《金钟》"Jin Zhong ~ Golden Bell", 151.0ml, *Zhi Ma Duan Ni 芝麻段泥, by Craftsman Chen Yu 陈羽。
《金钟》"Jin Zhong ~ Golden Bell"
Very soothing, designs have to be soothing, as they accompany us on our tea sessions. It is not just a receptacle to steep tea. We Chinese transitioned through phases, not just in actual material from Tang using 碾茶 to whole leaf steeping, we moved on from 茶道 to 茶艺。 艺 being 艺术, which is Art, encompassing beauty, philosophies, mindsets, wholesome morality that nourishes and educates the mind, practice, aesthetics and form. These are the pages by Zhang Dao Yi 张道一 and Han Qi Lou 韩其楼, whom you may have read about in the dissertation on Rare clays: 乌泥 Wu Ni, and also more broadly on Wang Chao Peng' introduction here:
We are sure you can point your Google or iPhone lenses to translate real-time, the above rich and supremely educational and enlightening text about YiXing Fully-Handmade ZiSha.
You also have seen here.
Even in designs like this Ya Ming Si Fang 亚明四方: a design that calls into us, the first impression which is: very 刚, masculine~hard, design, with straight lines and flat surfaces. However, upon actual handling and appreciation of the piece, you see straight lines that are actually slightly curved. These slight curves are already cut into the clay slabs, as the Artist wields the knife and lays it through the flattened clay slab on his or her bench. 
Here in Grand Master Shao Shu Sheng's cutting of the actual clay slab to be formed up into the "隋唐钱柜 ~ Sui Tang Qian Gui" grand work that won the Gold Award at the 2020 Panama International Exposition; at the 08:55mark, you see the slight curves at ALL FOUR edges:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=___NwKlDXCQ&t=537s
Here is the Ya Ming Si Fang (by Senior Consummate Master Lu Xue Feng),
Also, two other of Senior Consummate Master Lu Xue Feng's 路学峰,
Another great illustration of curves in lines, is this Zheng Yi Si Fang by Craftsman Fang Shi, where you witness lines that are not entirely straight, as you browse the detailed photos:
https://www.realzisha.com/products/%E6%AD%A3%E4%B9%89%E5%9B%9B%E6%96%B9-zheng-yi-si-fang-164-8ml-tai-xi-duan-ni-%E5%8F%B0%E8%A5%BF%E6%AE%B5%E6%B3%A5-gao-wen-high-fired-by-craftsman-fang-shi-%E6%96%B9%E4%BB%95-clay-sculpting-of-bird-in-spring-by-craftsman-fang-shi-as-well
In YiXing ZiSha Art that embodies our Chinese mindset, humility is important. Not to be hard on people. Humility flows over to our design elements: to not be showboating, not piercing to eyes, and to stand the test of time.
Beyond ingrained philosophies:
Gentle curves are worked into lines. The whole form cannot be composed of purely hard straight lines. There must be slight bends and curves, so as to ease into the minds of the perceiver: that "the piece before me, is soothing, and therefore long lasting". The person looking at it may not realise what is the reason behind the pleasant-ness to the eyes, transmission to the occipital cerebral cortex and the feelings that arise in our amygdala, but age old evolution AND wisdom have realized fully and understood this phenomenon, which we exercise in our Crafting.
Curves in lines, balance with hardness.
The other aspect of our Chinese philosophy is to 藏锋 Cáng Fēng.
藏 is to hide, and 锋利 is sharp.
We need to soften the edges and the edginess.
This Jin Zhong is a beautiful practice in our ZiSha Art, with the rounded footprint, and a curved side wall, to balance the horizontal top surface and the horizontal 束带 Shù Dài waistline belt embellishment. The spout and the handle' seeming straightness, are also built and crafted with softness.
Craftsman Chen Yu together with Craftsmen Li Qiu Lin and Fan Xiao Zhi are back recently after their projects for four temples’ worth of works, as they have been following our uncle Cao An Xiang in his travels to the temples for the past one year. Gallant Chen Yu, crafts this beautiful 《金钟》Jin Zhong ~ Golden Bell. We hope the pictures do Chen Yu's work justice,
No effort has been spared, as Chen Yu learnt under Cao An Xiang as well, and he takes the expertise and savoir-faire gained to craft this Jin Zhong, in order to manifest an extremely CLEAN impression. This unmistakably eye-catching sleek and clean appearance is courtesy of the sharply raked and deliciously straight side wall, a carefully added and sculpted ring of ZiSha at the mid section, another sculpted ring on the top of the lid to bring balance to the whole design.
Cute ergonomics, as the feature circle line on the top surface of the lid, doubles as cooler raised surface onto which our thumb can counter press during the tilt and pour,
Or of course, this way is good as well!
