Zhang Yaojian: The “Clay Teapot Zhang” of Yixing
From factory apprentice to master of handmade zisha teapots
Zhang Yaojian (张尧健/张耀健), known by the art name “Nihu Zhang” , “Clay Teapot Zhang” , is a senior arts and crafts master in Yixing, Jiangsu, China’s famous “Pottery Capital.” Born in April 1961, he has devoted his life to the art of the Yixing zisha, or purple clay, teapot.
From Factory Apprentice to Studio Master
In 1980, Zhang entered the Yixing Zisha Teapot Craft Factory. Like other young workers, he began as an apprentice. The training lasted three years. Only those who showed skill in form, workmanship, and design were assigned a master by the factory.
Zhang still remembers those days clearly. “Back then, there was no kowtow ceremony to become a disciple,” he says. “Now people do have formal ceremonies.” In fact, apprenticeship ceremonies come from the old tradition of respecting teachers: “Once a teacher, always a father.”
After finishing his training, Zhang stayed in contact with his teacher, the Chinese Arts and Crafts Master Wang Yinxian. In one photo from his portfolio, he is a young man visiting her home to seek guidance. Today, that boyish apprentice has become a middle-aged artist with graying hair.
In 2000, the zisha teapot factory was restructured, and many former apprentices had to make their own way. Some founded their own studios, and Zhang was one of them. At the time, he was still an assistant craft artist.
Zhang emphasizes that the examinations for zisha craft artists are strict, official, national-level exams , not certificates that can be bought. One must first pass from assistant craft artist to craft artist before applying to become a senior craft artist. Each level has a minimum number of years of experience. The exams are organized by the Yixing Human Resources and Social Security Bureau together with the Economic and Information Commission.
Through these layers of assessment, Zhang kept advancing. Today he is a full senior arts and crafts master and a full senior rural revitalization craft artist. He is also a member of the China Arts and Crafts Society and the Jiangsu Arts and Crafts Society.
Why “Clay Teapot Zhang”?
Many traditional Chinese crafts have masters with distinctive nicknames, such as “Clay Figure Zhang” or “Gourd Chang.” Zisha began in the Northern Song dynasty and flourished in the Ming and Qing dynasties, giving it a long history.
The name “Clay Teapot Zhang” dates to 2003, when Zhang wanted to name his studio. He remembered Tianjin’s “Clay Figure Zhang.” “I make teapots and my surname is Zhang, so I just called it ‘Clay Teapot Zhang,’” he says with a smile.
Zhang is a man of few words, sometimes even a little reserved. But when the topic turns to zisha teapot craftsmanship, he seems to become another person: his expressions become lively, and his hands move constantly to accompany his words.
The Craft: Slow Work, Fine Detail
Making a zisha teapot involves beating clay slabs, shaping the body, and attaching the spout and handle. These steps “require long practice and a calm, focused mind.” In 2009, Zhang appeared on Beijing TV’s entertainment program Starry Night Story Show, where he told his “apprentices” Li Jing and He Yunwei that “slow work produces fine results.”
Nothing in the process can be rushed. The material must be superior five-color clay and ore. Different clays , purple, red, and others , can be blended. The ore must weather for five years, turning from stone-like chunks into small particles. Then it is ground purely by hand until it is as fine as flour.
Because zisha clay is not very sticky, water is added and the clay is beaten repeatedly , more than a dozen times. A vacuum machine can make the work easier, but machine-prepared clay “does not listen” and twists and turns when the pot body is beaten. Fired machine-made pots are denser, while handmade pots have better breathability.
When beating clay slabs, the thickness must be even, or the pot will deform too much during firing. Shaping is the most demanding step and requires a set of tools for beating the body. Zhang owns more than fifty bamboo ribs of different shapes. As an apprentice, his first task was to learn to make all his own tools. Today, such tools are sold ready-made and only need adjustment , much easier than before.
The spout and handle are attached only when their moisture is close to that of the body; otherwise cracks will appear. Even then, careless work can cause cracks inside.
Zhang has published a paper titled “On the Modeling of Zisha Teapot Art,” showing his deep obsession with form. He believes traditional shapes are elegant, classic, and beloved after centuries of inheritance. But innovation cannot be ignored, because every craft is a process of inheritance and development. Innovation must not abandon tradition, or it becomes neither fish nor fowl.
On traditional forms, he adds new details. On a hehuan teapot, for example, he may add lotus leaves and a frog. To create a water-drop effect, he uses high-temperature glass glue and fires it together with the pot , after first testing a sample piece in the kiln. Innovation must also be accepted by the market. When major events happen in China, Zhang uses them as inspiration.
The Shenzhou VI Teapot Set
In 2005, Zhang learned from television that Shenzhou VI would soon be launched. A month before the launch, he began conceiving, designing, and drawing. When his zisha work “Shenzhou VI” was completed, Yibin TV, Eastern TV, and Jiangsu TV came to film it.
“The view from above looked just like the view after a rocket goes into space , it was beautiful,” Zhang says, still excited years later.
“Shenzhou VI” is a composite teapot set. Composite pots existed in ancient times, but they are demanding to make: the top and bottom must fit precisely, and the modeling must be perfect.
Raising a Teapot
To Zhang, a zisha teapot can be as warm and smooth as jade. “It is like jade. After raising, it becomes especially smooth and comfortable to touch.”
In the trade, a newly fired pot still has huoqi, or “fire energy.” Raising the pot removes this and brings out baojian, the patina. Raising means handling, fondling, and wiping with cloth. One cannot rush it; over time, the effect slowly appears. If one relied only on air oxidation, it might take a hundred years. Raising a pot, like making one, is truly a matter of patience and time.
The “Zisha Gate” Scandal and the Value of Handmade Work
In 2010, CCTV’s Weekly Quality Report exposed the “Zisha Gate” scandal, the adulteration of raw materials. Some insiders said the adulteration was often done for convenience: zisha has a special texture, needs long aging before it can be made into pots, and cannot be wheel-thrown. It must be made by hand. A pure handmade zisha pot takes about ten days to a month. If other materials are mixed into the clay, however, hundreds of pots can be made in a day.
Zhang does not avoid the issue. He says zisha material is scarce and expensive. As demand for zisha teapots grew, raw material became tighter and tighter. It rose from 800 yuan per ton in the 1980s to 100,000 yuan per ton in 2003. Some people used chemical additives. Clay dug directly from the ground lacks the effect of zisha, so chemicals are added to make it look similar.
Zisha ore needs five years of natural weathering. A quick method is to water and sun-dry it repeatedly, which takes only a few months. Handmade pots also take time: a plain pot takes about ten days, while flower wares and ribbed wares take much longer.
Judging zisha depends largely on experience. From the technique, a pot without traditional craftsmanship is likely wheel-thrown. Wheel-throwing is fast and high-yield , at least 300 a day , and cheap, perhaps ten yuan each. Another method is gypsum-mold slip casting for mass production. Handmade work relies entirely on beating the body into shape.
Passing on the Tradition
Tradition always faces the question of inheritance. “Many young people are learning to make pots now,” Zhang says. They are required to make handmade pots, which belong to traditional craftsmanship.
Zhang himself has trained two apprentices in Yixing. “They are doing well. Young people are basically inheriting the craft properly.” If someone truly wants to learn, they must learn handmade work, apprentice for three years, and have a natural sensitivity. From there, they advance step by step.
Not everyone can learn to make zisha teapots. First, one needs some art foundation: fine-line painting and sketching. The exams for craft artists include theory, Chinese and foreign art history, ceramics fundamentals, sketching, drafting, ink painting, and more.
Care Tips and Why Zisha Teapots Are Special
Zhang also shares a few practical tips. For storage, zisha is relatively sturdy, but if the pot is not used often, it still needs care. First, wash the pot. Second, rinse it with boiling water, dry it, and perhaps sun it briefly. Finally, wrap it well or place it in a display cabinet. Treated this way, it can be stored for years.
Why is zisha considered best for tea? Zhang compares the body to a cell wall: it has a double-pore structure, with tiny interconnected pores that do not leak water. It conducts heat slowly, so it does not become too cold. It is known as the “king of tea utensils.” Tea kept in it for two or three days does not develop an off taste and can be drunk the next day. The double-pore structure also absorbs tea fragrance. If the pot is often used for the same tea, the body itself will carry that aroma. Over time, even plain hot water can take on a delicate tea fragrance.
Zisha teapots have accompanied Zhang for 46 years. In daily life, he spends most of his time “looking after” them. His hobbies , sketching, ink painting, and collecting crafts , are also tied to cultivating his aesthetic sense and taste. Requests for custom pots now come faster than he can accept.
But when he demonstrates his skill on site, that focused, quiet intensity makes him seem like the young apprentice again.
Credentials and Selected Honors
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Full Senior Arts and Crafts Master
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Full Senior Rural Revitalization Craft Artist
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Member, China Arts and Crafts Society
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Member, Jiangsu Arts and Crafts Society
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Born April 1961 in Yixing, Jiangsu
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Entered Yixing Zisha Craft Factory in 1980 and studied under Chinese Arts and Crafts Master Wang Yinxian
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Also guided by his older cousin Pan Chiping, a master of square teapots
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Founded the “Nihu Zhang Zisha Ceramic Art Studio” in 2000
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Lotus Fairy won gold at the First Oriental Arts and Crafts Metropolis Expo
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Frog and Lotus Wall won gold at the Jiangsu Yibo Cup Arts and Crafts Fine Works Award
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Xuhua Yuyun Teapot was permanently collected by the Gansu Provincial Museum
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Shenzhou Spaceflight Dream-Coming-True Zisha Composite Tea Set was widely reported by media and permanently collected by the Taiwan Straits Peaceful Reunification Promotion Association
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2007: Chinese Patriotic Traditional Culture Award
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2009: Invited to Beijing TV’s Starry Night Story Show to make teapots, explain zisha knowledge, and demonstrate pot-raising and tea-tasting methods
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2013: Awarded the title “Famous Zisha Artist”
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2015: Interview “Craftsman Zhang Yaojian: One Teapot Through It All” published in Contemporary China, Issue 6
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Multiple papers published in Jiangsu Arts and Crafts, Jiangsu Ceramics, Art Grand View, and other publications
