## Nine ## Six Friendship Flat Pot (Made by Gu Jingzhou) gives one a feeling of elegant refinement and grace. As commonly described by Liu Yu in poetry and prose when depicting a person: "Add one measure and it becomes too long, subtract one measure and it becomes too short; apply powder and it becomes too white, apply rouge and it becomes too red." This mastery of proportion means neither fat nor thin, neither tall nor short. The control of these proportions is primarily manifested in the overall dimensions of the pot, such as the total height of the pot, the distance from spout to handle, the height of the lid, the height of the body, and so forth; secondly, in the proportional relationships between these elements; and thirdly, in the size of individual components. Fluid transitions: The curves of Yixing teapots are extraordinarily subtle. Curves have no standard, and transitions have no fixed formula. The curving transitions represent a sense of rhythm in Yixing pottery, a beauty of movement. What we commonly refer to as strength and bearing are also expressed through the connection and transition of curves across various parts of the pot body. The aesthetic beauty and sense of strength that Gu Jingzhou expressed through curving transitions in his works are extremely difficult to imitate. The above interpretation of form is quite abstract; these interpretations cannot quickly provide you with an intuitive and direct standard. You need to examine more materials, handle more pieces, use your mind and time to understand and experience them before you can grasp the fundamental characteristics of Gu Jingzhou's Yixing teapot forms and comprehend the mysteries within. ## 2. Craftsmanship For imitators, whether the external form resembles the original or not is something they can visually assess and deliberately attempt to replicate.