Image from book page 263
Bào Chūn Hú
Winter's boldest flower, steeped in purple clay.
The 'Herald of Spring' teapot is a celebration of the season in clay form — its plump, confident body adorned with delicate plum blossom branches, while the spout, handle, and lid knob are sculpted to mimic the gnarled, spirited twigs of a plum tree. Crafted by the legendary Gu Jingzhou, one of the greatest Yixing masters of the 20th century, this pot feels like holding a blossoming branch in your hands. It's rustic and refined all at once, brimming with the quiet optimism that plum blossoms — blooming in the cold — have symbolized in Chinese culture for centuries.
Gu Jingzhou made versions of this pot across different decades, and collectors can identify the era by examining the specific seals stamped on the base and lid — a kind of clay-and-ink fingerprint left by the master himself.
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Original Chinese Text 原文
顾景舟的“报春壶”，全器的轮廓线条清新出尘 ，壶身侈满草蓄,气韵 天成.。流、罗 、盖钮以梅树的枝干为型 ，风态设置自然，道劲有力 ; 吉身及 盖面贴饰寥灾数枝梅伦 ，纹路清晰，在下影中生动再现迎寒做立的风骨气 度 。 喇叭式流，出水点注顺势而出，道劲有力; 壶罗蚁炭苍劲 ，持握舒适 。 1990 年 ，顾景舟与沪上书画家唐云 、沈觉初合作“报春索"，以上好紫 泥制成，紫而不姥，沉稳静穆 ; 谈身丰肩敛腹 ,挺拔有力 ; 流、权 、钮部位 的枝干如盘岂卧龙,， 棚棚如生 。 雪上腹刻饰松竹梅岁寒三友 . 朴牙有致 。身铭 “用以汲古，助我文澜”, 透出盘然的文化气息，底部顾景舟刻铬“此壶坯体 因把断折奔之可惜故重新复原后捏把以修复之,庚午冬日景舟记”, 道出此 壶的修复经历 唐云书画 / 沈觉初刻 / 顾景舟制报春这 化 神 五 九