Tastes of Culture

It seems to be a rule that a serious tea lover is inevitably picky in his tea and tea ware. In China, there are a number of famous Yixing purple clay teapot collectors. Can you imagine how much they love their collectibles? Mr. Liu Tianbao is one of them. This article tells about his real-life experience.

The Costly Lesson

Liu started collecting purple clay teapots because of his contact with flowerpots. When he was a child, his father had a great taste for miniature landscapes and owned a number of purple clay flowerpots. Liu was unconsciously influenced by what he saw and heard, and gradually took up collecting purple clay.

Over 30 years ago, there were several curio markets in China’s capitol city. Following his father’s footsteps, Liu started to shop around at places where various folk arts and crafts were sold, looking for valuable purple play.

One day, Liu hit a second-hand curio market. He purchased nearly 50 secondhand Yixing purple clay teapots! Then he hurried home excitedly, and dipped all the treasures into a tank. He was petrified by what he saw. The handles and spouts dropped one by one off the teapots. It turns out he bought many worthless, broken teapots pieced together by glue. He was taught a costly lesson.

Gone, Then Back Again

Many years later, a purple clay teapot caught his eye at a curio market in Tianjin. He wanted to buy it, but he couldn’t afford it. He had to let it go. But 10 years later, he miraculously came across the very same teapot once again at a secondhand curio market in Beijing. This time he caught the opportunity and purchased it straight away.

Based on his research, the creator of this purple clay teapot was Pei Shimin, one of the most distinguished master potters of the Qing dynasty. The teapot was covered with a layer of yellow glaze. Only a master at could complete such a design at that time, as it required the pot to be placed in a kiln at very high temperatures, not once, but twice. At present, you can only find this type of purple clay teapot at the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Broken Bones Instead of Broken Pots

Liu treasures his purple clay teapots to the uttermost, for he knows their intrinsic worth. One day he purchased a rare purple clay teapot from the late Qing dynasty. He felt very glad. He put the pot into his backpack with great care, and then rode away on his bike. On the way, he kept singing his favorite songs.

When halfway there, however, a grey-haired man suddenly slipped in front of Liu’s bike. In order to avoid the old man, Liu swerved his bike and fell off right away. In a fraction of a second, he held on to the purple clay teapot with both hands, and his hipbone fell onto the ground heavily. The teapot was intact, but Liu was stuck in bed for 12 months due to a hip fracture. Nowadays, his friends still take delight in talking about Liu’s great sacrifice to the purple clay teapot.

Over the past 30 years, Liu has been addicted to collecting Yixing purple clay teapots. His face lights up as if he was talking about a family member whenever someone mentions his pots. He seldom makes a mistake now, and as a matter of fact, he has developed a very good eye for purple clay teapots.

Liu says that each of his purple clay teapots contains its maker’s originality, craftsmanship, and aesthetic standard. And as far as Liu is concerned, the teapots he collected prove his strong and unique vision.

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