## The Suo Teapot (Made by Xu Handang) The later style became one of the important product designs of the cooperative. In 1955, Yang Gufang commissioned a Yixing teapot from Gu Jingzhou. Gu Jingzhou created the "Da Shiji Teapot" for the second time. This teapot was identical in dimensions to the "Da Shiche Teapot" made in 1948, with only subtle modifications in several aspects: the number of water outlet holes, the width of the bridge-shaped knob, and the curvature of the transitional arcs. These refinements improved the water flow, the grip of the lid, and the handling of the pot compared to the 1948 version. Additionally, the body's arc was slightly reduced while the spout and handle were given slightly more outward extension, making the overall form appear more upright and handsome. This became a representative work of Gu Jingzhou's mature Yixing teapot design. After confirmation, the "Su Wu Herding Sheep" illustration on the body of this teapot, along with Lu Xun's poem "Fierce-browed, I coolly defy a thousand pointing fingers; head-bowed, like a willing ox I serve the children," were painted and inscribed by Ren Qianting and engraved by Xu Xiutang. This teapot— --- [1] Yang Gufang (1917-2014) was born in Wujin, Jiangsu in October 1917. He joined the Chinese Communist Party and participated in revolutionary work in July 1940. He served successively as: Secretary of the Nanzhou District Committee of Wunan County; Secretary of the Second District and District Head; Secretary of the Wunan County Government; Group Leader of the Secretarial Section of the Jiaodong Administrative Office of Shandong Province; Branch Leader of the Cadre Team of the Seventh Branch of the East China Field Army's Advance Column; Group Leader of the Policy Research Office of the Nanjing Municipal Committee; Deputy Section Chief of the Secretarial Section and Section Chief of the Editorial and Review Section of the Nanjing Municipal Committee Office; Deputy Director of the First Office of the Central East China Bureau Office; Director and Deputy Director of the Central Shanghai Office; Deputy Director of the Central East China Rural Work Office; Deputy Secretary of the Ningbo Prefectural Committee of Zhejiang Province; Director and Party Secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Government's Shanghai Office; Deputy Director and Deputy Party Secretary of the Provincial Planning Commission; and Advisor to the Provincial Office (Committee). He retired in April 1985 and passed away in Shanghai in June 2014.