Chapter 10
附录
Appendix
578
of 659
Page 578

English Translation

**Purpose** — If it is a teapot, one must know whether it is for brewing black tea or green tea, whether it is for oolong or ordinary tea; if it is a flower pot, one must know whether it is for herbaceous or woody plants, whether for roses or orchids, for narcissus or bonsai trees. **Raw Materials** — Our raw material is pottery clay, so its effect should be that of ceramics, not that of other materials such as porcelain, glass, or metal. Pottery clay materials have certain limitations within certain ranges, which requires us to artistically refine and process the素材 drawn from life and from nature. For example, our "plum segment" and "pine segment" give people the image of plum and pine, but they are not the same as real plum and real pine. If we insist on making them closely resemble the real forms, that is impossible, or at least quite difficult, or unsuitable. The characteristics of Yixing pottery art should be expressed in not producing those things that imitate other materials and are false. Decoration is originally a means for us to achieve beauty and practicality. If one thinks that defects in form or raw materials can be covered up by decoration to conceal ugly things, this viewpoint is mistaken. Craft art itself should be beautiful, meaning that its proportions, contours, and lines should be perfect and moving, and it should itself have abundant emotion to express to people.