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Satisfaction through buying is just weak tea
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A flea market was set up along Madang Road over the weekend, with dozens of tents and vendors selling everything from knapsacks to pet snails.
As I wandered down the street, I found myself surrounded by bric-a-brac and people bargaining hard over various curios and trinkets. After a while, I arrived at a small shop selling tableware. The assistant claimed that all of the products were handmade bone china.
I admitted that they indeed appeared to be of good craftsmanship. Each cup and pot bore an inscription at the bottom that made them seem more like works of art than mass-produced commodities.
A celadon mug caught my notice. My first thought was how lovely it would be to drink a nice green tea — perhaps Longjing — from this mug. “Would you mind telling me the price for this mug?” I asked carefully. “460 yuan (US$72),” the shop assistant answered.
I was shocked — but not enough to completely pass up this bauble which had so caught my fancy. I reminded myself that I had more than enough cash to purchase the item, which would surely bring many joyful moments during well-earned tea breaks.
“Wait, what about this one?” I pointed at a tea set sitting on a wooden tray. The tray was decorated with an image of a crab sitting on a lotus.
“This is red stoneware and is much more expensive. If you sprinkle boiling water on the crab and the lotus, they will turn red,” the shop assistant said.
As I hesitated on my decision, a voice sounded inside my mind. It reminded me that every mug, after all, is made for drinking. I’ve already got several mugs, so why should I need another if they all serve the same purpose?
Every mug in my home was bought under the assumption that they would bring a new and unique experience. But they really differ only in the pictures painted upon them. To some extent, we go shopping to comfort ourselves. Unfortunately, this often means bringing home objects we don’t need. We imbue purchases with special significance and think each of them is unique. All too often though, these items are put away and never used. For many of us, this process is repeated again and again.
An aunt of mine has spent thousands of yuan on several lavish tea sets, ostensibly to enhance her leisure time at home. But before long she’s complaining that her latest fancy new tea set is too complicated, when all she wants is a simple drink.
With these thoughts in mind, I came home empty-handed.
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