Qinzhou Nixing pottery
Traditional 欽州坭興陶
Pottery from Qinzhou in southern Guangxi, made from a blend of clays from the two banks of the Qin River and fired at about 1200 °C. The heritage record dates it to the Tang and says it flourished in the Xianfeng reign of the Qing.
On this page
Forms, use and context#
Teapots are a main product. Listed nationally in 2008 as a sub-item of the shared pottery entry.
Body#
Hard clay from the west bank and soft clay from the east bank of the Qin River, mixed (see clay qinzhou-nixing).1
Glazes#
| Glaze | 中文 | Description | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| kiln-change surface colours | 古铜、墨绿、紫红、天斑 | Surface colours named in the heritage record: bronze, ink green, purple red and 'sky spots'. How they arise is not described there; a 2023 news article adds purple-haze, iron-blue, golden-yellow and tiger-stripe tones and says they appear after polishing (see methods). | 1 |
Methods#
- Firing About 1200 °C.1
- Forming A 2023 newspaper article names six traditional techniques, written 搂、挥、辘、挑、熎、光. The article does not explain them.2
- Finishing After firing, pieces are ground and polished to remove the outer skin (去璞), which reveals the kiln-change colours, according to the same article.2
- Firing (modern) A company official quoted in the article says kiln changes occur at about 1160 °C and that electric kilns raised the kiln-change rate from about 5 per thousand with wood firing to about 80 per cent. A quote, not a measured figure.2
Typical objects#
Not yet verified: teapot shape ids
Periods#
- Tang – presentBegan in the Tang; flourished in the Xianfeng reign (Qing).1
Heritage listings#
2008
China national intangible cultural heritage list (国家级非物质文化遗产代表性项目名录), traditional crafts1
- Item
- Ⅷ-98 (序号 881)
- Batch
- second
陶器烧制技艺（钦州坭兴陶烧制技艺）; declared by Qinzhou city.
Claims, as stated#
- The heritage record says Nixing teapots keep tea fresh for a day or two and that long use builds a tea crust that gives off aroma even when empty. (Reported as the record's statement; not tested here.)1
- A 2023 news article calls the Qinjiang ancient dragon kiln, about 80 m long, the longest surviving ancient dragon kiln in China, and says the ware has about 1,300 years of history and is one of China's 'four famous potteries'. (The article's statements; not checked against a kiln-site record.)2
Products#
- The 2023 article mentions tea sets, tea caddies and drinking cups among current products, and says many firms shifted from everyday wares to tourist goods and art pieces after 2000.2
Sources#
Status and editorial notes draft
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.
- teapot shape ids
- Draft: written 2026-11-02 from the sources listed, all read on that date. Region id is proposed; no region entries exist in teaware data yet, and cha.fyi's region ids were not checked from this thread. ihchina 14454 (heritage record) read from the cloud; ihchina 27766 (2023 中国旅游报 article) read later the same day from page text saved on os's Mac, and used only for attributed statements. Typical shapes still need a source.