The "Fangu" pot gets its name from its simple body shape resembling a round drum, and is also known as the "Fanggu Pot" or "Biangu" pot. Throughout his life, Gu Jingzhou created the "Fangu" form multiple times at different stages. First, in 1946, "at the request of Zhou Zhilu and Xu Zuchun, he made one hundred and ten commemorative Fangu pots for the National Provincial Banks Conference."[1] The front of these pots was engraved with "Seated in Fragrant Discourse," while the reverse was engraved with "Commemorating the Sixth National Provincial Banks Conference - Respectfully Presented by Jiangsu Provincial Farmers Bank / Jiangsu Provincial Bank." Zhou Zhilu served as director of the Lüshan office of the Farmers Bank Yixing branch at the time. He approached Xu Zuchun, owner of the pottery shop "Fukang," and requested that Gu Jingzhou, who had considerable local reputation at the time, lead the production. Gu worked together with Shen Xiaolu from the same village to complete the forming, then handed them to Wu Tonggou for calligraphy on the body and Zhuge Xun for engraving. Although by today's standards this batch of pots cannot be considered masterpieces, and some show signs of rushed work, they were still regarded as fine pieces among Republican-era pots. In his later period, Gu Jingzhou created several Fangu pots of different sizes, such as his 1990 (Gengwu year) collaboration with Mr. Fan Zeng. On this pot, Fan Zeng painted "Children Playing with a Toad" on the front, and inscribed the famous line from Qu Yuan's *Li Sao* on the reverse: "Rejoicing in the mandate of Heaven, what more is there to doubt?" On the lid he wrote in praise: "Divine work of Master Jingzhou." Gu Jingzhou engraved both the painting and text, adding the inscription "Hand-carved by Jingzhou." Within the Fangu pot series, there is a type with a flatter body shape called the "Large Mouth Fan Belly Pot." This nomenclature has no precedent in traditional antique vessels, but rather originated from Taiwanese pot enthusiasts as an alternative designation for the special structural proportions within this category. Gu Jingzhou greatly admired Shao Daheng, and his idol naturally became the first object of Gu Jingzhou's emulation. Gu Jingzhou repeatedly copied works by Shao Daheng, with the "Large Mouth Fan Belly Pot" being one of them. There is currently no definitive record of the specific year this pot was created, but we believe it should have been after "Seated in Fragrant Discourse," around 1948. At this time, Gu Jingzhou had experienced studying antiques in Shanghai, which not only improved his craftsmanship but, more importantly, broadened his horizons. With lofty aspirations and boundless ambition in his heart, therefore... --- [1] Xu Xiutang and Shan Gu, *Purple Clay Master Gu Jingzhou* (Shanghai: Shanghai Chinese Classics Publishing House, April 2013 edition), p. 54.