《平盖石瓢》Ping Gai Shi Piao, 178.7ml, Rare Zhu Sha 朱砂, Craftsman Fan Xiao Zhi 范小智。
Craftsmen and Artists, say: "a ZiSha pot will behave like a jelly, wobbly like a jelly, once inside the kiln. What comes out of it, we shall see, and we shall only pray."
We cherish every single successful one, regardless of the price. Each is the result of much hard work and experience of the Craftsman, and definitely a certain degree of good luck during firing ~for the convection currents in the kiln is never totally uniform. We also depend on the (窑)气氛 within the kiln. Each completed batch of three, can all totally fail. We cherish every surviving one.
《平盖石瓢》 Ping Gai Shi Piao
Ping Gai Shi PIao here BEING CRAFTED at ~175ml!!! to cater for our tea friends who want a small and beautiful Ping Gai Shi Piao for Gung Fu tea steepings, and suitable for one to three persons!
Craftsman Fan Xiao Zhi has returned from crafting with our uncle Cao An Xiang, making small works for temples for donations! Here he has joined Craftsman Gu Xiao Ming, in CRAFTING ZHU SHA special works!!!
Zhu Sha is the highest granularity form of Zhu Ni known to us in the ZiSha fraternity. And it is exactly famous for its high granularity! This is proper Yuan Kuang Zhu Sha, and is rare and more costly. Zhu Sha works have the same success rate during firing as Zi Ni and most Duan Ni. However, Zhu Sha is "notorious" for its highly granularity, and Artists and Craftsmen find it difficult to craft because it is 很疏松, very, very "loose" (not pasty) and Artists and Craftsmen during forming the pot, have to acquire AND GET USED to special skill sets to handle and work on it! Firing is not an issue, success rate is high, but crafting is extremely tricky and tiresome. However, the result is to be savoured. It brews excellently, Aged Sheng Pu Er, and Shu Pu Er. Some of our Tea Masters local and abroad, swear by it for these applications! Many favour Zhu Sha 朱砂, Xiao Hong Ni 小红泥, Da Hong Ni 大红泥(Yuan Kuang Da Hong Pao 原矿大红袍) and Hong Jiang Po Ni 红降坡泥 for this application.
Zhu Sha 朱砂 (highest granularity form of ZhuNi):
ZiSha Art is the most amazing carrier medium, housing Five aspects of Chinese Cultural Arts!
1. Fully-Handmade ZiSha Art and Craft,
2. Painting,
3. Calligraphy,
4. Poetry,
5. Engraving Art and Craft.
Hold, Use and Keep relishing all five aspects of our Chinese Culture in your daily life, in solitude, in practice, during hospitality to family and friends alike!
Savour the journey, dearest Friends :-D
Bring this home early for more brilliant tea tastings with your guests, or by yourself!
Assuming right-handed use,
Bamboo painting being engraved,,
Engraving by Craftsman Ruo Xi, of verse in Kai Shu 楷书 Calligraphy Style, and faces the Guests,
"世路如今已惯，此心到处悠然。"
出自宋代张孝祥的《西江月·丹阳湖》
From Zhang Xiaoxiang's "Xijiangyue: Danyang Lake" (Song Dynasty).
“I’ve grown accustomed to the ways of the world, and my heart finds peace wherever I go.”
This line reveals that the poet has experienced the hardships and tribulations of worldly life, and is now accustomed to the attacks of powerful and treacherous officials and the darkness of society. It also subtly implies his profound sorrow and indignation at having seen through the ways of the world and rejecting worldly life.
Get ready for steeping Aged Sheng and Shu Pu Er!
Craftsman Fan Xiao Zhi is very happy to be crafting superb classics for all of us! Together in a team here in YiXing, he thanks you dearest friends for your grandest support to the honest and dedicated Craftsmen left to fend the Fully-Handmade ZiSha Art. Enjoy his diligence, excellent handwork with this Xi Shi and let his work accompany you on your tea journey!
Past months of practice, trial and error, getting used to this Zhu Sha and sending specimens to firing for the ideal colour~texture~surface feel, all of us are finally happy with its appearance and success!
Do cherish this ZhuSha used, rarer clay, delectably vermillion-reddish, granular and highly tactile!!
Enjoy affordable ZiSha works by our Craftsmen and Artists :-D !!!
Craftsmen and Artists, say: "a ZiSha pot will behave like a jelly, wobbly like a jelly, once inside the kiln. What comes out of it, we shall see, and we shall only pray."
We cherish every single successful one, regardless of the price. Each is the result of much hard work, experience and definitely a certain degree of good luck during firing
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BRING ONE HOME, USE IT and you will know all about Fully-Handmade ZiSha, the feel of real and quality YiXing ZiSha, the nurturing of Patina, how the true Patina feels and looks like, the Aura exuded from a Fully-Handmade Pot which others simply can't bring forth, and, Craftsman Fan Xiao Zhi's skills, savour the pour. You will know everything then.
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Hold one, hold up one, swing his work around. Carefully examine his Fully-Handmade work. Look at it from afar, from near, and it will grow on you. The whole piece grow on you because 1) he takes reference from what the Senior Masters chose for him, 2) and he amazingly crafts them up EXACTLY as to what the Senior Masters want from him: extreme fine detailing with MUCH THOUGHT on each part, with MUCH TIME spent on every part, section. Because this is what Fully-Handmade ZiSha Art should be, and HOW FULLY-HANDMADE ZISHA ART is so different from and light years ahead of the ubiquitous jigger-machined pots and half-handmade pots masquerading under the sales tagline of "fully-handmade zisha" pots. These latter JM/HHM pots are made in what we call 流水线 a.k.a. 'Factory-Line operation' whereby the main pot body after being jigger-machined or coming off from the mould, is passed to the next worker who fits on the spout, and subsequently this second worker will pass the pot on to another worker who will in turn fit on the handle. Continuing so, the pressed lid is likewise passed to another worker who fit on the lid knob. EACH WORKER has NO IDEA what the other one is doing, and they are always working on fixed time lines stated by the boss. For example, the worker being "passed the baton" a pot with the spout just fixed onto the body by his colleague, will only focus on fixing on the handle, with nil to little regard to WHETHER THE HANDLE fixed on will be cohesive with the spout. Each worker has NO idea of HOW THE FINAL POT WILL LOOK LIKE. Beyond poor craftsmanship and clay, the result of such processes are ugly pots with poor cohesiveness which experienced Artists, Craftsmen and collectors will tell from a metre away. Experienced people in us, do not need to pick up a pot to check whether it is fully-handmade or made of zisha, we can tell from a metre away just by looking at the pot.
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The keywords are: Detailing and Cohesiveness.
Do own one. They make amazing tea, with very slight muting effect on any bitterness in the tea leaves during steeping, and heightening their "refreshed"-ness and slight sweetness!
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A GOOD Fully-Handmade ZiSha Work combines great detailing and cohesiveness.
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