Chapter 5
独妙
Unique Excellence
144
of 659
Page 144

English Translation

Although the article provides a detailed description of this experience, there are still some discrepancies with the actual situation. For example, the text states "the fifth teapot was painted by Jiang Saixi and inscribed by Zhao Yishuang, gifted to Brother Hu Youdao," while the actual inscription reads "A Cold Province Offering." Therefore, we estimate that although this text was derived from his father's oral account, due to the passage of time and the fact that the engraving process was completed after returning to Dingshan, the participant's recollection inevitably contains some omissions. Secondly, did Gu Jingzhou around 1948 possess the ability to engrave these teapots? Gu Jingzhou loved seal carving and carved several seals himself throughout his life. From the seals he carved before making these teapots — "To personally create for one day is a blessing," "Sufficient to express what I love to play with and grow old observing," "Devoted to the ceramic arts" — we can see that Gu Jingzhou at that time already had a solid foundation in seal carving, and it was not impossible for him to engrave famous calligraphers' and painters' works on teapot bodies. Furthermore, looking at Master Gu's later collaborations with painters such as Liu Haisu, Fan Zeng, and Han Meilin, all were engraved and signed by Gu Jingzhou himself, which similarly demonstrates that Master Gu had such interests and habits. Thirdly, judging from the publication dates of the two articles listed above that clearly indicate the engraver, when Master Gu wrote these texts, he had already established his unique position in the Yixing pottery field and formed his own school. There was absolutely no need for him to use these engraving attributions to gain fame for himself. Moreover, Master Gu's extraordinary memory was universally acknowledged, so it is highly unlikely that confusion arose due to memory lapses on Gu Jingzhou's part. Therefore, we should respect Gu Jingzhou's viewpoint — the engravings on "Great Stone Ladle" were indeed personally executed by Gu Jingzhou himself. Behind this, are there other possibilities: for example, were these engravings completed by Gu Jingzhou under Tan Yaokun's guidance, or was the once-circulated claim that Tan Yaokun was the engraver also at one time Gu Jingzhou's own statement, because at that time Tan Yaokun's reputation in engraving was indeed greater than Gu's own? These interesting topics are truly difficult to exhaust in a few words, because history is often this complex. In 1955, Gu Jingzhou once again created "Great Stone Ladle" based on his 1948 version. The size and proportions were almost identical: the ladle body is narrow at the top and full at the bottom with a slanted posture, straight spout, ring-shaped handle, bridge-shaped knob, and circular three-legged base.