[清本源 x Gohobi Gallery] Thin-Body Douli Cup with Inner-Impressed Rubbing Print and Kintsugi Detailing – “Birth of the Monkey King” Design (100ml)

This thin-body douli cup is a poetic meditation on origin, rupture, and becoming, where classical narrative, rubbing techniques, and kintsugi philosophy converge into a vessel of symbolic depth.

The imagery is drawn from ancient woodblock prints depicting the “Birth of the Monkey King,” a foundational moment in Journey to the West. Over time, such prints inevitably bear the marks of age—blurred garments, faded pigments, broken contours, and worn voids. In this piece, kintsugi does not disguise these losses, but instead makes them visible. Gold is used not to pretend wholeness, but to openly declare where rupture once existed, giving form to the idea that completeness is born through acceptance rather than concealment.

Where clothing lines fade or forms dissolve, fine threads of gold trace their paths, restoring visual continuity while allowing repair itself to become part of the image. These gilded lines recall gold stitching reinforcing the frayed edges of Tang monk robes, creating a dialogue between fragility and reverence. The brightness of gold does not overpower the ink rubbings; instead, it stands beside them, allowing old and new to coexist as equal narrators of time.

In areas of greater loss, restoration gives way to restraint. Rather than forcing reconstruction, gold leaf is applied in broken textures, suggesting clouds and movement where imagery has vanished. In these passages, absence becomes invitation. What is missing opens space for imagination, allowing the viewer to complete the scene inwardly. Here, “lack” transforms into possibility, echoing the wisdom that fullness often resides in what is left unsaid.

In this work, gold is not merely a material, but a philosophical symbol. Its value lies not in covering flaws, but in illuminating them. Each gilded mark affirms that time shapes meaning, and that imperfection is not the opposite of greatness, but one of its essential elements. Through this lens, the Monkey King’s emergence is no longer just a mythic beginning, but a reflection on resilience, transformation, and the courage to appear as one truly is.

The douli cup form supports this narrative with clarity and openness. Its flared rim allows aroma to unfold fully, while the thin porcelain body responds sensitively to heat and light. When tea is poured, the interplay of liquid, ink, and gold creates subtle shifts, as if the scene itself were stirring awake.

Diameter: 9 cm
Height: 4.2 cm
Capacity: 100 ml

The listed price is for one cup. Each piece is individually handcrafted, and variations in rubbing texture, gold application, and translucency are part of its unique character. Customers are welcome to request a private video viewing for a closer look. Orders are shipped using reused or recycled packaging wherever possible.

A tea cup where origin meets fracture, and fracture becomes radiance—inviting each tea moment to reflect on emergence, endurance, and the beauty of becoming whole through what once was broken.