Who was the first person that discovered the distinctive purple clay ideal for making teapots? How deep do purple clay teapot collectors love their treasures? There are many interesting Chinese legends and folklore that aim to answer these questions.
Who found purple clay first?
Long, long ago, in southeast China's small town named Yixing, the locals were enjoying the tranquility of the country life.
But one day, a strange monk showed up at the town. He shouted while walking, "Clay makes you rich! Clay makes you rich!" The villagers looked at the monk curiously. The monk saw the confusion in the villagers' eyes, so he shouted again, "You can be rich if you are not royal family members!" Hearing these words, the villagers grew more bewildered, and gazed at the monk moving about. Soon the monk raised his voice, and set off in quicker paces.
A judicious old man realized there must be something behind the monk's words, so he darted after the monk. Before long, they arrived at Yellow Dragon Mountain, but the monk vanished from view. The old man tried his best to catch sight of the monk again, but he saw nothing except several caves he never noticed before. He looked into the caves, and wow! There was colorful clay everywhere!
At this moment, the man suddenly saw the light: This must be the so-called 'lucrative clay'! So he carried some of it away and attempted to craft some pottery. When his work was done, he just couldn't believe what he saw. They presented distinctive colors unlike any he had ever seen before. He excitedly presented his creations to the locals, and they were amazed as well. As most of the items were purple, they gave a name 'purple clay' to the unusual material.
A panhandler keeps his purple clay teapot
Several hundred years ago, a wealthy man liked drinking tea very much. He would make friends with tea lovers. Regardless of whether they were rich or poor, anyone who paid a visit would be well-received with tea.
On one occasion, a pauper turned up. He asked for nothing but a cup of tea. A servant prepared one and passed to him. The pauper glanced at the tea, and complained that it was not very tasty.
"It seems this man has a taste for fine tea," the servant thought, and then brought in another cup of tea. The pauper smelled at the tea, and remarked, "This tea is all right, but the water is not good. If only you had mountain spring water."
"He must be no ordinary pauper," the servant thought, and then he immediately made another cup of tea with the mountain water kept in the residence. After taking a sip, the pauper made his comment again, "This water is ok, but the firewood is not the best. You know, the firewood from the mountainside facing the sun is too soft, but wood on the other side is usually good." The servant marveled at the pauper's words, so he promptly brewed tea once again using the good firewood, and asked the rich man to come out and meet the strange pauper.
When the tea was ready, the rich man and the beggar drank a cup of it together. Then the beggar remarked, "Well, this time the tea leaves, water, firewood and fire are good, but the pot is not good." "This is the best pot I have," the rich man replied.
The panhandler then reached and pulled out a dainty purple clay teapot featuring soft and inviting luster. "Try again with this one," he said with a smile. This time the tea tasted so good that no one could say no to it. Realizing the true value of this pot, the landlord made a prompt decision: He offered to purchase the teapot from the panhandler on the spot.
The beggar hastened to empty his pot, put it away, and intended to leave. The rich man stopped him right away, and exclaimed, "I'd like to pay half of my family possessions for your pot!" With no response, the beggar just wanted to move away. The rich man was so eager that he raised his voice again, "Ok, I'd like to give you all of my family possessions for your pot!" This time, the beggar laughed, and replied, "I wouldn't have been so poor to this extent today if I was willing to part with this pot."
A purple clay teapot more valuable than life?
In the old days, there was a magistrate who was crazy about collecting and admiring purple clay teapots. At that time, the most famous potter was nicknamed Big Shot. The magistrate had a teapot made by Big Shot, and he thought it was a rare treasure.
One day at tea time, a maid accidentally dropped and broke the precious pot as she served the official. The official flew into rage, and he demanded the maid compensate for his pot with her life.
As this incident reached the potter's ears, he resolved to save the maidservant and teach the administrator a lesson. He ran to the administrator's dwelling with ten choice purple clay teapots he crafted hanging on his carrying pole. He offered, "Choose one of my most precious teapots, and set the maidservant free."
This suggestion made the administrator quite pleased. He picked one of the ten pots, and ordered his guards to unshackle the maidservant.
After that, however, the magistrate said, "Could you sell the other teapots to me as well?" The master potter didn't reply, but with a sweep of his shoulder pole broke all the remaining pots into pieces.
Shocked, the official was at a loss for a minute. Then he asked in confusion, "What did you do that for?" Calmly and firmly the artisan replied, "I smashed them at the cost of no life.
