The main reason for going to Yixing was that Yang Jing wanted to visit it. After all, it is the "Pottery Capital" of China, and it is also the hometown of Mr. Gu Jingzhou, a master of purple clay teapots. Since he came to Wuzhen, he happened to pass by Yixing on the way back. If he didn't stop in Yixing, Yang Jing would feel sorry for himself.
Yixing is known as the "Pottery Capital of China" because, according to legend, after Fan Li assisted King Gou Jian of Yue in overthrowing King Chu, he retired to the West Lake with his beautiful wife Xi Shi. This pair of immortal lovers once made pottery in Yixing, so Yixing was later known as the "Pottery Capital". There is still a Li River in Yixing, which is said to be named in memory of Fan Li and Xi Shi's boating here.
Yixing is not only the pottery capital of China, but also the birthplace of Chinese purple sand culture. In this small city, a generation of purple sand teapot masters such as Chen Mingyuan and Gu Jingzhou were born. Dingshu Town, located in the south of Yixing city, is the real origin of purple sand culture.
The town is not big. The Li River runs through the town from north to south. The real birthplace of the purple clay culture in the town is Shushan Ancient South Street located on the east bank of the Li River.
The Shu Mountain in Yixing is not like those big mountains in Sichuan Province. This mountain is just a small hill with an altitude of several tens of meters. It was named "Shu Mountain" because the great Northern Song Dynasty writer Su Dongpo once said "this mountain is like Shu".
Shushan Ancient South Street is located at the foot of Shushan Mountain and borders the Li River to the west. It can be said to be surrounded by mountains and rivers.
A place with outstanding people often has talented people!
This long ancient street is not only the birthplace of Yixing purple clay, but also the production and sales center of Yixing purple clay from the middle and late Ming Dynasty to the 1960s, and the cradle of purple clay art masters. It once gave birth to a large number of purple clay teapot masters and even grandmasters, such as Chen Mingyuan, Gu Jingzhou, Zhang Hongshou, Gu Shaopei, Wu Yungen, and Ren Ganting.
In ancient times, this place was extremely prosperous. The mountain was a blend of mud and fire, and merchants gathered at the foot of the mountain. More than half of the residents were engaged in purple clay production and management. The fired purple clay wares set off from the Lihe Wharf, entered Taihu Lake, and were transported to all parts of the country... The bustle of Shushan lasted for nearly five hundred years, until after the reform and opening up, when the purple clay production center was transferred to Dingshan with the development of land transportation, and Shushan became quiet.
Yang Jing and the other three parked the car outside and then walked into Gunan Street.
This street is only one thousand meters long and only three or four meters wide. It is a small street paved with stone slabs. It is so small that this ancient street cannot even be seen on ordinary maps.
On this street full of ancient charm, there are two-story brick and wood buildings on both sides. Purple clay teapot shops, teahouses, cloth shops, and small hardware shops can be seen everywhere, as well as wooden doors, lattice windows, telephone booths, and small advertisements with QR codes... history and reality, ancient and modern times blend here.
If Wuzhen is like a quiet and virtuous young woman, then this Ancient South Street is a knight who has traveled all over the world. Although both are very old, their charms are completely different.
Gege was also very interested in this ancient street. She had been to Yixing, but had never been here.
There are a large number of former residences of purple clay teapot masters on both sides of the ancient street. You can see the former residence of a purple clay teapot master every few steps. There are also various small signs hanging next to many antique wooden doors, on which are written some content that Yang Jing and Gege cannot understand.
For example, two people saw an antique wooden sign next to a door with the words "一壶江南" written on it. Of course, the two people didn't know what it meant and thought that this house was the former residence of a deceased purple clay teapot master. As a result, they asked the people next to them and found out that this was a purple clay teapot studio......
The two also found a wooden sign in front of another old house that looked full of history. On it were four characters: "Shushan Fufang". What a grand name. It should be the former residence of a master. But after a closer look, they found a line of small characters next to the four big characters. After reading them, they couldn't help but laugh. Because this house is still a modern purple clay teapot studio...
Of course, what we saw the most along the way were the former residences of those world-famous purple clay teapot masters. The former residence of Master Gu Jingzhou is of course needless to say. In addition, we also saw the former residences of Zhang Hongshou, Huang Fenglai and Huang Zhiqiang, Xu Xiutang, Ren Gan Ting and a series of other masters.
Although the whole ancient street is not big, it is a pilgrimage site for purple sand lovers. Here, you can knock on the door of any house and you may have a conversation with the master.
Now that he was here, Yang Jing had an idea. Although Mr. Gu Jingzhou had only passed away for more than 20 years, the purple clay teapots he made were now national treasures. Any one of them would cost at least eight figures, and they were extremely valuable for collection.
Now that we are passing by a treasure mountain, how can we return empty-handed?
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