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Shape Chinasources cited

Zangliu

cángliù hú

Traditional 藏六壺

A six-faceted Yixing teapot shaped like a resting turtle, with the spout as its raised head and the handle as its tail. The name comes from the turtle that 'hides its six' (head, tail and four legs).

On this page
Zangliu teapot, side view
Zangliu teapot, side view
  1. 1Knob
  2. 2Lid
  3. 3Spout
  4. 4Handle
  5. 5Body
  6. 6Base
A Zangliu example with a faceted body, stepped polygonal lid, raised spout and upright loop handle. The profile follows the photographed pot catalogued as China Guardian lot 3016 in 2019.Approximate size

Form#

Knob
1Low, rounded solid knop.
Lid
2six-sided lipped lid (六方壓蓋) with softened, drawn-in corners (抽角) that align with the six body ribs
Spout
3six-faceted curved spout (六方彎流) rising from the front facet like a tortoise's raised head
Handle
4Upright loop attached at the shoulder and lower side.
Body
5oblate six-faceted body whose corners are drawn inward (抽角) so six broad panels alternate with six rounded ribs, evoking a resting tortoise carapace
Base
6six-faceted recessed ring foot (六方圈足)

1234 Numbers mark the parts described under Form.

Working volume#

Use the volume to the intended fill level, rather than the exterior dimensions or shape name. Leave room for the leaves and lid, and choose cups or a serving pitcher that can receive a complete infusion. Two pots of the same named form may have very different working capacities.

Variants and sub-types#

Name中文DifferenceSources
Square-cornered Zangliu (Fang Zangliu)直方藏六壶Slab-joined (镶身筒) hexagonal prism body with crisp, unchamfered vertical arrises, a six-sided neck and inset lid, and faceted six-sided spout and handle.14
Drawn-in Corner Zangliu (Choujiao Zangliu)抽角藏六壶Refined variant documented in Oku Genpō's 1874 Minghu Tulu (《茗壶图录》) and re-created by Gu Jingzhou (顾景舟); each of the six vertical corners is recessed into a concave groove (抽角), lightening the visual mass and softening the grip.1234
Low Zangliu (Bian Zangliu)扁藏六壶Squat hexagonal variant with a broadened belly and lower shoulder, emphasizing horizontal stability.14

History#

  1. Qing dynasty; 1874 (Meiji 7)The Japanese sencha connoisseur Oku Genpō (奧玄寶, 1836–1897) illustrates a Qing-dynasty hexagonal Yixing teapot in his woodblock-printed catalogue Minghu Tulu (《茗壺圖錄》, 1874) and names it 「藏六居士」 (Zōroku Koji), citing the Buddhist Samyuktāgama (《雜阿含經》) metaphor of a tortoise retracting its six extremities (「如龜之藏六」 — head, tail, and four legs) into its shell.3
  2. mid-20th centuryGu Jingzhou (顧景舟, 1915–1996) revives and refines the Qing archetype into the Zangliu Choujiao Hu (藏六抽角壺, H 9.4 × W 19.2 cm), integrating drawn-in hexagonal corners (抽角) across the knob, lid, spout, handle, belly, and foot.124

Attributions are shown as the source states them.

Sources#

  1. 顾见心舟-品茶啜茗当清风 (观复博物馆, 2025-03-08)Tencent News, Guanfu Museum official account · Journalism and features · Accessed 2026-11-02 ↗
  2. Gu JingzhouWikipedia · Reference works · Accessed 2026-11-02 ↗
  3. 奥玄宝『茗壺図録』 / Oku Genpō, Meiko Zuroku (茗壺圖錄, 1874 / Meiji 7)2 vols., Tokyo (National Diet Library Digital Collections) · Primary texts
  4. 顧景舟主編《宜興紫砂珍賞》 / Appreciation of Yixing Zisha Ware (1992)三聯書店（香港） / Joint Publishing (HK) · Museum catalogues and books
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.