A Single Shard

Shortly after Tree-ear discovers Kang’s secret, he learns that the emperor is sending an emissary to inspect the pottery works in Ch’ulp’o and Kangjin. Some lucky potter is likely to receive a palace commission. That night, Tree-ear cannot sleep because he is faced with a dilemma. He explains to Crane-man that he has seen something but doesn’t think he has a right to tell Min about it. To do so, he would be stealing Kang’s idea. Crane-man says that until Kang reveals his work to the world, nobody should speak about it.

Meanwhile, all the potters in town feverishly ready their best work for the emissary. They set up their displays near the waterfront for inspection. Tree-ear goes to look at Kang’s display and sees the incised chrysanthemums:

He saw that a few of the pieces had stem and leaf as well. But they were no longer brick-red. In the firing, the red slip had turned black, and the contrast of black and white against jade green was unmistakably new, different, remarkable (71).

When Emissary Kim arrives, he is impressed by Kang’s new technique but confides to Min that the potter isn’t very careful in his work. The emissary recalls Min’s previous creations and hints that he would like to see a new sample from Min’s workshop when he returns from Kangjin to make his final decision.

After the emissary leaves town, Tree-ear finally tells Min about Kang’s new designs. Now that they have been displayed in public, the boy no longer considers it stealing to speak about the technique. Min immediately sets to work to create incised designs of his own. As usual, he is a perfectionist and feels nothing is ever good enough. Tree-ear already knows where to find the colored variety of clay that Min will need. He has also become adept at sensing when the consistency of the clay is fine enough for delicate work.

Min creates five pieces that he intends to fire in the kiln at night after everyone else is gone. Tree-ear explains, “The glaze would collect in the crevices of the design, making it slightly darker than the rest of the surface. Once the piece was fired, the pattern would be so subtle as to be almost invisible in some kinds of light” (78).

Min dismisses Tree-ear for the night, so the boy goes back to spend time with Crane-man. Tree-ear asks why Crane-man never went to live in the monastery after he fell on bad times. Crane-man replies that a fox crossed his path on the way—because foxes are an evil omen, Crane-man fled in fear. He sheltered under a bridge that night and eventually made it his home. Tree-ear is unnerved by the story, but Crane-man laughs off the superstition after so many years.

Early the next morning, when Tree-ear eagerly returns to the workshop to see how Min’s samples fired in the kiln, he finds that Min has shattered every single piece. Despite his care, brown blotches appeared on the finished glaze. This sometimes happens in the kiln and is beyond any potter’s ability to control. Tree-ear collects a few of the shards and hurls them into the river.

When Emissary Kim returns to town, Min has nothing new to show him, and Kang is awarded a temporary commission. However, the emissary comes to Min’s house and tries to persuade him to create something new and send it to the capital city of Songdo for further consideration. Overhearing the conversation, Tree-ear wants to urge Min to show the emissary the shards from the shattered vases, but realizes that Min is too proud to allow Emissary Kim to see the imperfect glazes.

Min says the journey to Songdo is too far for him to travel, but the emissary refuses to take no for an answer. Later that day, Tree-ear tells Min’s wife that he can carry the new samples to Songdo himself. She is grateful but only agrees if Tree-ear promises to return quickly and safely. She also insists that the boy should call her Ajima, or auntie, a term of great affection reserved for elderly female relatives. The orphan boy is touched by her kindness. Min says the new vessels will be ready by mid-summer.

That evening when he tells Crane-man about his upcoming trip, Tree-ear is fearful of the journey he is about to undertake:

It would take many days, over unfamiliar mountains where there might not even be a path to follow, much less a road. He might well lose his way. And who knew what perils awaited him? Robbers, wild animals, rockslides… What had he been thinking? (90).

Crane-man wisely points out that Tree-ear must travel one step at a time. The following day, Tree-ear shyly asks Min if he might someday learn the pottery trade from the old master. Min angrily denies the request, saying that the craft is handed down from father to son and that Tree-ear isn’t his son. The orphan is stung by the rejection.