To buy a real purple clay teapot, you must go to Yixing to dig and make it in person. This is the conclusion I came to after several days of research combined with information collected online. I hope this conclusion is not true, and I humbly ask for your comments and advice! lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;The following is the information obtained from Google: lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;Purple clay mudlt;br /gt;lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;Famous pot makers in the past dynasties have a deep understanding of purple clay. The clay materials are very particular. It is said that they all go directly to the mine to select the purple sand mineral materials, and then ask acquaintances to process it for them. Some of them refine it themselves and then age it for a long time. Of course, the longer and more mature the better, the pot they make is soaked and cured. , warm and dignified, without any processing, it is smooth and elegant when you buy it, comparable to the bronzes of the third generation. lt;/pgt;lt;pgt; Purple sand mud, known as "mud in mud, rock in rock", has a high iron content and is the general name for purple mud, red mud (cinnabar mud) and green mud (beige). . lt;/pgt;lt;pgt; Due to the different distribution of mining areas and mineral seams, the color of these three kinds of mud changes slightly when the temperature changes slightly during firing, which is wonderful. The colors of purple clay are rich and colorful, among which purple, red and beige are the three colors of purple clay. Purple has different shades, red has different shades, and yellow is full of changes. If you identify colors and name them, there are iron blue, sky blue, millet color, pig liver, dark liver, copper, crabapple red, pearl sand purple, water green, agarwood, sunflower yellow, cold golden yellow, pear skin, fragrant ash, green gray, dark green, Patina, tripod black, brown black, pomegranate skin, jet black, etc. lt;/pgt;lt;pgt; In modern times, different chemical colorants are added to the base mud, and the color development effects are also different, and many mud colors can be produced, such as bronze, dark green, etc. There is also a method of mixing sand mud, including coarse sand and fine sand. The pot produced shows the characteristics of a rough style and feels grainy and uneven, which is contrary to the smooth and smooth delicate style. A simple type of mud is commonly known as "clear cement." Purple sand mud is a kind of ore, mainly produced in Yixing, Jiangsu and Changxing, Zhejiang on the west bank of Taihu Lake. This massive rock is mined from the mineral deposits. , first stacked in the open air, exposed to wind and rain for several months, and naturally loosened to the size of soybeans, then ground with a stone mill or wheel roller, screened with screens of different specifications, added with water, mixed well, and crushed into wet mud, commonly known as raw The mud is then beaten repeatedly with a wooden mallet to become cooked mud that can be used for making. The purple sand mineral material has a purple-red or purple appearance, with tiny silver dots flashing, and faint green spots. , there is also azure mud, called azure mud, which is only found in Dashuitan Mine in the center of Dingshan Town. The appearance of purple mud after burning is purple, brown and dark purple. The mud turns beige after burning. The red mud turns dark red after burning. Tuan mud, also known as Tuanshan mud, is the purple sand mud and star-pointed mud that appeared in the Tuanshan mineral deposits during this period. The green clay cannot be separated when mixed together, and after firing, it becomes copper-colored Tuanshan clay. Later, the purple clay and the original green clay were put together, also known as Tuan mud. The minerals are mainly produced in places such as Huanglong Mountain in Dingshan Town and Chuanbu in the south. Changxing's purple sand mineral resources are rich in reserves and high grade. Changxing has been known as "Nanyao" Dingshan since ancient times. It is called "Northern Pottery". Changxing and Yixing are connected by mountains and rivers and are connected by mineral veins. According to geological and mineral data, Changxing purple sand deposits are mainly distributed in hilly areas such as Zhicheng, Xiaopu, Huaikan, Si'an, and Hongqiao, with reserves of 50 million tons. . The place name Xiaopu Cinnabar Ridge is derived from the production of cinnabar mud. The exposed purple sand mud in Xiaopu Ruoka Village is large in quantity and high in quality. In recent years, many users in Yixing have gone to Changxing to purchase purple sand mud. lt;/ pgt;lt;pgt; The clay deposits in Yixing and Changxing have experienced four sea regressions and three sea immersions since the end of the Silurian Period of the Paleozoic Era. About 200-400 million years ago, the clay deposits in the Devonian and Early Carboniferous Among them, Jia Mu and Zisha Mu are sedimentary deposits, while Tender Mud and Red Mud (cinnabar mud) are sedimentary and weathered deposits.

