Why the readily available Di Cao Qing is actually a rare clay
There are a limited number of mining areas where the magical zisha ore can be found in Yixing,and the best is from the famous Huang Long Shan: No. 1 mine, No. 2 mine, No. 3 mine, No. 4 mine, No. 5 mine, Tai Xi open-pit mine, Tai Xi mine and Bao Shan mine. However, amongst these mines, it is the prolific No. 4 mine of the Huang Long Shan mountain—also known as the “Holy Land” of Zisha—that vastly holds the highest quality zisha ores. One of the most precious ores found in this particular mine is the enigmatic Di Cao Qing (“bottom layer”) clay, a rare clay famously known to be the late Grandmaster Gu Jing Zhou’s favorite clay (and for...