It had been treasured by Yang Gufang throughout his life, remaining in perfect condition until it was first revealed to the public after Yang Gufang's death in June 2014. This teapot is an exquisite masterpiece from the cooperative period and represents one of the extremely rare collaborative works between Gu Jingzhou and Ren Huaiting after the founding of New China. It is not only a representative masterpiece of these two master artisans, but also bears witness to Xu Xiutang's exceptional craftsmanship during his early career. In 1956, Gu Jingzhou, together with several other renowned Yixing pottery artisans, was designated as "Technical Instructor" by the People's Government of Jiangsu Province. This was an extremely high professional individual honor, expressing not only the government's emphasis on the development of the Yixing pottery industry, but also an affirmation of the professional status and artistic achievements of outstanding Yixing pottery artisans like Gu Jingzhou. In July 1957, Gu Jingzhou participated in the First National Congress of Arts and Crafts Artisan Representatives, where he introduced the history and development of Yixing pottery to Marshal Zhu De and other Party and state leaders, and was awarded the title of "Master Artisan" by the Ministry of Light Industry. In 1958, the merged state-owned Yixing Hexin Ceramics Factory and Shushan Pottery Production Cooperative was officially renamed "Jiangsu Province Yixing Zisha Craft Factory." This marked a development opportunity for Yixing pottery following the public-private partnership transformation. Previously, the traditional method of transmitting Yixing pottery craftsmanship was through a closed master-apprentice system of oral instruction and personal demonstration, with collective teaching methods only having been adopted at the "Liyong Pottery Workers Training Institute" and the "Provincial Yixing Pottery" facility. In 1921...