Therefore, if someone says that he owns Ming Dynasty clay from Shi Dabin’s time, what’s wrong with it? lt;/pgt;lt;pgt; Purple mud is hidden deep under the yellowstone rock and sandwiched in the mud layer. It is sometimes thick and sometimes thin. The bottom saponin is the purple mud with better quality in the bottom layer of the ore. lt;/pgt;lt;pgt; Red mud is the yellow stone in mud mines, and the best product among red mud is vermilion mud. "Yangxian Teapot Series" and "Yangxian Famous Pottery Records" call it "Shihuang Ni". Produced in Zhaozhuang, Chuanbu, Yixing, the mineral layer is located at the bottom of the tender mud and mineral layers. It contains extremely high iron oxide and is as hard as stone. However, its mineral shape is trivial and requires manual selection. Because it is difficult to make pottery alone and the molding process is difficult, it is usually used as a decorative clay for the surface of purple clay vessels. lt;/pgt;lt;pgt; lt;font color="#ff0000"gt;Zhu Ni has limited mineral resources and is difficult to extract. In 1973, the raw ore was nearly exhausted and the production of red mud products was almost discontinued. It is replaced with new materials, Sichuanbu red clay and Dongshan red clay. The color and plasticity are incomparable. In 1980, the trial production of red mud dipped in paste was finally successful. At one time, red mud dipped in paste was used to replace the red mud horizontal pots produced for export. However, the process was complicated and the yield was low, and production was soon discontinued. In 1982, technological formulas were used to adopt Sichuanbu earth-yellow rock mud (commonly known as Sichuanbu red mud) and tender mud, and an appropriate amount of iron red powder was added as the red mud raw material. From then on, it has been used in large quantities and continues to this day. lt;/fontgt;lt;/pgt;lt;pgt; Today's vermilion is not as "stone-yellow" as in the past, so iron red powder must be added to make it reddish, otherwise it will only be yellow-orange and not popular in the market. In addition, because Taiwanese pursue "sonorous" sounds, potters often add glass water to the clay to increase its crystallization and produce higher audio frequencies. However, if too much glass water is added, although the color will be bright, the pores will be almost closed, which is not conducive to the change of the pot. lt;/pgt;lt;pgt; The cheap red clay pots sold at street stalls even use the white clay used to make daily pottery in Yixing, with a large amount of iron red powder and glass water added. They are basically synthetic clay. The clay properties have been lost and can only be deceived. layman. lt；/pgt;lt;pgt; lt;font color="#ff0000"gt;Benshan green clay is the purple clay layer sandwiched with fat. It is also a relatively rare mud material in the raw ore and is generally rarely formed separately. Because: first, the craftability is poor and it is easy to crack during the firing process; second, cracks are easy to appear after use; third, the quantity is small, so that pots made of pure Benshan green clay are rarely seen on the market. lt;/fontgt;lt;/pgt;lt;pgt; Benshan green mud and dark green mud are not the same kind of mud. lt; font color="#ff0000"gt; Dark green mud has almost disappeared, but there is still green mud in this mountain. lt;/pgt;lt;pgt; Different ratios of purple sand mud will produce different color effects. The predecessors have explored their own experiences in practice. This unique skill is naturally not easily spread to others. "Everyone has their own way of using and matching. Secrets are not taught to each other.” lt;/pgt;lt;pgt; The beauty of purple clay lies not in its “brilliantness”, but on the contrary, its beauty lies in the word “simple”. As the saying goes: A place of water and soil supports a person, and the water and soil on the south bank of Taihu Lake also "raised" the world-famous purple clay pot. Only this unique clay material promotes a unique molding process that integrates modeling, sculpture, painting, poetry, calligraphy, and seal cutting, making the purple clay teapot a kind of arts and crafts with dual values ??of practicality and appreciation. Taste.

lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;Who calls Duan mud green mud? Green mud is not called green mud because of the green pot. In the original purple sand ore, the green mud , refers to Benshan green mud. Benshan green mud and light red mud are both branches of purple mud. In other words, they are branch mineral layers added to purple mud. The color of Benshan green mud is green. So It is called green clay. It should be beige after firing. This green clay has been difficult to shape when making pots since ancient times. It is generally used as a cosmetic soil on the surface of the pot body. Of course, there are also experts who use it as a raw material for making small pots. It is delicate and noble. Duan Mud What is it? Duan clay is Benshan green clay containing purple mud particles. In ancient times, it was also called Lao mud. It is not the same thing as pure Benshan green clay. Duan clay is easy to shape, so there are more pots made from Duan clay, and the pots are also It can be very large. There are generally two colors when burned. When the temperature is high, it is cyan. When the temperature is low, it is orange. It is rare in the raw ore clay pot market now. The better one is the one made from Benshan green mud and purple mud. Of course. There are very few, and the price must be very high. The second is white clay or other non-purple clay soil mixed with manganese oxide. It is more common. It is recommended that when you don’t know much about the purple clay culture, it is best not to buy a clay pot easily. ) Because my friends in Yixing said that there is very little green mud and Duan mud in this mountain. In addition to this article, I posted a post and asked the moderator of the (Holy Pot Forum) website this question. Then he lost his temper. My number has been tied. I don’t know if the pots sold now are genuine and fair trade, or are they scamming people? What happened to the people selling pots in Yixing? Do you want to engage in cross-zisha art? Finally turning it into an art of deception and an art of suicide? lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;First of all, it may not be accurate enough to say true and false purple sand, but how to distinguish purple sand from non-purple sand is very important. lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;Nowadays, there are many "non-purple clay" materials on the market pretending to be purple clay teapots. Many friends know that I like purple clay teapots and often go to Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Wuxi, and even Yixing to buy them. Returning the "Purple Clay Pot" to me as a gift made me dumbfounded. It is difficult for ordinary people to understand why the purple clay teapots bought in Yixing are not genuine? In fact, the reason is very simple, just like counterfeit Longjing tea is sold all over the streets in Hangzhou. lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;The following is my experience of many friends kindly giving me “purple clay teapots” and my understanding of “non-purple clay” teapots. lt; /pgt;lt;pgt; "Non-purple sand" can be divided into two types. One is made with extremely poor mud molding. Some teapots will even fade after being used for a period of time. Usually, these teapots feel very light and flimsy. Strong, this is easier to identify. The other kind uses the waste left after screening the purple sand ore. It can be said that it is also part of the mud mine that produces purple sand. Its "sand quality" is very similar to that of purple sand. It is difficult to distinguish. My real My experience is that whether it is real purple clay or fake, it may be very limited if you look at it with your eyes. Only after using and comparing can you truly understand what real purple clay is, and the premise is that you must have a real purple clay pot as a comparison standard. lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;lt;font color="#ff0000"gt;From the origin of these pots on my hand, I can tell you with certainty that even the time-honored National No. 1 Factory (Yixing Zisha Craft Factory) , Famous artists with a certain reputation, such as Li Changhong and Xu Sihai, are now selling some products with questionable clay quality (Xu Xiutang’s studio also sold them before, but in Taiwan), not to mention products from other personal workshops or stores. thing. In today's market, 90% of the "purple clay teapots" are "non-purple clay". Some people may say that I am being alarmist. This is like CCTV's food quality monitoring. The facts are really so bad. lt;/fontgt;lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;I have also been a fan of "non-purple sand" for a long time. Later, after I met a Taiwanese friend who also likes to drink tea, I saw the teapot he used. I like his teapot very much, because I think his teapot is very good for making tea, so I asked him to part with it. I took it home and used it for a long time. After comparing it with my previous teapot, I gradually discovered the difference between purple sand and "non-purple sand". This difference is difficult to explain clearly in a few words. Even if I had something to compare myself, it took me almost half a year to understand it better.

lt;br/gt;As for what the real purple sand should be like? From the speeches of many people on this topic, we know that most people also have some misunderstandings about the true appearance of purple sand. If the real purple sand has not been used, the surface will not be too smooth (unless oiled and waxed, but This is also the consistent practice of merchants now), and it can even be said that "non-purple clay" is often made much more beautiful than real purple clay in terms of soil and craftsmanship (of course, this is a "superficial" beauty). lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;Purple clay with real earthy texture and not too expensive. I once bought it at the Tea Street in Maliandao, Beijing. The boss was a Yixing native. He sold pots from the No. 1 Purple Clay Factory. The bottoms of these pots are There is a Fangyuan brand printed on it, and most of his stores are filled with "non-purple sand". I asked the boss why he didn't sell more real good things. The boss said that these things can't be sold, and customers think they are rough and not beautiful. One type (non-purple sand) has a good price and sells quickly. lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;If you are a friend from Beijing, you can try it. You can buy it for at most 100 yuan. However, I bought it three years ago. The boss also said that this kind of pot (real purple clay) would be available to him in the future. It’s no longer available, so it’s hard to sell. I also bought a lot of them that time and wanted to give them to my friends (cheap and genuine things are so rare now), and the results were very interesting. They all said they liked my "non-purple clay" pots better, and this one didn't look pretty. A friend accepted my "good intentions" reluctantly at first, but later he understood.