yixing teapot artist Fan Xiufang
Fan Xiufang 范秀芳 is a highly respected figure in the world of Yixing zisha (purple clay) teaware. In 2023, she was honored as a Jiangsu Provincial Ceramic Art Master (3rd cohort), and she holds the top professional titles of Senior Master of Arts and Crafts (professorial level) and Senior Master of Rural Revitalization Crafts. She is a member of the China Arts and Crafts Society and the China Ceramic Industry Association, and has long been recognized as a Renowned Teapot Artisan of the Pottery Capital. As a designer at Fanjia Huzhuang (Fan Family Teapot Manor), she also carries the responsibility of being a designated Yixing municipal-level inheritor of intangible cultural heritage, preserving the living tradition of purple clay teapot craftsmanship.
Born in Yixing in 1967, Fan Xiufang’s journey in ceramics began in 1984 when she entered the Yixing Purple Clay Factory No. 2. There she received personal instruction from senior artist Wu Tongfen, and later studied under two of the most celebrated Chinese Arts and Crafts Masters — Xu Hantang and Ji Yishun. Through tireless dedication, she developed a comprehensive mastery of teapot making. Her skills have deepened over the decades, and her creative approach is remarkably versatile. Fan Xiufang’s works are known for their smooth, flowing lines, fresh and distinctive expression, and exquisitely detailed carving. Unsurprisingly, her pieces are deeply cherished by ceramic enthusiasts and collectors alike.
Her creations have been repeatedly honored at the highest levels. Fan Xiufang has won gold and silver awards at the 2nd, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th China Master Craftsmen Fine Works Expositions, an Excellence Award at the First China Ceramic Art Exhibition in Beijing, and a Gold Award at the China-South Korea ceramic cultural exchange exhibition held in celebration of the 15th anniversary of diplomatic relations — where her work was jointly evaluated and praised by experts from both countries. She has also claimed the Gold Prize of the “Dadi Award” and dozens of other significant accolades. Her teapots and ceramic art pieces are now held in the permanent collections of the Korea Ceramic Culture Museum, the China Zisha Museum, the Jilin Provincial Museum, the Henan Museum, the Xu Beihong Memorial Hall in Beijing, the Jingdezhen Ceramics Museum, and by numerous art institutions and private collectors worldwide.
Beyond her studio, Fan Xiufang has been invited on multiple occasions to conduct ceramic art exchanges in South Korea, France, the United Kingdom, and other countries, where she shares the sophisticated art of Yixing purple clay with the global community. Through her hands, tradition lives and breathes anew.
yixing teapot handmade by Teapot artist Fan Xiufang
yixing teapot artwork handmade by Teapot artist Fan Xiufang
