My View on Shi Kunmu

Master Shi's image, from Baidu.

I've been spending more time on Zhihu lately; this is my answer there, might as well repost it here.

Master Shi, his fans like to call Shi Kunmu "Master," let's call him that for now. Master Shi does have some foundation, here's how I see him.

As a businessman. He is very qualified, diligent, self-researching, publishing books, selling tea, putting on airs, touting himself everywhere, with his own set of rhetoric. He is truly a model businessman. As a fellow businessman, I am truly ashamed of myself.

As a scholar. He is an opportunist, organizing other people's things, such as the knowledge of some early tea people in Taiwan and some early tea books and articles from industry forums, forming his own understanding, picking up crumbs from others, quickly forming his own theories, and touting himself as a master. Regardless of whether the understanding is high or low, correct or not, as long as he can sell tea, it's fine. Based on this, he goes to some tea areas in Yunnan to swindle, pontificate, and vigorously comment on tea, forcibly making himself a master, then writing books and establishing theories, gaining fame for a while. But this kind of aggressive development like an aphrodisiac is bound to be full of loopholes. How many supporters he has, there are even more who curse him. But fortunately, this master has a thick skin and deeply understands the art of shamelessness. Anyone who opposes him is just someone who doesn't understand tea as well as he does, roughly that meaning. He still thrives to this day.

In the tea industry, there are many such real businessmen disguised as masters. Let's just drink tea.