I'm not saying that there aren't disagreements about the meanings. Like everything in tea, there are a lot of nuances and regional variations in terms for things.tingjunkie wrote: Even though I tried to own all my above statements and make them personal to me (so as to not imply that I do things the default "right" way), I didn't invent these distinctions and definitions. I learned them from native Chinese speakers who know much more about Yixing pottery than I do. I'm not saying this makes my understanding of these terms automatically correct, but before you go accusing me of single-handedly trampling the Mandarin language, maybe you should slow your roll.
However, I don't think 'zisha' as an umbrella category is either archaic or imprecise. It's clearly used that way in modern usage, including by some people who have expertise in the subject. That doesn't mean that it can't also refer to a more specific category (as used above).
