information; more crucially, the experience Zhao Yue accumulated over more than a decade while collecting Gu Jingzhou's Yixing teapot works—including research on the forms of the pieces, comparison of lines, seal marks, and inscriptions, and even the gradual accumulation and establishment of experiential understanding built through holding Master Gu's teapots in his palms and feeling them with his "heart"—is incomparable to others. This is the true foundation of confidence. The collection and compilation of Master Gu's more than fifty works, along with his lecture notes on Yixing pottery craftsmanship, collected essays, and chronology, was extremely difficult; some are being published for the first time, making them exceptionally precious. Over the past twenty years, the Master has transformed from a strict teacher and kind elder by our side into an abstract master craftsman, a towering figure, a person of "legend." Even I, as a successor in Yixing pottery who personally received instruction from Master Gu Jingzhou, feel an inexplicable sense of distance, let alone the general public's understanding of the Master behind the works. The publication of this book will surely allow everyone to "observe his form, hear his words, and through his appearance pursue the legacy of the ancients, as if seeing the person himself" (Lü Daling, Northern Song Dynasty),[1] bringing a feeling as if personally listening to the Master's teachings. This year marks the centennial of the Master's birth. I feel deeply honored to reflect upon and commemorate the Master through this preface. At the same time, as a successor and practitioner of Yixing pottery art, I express sincere gratitude to the friends who devoted their efforts to this book! --- [1] Lü Daling (1046-1092) was a Northern Song Dynasty scholar and antiquarian.