The House of Shi -- Yixing Zisha Royalty

The House of Shi has three Zisha artists:

- Mr. Shi Yin-zhi (rank: Research Level Senior Arts & Crafts Master)
- Mrs. Shi Wen-jie (rank: Arts & Crafts Master)
- Mr. Zhong Ze-liang (rank: Assistant Arts & Crafts Master)

Mr. Shi Yin-zhi was born in 1965 in Yixing and has now attained the highest formal ranking for Zisha artisans.  Master Shi began his Zisha craft in 1988, under the apprenticeship of Grandmaster Lv Xiao-chen, and later Master Zhang Pei-yuan. His work has been described to carry the 3 elements of Form, Character and Soul to the fullest 形气神俱全. We admire Master Shi's work for its holistic embodiment of bold architectural design and splendid construction innovation, brought together with superb craftmanship and execution. 
His work has been featured in reference works like The Contemporary Famous Pottery Artists of Yixing, Picture Dictionary of Modern Chinese Zisha Pottery, among other published Zisha books and journals. He lives with his wife in Dingshu Town.
His other passion includes finding and collecting rare Bonsai plants. You may find him in the wild woods of Yangxian Xishan Mountain after midnight on collecting escapades with his fellow hobbyists! 

Mrs. Shi Wen-jie, daughter of Mr. Shi Yin-zhi. Raised in a Zisha family and deeply entrenched in its culture, Wen-jie established her appreciation of Zisha art by watching her father and his fellow artist contemporaries pushing the boundaries of clay to create Zisha artwork that frequently transcended the forms of tea-ware. Wen-jie officially started making Zisha after graduating from university. She honed her talent by making the classic shapes of 经纹器 (ribbed designs), 花器 (nature inspired forms), best amongst her generation of artist. Her design innovation and technical capabilities have recently earned her the promotion to full Arts & Crafts Master. This is also the period where we worked closely with her and curated a full range of outstanding pieces, inspired by poetic and spiritual elements of Zen in daily life. Her work" Bamboo under the Moon" and "Six-sided Lin Long" received Golden Awards and Silver Awards in competitions, and the former was collected by Anhui Museum.  

Mr. Zhong Ze-liang, husband of Shi Wen-jie. Mr. Zhong graduated from China University of Geosciences with BA major in Arts and Design. He has extended his academic background into his current obsession with zisha ores and the behavior of clays under different firing conditions. This knowledge has given him the ability to harness and experiment with a range of very niche and high-end clays, which he often sources from his father-in-law’s deep reserves and connections with clay collectors in the industry (who, like Li Hong Yuan, are also his extended relatives!). He honed his craft under the apprenticeship of his father-in-law Mr. Shi Yin-zhi. Among other advanced techniques in the花器 (nature-inspired) category, Mr. Zhong received training in the highest technique of "Patching Barks on Pine Tree Trunk" from his father-in-law. Through the years, Ze-liang has developed a very distinct style of marrying classical strength with a scholarly (文人) elegance, poetic and timeless. He often partners with carving masters to adorn his teapots with graceful, nature-inspired adornments carved by traditional bamboo knife.