Who found purple clay first?
Long, long ago, in southeast China's small town named Yixing, the locals were enjoying the tranquility of the country life.
But one day, a strange monk showed up at the town. He shouted while walking, "Clay makes you rich! Clay makes you rich!" The villagers looked at the monk curiously. The monk saw the confusion in the villagers' eyes, so he shouted again, "You can be rich if you are not royal family members!" Hearing these words, the villagers grew more bewildered, and gazed at the monk moving about. Soon the monk raised his voice, and set off in quicker paces.
A judicious old man realized there must be something behind the monk's words, so he darted after the monk. Before long, they arrived at Yellow Dragon Mountain, but the monk vanished from view. The old man tried his best to catch sight of the monk again, but he saw nothing except several caves he never noticed before. He looked into the caves, and wow! There was colorful clay everywhere!
At this moment, the man suddenly saw the light: This must be the so-called 'lucrative clay'! So he carried some of it away and attempted to craft some pottery. When his work was done, he just couldn't believe what he saw. They presented distinctive colors unlike any he had ever seen before. He excitedly presented his creations to the locals, and they were amazed as well. As most of the items were purple, they gave a name 'purple clay' to the unusual material.
A panhandler keeps his purple clay teapot
Several hundred years ago, a wealthy man liked drinking tea very much. He would make friends with tea lovers. Regardless of whether they were rich or poor, anyone who paid a visit would be well-received with tea.
On one occasion, a pauper turned up. He asked for nothing but a cup of tea. A servant prepared one and passed to him. The pauper glanced at the tea, and complained that it was not very tasty.
"It seems this man has a taste for fine tea," the servant thought, and then brought in another cup of tea. The pauper smelled at the tea, and remarked, "This tea is all right, but the water is not good. If only you had mountain spring water."
"He must be no ordinary pauper," the servant thought, and then he immediately made another cup of tea with the mountain water kept in the residence. After taking a sip, the pauper made his comment again, "This water is ok, but the firewood is not the best. You know, the firewood from the mountainside facing the sun is too soft, but wood on the other side is usually good." The servant marveled at the pauper's words, so he promptly brewed tea once again using the good firewood, and asked the rich man to come out and meet the strange pauper.
When the tea was ready, the rich man and the beggar drank a cup of it together. Then the beggar remarked, "Well, this time the tea leaves, water, firewood and fire are good, but the pot is not good." "This is the best pot I have," the rich man replied.
The panhandler then reached and pulled out a dainty purple clay teapot featuring soft and inviting luster. "Try again with this one," he said with a smile. This time the tea tasted so good that no one could say no to it. Realizing the true value of this pot, the landlord made a prompt decision: He offered to purchase the teapot from the panhandler on the spot.
The beggar hastened to empty his pot, put it away, and intended to leave. The rich man stopped him right away, and exclaimed, "I'd like to pay half of my family possessions for your pot!" With no response, the beggar just wanted to move away. The rich man was so eager that he raised his voice again, "Ok, I'd like to give you all of my family possessions for your pot!" This time, the beggar laughed, and replied, "I wouldn't have been so poor to this extent today if I was willing to part with this pot."
A purple clay teapot more valuable than life?
In the old days, there was a magistrate who was crazy about collecting and admiring purple clay teapots. At that time, the most famous potter was nicknamed Big Shot. The magistrate had a teapot made by Big Shot, and he thought it was a rare treasure.
One day at tea time, a maid accidentally dropped and broke the precious pot as she served the official. The official flew into rage, and he demanded the maid compensate for his pot with her life.
As this incident reached the potter's ears, he resolved to save the maidservant and teach the administrator a lesson. He ran to the administrator's dwelling with ten choice purple clay teapots he crafted hanging on his carrying pole. He offered, "Choose one of my most precious teapots, and set the maidservant free."
This suggestion made the administrator quite pleased. He picked one of the ten pots, and ordered his guards to unshackle the maidservant.
After that, however, the magistrate said, "Could you sell the other teapots to me as well?" The master potter didn't reply, but with a sweep of his shoulder pole broke all the remaining pots into pieces.
Shocked, the official was at a loss for a minute. Then he asked in confusion, "What did you do that for?" Calmly and firmly the artisan replied, "I smashed them at the cost of no life.
About the Author:
Specialist J. Jia has studied Chinese pottery, paintings, and other art such as Yixing teaware for most of his life. Occasionally, he endorses skilled Chinese craftsmen. View some fine tea sets from China here.
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