Not Only Sport

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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.

Here, our leading character is an elderly ironsmith. He opened a forge shop on an old street, and the shop is also his home. He runs his business in a very traditional way: he never shouts to those who go by or bargains with his customers. And he never closes the shutters 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 day, a teapot dealer passed by the forge shop by chance. Suddenly his face brightened up as he caught sight of the Yixing purple clay teapot sitting beside the ironsmith. It was ink-black, and looked very quaint and graceful. This style made the merchant think of Dai Zhengong, one of the most famous purple clay teapot makers in Chinese history.

The merchant could not help coming up to the ironsmith. He took up the teapot, and looked at it carefully. At the base of the spout, he found a small inscription with the name ‘Dai Zhengong.’ The merchant was pleased beyond expectation, for he knew clearly that each of the artist’s works was more valuable than its weight in gold.

And reputedly, only three of Dai’s purple clay teapots were still around: one was in New York, the second in Taiwan, and the third in the hands of a private collector.

The curio dealer made an offer of 100,000 yuan (some USD $14,000++) for the purple clay teapot. The old smith almost jumped out of his skin, but at last he politely refused the incredible offer. Because his grandfather first used the pot, three generations of his family had enjoyed tea out of it. He could not end this tradition.

The pot was not sold, but the old blacksmith could not fall asleep after the dealer left. He had been using the teapot for nearly sixty years, seeing it as an ordinary one all the time. He couldn’t imagine a man actually wanted to buy it for such an extraordinary price! He tried hard to understand why, but he couldn’t get the answer.

The pot began to eat at him. Every now and then, he had to sit up and gaze at the pot for a while. He was greatly upset by it. As it became known that the old blacksmith possessed such a valuable purple clay teapot, a lot of people came and asked him various questions. They asked if he had another treasure, and whether he could lend money to them. Furthermore, they even knocked on his door all night. His peaceful life fell into disorder, and he had no clue how to cope with the situation.

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.

A wise philosophy of life: The old smith seems stupid, but actually he is a man of great wisdom. At least, he knows that having enough is as good as having a feast. All he has been doing is enjoying his life, rather than being burdened with dispensable things.