Yang Pengnian
On Hong Kong’s pot C81.496, begin at the lower end of the handle: the museum records the seal 彭年 there. Move to the base and the inscription on the body, and other names enter the story. This one vessel makes collaboration more concrete than a list of famous associates.
Names and aliases
Traditional 楊彭年Also written 二泉 Erquan (zi)
On this page
Start with one object
The museum describes 彭年 at the lower handle and 阿曼陀室 on the base of C81.496. It assigns the body’s calligraphic inscription to Guo Pinjia, rather than automatically to Chen Mansheng. The marks connect a potter, a studio and an inscription, but do not by themselves identify who cut every stroke. The museum label gives 1815 and a height of 7 cm, width 11.8 cm, for this pot only. Read the catalogue example below as a distribution of roles, not three interchangeable signatures.
Reading the evidence
A pewter-clad pot published by Wuxi Museum offers another distribution of names. The museum records 杨彭年制 on the inside base. The outer writing includes the signatures 胥江外史飞云 and 乙生. Its metal covering, stone fittings and clay body make the different kinds of work visible. The record leaves the identity of each metalworker and fitter open.
Examples in the catalogues
Who shaped the vessel, and who signed the writing? On C81.496 the catalogue records 彭年 and the studio mark 阿曼陀室. It identifies the inscription’s signature, Pinjia, with Guo Lin. Xu Xiutang describes how potters, calligraphers, engravers and patrons could contribute to a Mansheng pot. Here each name can be read in relation to its particular role.
The Shanghai Museum credits Yang Pengnian and Chen Hongshou jointly on its 延年 pot. The handle carries Yang’s given name, while Mansheng’s inscription occupies a broad face of the tile-shaped body. (上海博物馆 · CI00010426)
Active#
The Palace Museum places Yang Pengnian’s activity across the Qianlong, Jiaqing and Daoguang reigns. Li Minxing’s sidebar uses Qianlong–Jiaqing. These are source-specific biographical spans. C81.496 supplies a more focused museum date,1815, for one attributed vessel.
Lineage#
Later biographies describe Yang Fengnian, Yang Pengnian and Yang Baonian as siblings. The two Yangshi pots discussed here do not independently establish that relationship. A shared surname on a vessel supplies less information than a documented genealogy.
Evidence and interpretation#
The Palace Museum emphasizes Yang Pengnian’s collaboration with literati and the later copying of his works. This supports a history of shared authorship, not a claim that all contemporary workshops used plaster moulds. Construction methods need to be established for the particular vessel. Source ↗
Read the Amantuoshi base mark to see what a studio name can establish.
Sources#
- 徐秀棠、顾景舟《宜兴紫砂茶具概述》(1994)
- 张浦生《明清紫砂茶具概述》(1994)
- 广东省博物馆、香港市政局 主编《中国古代茶具展》(1986)
- 陈宗懋 主编《中国茶叶大辞典》(2000)
- The Art of the Yixing Potter (1990)
- 中国紫砂 (1998)
- 无锡博物院 · 清 杨彭年款翠把包锡壶 · 2026-04-14
Status and editorial notes sources cited
Sources are listed below. Their presence does not certify every claim; source-specific interpretations and unresolved questions are identified in the text. This page has not received independent expert approval.