The origin of kowloon cup
It is said that during the Hongwu period, Zhu Yuanzhang, the magistrate of Fuliang County, Jiangxi Province, summoned several skilled craftsmen from Jingdezhen in order to please the emperor at that time. After more than three months of countless kiln burning experiments, he finally made a set of cups.
The uniqueness of this set of cups is that there are nine dragons on the side of each glass. The head of a dragon extends to the bottom of the cup, and the tail of the dragon extends out of the mouth of the cup and bends to form the cup handle. The other eight dragons are paired, one with its head up and the other with its head down. The four tap heads extend into the mouth of the cup to drink water. Because of its appearance, it is called kowloon cup. Due to the complexity of technology, the number of successful launches is very small, which is a rare treasure. The county magistrate presented them all to the emperor.
Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't put it down when he saw this thing. He was glad to raise his official to a higher level. After that, Zhu Yuanzhang and his ministers put wine in a good mood and asked the eunuch to invite kowloon cup out. He used a kowloon cup to hold wine himself.
During the dinner, Zhu Yuanzhang gave the cup as a reward to several confidant ministers such as Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen, and asked them to fill the wine and share it with themselves. Other courtiers who don't have kowloon cup are only envious. Unexpectedly, these minions, who are recognized as envious and jealous, can't drink with kowloon cup. When they were drinking, the cups leaked, except Zhu Yuanzhang's. Liu Bowen said? Kowloon cup is only suitable for real dragon emperor, but we are ordinary people, so we can't use it! ? Others naturally seconded, kowloon cup became an exclusive relic.
A full cup overflows.
Liu Bowen and others thought that only the emperor could drink a leaky cup, which puzzled them. In fact, the real reason is that kowloon cup used the siphon principle. Siphon principle is physical and chemical knowledge. By using pressure, there is a hollow channel connected to the bottom of the cup. When the water drops below the highest point of the hollow channel, it will not flow out. When the poured water exceeds the top of the channel, the water begins to flow until the bottom of the cup is completely emptied. So when drinking with this cup, it can only be shallow and flat, and it will overflow when it is full.
Kowloon cup's way
After the demise of the Ming Dynasty, kowloon cup went into exile and later moved to a jade kowloon cup in the hands of Emperor Kangxi. He regards it as a treasure, often plays with it, and even takes it as his funerary object. Later, Kangxi's tomb was stolen, and kowloon cup was in the hands of a grave robber named Tian. Until the founding of New China, Tian was forced to hand over kowloon cup to the government, and then the cup disappeared. Until 1962, the Eastern European delegation visited Shanghai, and the Shanghai government took out the kowloon cup to receive them at the reception banquet. Kowloon cup? Re-appear in the world. There are 36 pieces of kowloon cup, which are not treasures of Ming and Qing Dynasties, but works of a Jingdezhen ceramic master. They are made by 1958, and their shapes are simple and exquisite. However, the master died soon, and his skills did not remain, so this set of kowloon cup has also become a masterpiece, and it is currently collected in the Forbidden City.
There is no doubt that kowloon cup existed in history, but now his whereabouts are unknown. We should be able to find it as much as possible. At the same time, what we want to get back is the production method of kowloon cup, because really that? Kowloon cup? It is not a cup, but a skill inheritance, and the manufacturing method of the cup is the core. For the inheritance of traditional art, we should also pass it on from generation to generation, so as not to let the pearl be covered with dust.