Bamboo-woven Teapot, the ballet on the edge of a Yixing blade

Source / Liu Yitang

A few days ago, a topic about bamboo weaving craftsmanship made it onto Weibo's hot search list.

In the variety show “Youth Travelogue Season 3,” artist Fan Chengcheng tried his hand at bamboo weaving for the first time, sparking public interest and enthusiasm in bamboo weaving and traditional craftsmanship.

Traditional bamboo weaving has a very long history, being the crystallization of hard work by the Chinese people. One of its unique applications is “bamboo thread embedded porcelain.”

“Bamboo thread embedded porcelain,” also known as porcelain body bamboo weaving, is a unique traditional handicraft from the Chengdu region in Sichuan Province. It uses porcelain vessels as the core, with fine and soft bamboo threads tightly woven around the porcelain, following its shape. Every joint is hidden, creating a seamless whole.

Works of bamboo thread embedded porcelain

What kind of wondrous spark would be ignited when Yixing clay meets this charming bamboo weaving technique? Today, we will introduce a different kind of Yixing teapot to you.

Yixing is abundant in both purple clay and bamboo. Throughout the development of Yixing Pottery, countless works featuring bamboo have been created. However, pieces showcasing bamboo weaving skills on Yixing clay, like “bamboo thread embedded clay,” are quite rare, especially those with such intricate bamboo thread carving.

“Bamboo thread embedded clay” does not use real bamboo threads woven around the clay; instead, it relies entirely on the carving skills of Yixing artisans. The body of the teapot is carved into fine “bamboo threads” through several processes, ensuring that the bamboo slats on the teapot are evenly spaced, crisscrossing with concave and convex textures, achieving an effect similar to true bamboo weaving.

At first glance, one might think these are finely crafted bamboo Tea utensils meticulously woven by bamboo weavers. Only upon closer inspection or touch will one be surprised to find out that they are not made from bamboo threads but are the result of meticulous carving by Yixing artisans on a Yixing teapot. Such meticulous craftsmanship can be described as a ballet on the edge of a blade.

Important steps in making a Yixing bamboo-woven teapot

An important step in making a Yixing bamboo-woven teapot is using a wire rod to create the bamboo weaving:

First, the outer surface of the teapot body is divided into 36 equal parts using a wire rod, ensuring precise overall structure. The shaping rules are: top and bottom complement each other, harmonious form, depth freely adjusted, light and shadow distinct, accurate proportions, and clear texture.

The specific process is as follows:

The wire rod carves bamboo-like lines on the Yixing clay sheet, with the starting positions of adjacent upper and lower lines offset by half the length of a bamboo segment. A certain length gap is left between the lines, and then a short vertical line is carved in the middle of the gap. The clay on either side of the short vertical line is removed with a spatula, making it recessed relative to the bamboo segments, thus creating a three-dimensional effect between the left and right bamboo segments.

When carving the “bamboo threads,” the maker must remain fully focused throughout the entire process and only work under optimal physical and mental conditions, as even the slightest mistake could cause the “bamboo threads” to break, rendering all previous efforts wasted. If additional clay is added and re-carved improperly, it may leave marks. Only a single continuous effort can achieve the effect of “though made by human hands, it appears as if naturally formed,” allowing one to appreciate the unique beauty within the sand and bamboo rhythm.

This requires extremely high skill from the Yixing artisan, and it takes two months or more to produce a finished bamboo-woven teapot due to such stringent requirements.

Fish Basket Teapot

Appreciation of the Fish Basket Teapot

This teapot is named the Fish Basket Teapot, aptly so. Its lid is perforated, its spout and handle are shaped like bamboo joints, and it has a ring foot. The entire teapot maintains traditional styling, appearing elegant and generous, with a rustic charm in its refinement.

Each “bamboo thread” on the teapot body is clearly textured, stretching freely and flowing vividly. The intervals between the “bamboo threads” are appropriately spaced, dense and sparse in a pleasing manner. The intersecting bamboo slats are three-dimensionally textured, horizontally slender and round, and longitudinally flat and strong, fully capturing the essence of bamboo weaving.

Imagine the teapot, after being steeped and developed a lustrous patina, with every sand thread gleaming softly from handling. The fragrance of bamboo mingling with the aroma of tea, the two complementing each other beautifully, simple yet elegant, refined yet generous…

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