new Yixing teapot

[illium]

jogrebe -

Sorry for the lengthy delay.

I got those characters worked out finally.

Here's what you have:


江意羡诚
水合茶阳


they should be read in this order: top to bottom, left to right. so.. like this:
1 3 5 7
2 4 6 8

in order, the characters are:

1. Jiang, River
2. Shui, Water
3. Yi, Idea/Meaning
4. He, to fit or join together
5. Xian, to admire or envy
6. Cha, tea
7. Cheng, honesty
8. Yang, the Taoist concept of Yang from Yin/Yang.

So, in uber literal form:

River Water, Idea joins together, admires tea, honest yang energy.

To make that a little more understandable.. I'll try to poetically interrept it..

The river's waters are harmonious in thought while they admire tea for it's honest and positive Yang energy.

If you're familiar with Taoist symbolism, Yin, the opposite but equal force to Yang is often represented by water. So here, you have the River Waters, representing Yin energy, flowing together in thought and admiring the honesty of the tea's Yang energy. Honesty is often associated with Yang, as a Yang force, while deciet or it's more gentle forms like diplomacy are considered Yin. So you have a nice balanced poetic idea, with decent form.

The length of the poem is 8 characters which is considered a very lucky and spiritual number in Taoism (if you're familiar with the Taoist visual symbols, you'll often see octagons, and other 8 sided, or 8 divide elements). All in all, a good poem.

Chinese poetry doesn't translate easily.

Well, there you have it.

Hope that helps,
Troy

[Phyll]

Jogrebe, I don't know how apprehensive you are in using a utensil with a poem that, as Illium pointed out, has taoism ideas in it. But in my view, the poem has a universal meaning of balance in life and enjoyment of tea, though it was written from the taoism point of view and methods (8 words).

I just hope that this won't turn you off from using that beautiful yixing pot.

[illium]

hehe, yes, i should point out that Taoism and tea are very heavily intertwined in general, and it's a little hard to avoid it.

I was raised as a Taoist by my father, so for me it's a good thing! hehe

[Phyll]

hehe, yes, i should point out that Taoism and tea are very heavily intertwined in general, and it's a little hard to avoid it.

At least the tea culture in China, yes, and perhaps Confucianism and Zen Buddhism as well. However, anyone can connect (or disconnect) tea with/from anything one wants. Basically, it's just a beverage. What people attach to it makes it more than just a beverage, imho.

[jogrebe]

Jogrebe, I don't know how apprehensive you are in using a utensil with a poem that, as Illium pointed out, has taoism ideas in it. But in my view, the poem has a universal meaning of balance in life and enjoyment of tea, though it was written from the taoism point of view and methods (8 words).

I just hope that this won't turn you off from using that beautiful yixing pot.

I'm guessing that you've either read my comment in the Teaism and Happiness thread where I commented on my personal position towards taoism, took a look at my website or knew that I'm a Christian seminary student right?

Personally I see the poem which I can't read and the bamboo design more as art on the pot now, especially after I've been using it for a few weeks. When I bought the pot online I only saw the picture of the bamboo and did not know there was a poem on it, although chances are if I knew it was there and what it said before buying it I probably would have passed it for a plain one.

[Phyll]

Yep, John, we chatted and you mentioned what you are studying. Tsk Tsk Tsk...

Just kidding.

[Chip]

Phyll,
...it's always a bummer when you chip a yixing pot. I have several that I chipped...almost always the lid! Just grin and bare it...I would be concerned using any kind of glue on a porous pot that I was going to continue to use.
Unless somebody has another solution to the problem.

[Phyll]

Chip, thanks! MarshallN also said to live with it and consider it an added character to the pot. I agree...I think now the the pot looks more like me: a little ugly but still quite appealing.

Illium has convinced me that using supergule/krazyglue is a good option. It only has cyanide and acrylic in it , but the cyanide evaporates completely only to leave resin and acrylic, which are non-toxic. Unless somebody here thinks otherwise. Anyways, I didn't use krazyglue as I lost the chipped piece anyway.

(You have several that you chipped? Bummer. Is that why you call yourself "chip" here on teachat?)

[Chip]

Chip, thanks! MarshallN also said to live with it and consider it an added character to the pot. I agree...I think now the the pot looks more like me: a little ugly but still quite appealing.

(You have several that you chipped? Bummer. Is that why you call yourself "chip" here on teachat?)

...That would be great phyll, but my parents called me Chip since I share names with my father.
We all have little chips, none of us are perfect.
Why should we hold our friend to a higher level than ourselves. But it drives my anal side absolutely nuts nonetheless knowing the chips are there.

[runrabbit]

I've chipped the spout of my zhong hu but, fortunately, it didn't affect how it poured. I appreciate that the original aesthetic of the pot is thrown now but I try to accept it as part of the pot's own history. If you're really bothered by it, take a file or sandpaper to it and smooth out the chip.