The earliest written records of Yixing teapots date back to the Northern Song Dynasty(960~1127), though no complete teapots have been unearthed—only some ceramic fragments. Additionally, Yixing teapots do not appear in paintings from that time. Back then, these teapots were mainly used for boiling water or tea, rather than brewing tea, which reflected the tea-drinking customs of the time. So they were more like kettles instead of teapots.

This teapot is the earliest known Yixing teapot discovered to date, found as part of the burial goods of a powerful eunuch from the Ming Dynasty, who died in 1533.

The maker of these two teapots is Gong Chun, the first recorded Yixing potter in history. However, there is ongoing academic debate regarding the authenticity of these two teapots.

The following teapots were also created by potters whose names have been recorded in history, though unfortunately, very few of their works have survived to this day. They were already quite famous at the time, so it's possible that these are forgeries made by later generations.