Bao Shuyan

3 aprile 2026

Bao Shuyan, Courtesy Name Langshi

Jiangsu Provincial Ceramic Art Master (3rd batch, 2023)

Senior Professional Craft Artist

Senior Professional Rural Revitalization Craft Artist

Member of Jiangsu Provincial Ceramic Art Committee

Representative Inheritor of Yixing Municipal Intangible Cultural Heritage Project

Born in 1964 in Dingshan Baidang, Yixing, into a ceramic family with a long-standing tradition at the Bao ancestral hall. He is the fourth-generation direct descendant of “Baoshengtai,” a century-old time-honored brand in the ceramic capital of Yixing. Immersed in the artistic ambiance of a Zisha family from an early age, he entered the field of Zisha after graduating from university in 1986.

In 1989, he formally apprenticed under Zhang Honghua, a master of Chinese ceramic art and a direct disciple of the legendary contemporary teapot master Gu Jingzhou. Under her guidance, he devoted himself to the traditional fully handmade plain polished pots (known as susha guangqi), deeply inheriting the authentic Gu-style all-handmade ancient techniques.

He was selected for advanced studies in the Department of Ceramic Art and Design at the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, in 1994 and again in 2008. In 2006, he was honored as one of the “Twelve Stars of Zisha.” In 2015, he received the highest award in the “Jingzhou Cup” Teapot Competition, earning the title of “Famous Teapot Maker of Yixing, the Ceramic Capital.”

Specializing in traditional fully handmade plain polished pots, Bao Shuyan pursues the refined and leisurely elegance of literati teapots from past dynasties. His works strive to achieve precise control of form and line, showcasing a unique scholarly temperament and cultural taste through aesthetic shapes and meticulous detailing. He is recognized as a leading representative of the contemporary new literati Zisha teapot movement.