'Bingxin Daoren' base seal
冰心道人 is a sobriquet associated with Cheng Shouzhen. Documented descriptions distinguish this base seal from 壽珍 inside the lid and 真記 beneath the handle; keep those positions separate when recording a pot.
On this page
冰心道人 / 程壽珍 / 真記
Reading and placement#
- Reading (Simplified)
- 冰心道人 / 程寿珍 / 真记
- Reading (Traditional)
- 冰心道人 / 程壽珍 / 真記
- Pinyin
- Bīngxīn Dàorén / Chéng Shòuzhēn / Zhēnjì
- Technique
- seal
- Position
- Base: 冰心道人; lid interior: 壽珍 or 程壽珍; beneath handle: 真記.
Examples in the catalogues
A fanggu pot in the Sihai catalogue carries a long inscription on its base mentioning the age of eighty-two and an exhibition award. On the same vessel the catalogue separately records 寿珍 on the lid, 寿印 inside and 真记 on the handle. The base text documents a claim. An exhibition record would be needed to establish the award itself.
Follow the lid rather than the pot shape across the two Sihai plates. Both lids read 寿珍. Beneath the eggplant-shaped pot is 艺古斋, while the base of the Zhoupan pot names a company. A lid carrying the same two characters can therefore accompany very different base inscriptions.
What a mark does not tell you#
A mark records a name or claim on a vessel. It may reflect a maker, workshop, patron, later homage or imitation. Its reading, date and authorship must be assessed separately with the whole object and its provenance.
Museum and excavated reference objects#
| Museum / Excavation | Reference object | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Yixing Ceramics Museum (宜兴陶瓷博物馆) / Nanjing Museum reference records | Duoqiu zisha teapot by Cheng Shouzhen (程寿珍制掇球壶, H 12.2 cm, mouth D 6.5 cm), base stamped '冰心道人', lid stamped '壽珍', handle stamped '真記' | 2 |
The same lid reading occurs on two pots with different base inscriptions. [3]
- 茄子壶 · p. 99 (PDF 125). Lid 寿珍 · Base 艺古斋
- 周盘壶 · p. 100 (PDF 126). Lid 寿珍 · Base 中华民国江苏宜兴利用公司造 巴拿马赛会 出品
Evidence and interpretation#
Chicago’s Century of Progress took place in 1933–1934. An exhibition date is not evidence of a particular potter’s award. Commemorative marks should be transcribed from an identified object; their wording and the location of each seal matter more than a generalized character count. Source ↗
Sources#
- 徐秀棠、顾景舟《宜兴紫砂茶具概述》(1994)
- 陈宗懋 主编《中国茶叶大辞典》(2000)
- 吾壶四海 (2009) · p. 99 (PDF 125), 100 (PDF 126)
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.