This is one of our series posts on Shapes of the Yixing Teapot. If you are interested in more of them, please refer to this post for more on Yixing Teapot Shapes.
Among all Yixing teapots, few carry such poetic symbolism as the Jing Wa 镜瓦壶, or Mirror and Tile teapot.
Created during the Qing dynasty by Chen Mansheng (陈鸿寿) and master potter Yang Pengnian (杨彭年), it’s one of the legendary “Eighteen Mansheng Styles.”
The name Jing Wa comes from two ancient materials — the bronze mirror (镜) and the clay roof tile (瓦).
Long before bronze mirrors existed, people in ancient China used bowls or jars of still water — or even glazed clay — to see their reflection.
When bronze mirrors appeared during the Warring States period, “mirror” (鉴) became more than an object — it became a metaphor for self-reflection, clarity, and moral insight.
So when Mansheng designed this teapot, he fused both ideas:
“Take water from the mirror, and grace from the tile. The spring flows endlessly, nourishing without end.”
That inscription — “鉴取水，瓦承泽，泉源源，润无极” — still appears on original pieces.
It speaks of harmony between reflection and nourishment, knowledge and kindness — and how creativity, like a spring, should never run dry.
The Jing Wa teapot embodies that philosophy in clay:
Its overall aesthetic feels simple yet complete — a conversation between geometry and grace.
The base seal often reads “A Man Tuo Shi 阿曼陀室”, while the inscription along the body carries Mansheng’s poem:
“The light of the sun, the fragrance of the spring,
the person of immortality, joy unending.”
Each word feels like a reflection — part poetry, part philosophy.
According to the Gazetteer of Yixing County (光绪《宜兴县志》), Chen Mansheng was serving as magistrate in Liyang when his friendship with Yang Pengnian produced this iconic line of teapots.
It was the perfect meeting of literati thought and artisan mastery — a union that shaped what we now call the “Mansheng style.”
Today, master potter Li Hanyong (李寒勇) continues that lineage.
His Jing Wa reinterpretations preserve the quiet dignity of the old form while refining the lines and proportions for modern aesthetics.
He softens the geometry, lightens the visual weight, and brings a fresh balance between history and modern sensibility.
To hold a Jing Wa 壶 is to hold a piece of philosophy:
It’s a pot that embodies the Mansheng ideal: beauty with meaning, simplicity with soul.
