2020s Zhu Ni Cang Yuan (蒼圓) - Archived

If you remembered the inception of the Taiwanese-owned company Jiuhan, you may recall that it is a company which captures the essence of classical, historical Yixing teapots, a characteristic which eventually became the foundation of Jiuhan's success. With that in mind, we quickly found this Cang Yuan (蒼圓) to be a piece worth offering. 

Unlike some of the famous shapes we normally see, the shape that this teapot tries to re-create is quite unusual. A known record of this shape can be found in the Precious Record of Zhuni (朱泥寶記), a book published in 1993 which has photo records of all kinds of late-Qing Zhuni teapots. This Cang Yuan style is one of the pieces featured in this book, but there is no further record as to who designed this style or who distributed the piece found in the record. Nonetheless, this veil of mystery was what made this modern piece all the more intriguing to us.

The design of the vessel's body (身筒) was inspired from a classical porcelain shape called "water chestnut vase" (荸薺瓶), while having an "elephant" or "dragon" composition in its spout and handle design, presenting a unique balance in the history of Yixing Zhuni pieces. Another point worth mentioning is the absence of a bottom stamp. What we see instead as an identifying mark on this teapot is the two characters Cang Yuan "蒼圓" inscribed right below the handle. This is a long lost piece that has finally again seen the light of the teapot market. This is a piece that even the most experienced Yixing collector will find difficult to acquire, let alone to have a look at firsthand. Thank to Jiuhan's dedication to Yixing heritage, we are able to have this delicate work of art available to a global audience. 

The clay used to make this pot is a 100% pure Zhu Ni ore mined at Zhao Zhuang Mountain, considered to be a classic entry-level Zhu Ni clay over the past 30 years. Like most Zhu Ni, this clay is difficult to fire and has a high failure rate.  As a result, it is safer to craft the clay into a relatively small teapot to ensure more successful pieces. The tea brewed in this teapot comes out lively with a clean taste, which is what you would expect from any Zhu Ni teapot that is up to snuff.  We would highly recommend this piece to anyone who wants to have a quality Zhu Ni teapot experience and is looking for something unique in their life or for a loved one. 

Mineral: Warehouse Stored Zhu Ni / 庫藏 朱泥 

Mineral Location: Zhao Zhuang Mountain / 趙庄山 

Firing Temperature: 1080 c / 仟捌拾 度

Shrinkage: 20% / 分之 廿

Bottom Stamp: NA / 無

Lid Stamp: Chang, Lin-Fang / 張林芳

Volume: 120~125 ml / 佰廿 毫升

Height: 6.8 cm / 陸點捌 釐米

Bottom Diameter: 7 cm / 柒 釐米