The lid knob is adoringly, the miniature version of the main body. Craftsman Chen worked in an amazing handle that corresponds to the sliding facade of the body wall, and also a pert and free flowing you will enjoy during pour! All these design elements add up to provide a very pleasing visual feast! A superb execution, thoroughly! WE are all very happy for Chen Yu!
Chen Yu also uses his savoir-faire to fashion in the Qian Gai interface! Very difficult to get right, both at crafting and also within the merciless kiln.
The sharp, clean and fresh aura to be achieved at the end of crafting AND firing, make this model a pretty hard nut to crack. It is a blessing indeed for all of us at YiXIng to see the result of Chen Yu’s deft skill and gruelling work, come to fruition! Pour hot water, close the lid, tightly fitting and satisfyingly so with the narrow allowances, watch the hot water flow down the side walls; presenting the Jin Zhong for the fortunate owner!
Craftsman Chen Yu delights us this time, crafting with the delectable Zhi Ma Duan Ni 芝麻段泥! Zhi Ma Duan "Sesame Seed Duan Ni" is a lovely type of Duan Ni, incorporating much iron as its constituent, amidst the highly porous nature that is Duan Ni!
Zhi Ma 芝麻 Duan Ni 段泥 is thus affectionately named, because of the speckling of iron constituents in generous quantities resemble Sesame Seeds 芝麻!
Shrinkage of Fully-Handmade ZiSha:
As with all Art pieces from RealZiSha here presented to all of you dearest Friends, guardians of Fully-Handmade ZiSha Art, they are premium pieces availed at the most astounding lowest prices. We want you each of you friends to get the best. You deserve it.
Craftsman Chen Yu thanks you dearest friends for your grandest support to the honest and dedicated Craftsmen left to fend the Fully-Handmade ZiSha Art.
Enjoy hardworking Craftsman Chen Yu's diligence, superb, classic handwork with this piece!!!and let his work accompany you on your tea journey!
Here with us in our happy family of true ZiSha connoisseurs, you witness 90-120 photos taken of EACH Fully-Handmade ZiSha work here.
Compare this to elsewhere: factory bosses of jigger-machining non-zisha pots contribute downstream to their retailers: 5-10 stock photos for each non-zisha pot model, used to sell a stock of 10, 20, 30 jigger-machined non-zisha pots per model. I.e. 5-10 photos to sell hundreds of one model.
We at RealZiSha, take 90-120 photos, fresh, of EACH, ONE, Fully-Handmade ZiSha work. Together with our sacrificial and hardworking Craftsmen and Artists committed to honest true Fully-Handmade ZiSha Art and Craft, we at RealZiSha go the eons' distance.
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Explained, https://www.realzisha.com/blogs/news/actual-zisha-landscape-at-yixing , the Craftsman by selling his hard-worked ZiSha craft at $190-$240, $45-$65 goes to the cost of the craft, inclusive of the fees for the firing for the kiln operator (three times per pot), the packaging boxes, and between $32 to $52 for the clay (Zi Ni Di Cao Qing, Duan Ni and upwards) used per pot. Craftsman takes 3 days (fastest 2.5days) to craft a pot.
If he works 30 days a month without a single day of rest (no family time), he will craft 10-12 pots.
If he crafts for 25 days (five days of rest a month), his output will be 8-10 pots.
The success rate for Zi Ni (e.g. Di Cao Qing, Lao Zi Ni, Da Shui Tan etc) and Duan Ni (e.g. Jiang Po Ni, Qing Hui Duan, etc) is 70% on average. Some times the whole batch of 10 may fail. We have seen our Craftsmen suffer like this very often.
The success rate for Zhu Ni (e.g. Xiao Mei Yao Zhu Ni) pots is 60%, or 70% with most optimism and at the very, very best. Unfortunately.
All of us at RealZiSha of course, hope for one another, professional colleagues and all, that all the pots will survive firing at the kiln successfully.
[For ZiSha models/designs that are very challenging and more complicated to craft, the time taken to craft will be longer, and the failure rate will be higher as well. Zi Sha by its virtue, have the highest shrinkage rate of all ceramic clay. Zi Ni and Duan Ni thus have that 70% success rate, while Zhu Ni has even higher shrinkage rate and thus even lower success rate (the lowest of all ceramic clay.)]
Our Craftsmen are wholeheartedly committed to the cause of Fully-Handmade ZiSha Art and their strictness with their craft and dedication earn our respect. We give a big Thank You all of these Craftsmen, for they are saving what is our common precious tea culture: Tea + Fully-Handmade ZiSha Art and Craft. Your support is critical to their livelihood and the existence of this craft for all of the tea fraternity.
Thank you Friends!
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