![Group photo of apprentices and teachers from the Zisha Factory studying at Nanjing Academy of Arts in 1959 (Gu Jingzhou is fourth from right in the first row)] From left: Xu Xiudang, Gu Jingzhou, Deng Zi, Shui Jisheng Gu Jingzhou had friendships with painters such as Tang Yun, Wei Zixi, Ya Ming, Zhu Dianyou, Liu Haisu, and Fan Zeng, as well as arts and crafts professors like Gao Zhuang, Ku Meilin, Yu Yaozhong, Yang Yongshan, and Zhang Shouzhi. He also maintained relationships with ceramic experts Feng Xianming and Liu Bingcheng, tea scholar Zhang Zhicheng, and *Dream of the Red Chamber* scholar Zhou Ruchang, among experts and scholars from many fields and disciplines. It can be said that Gu Jingzhou had an extensive network of friends at quite high levels. Throughout his artistic career, Gu Jingzhou repeatedly discussed with these friends knowledge spanning multiple areas including zisha ceramic art, painting, poetry, and archaeological authentication. At the same time, he collaborated with many people to create zisha works, among which his collaboration with Gao Zhuang became a celebrated story. In 1956, Professor Gao Zhuang of the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts, while leading students to Yixing for creative practice, was introduced to Gu Jingzhou through Zhu Kexin. During a conversation about zisha handled teapots, the two men shared their respective understandings and perspectives. Gu Jingzhou believed that among traditional surviving works, the "Xumaosheng handled teapot" had the most imposing presence, while Professor Gao Zhuang felt that the "Dabin handled teapot" in the Nanjing Museum was superior in terms of form. Neither side deliberately tried to convince the other, but rather sought to understand each other's genuine thoughts as fully as possible. Therefore, this intimate conversation gave birth to a legendary work in contemporary zisha history. After this conversation, Gu Jingzhou drew a sketch of a handled teapot, "with a straight cylindrical body, the shoulder and...