Yixing teapot master Gu Jingzhou
Gu Jingzhou (1915–1996), originally named Jingzhou, adopted the art names Husou 壶叟(Old Man of the Teapot) and Laoping老萍 (Old Duckweed), and was also known by the aliases Manxi 曼希, Shouping 瘦萍 (Thin Duckweed), Wuling Yiren 武陵逸人 (Recluse of Wuling), and Jingnan Shanqiao 荆南山樵 (Woodcutter of Jingnan’s Southern Hills). A native of Chuanbu Township, Yixing, Jiangsu, he was a titanic figure in modern and contemporary Chinese purple clay (zisha) art, hailed as the “Grand Master of Teapot Art” and a “Great Master of a Generation.”
Born into a family of purple clay potters, Gu Jingzhou began apprenticing under his grandmother, a member of the Shao family, at the age of eighteen. At twenty, he went to Shanghai to reproduce masterpieces of past dynasties, painstakingly copying the works of great masters such as Shi Dabin, Chen Mingyuan, and Shao Daheng. This experience not only provided him with a profound grounding in traditional techniques but also sharpened his exceptional connoisseurship and broadened his artistic horizons.
In 1954, Gu actively participated in the establishment of the Shushan Pottery Cooperative. The following year, he became a technical instructor for the purple clay craft training class, where he nurtured a large number of outstanding talents, including Xu Hantang, Zhou Guizhen, Gao Haigeng, and Li Changhong, making him a pivotal figure in the transmission of purple clay art in New China. In 1956, he was appointed “Technical Advisor” by the Jiangsu provincial government and, together with Ren Ganting, Zhu Kexin, and others, came to be honored as one of the “Seven Elders of Purple Clay.”
Throughout his life, Gu Jingzhou devoted himself to the heritage and innovation of purple clay art. He advocated for the harmonious fusion of “form, spirit, and vitality.” Particularly skilled in plain, unadorned wares, his works are distinguished by rigorous form, smooth lines, and precise proportions, and are celebrated for their four perfections: “technical precision, vital energy, spiritual resonance, and rhythmic charm.” His representative works include the Tibi (Lifting Jade Disc) teapot, the stone-ladle teapot, the Monk’s Cap teapot, the Snowflake teapot, the Shangxinqiao (Ascending the New Bridge) teapot, and the Zhegu (Partridge) loop-handle teapot. Among them, the Tibi teapot was selected as a furnishing for the Ziguang Pavilion in Zhongnanhai, and the Yong Mei (Ode to Plum Blossoms) tea set of nine pieces once set a purple clay auction record at 28.75 million RMB.
He also placed great importance on theoretical work. In 1991, he edited and published Appreciating Yixing Purple Clay, a systematic survey of zisha history and craftsmanship that stands as the first academic monograph authored by a potter in the history of purple clay. In 1988, he was awarded the title “Master of Chinese Arts and Crafts” by the Ministry of Light Industry, becoming the first purple clay artist to receive this honor.
Indifferent to fame and wealth, Gu Jingzhou regarded art as his very life. He was uncompromisingly strict with his creations, personally smashing any piece that showed the slightest flaw. As a result, his surviving authentic works are rare, each having demanded hundreds or even thousands of working hours. His pieces have repeatedly set sky-high prices at auction, standing as the pinnacle of purple clay art.
