Xu Sihai (c. 1946 – June 5, 2020) was a Chinese

teapot A teapot is a vessel used for steeping tea leaves or a herbal mix in boiling or near-boiling water and serving the resulting infusion called tea; usually put in a teacup. It is one of the core components of teaware. Teapots usually have an ...

creator, artisan, collector, and curator. Xu was an expert and authority on purple clay teapots, also known as the

Yixing clay teapot Yixing clay teapots (), also called Zisha teapot (), are made from Yixing clay. This traditional style commonly used to brew tea originated in China, dating back to the 15th century, and are made from clay produced near Yixing in the eastern ...

. In 1992, Xu founded the Sihai Teapot Museum, the first

private museum A private museum is a collection, usually on a very limited topic and operated by individual enthusiasts, collectors, clubs or companies. Overview Unlike a public or governmental museum, a scientific monitoring and systematic documentation is n ...

established in modern

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

Biography

Xu was born in

Yancheng Yancheng (), formerly known as Yandu, is a prefecture-level city in the eastern coastal Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. As the city with the largest jurisdictional area in Jiangsu, Yancheng borders Lianyungang to the north, Huai' ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

province. He moved south to the city of

when he was 10-years old. He joined the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

when he was 23 years old and was sent to

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...

during the 1960s. Xu first became interested in creating purple clay teapots while still enlisted in the military. After leaving the army, Xu returned to Shanghai with a truck full of purple clay teapots he created. Xu continued making purple clay teapots during the 1980s. His creation, a teapot called "Summer," won a national competition in 1985. That particular teapot was later acquired by the Asian Art Museum in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. His first solo

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibiti ...

of his teapots took place in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

in 1989. Examples of his teapots are now displayed in both Chinese and international museums. In 1992, Xu Sihai opened the Sihai Teapot Museum, the first private museum in Shanghai. He also opened "A Hundred Buddhas Garden" in 2009, a 3.07-hectare complex which encompasses the original Sihai Teapot Museum, as well as the

China Tea God Museum China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the second-most populous country after India, representing 17.4% of the world population. China spans the e ...

and a tea processing factory located in the city's

Jiading District Jiading is a suburban district of Shanghai. As of the 2020 Chinese census, it had a population of 1,834,258. History Jiading was historically a separate polity from Shanghai until it came under the administration of Shanghai in 1958. In 1993, ...

s Zhenxin neighborhood. Xu Sihai died on June 5, 2020, at the age of 74.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xu, Sihai Museum founders Teapots Chinese ceramists Chinese collectors Chinese curators 20th-century ceramists 21st-century ceramists People from Shanghai People from Yancheng 1940s births 2020 deaths