South of the Yangtze: Travels Through the Heart of China by Bill Porter

Author:Bill Porter [Porter, Bill]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Asia, China, Essays, History, Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Pictorials, Travel, Travelogues
ISBN: 9781619028845
Google: rqTLDAAAQBAJ
Amazon: 7541144258
Publisher: Catapult
Published: 2016-07-31T23:00:00+00:00

Artisan carving an inkstone

After visiting the workshops, we finally went into the factory store. The supervisor told us that most of the designs were developed by the factory but anyone who wanted to order something special was welcome to do so. I saw no need to design my own stone. I saw one that was already perfect. It was carved in the shape of a lotus leaf and was supported on the bottom by snails. And on top, a frog peered out from the tiny pond where the ink collected after grinding. It came inside an equally lovely rosewood box, also carved in the shape of a lotus leaf. When I bought it, though, I felt torn. It was so beautiful I knew I couldn’t use it myself. I would have to give it to my wife. I already had an inkstone at home, and it was good enough for me. My calligraphy didn’t warrant a lotus leaf. But my wife’s did.

My calligraphy teacher once told me there was another treasure of the Chinese studio beyond the basic four of ink, inkstone, paper, and brush. My teacher’s name was Chuang Yen, and he was one of the most famous calligraphers in Taiwan at the time. He had retired from his post as deputy curator of Taiwan’s Palace Museum, so he had time to teach a few students, and I was fortunate to be one of them.

In those days (the seventies and eighties), I had to go to Hong Kong every six months to renew my tourist visa, and I asked him if I could bring back any Mainland products for him, perhaps some ink or brushes. Until 1987, people in Taiwan weren’t allowed to go to China or to bring back anything made in the Mainland. The only thing Chuang Yen wanted was a bottle of sorghum spirits known as Tachuchiu. When I asked him why, he told me he did his best work when he got up around four o’clock in the morning and washed away the night with a cup or two of white lightning. And Tachuchiu was his favorite. Not many people know about the fifth treasure, but I don’t think Chuang Yen would mind if I shared his secret.

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