A Single Shard

Chapters 1-4

Reading Check

1. By foraging and scavenging (Chapter 1)

2. A nested box (Chapter 2)

3. Nine days (Chapter 2)

4. Chopping wood (Chapter 3)

5. A free lunch (Chapter 3)

6. The riverbank (Chapter 3)

Short Answer

1. It refers to a type of mushroom that grows without a parent seed. It is an orphan like Tree-ear himself. (Chapter 1)

2. Crane-man’s twisted foot and leg require him to walk with a crutch and stand on one leg like a crane. (Chapter 1)

3. It is Min’s secret dream to win a palace commission because it would prove that he is a true artist. (Chapter 4)

Chapters 5-8

Reading Check

1. A prunus vase (Chapter 5)

2. A jacket and pants (Chapter 5)

3. Kim (Chapter 6)

4. He breaks them. (Chapter 7)

5. Ajima (Chapter 8)

Short Answer

1. He is inscribing a chrysanthemum design on an unfired pot. (Chapter 5)

2. Emissary Kim says that Kang isn’t very careful in his work. (Chapter 6)

3. He fears he would be stealing if he were to reveal the secret before it became common knowledge. (Chapter 7)

4. The boy isn’t Min’s son, and the craft is traditionally passed down from father to son. (Chapter 8)

Chapters 9-13

Reading Check

1. Two (Chapter 9)

2. A fox (Chapter 10)

3. Two bandits (Chapter 11)

4. A single shard of pottery (Chapter 12)

5. In Min’s house (Chapter 13)

Short Answer

1. He believes that the place is an inspiration for those who need courage, like Tree-ear. (Chapter 10)

2. Two bandits are angry that Tree-ear has no food, and they destroy the vases just for fun. (Chapter 11)

3. He has an accident and falls into the river, where he dies. (Chapter 13)

4. Min needs to make a new potter’s wheel for Tree-ear to become his official apprentice and help him fulfill the palace order. (Chapter 13)