Let’s also talk about Japan’s exquisite small tea bowls

When it comes to Japanese gadgets, everyone’s impression may be that they are very delicate and delicate. Especially some that look very traditional, such as the various talismans sold in shrines, the tea sets used in Japanese tea ceremonies, Japanese chopsticks, and, yes, Japanese iron kettles and so on. As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing unusual about these things. We have what Japan has, and we have what Japan doesn’t have!

If you investigate the origin of these things, you can find the shadow of my Greater China civilization. And the deeper you explore, you will find that Japan is very like a student who has not learned well, and is simply cute.

Take the Japanese tea bowl as an example. In high-end shopping malls, there are often special stores displaying handmade goods by craftsmen. The prices are often staggeringly high. Especially an inconspicuous pottery bowl can cost tens of thousands of yen. I always feel that the Japanese people have their brains kicked by donkeys?

Later, I found out the reason by chance.

First of all, Japan itself does not have porcelain. The more famous pottery in Japan is called black pottery, and the oldest one is produced in handicraft workshops in Kyushu, Western Japan. Because it is completely handmade, the edges are uneven and the surface is not smooth. You can even feel obvious small bumps on the inside of the cup or bowl.

The origin of black pottery can be traced back to the period when Japan sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty. At that time, Japan sent a large number of overseas students to study in the Tang Dynasty, and also strongly invited craftsmen from the Tang Dynasty to settle in Japan. I hope to use this method to learn about the most advanced civilization at that time. It is said that the ancestors of the Japanese ninja clan are from a certain training family in China.

Of course, they love and envy porcelain very much, and hope to learn the making methods of porcelain back to Japan. Because the transportation at that time was not as convenient and safe as it is now, it was often impossible to reach the destination without walking for half a year. Therefore, when the trained craftsmen returned to Japan, they only vaguely remembered the production methods. Whether it was the control of the fire or the configuration of the raw materials, they did not understand the details.

But as an official inspection team, how could they report to the emperor and nobles at that time if they came back with no results at all? So I bit the bullet and tried to burn it. It can be said that pottery is the first utensil made by human civilization. When the fire reaches a certain temperature and the clay is continuously baked, pottery can be obtained. Generally speaking, it is not difficult. And because the soil in Japan has a different composition than the soil in China, the pottery produced is black and cracked. As for porcelain, it is impossible to produce it anyway.

Later, as Japan closed itself off and entered the shogunate period, students were no longer sent to China, and naturally the process of learning from China came to an end. Like pottery, it was originally made as a semi-finished product by poor students, but later it was preserved intact. As time flies, future generations will not be able to figure out the reason if they do not delve deeper. Instead, they think that this is the essence of Japanese culture. Therefore, the black pottery has not changed at all since it was learned in the Tang Dynasty. It remains to this day.

If you travel to Nara, you will feel like you are stepping back in time. All the buildings are in the style of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Most of the ancient buildings in China are from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, so it is a very happy thing to be able to see the magnificent buildings of the Tang Dynasty with your own eyes (of course, Japanese buildings are all scaled down versions, so mentally magnify them by three , four times is my magnanimity of the Tang Dynasty).

However, I blindly worship the ancient things of the past and keep them intact until now without any improvement. I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing?