing the mouth particular to the rib pattern modellings the cover and mouth insides are all rib pattern, it requires the cover can be turnover and fit for whichever directions.
4. Processed rib pattern pot.
5. Knocking the seal on the finished body. Turnover the body, putting the seal onto the outsit center of bottom, and knocking it with a small wooden hammer.
6. Finished bottom with a seal.
Taking about inscriptions
The inscription, many people call as "kuan shi", in fact, it should be called as "kuan zhi". It was a kind of words which carved cm the bells and tripod utensils in ancient time. The litterateur in Yuan Dynasty, Tao Zongyi wrote in his "Chuogeng(ploughmg work) Records.Antique Copper and Bronze Ware", "so called as inscription can be divided into two meanings, carved first, it is a kind of negative characters and painted out; projecting words is what we call "positive characters". There also has a statement as:" carved characters are out, and positive characters are inside"; "pattrn is negative characters and seal cutting is positive characters.
Nowadays, the meaning of characters is not so complicated as ancients, we just considered as an mark of an article in a legal document or the name of sender or recipient inscribed on a painting or a piroe of calligraphy which carved on the potteries and some other materials vessels. There were no any inscriptions on the purple clay teapots. accompany with the developments of business and economy, left a sign when it entered the circulation and sales channel Gradually, Hie evolution of the pot as mark used for the famous potters, then began pay particukar attention to dainty.
It appeared inscriptions on the purple clay teapots until Late-Ming Dynasty. it should be carved inscriptions in the early time. What we can see the unearthed teapots with inscriptions of Shi Dabin mostly are carved ascription. Carved on the bottom or the root part of handle of pots, rare of them were carved on some other parts. Most of them were carved by bamboo-knife. To the Qing Dynasty, teapots with inscription became more and more, some were carved, some were so^tedL And the contents started to rich with lots of forms. some carved name and the title of periods. During the Kangxi Period in Qing Dynasty, it sheared some inscriptions looked like the inscriptions of official wares on the purple clay teapots, "Kangxi drive makes11 in blue and yellow regular script inscription, some were square, some were round, twin circle set on the outside. There were six-characters inscription as "made in Qianiong Period in Qing Dynasty",etc. In the early time of the Republic of China, governments encouraged saving the nation by engaging in industry and starting up new factories, at that time, do the Yixing kilns were much more prosperous rather than other places. The contents of inscriptions on teapots changed stealthily. After the founding of New Peopled Republic of China, the government called for the Establishments of Potters Industry Produces Cooperation, which produced bottom pot with the marked as "made by Yixing Establishments of Potters Industry Producers Cooperation".
The change of inscriptions in different periods above-mentioned, kept the past traditional characteristics more or less, for the generations, kinds of shape and forms were all became one of the important bases on telling the truth from the false.
