Making Pots

This book comprehensively shows the techniques， philosophy， spirit， and connotation of the ancient processing methods of purple clay pots， which represent the aesthetics of literature and purple clay. It is a work of literary， aesthetic， cultural， historical， technical， and academic value， giving guidance and inheriting the craftsmanship of purple clay pots. It reviews and recovers the outstanding techniques of purple clay masters. Moreover， it is a complete display of the history， culture， spirit， and most advanced craftsmanship of purple clay pots.

Making Pots （Zuo Hu）

Making Pots （Zuo Hu）

Xu Feng

Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing， Ltd.

April 2022

78.00 （CNY）

Xu Feng

Xu Feng， a writer and scholar of Jiangnan culture， has published masterpieces including Forget Me， A Record of Jiangnan’s Prosperity and Desolation， The Common Master of Pot Art： A Biography of Gu Jingzhou， and A Flower Is Not a Flower： A Biography of Jiang Rong. He has won the China Book Award， Ordos Literature Award of Chinese Writers， China Biographical Literature Award， Bingxin Prose Award， Xu Chi Reportage Award， Zhongshan Literature Award， etc. His works have been translated into many languages and promoted overseas.

He follows his master’s instructions and makes an eggplant pot.

In terms of shape， it is a kind of primitive and simple ware. A few years ago， a book named Purple Clay Pots of Yixing was published by the Palace Museum， which introduces the purple clay wares collected by the imperial palaces in the Ming and Qing dynasties. From the middle and late Ming Dynasty， literati preferred a primitive， plain， and simple style more than fashionable， sophisticated， and delicate patterns. Therefore， the purple clay pots in this era look just as if they originated from nature， without sophisticated carvings. Among the hundreds of purple clay pots selected by the palace， there is not an eggplant pot amongst them. After looking around， people will only find a melon-pear pot， which is similar in shape.

Undoubtedly， Gu Jingzhou liked such a pot shape. In his early years， when he rushed to make a batch of purple clay pots for Shanghai Tiehuaxuan， he specially recommended it to the boss of Tiehuaxuan. But he didn’t call it an eggplant pot at that time. Looking closely， we can find that the style of the pots signed with “Ziyixuan” is similar to that of the eggplant pots he made later. However， the details are greatly different. What is the biggest difference？

Ge Taozhong believes that the melon-pear pot evolved from the concept of fruit. It has plump shoulders， neck， and body， and the lines gradually stabilize as they come down. At the bottom， it seems quiet and solemn， also a little heavy and depressed. At that time， Gu Jingzhou must support his family. Though he was not married， he had parents and several younger brothers. He had no other income except that made by renting and cultivating the poor land. It was midsummer when these pots were made， and it was sweltering in the countryside. Moreover， Shanghai was pressing for goods and couldn’t wait a day. It was not Gu Jingzhou’s character to do rushed jobs. However， he could do nothing else as the deposit had been paid. At night， the lonely village was like a hot pot. Mosquitoes were flying around. Gu Jingzhou and other workers were in sweats under the dim oil lamps. They could only put their feet in the pottery jars filled with cold water， which could help them cool down and prevent mosquitoes from biting them. Everyone had a wet towel on their shoulder to absorb the sweat. Under certain circumstances， it would be difficult for them to focus on making the pots. Even though no sign of anxiety is found on the surface of the pot， the slightly sunken bottom conveys such a message： when people are in trouble， any excellence and elegance can only be enjoyed in retrospect. Moral integrity results in no discouragement and depression.

When Gu Jingzhou made this pot again， the melon-pear pot retired， and the eggplant pot came onto stage calmly. The eggplant pot， standing there like a round eggplant， gives out a simple， profound atmosphere. Compared with the melon-pear pot， it looks stronger and more distinguished.

At that time， Gu Jingzhou was no longer the village pot maker during the period of Ziyixuan. The eggplant pot retains the simple， heavy， solemn， and dignified style of the melon-pear pot. The bottom line， which is pulled up， makes the pot body full of strength. The distinguishment should be supported by its connotation. In his later years， Gu became far-sighted and trustworthy.

The evolution from the earliest melon shape to the eggplant one links the wisdom of artists throughout the ages. His master hadn’t told him why the pot shape turned into eggplant in his hands， which had changed from the original gourd to the later melon-pear shaped pot. Ancients and later generations cannot look at each other. However， the later generations can trace the spiritual context of their ancestors and the mental state when they were making pots， from a pot they had left in the world. The lines， which are spread layer upon layer， interlocked， and freely retracted， demonstrate the endless rhythm of life. Just as Laozi said， “One is the child of the divine law. After one comes two， after two comes three， after three comes all things.”

Now， it is Ge Taozhong’s turn to make the eggplant pot.

He selects the old purple clay of Huanglong Mountain， which has been stored for many years. There are raw and slaked old purple clays. The raw clay is like a new friend， but not a strange guest. The same as slaked clay， its hometown is Huanglong Mountain. In the beginning， it slept in the belly of the mountain， as hard as iron. Ten thousand years passed in one day. Someday， at a certain moment， it was aroused from an ignorant state and then left its deep， gloomy hometown. If it had eyes， as soon as its body emerged from the ground， it would surely get extremely excited and nearly shocked by the sudden dazzling scene. Embraced and dismembered by air， sunshine， rain， and snow， it had slowly turned into countless stones of different shapes， which were ground into powder， added with water， repeatedly rubbed by a pair of big rough hands， and based into clays. After that， it entered a pot-making family – the Ge Family. At this time， it doesn’t know how lucky it will be. With a piece of clay of the same quality， a skillful pot maker can make it as valuable as gold， while a “village base” （collectively used to refer to all the bad pots by artists here， because their birthplaces are roughly remote villages） can ruin it to waste. The previous experiences show that it doesn’t have to suffer hardships in the training camp， though it is still a recruit. However， its self-expectations are still a little high. It hears the whispers of the pot maker and finally realizes that it can’t be immediately used to make a pot， even though it is already a square of clay， gentle and elegant. It has to be laid aside for a second time on the balcony or in the yard of the pot maker.

As a rule， the clay taken back should be laid aside.

To put it straight， the mineral soil or clay should be left alone， usually in a cool place with ventilation and no exposure to the sun， for one or two years. The character fu （伏） doesn’t mean to lie in ambush like soldiers before attacking a city， or conceal its evil intent in darkness， but lies prostrate honestly. It just lies prostrate without any movement for a year or two. If nobody else can feel its existence， it will be lucky. If a piece of clay was given spirituality， it would know this process was required before success， and it should wait patiently. Time softens its remaining stubborn temperament， and also indicates its bright prospects. Another advantage is that a piece of clay can stand repeated beating only after it is laid sufficiently.