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An Old Blacksmith And His Purple Clay Teapot
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by: JasonJia
Total views: 77
Word Count: 642
Some of the best insights into Chinese culture can be gleaned from the real-life stories that are popular across the mainland. Just like everywhere else in the world, Chinese people will go to great lengths to keep the things they love or take drastic action to avoid a bad situation.
On an old-fashioned street in China lies a small blacksmith's shop. The shopkeeper is old and for him, the small shop is also his home. His old products have become increasingly hard to sell, but he's stuck to his old sales style all the while: no hawking, no bargaining, and no closing at night.
If you pass by his shop, most likely you can see him relaxing on an old lounge chair. There is always a small radio in his palm, and an old-fashioned purple clay teapot by his side. Apart from food and tea, he needs nothing more.
One afternoon, a curio dealer happened to go by the blacksmith's shop. All of a sudden, he took note of the old-fashioned purple clay teapot sitting by the old smith. It was as jet black, and appeared so elegant and quaint! "Could it be made by Dai Zhengong?" the dealer asked himself with surprise.
The dealer went over to the old blacksmith, and picked up the pot. His eyes fell upon a small stamp on the spout. Sure enough, it was engraved with its creator's name: Dai Zhengong. The dealer was overjoyed, as Dai Zhengong was world famous for 'turning clay into gold' - the purple clay teapots he made cost much more than their weight in gold.
To that point, only three of his pots were known to exist, one in the New York State Museum, another one in the Taiwan Palace Museum, and the third one is in the hands of an overseas Chinese in Thailand.
The merchant told the ironsmith that he was willing to pay 100,000 yuan (USD $14,700) for the pot. The old man was taken back at first, and then he turned down the offer. As his grandfather had passed on the pot to his father, this pot was an important piece of his own family's tradition. To enjoy tea from this teapot while forging iron was an important tradition in his family.
The ironsmith suffered insomnia for the first time in his life after the merchant was gone. Over the past sixty years, he had been brewing tea with this purple clay pot day after day. He always thought it was an ordinary teapot, but now it is strange that someone wanted to purchase it at such an incredible price! It was totally beyond his imagination and understanding.
In the past, he used to drink tea lying there, paying no attention to his teapot. At present, however, he sat up and stared at the pot for several minutes. This upset him quite a lot. When it got around that the ironsmith owned a precious purple clay teapot, people kept visiting his shop. Some wondered if he had another valuable thing, and some even asked him to lend money to them. Furthermore, some people would knock on his door late at night asking these questions. His life was thrown into confusion. He had no idea what to do about his pot.
Several days passed, and the curio dealer appeared once again. This time, he doubled his offer in cash for the pot. The old smith could stand it no longer. He called up his neighbors, and in front of them he smashed the pot.
These days, the aged ironsmith is over one hundred years old. He is still running his small business.
The message from this story: The aged ironsmith deserted his priceless purple clay teapot, but regained his peaceful, carefree life again. Like him, sometimes we too need to give up something to get what we really want. Keep in mind: Minimum desire leads to happiness.
About the Author
Author J. Jia has studied Chinese culture, calligraphy, and arts & crafts including Yixing purple clay for 20+ years. Occasionally, he endorses skilled Chinese craftsmen. View some quality tea sets from China here.
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