Look, What This Old Smith Had Done With His Valuable Purple Clay Teapot!
Posted on July 6th, 2009 in Entertainment |
Have you ever dreamed of getting a big, fat sum of money by chance? What if you could only have it at the cost of your peaceful life? Could you make a decision like the leading character of this true story?
This story is about an old blacksmith who lives in his shop on an old street. As no one needs the iron ware he forged in the old days, he’s turned to selling iron pans, axes, and dog chains. The way he does his business is very old and traditional: He sits behind the door, the goods sitting outside, he neither hawks nor bargains, and he never closes up his shop for the 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.
To that point, only three of his pots were known to exist, one in the New York State Museum, another one in the Taiwan Palace Museum, and the third one is in the hands of an overseas Chinese in Thailand.
The dealer offered 100,000 RMB (about USD $14,700) to buy this pot. The old blacksmith got a big surprise when he heard the amount, but in the end he declined. For the pot was passed down in his family, three generations had brewed tea in this pot.
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.
In the past, he used to drink tea lying there, paying no attention to his teapot. At present, however, he sat up and stared at the pot for several minutes. This upset him quite a lot. When it got around that the ironsmith owned a precious purple clay teapot, people kept visiting his shop. Some wondered if he had another valuable thing, and some even asked him to lend money to them. Furthermore, some people would knock on his door late at night asking these questions. His life was thrown into confusion. He had no idea what to do about his pot.
A few days later, the merchant came over to the forge shop once again, bringing 200,000 yuan in cash. This turned out to be more than the ironsmith could bear. He called some of his neighbors to his shop, and broke up his purple clay teapot on the spot.
At present, the old black smith is 102 years old. He is still selling iron pans, axes, and dog chains.
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.
