## Making the Best Use of Everything Since ancient times, tools have served humanity, creating abundant material and spiritual civilizations. They have played a crucial role in the development and evolution of traditional handicraft techniques. Today, as human cultural heritage faces neglect, the UNESCO *Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage* not only classifies various practices, performances, expressions, knowledge systems, and skills that sustain human society as cultural heritage requiring protection, but also recognizes tools and physical objects as important material carriers of human cultural transmission: > "Intangible cultural heritage means the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills—as well as the instruments, objects, artifacts and cultural spaces associated therewith—that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage." The reasons are twofold. On one hand, in terms of ordinary labor, tools are one of the important markers distinguishing humans from animals. In the history of material civilization, they have served to reduce the burden of human labor and improve production efficiency, representing one of the means by which human creativity is expressed. On the other hand, the division of labor has driven traditional handicraft techniques toward refinement, giving birth to decorative arts that combine practicality with aesthetics. In expressing beauty, craftspeople must achieve perfection and excellence in their creative process. Beyond the artisan's own artistic cultivation and technical skill in making clever adjustments and achieving balance, tools play an irreplaceable role. Folk handicraft circles have long circulated proverbs such as "Without compass and square, one cannot make circles and squares" and "Without a diamond drill, don't take on porcelain work"—testament to the importance placed on tools. In May 2006, "Yixing Purple Clay Pottery Making Techniques" was listed among the first batch of "National Intangible Cultural Heritage." Purple clay tools play an important role in this craft and have undergone an evolutionary process from simple to complex, from casual to professional. During the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty (1491-1521), a monk from Jinsha Temple "molded clay into forms, made them round with regulations, and used a deer [tool]..."