by Jason Jia
Intriguing legends about purple clay have been passed on the lips of Chinese tea lovers over time. Through these stories, we get clues about the start of purple clay tea ware and the status a good purple clay teapot may give its owner.
A mysterious monk, the father of purple clay
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.
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.
Now the old man understood what the monk had said, so he brought some of the clay out of the cave. He tried to make some pottery. After firing, the pottery gave him a big surprise. They were in purple, yellow, and green. “Oh, I have never seen pottery with these colors,” the old man murmured. Then he showed the pottery to his friends. They were pleasantly surprised, and called the material ‘purple clay.’
A pauper with his only purple clay teapot
A long time ago, an affluent landlord reveled in savoring tea. He was fond of meeting new friends who loved tea as well. He always treated rich and poor visitors equally well, and with good tea.
One day, a beggar came. Instead of food, he only asked for tea. A servant led him in, asked him to take a seat, and offered him a cup of tea. The beggar took a look at the tea, and said, “This tea is not good.”
“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.”
The servant perceived this guy was not a common beggar, so he brewed another cup of tea at once with their well-reserved spring water. The beggar took a sip, and said, “This water is good, but the firewood is not good. Firewood gathered from this side of the mountain is inferior. The wood from the other side of the mountain is compact and hard, which is indispensable for brewing the best tea.” The servant then hurried to fetch the best firewood, made tea once more, and asked his master to join them.
After exchanging a few words, the landlord asked his guest to taste tea again. The panhandler drank a small mouthful of tea, and then made a comment, “Now this tea is pretty good. You used the best tea leaves, mountain spring, and firewood. However, the teapot is not good enough.” “To tell you the truth, this is the best pot I have,” the landlord responded.
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.
Saying nothing at all, the panhandler picked up his belongings and was about to go away. The landlord stood in the way at once, offered in a high voice, “I want to exchange half my house and property for that teapot.” The panhandler did not reply, and just tried to leave. The landlord grew so anxious that he raised his pitch again, “All right, my entire house and property, ok?” Recognizing how much the landlord loves a good purple clay teapot, the panhandler smiled and said, “Well, I used to be wealthier than you, but now I have lost everything except this pot, and there’s no way I’ll trade it for anything.”
Is a purple clay teapot worth a poor girl’s life?
Once upon a time, there was a local official who was absolutely nuts about purple clay teapots. In his eyes, the most precious one in his collection was a teapot crafted by the most famous master potter of that time.
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.
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.”
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.
The magistrate was stupefied, and felt deeply regretful. He asked why the master potter would rather break the pots than sell them to him. The potter answered, “I broke them and they don’t have to be reimbursed by anybody’s life. But if they are broken in your home, who knows how many people will have to die!
About the Author:
Specialist J. Jia has studied Chinese pottery, paintings, and other art such as
Chinese teapots for 20+ years. Occasionally, he endorses skilled Chinese craftsmen. See samples of fine
Yixing teapots here.
Tags: Arts & Entertainment by Jason Jia
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