During the Qianlong seventh year (1742), the Qing imperial court directly commissioned custom-made Yixing purple clay tea wares in specified styles. Against the backdrop of highly developed prosperity during this golden age, the craftsmanship of purple clay wares during the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong periods reached a historical peak, producing many masters of exceptional skill who gained widespread fame. Among them, Chen Mingyuan emerged as another towering figure who built upon the past and opened pathways to the future, following in the footsteps of Shi Dabin. Chen Mingyuan, "a person of the Qing Kangxi and Yongzheng periods (1662-1735), though some sources suggest he lived during the Shunzhi and Kangxi periods. His given name was Yuan, with the courtesy names Zhuifeng, Hedi, and Shiqishanren, also known as Huyin."[1] Born into a renowned purple clay family, it is said that his father was Chen Ziqi, whose work "in imitating Xu (Youquan) was the finest and treasured by his contemporaries." Chen Mingyuan's technique was refined and his artistry profound. His "smooth ware" pieces possessed full-bodied forms and extraordinary bearing, while his "flower ware" creations featured ingenious designs and exquisite color combinations, making him a milestone figure in purple clay history. Wu Qian wrote extensively in *Records of Famous Pottery from Yangxian*: > Mingyuan's singular skill emerged exceptionally in his generation. Over the past hundred years, as the transmitted works of various masters have become increasingly scarce, his reputation and pieces have become even more valued. Wherever he went, literati and scholars competed to engage him. ... I venture to say that even if he were to associate with Dabin and his peers, he would hardly be willing to take a subordinate position. However, because Chen Mingyuan "gained such widespread fame and achieved such elevated status, many imitated him, and counterfeit works proliferated and circulated widely. Even to this day, they continue to appear endlessly."[2] Gu Jingzhou, based on his own personal experience, also made assessments regarding the authenticity, quantity, and artistic value of Chen Mingyuan's extant works: > During the fifty to sixty years from my youth as an apprentice to my old age, I have seen only a few genuine pieces by him, but from these alone I could perceive the depth of his artistic cultivation. Among the treasured works he created, the geometric types are simple and generous, structurally sound, and technically rigorous; the naturalistic types are vivid and expressive, derived from life yet elevated above it. He was skilled at drawing upon and inheriting the excellent traditions of the Chinese nation, such as the forms and patterns of bronze vessels from the Three Dynasties. Utilizing the excellent plasticity of purple clay materials, he exercised god-like technical skill with complete mastery and freedom, truly representing the pinnacle of the clay art.[3] --- [1] Yixing Municipal CPPCC Learning, Literature and History Committee and Yixing Ceramics Industry Association, eds., *Record of Yixing Ceramic Artists*, December 2013, p. 24. [2] Wu Qian (Qing Dynasty), *Records of Famous Pottery from Yangxian*, in Han Qilou, ed., *Modern Translations of Ancient Purple Clay Texts* (Beijing: Beijing Publishing House, 2011), p. 28. [3] Gu Jingzhou, "An Overview of Purple Clay Pottery History," in Gu Jingzhou, ed., *Appreciation of Yixing Purple Clay Treasures* (Hong Kong: Joint Publishing (H.K.) Co., Ltd., January 1992), p. 15.