Interesting Legends On Purple Clay Teapots
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.
A mysterious monk, the father of purple clay
Then suddenly, the tranquility was broken. A mysterious monk popped up unexpectedly. He walked up and down, calling out, “Lucrative clay! Lucrative clay!” The locals looked around, with no idea what the monk meant. The monk then exclaimed, “Don’t you want to become rich!?” The locals were dumbfounded, and didn’t know how to reply. So the monk closed his mouth, and left.
One sly villager decided to find out the hidden meaning, and went after the monk. In a short while, they were at a nearby mountain. However, the monk was gone. The man tried to find the monk once more, but failed. Instead, he only found several freshly-dug caves. He cautiously came up to the mouth of one cave and looked inside. To his surprise, the caves were full of colored clay.
The elder took some of the colorful clay back home. He shaped and fired the clay. When the pottery came out of the kiln, he could not believe his eyes, for it featured unique colors. This matter reverberated through the town. The villagers followed the elder’s example, and the Yixing purple clay industry began.
A panhandler keeps his purple clay teapot
Once upon a time, there was a rich man who particularly enjoyed drinking tea. No matter who came to his home for tea, rich or poor, he would treat them well.
Once, a ragged panhandler wandered over to the man’s house. He asked for a cup of tea, rather than food. With no prejudice, a butler ushered the panhandler in, and poured a cup of tea for him. The panhandler caught a glimpse of the tea, and then surprisingly commented, “The tea leaves are not good enough.”
“Does this guy know what good tea is?” the servant said to himself, and made another cup of tea with the best tea leaves. The panhandler smelled at the rim of the cup, and commented again, “The tea leaves are good, but the water is subpar. The best water for brewing tea comes from the mountains.”
“This guy seems to be a tea expert!” the butler murmured, and once again brewed a pot, this time with mountain water. This time, the panhandler took one sip of the tea, and remarked, “The mountain spring is good, but the firewood is not good enough. Hearing these words, the valet wondered is this a real panhandler? He quickly took in some of the best firewood, brewed one more time, and then sent for the landlord to deal with this eccentric visitor.
After a warm greeting, both the rich man and the pauper took a sip of the freshly brewed tea. This time, the pauper said, “This tea tastes better. Everything is all right except the pot.” “But it is my best teapot,” the rich man claimed sincerely.
Then, the pauper pulled out an elegant purple clay teapot shining with natural gloss, and told the servant, “Please brew again with this pot.” Guess what? The tea turned out to be perfectly good this time! The rich man hungered for this pot so much that he offered at once to buy it.
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?
Once at a tea party, a maidservant was serving tea to the administrator and his friends. All of a sudden, an accident took place. The cherished purple clay teapot accidentally slipped from the maidservant’s hand, and broke into pieces. The administrator hit the ceiling, and wanted to get reimbursed by taking the frightened girl’s life.
When the artist learned about that, he decided to save the maid as quickly as possible. He rushed to the local official’s residence, carrying a dozen of his choice, handmade teapots. He proposed to the official, “You may choose any one of the most elaborate teapots I have made if you release the maid.”
The official was thrilled with the offer. He chose the one that was the most appealing to him, and then let the maid go.
Later on, the administrator brought forward another question, “Sir, would you like to sell me the other teapots?” The potter rose to his feet silently, and smashed every one of them.
This unexpected act made the administrator jump out of his skin. He blankly stared at the fragments and the potter, asking, “Why did you do such a thing?” The master potter responded in a resolute voice, “I broke them to save the human lives that may be lost if they were broken in your home.
