Contemporary Ancestors of Purple Clay Masters

The contemporary ancestors of purple clay masters are represented by:

Gu Jingzhou

Jiang Rong

Pei Shimin

Zhu Kexin

Wu Yungen

Wang Yinchun

Ren Xinting

Tan Quanhai.

They passed on their skills to some disciples after the foundation of the People’s Republic of China, and 15 of these disciples came out to be outstanding purple clay masters.

Mr. Gu was one of the Great Masters of Arts and Crafts of China. He was born in an old and well-known family in 1915 and started his purple clay art life since he was 18 years old. Two years later, at the age of 20, he was already a well-known potter in Yixing.

He was not only smart at making all kinds of teapots, but also profound on art theory, art history and antique appraisal. He was so outstanding that he was called “ the tycoon of pottery” by other artists.
Mr. Gu not only held a lot of key posts in purple clay industry, but also trained a lot of pottery masters including Xu Hantang, Li Canghong, Shen Juhua, Gao Haigeng and Zhou Guizhen.

His representative works are:

Hangyun teapot

Xuehua teapot

Zhegu teapot

Big Plum Flower teapot

Monk Hat teapot

Lotus Seed teapot with Bull Lid, and many other great works to be listed out.