Tracking down a Japanese saying

[Mulboyne]

A visitor to a museum in Cambridge tripped over his shoelaces and broke a priceless Qing dynasty vase. People have been quoting a supposed Japanese saying that "An object of beauty smashed into one hundred pieces sees it's beauty multiplied one hundred times".

I can't say I know it. The translation seems slightly more appropriate for a Chinese saying or it might be one of the many hoax "Confucius say..." renderings. Any clues?

[Greji]

A visitor to a museum in Cambridge tripped over his shoelaces and broke a priceless Qing dynasty vase. People have been quoting a supposed Japanese saying that "An object of beauty smashed into one hundred pieces sees it's beauty multiplied one hundred times".

I can't say I know it. The translation seems slightly more appropriate for a Chinese saying or it might be one of the many hoax "Confucius say..." renderings. Any clues?

Excerpted from ancient Chinese text book on practical solutions to life problems:

"...."Confucius say man who trip over own shoestrings and break priceless vase should immediately tell everyone that "An object of beauty smashed into one hundred pieces sees it's beauty multiplied one hundred times". This way man may not be charged full price for vase...."

[Taro Toporific]

"An object of beauty smashed into one hundred pieces sees it's beauty multiplied one hundred times".

Ahh, that's the old "Shattered Vase" pseudo Zen ko-an ---It's on page 43 of every hospital chaplain's manual for ICU visitations. However, I prefer the following.

Work done with the heart creates beauty
The emperor of Japan possessed a very old and very costly vase. It was an unique masterpiece in the art of chinaware. One day, somebody knocked it down by accident, and it broke into a thousand pieces. The fragments were carefully collected, and the most skillful master-potter of the whole empire was commissioned to put the vase together again. He tried very hard, but he failed, and had to pay for it with his head. The emperor put the difficult task to the second-best potter in the empire, but alas he failed as well. This repeated itself for many weeks, until all namely master-potters of the realm were beheaded, since none of them had succeeded in putting the exquisite vase together again.
In the end only a single artist was left, an old Zen-monk living with his young pupil in a cave in the mountains. On the emperor's call he came to the palace, took the broken pieces with him and carried them to his humble workshop. Then he set to work. After several weeks the monks showed the results of his endeavor to his pupil. The vase had resurrected in its flawless beauty. The two monks wandered back to the city and delivered the vase to the palace. The emperor was overly happy, and the whole retinue praised the perfection of the restored masterpiece. The old monk was richly rewarded and gracefully dismissed.
One day, the young pupil was just rummaging around for something in the workshop, when he unexpectedly discovered the broken scraps of the old vase. He run to his master and exclaimed: "Look at these pieces, not at all did you put them back together again! However did you only manage to create a vase that is as beautiful as the shattered one?!" The old monk replied: "If you put yourself to work with a heart full of love you will always be able to create something beautiful."
Excerpt from: ANAM CARA

When gluing the broken pieces together, allow time to set.
To glue together a shattered vase you have to allow enough time for the glue to dry and set between each piece. Otherwise, what looks sturdy may crumble when the least bit of pressure is applied.

[quote]
Leave a vase as it is.
花]

[nullpointer]

"...."Confucius say man who trip over own shoestrings and break priceless vase should immediately tell everyone that "An object of beauty smashed into one hundred pieces sees it's beauty multiplied one hundred times".

Old Chinese Saying "Confucius say too much"