请输入关键字

New Book Purple Clay Teapot Making Launched To Deliver A Teapot by Words

Date:2022.06.12


On the afternoon of June 12th, well-known writer Mr. Xu Feng’s new book Purple Clay Teapot Making was launched at Yada Academy of Yada Town. This event was jointly hosted by Jiangsu Phoenix Literature & Art Publishing and Propaganda Department of Yixing Municipal Party Committee, and sponsored by Yada Academy, Modern Express Newspaper Office, Yixing Municipal Literature & Art Association and Yixing Municipal Writers Association. The event was broadcasted live online. Vice President of Chinese Writers Association Mr. Li Jingze, Secretary of Yixing Municipal Writers Association and editor in charge of People’s Literature Mr. Shi Zhanjun, Secretary of Jiangsu Provincial Writers Association Party Committee Mr. Wang Guoxing and Vice President of Guangdong Provincial Writers Association and well-known critic Mr. Xie Youshun made remarks online.


Offline event attended Deputy Chairman of Chinese Writers Association Mr. Ge Fei, famous writer Mr. Su Tong, Deputy Dean of Nanjing University’s News and Communication College Ms. Li Xiaoyu, Director of Jiangsu Phoenix Literature & Art Publishing Mr. Zhang Zaijian, Secretary of Wuxi Literary Association Party Committee and President Mr. Yang Jian, standing member of Yixing Municipal Party Committee, Director of Propaganda Department and Director of United Front Work Department Mr. Ma Zhong, Chairman of Yixing Literary Association Mr. Xia Houling, Director of Yixing Ceramics Industry Association Mr. Shi Juntang, Chairman of Yixing Writers Association Mr. Dai Jun, master of purple clay craft Mr. Gu Shaopei, the main author of this book and well-known writer Mr. Xu Feng, the publisher and writer Mr. Huang Xiaochu, the apprentice of Mr. Gu Jingzhou and well-known ceramist Mr. Ge Taozhong and dozens of masters of craft and art attended the event offline. The event was chaired by the publisher and writer Mr. Yang Kui.


The event was broadcaste4d on three live stream platforms, namely Modern Express Newspaper + Zaker Nanjing, official wechat channel account and official Sina microblog account of Jiangsu Phoenix Literature & Art Publishing. More than 400,000 audience watched the event online.



Root of Chinese Spirit


Purple Clay Teapot Making is the first book of the series of Quintessence of Great Chinese Culture built by Jiangsu Phoenix Literature & Art Publishing. It is full of originality afert years of recording, interviewing and creation. During the event, Vice President of Chinese Writers Association Mr. Li Jingze shared his reading feeling.


Mr. Li Jingze


In this book, Mr. Ge Taozhong, the apprentice taking over the mantle of master Mr. Gu Jingzhou, presented the teapot making craft vividly. The famous writer Mr. Xu Feng revealed the ancient teapot making craft and mental cultivation methods by original words. That can be regarded as great cooperation of famous writer and teapot making master. Secretary of Chinese Writers Association Secretariat Mr. Shi Zhanjun said, teapot making was a kind of craft. Master level of purple clay teapot is the fruit integrating man and nature as well as soul and technique. Writing was also a kind of craft. First-class literary works came from the integration of nature, humanity, culture and personality.


Mr. Shi Zhanjun


The book gives an overall look of the ancient craft, cultural transformation, history development and spirit connotation of purple clay. It has a complete record of the originality of the ancient making method of Chinese purple clay teapot and explains it in a literary way. Director of Jiangsu Phoenix Literature & Art Publishing Mr. Zhang Zaijian expressed in his address that, purple clay teapot was the most classic Chinese expression. This book integrated the folk craft and the literary expression of the time into one for the first time. That was the unprecedented creation transformation.


Mr. Zhang Zaijian


A Book Connecting Purple Clay to Literature Context


Mr. Wang Xingguo (Secretary of Jiangsu Provincial Writers Association Party Committee and First Secretary of Secretariat): In my opinion, Mr Xu Feng offered us a quantity of excellent work integrating cultural historical material value, craft academic value and literary aesthetics value. We appreciated his attention and exploration for decades of years.


Mr. Wang Xingguo


Mr. Xie Youshun (Vice President of Guangdong Provincial Writers Association and the professor of Sun Yat-sen University): the name of this book was quite brilliant, simple but direct to tell us two basic ideas. One was how to make a teapot. The other was who made teapot.  Let clay breath and shape it with soul. One utensil had its own character. That was both teapots making and gaze of maker to their own.


Mr. Xie Youshun


Mr. Yang Jian (Secretary of Wuxi Municipal Literary Association Party Committee and Chairman): teapot making was the same with conducting oneself. Every successful purple clay teapot integrated shape, nature and soul. This book owned synergistic effect of literature and crafts.


