In China, a great number of tea lovers are very particular about both tea and tea ware. Naturally, some of them are very keen on purple clay teapots, which they say are the best for brewing tea. One purple clay teapot collector named Liu Tianbao can give us insight into this deep part of Chinese culture.
The Bad Buy
As a child, Liu was greatly influenced by his father’s love of purple clay flowerpots. He was crazy about miniature gardens, so there were a lot of flower pots made of Yixing purple clay in their home. Liu learned the special qualities of purple clay from his father.
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.
On one occasion, he went to the Panjiayuan Second-hand Antique Market before dawn and bought nearly fifty second-hand purple clay teapots. When he got home and put the pots into a bucket of water, a terrible thing happened. Some pots lost their spout, and others lost their handles. It turned out that they were defective pots that were pasted together by latex.
Destiny’s Pot
Liu strove to never be duped again. In 1986, he took a shine to a teapot at an antique market in Tianjin. He wanted it for his own collection, but as the price was too high, he gave up. Ten years later, however, he met the teapot again by chance at an antique market in Beijing. There and then he bought it without hesitation.
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.
A Pot is Like a Son
Since he comprehends their inherent value, Liu cherishes his purple clay teapots to the extreme. On one occasion, he got an antique purple clay teapot from a friend. He gingerly put it into his shoulder bag, and rode his bicycle home, singing songs happily.
But unexpectedly, in order to avoid hitting an old man, he rolled and fell off his bike. At that moment, he held the teapot tightly in his arms, and let his hipbone smash into the ground first. Consequently, he was confined to bed for one year. It became a popular story among his friends: Liu would rather break his bone than to break his purple clay teapot!
Since the first batch of damaged teapots Liu bought, more than 30 years have passed. He is very proud of his collection of purple clay teapots. He considers them his beloved sons. He is acknowledged as an outstanding purple clay teapot collector.
Liu believes that a purple clay master blends his life, inspiration, and pursuit in his work. To Liu, each purple clay teapot or even each grain of purple clay represents good taste and knowledge.
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