It is essential to develop proper habits and absolutely avoid putting the cart before the horse. ## 5. Beating the Body Cylinder Beating the body cylinder (*da shen tong*) is one of the most difficult fundamental techniques in Yixing clay forming. When beating the body cylinder, both hands must work in close coordination, but they should not deliberately assist in rotation. The force applied must be even and consistent—absolutely not heavy one moment and light the next. The speed should neither be too fast nor too slow, but maintained at a moderate pace. Relatively speaking, small body cylinders can be worked faster, while large body cylinders should be worked more slowly. The paddle should not intentionally lift upward or press downward. After the body cylinder is properly beaten, the bottom coil should be attached. Generally, the bottom coil of a body cylinder should be attached to the inside of the clay strip. Take care that the boundary between the bottom coil and clay strip remains distinct—they must not become muddled together and entangled. When wheel-throwing the bottom coil, pay attention to placing the smooth surface (that is, the side smoothed with the clay rib) against the wheel. After throwing, flip it over to attach, so that the smooth surface faces outward (or in other words, the small eye of the foot rim faces up and the large eye faces down), achieving the effect of tight on the inside and loose on the outside. Nowadays, fully handmade forming has become less common. Generally, plaster molds are used for pressing or squeezing the clay. Even when using plaster molds to squeeze the form, attention must be paid to beating the body cylinder. When placing it into the plaster mold, one must have a good sense of the difficult shape, so that when expanding the form, only slight adjustments are needed—merely adequate and nothing more. Currently, there is a widespread reaction that the mold quality is poor. The qualification of molds must be verified by ourselves, and any incorrect areas must be corrected by ourselves. When inspecting and repairing molds, it is better for the mold to be slightly concave rather than protruding, as this facilitates trimming. After demolding, one should develop the habit of immediately trimming the mold seam lines. Because our Yixing pottery products have countless variations in form, the technical methods employed in production change accordingly with the craft requirements. For example, consider the two forms shown in Figures 1 and 2 below: Figure 1 has a relatively short neck, which is handled by applying a large rib and adding slip (indicated by the arrow). Figure 2 has a relatively tall neck (indicated by the arrow), where it is impossible to use the method of applying a large rib and adding slip. Instead, one must employ a technique we call "collaring inward" (*sha ao*) to handle it. To use the collaring technique, one must first beat the body cylinder as shown in Figure 3, then perform the collaring at the location indicated by the arrow, shaping it into Figure 2. [Figures 2 and 3 referenced in text] --- *Page 59*