Mr. Yang Jian


Mr. Ma Zhong (standing member of Yixing Municipal Party Committee, Director of Propaganda Department and Director of United Front Work Department):  Yesterday was the World Cultural and Natural Heritage Day. Today was the Mr. Xu Feng’s new book launch event. Mr. Xu Feng was both a literary writer and a researcher and spreader of purple clay culture. His books won good reputation from the literature field. They connected the purple clay to the literature. By literature, readers could learn purple clay and feel the culture of purple clay.


Mr. Ma Zhong


Mr. Xu Feng (author of this book, famous writer and researcher of Jiangnan culture):  I had the same root with purple clay. What I gained most was that I found the context connecting purple clay to literature. It transformed boring purple clay teapot making process into literary aesthetics process.


Mr. Xu Feng


Process, Craft and Stories in Utensil


First Communication Group

Mr. Ge Fei, Mr. Shi Juntang, Mr. Gu Shaopei, Ms. Li Xiaoyu and Mr. Su Tong (from left to right)


Mr. Gu Shaopei (master of purple clay): In this book, some skills of teapot making was described in a proper and vivid way. The book introduced us to understand all attempt and practice of traditional Chinese culture and art overall. It told everything related to teapot, the connection between teapot and our attitude to behavior as well as the development history of teapot. In addition, this book could be regarded as a biography. From it, you could find many images behind words.


Mr. Gu Shaopei


Mr. Ge Fei (Vice President of Chinese Writers Association, winner of Mao Dun Literary Prize): I spent one day and a half to finish reading this book. It was wonderful. I was moved. In this book, Mr. Xu Feng discussed what was traditional Chinese culture on earth. He expected more readers to understand the real traditional Chinese culture.  


Mr. Ge Fei


Mr. Shi Juntang (President of Yixing Ceramics Industry Association): I recommended this book to all purple clay craftsman. It has the same concept between teapot making and conducting oneself. This book connected the craftsman of tea making and scholars of writing teapot. The force was united to promote purple clay art.


Mr. Shi Juntang


Ms. Li Xiaoyu (Deputy Dean of Nanjing University’s News and Communication College and the professor): purple clay teapot making was tacit knowledge. This craft could be gained only after long-term training. It contained hundreds of habits and movements that were difficult to express by language, words and pictures. This book explained the whole process of purple clay teapot making.


Ms. Li Xiaoyu


Mr. Su Tong (winner of Mao Dun Literary Prize and famous writer): I was surprised during reading this book. It was not an involuntary sentence. What impressed me most was my reading feeling. It brought the on-site sense that was quite complexed.


Mr. Su Tong


Study, Imitation and Creation


Second Communication Group

Ms. Zhang Li, Mr. Xu Feng, Mr. Ge Taozhong and Mr. Huang Xiaochu (from left to right)


Mr. Huang Xiaochu (former Director of Jiangsu Phoenix Literature & Art Publishing, the publisher and the writer): Mr. Xu Feng and Yixing brought out the best in each other. His words are so suitable to describe, record and think out purple clay, exact and vivid. When reading, an idea came into my mind. How this book would be if another writer created Mr. Ge’s crafts? Words were so important. Mr. Ge’s craft could be exactly presented by Mr. Xu Feng’s words.


Mr. Huang Xiaochu


Mr. Ge Taozhong (one apprentice of Mr. Gu Jingzhou and famous ceramist): the eggplant-shape teapot was my first teapot after I became the apprentice of Mr. Gu in the studio. Till now, I felt how much he paid to cultivate me. In particular by this book, I had deeper understanding. At the very beginning, I learned, copied, learned again and copied again. Later, I could try to invent. Once failed, I came back to copy. It lasted 15 years at least. At that time, I talked with Mr. Huang Xiaochu. He suggested to record the whole process and craft by Mr. Xu Feng. After five year, this book was born.


Mr. Ge Taozhong


Ms. Zhang Li (editor in charge of Purple Clay Teapot Making): It lasted a long time to create this book, five years at least from planning to completion). During this process, Mr. Xu Feng and Mr. Ge Taozhong paid a lot of efforts. This book compiled photos recording their creation in these years. The change of clothes with seasons record the change of time. It also compiled many photocopy of many ancient books, pictures of earth of purple clay teapots and many tools of making teapots.


Ms. Zhang Li


New Book Launch Conference Group Photo


What is Chinese purple clay? What is the integration of knowledge and behavior? Let us see the purple clay teapot making process. What is elegant? What is classic? What is the royal honor, elegant beauty of scholars and extreme skill of teapot making? Let us see the purple clay teapot making process.



Edit: A Yan

Photos: Jiangsu Phoenix Literature & Art Publishing

(Source: Official Wechat Account of Jiangsu Phoenix Literature & Art Publishing)