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Some interesting Chinese stories related to purple clay teapots have been told for hundreds of years. Here are several that tell us something about finding purple clay, and how much purple clay teapots mean to some fanatical collectors.
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.
One day out of nowhere, an eccentric monk appeared. He went about and exclaimed, "Profitable clay! Profitable clay!" "What is he getting at?" the villagers wondered, and looked at the monk in confusion. The monk went on to cry, "You people can be rich!" The villagers thought he must be crazy. After a little, the monk stopped shouting and began to run away.
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 beggar and 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.
The servant realized that the beggar knew something about tea, so he promptly changed it to another kind of leaves. The beggar smelled it, and said, "This tea is good, but the water is not good. Only spring water from the mountains is suitable."
"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.
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.
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 equals a maid's life?
Once in China, a local administrator cared for purple clay teapots more than anything else. In his collection, he especially cherished an outstanding pot made by the most prominent potter at that time.
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."
This suggestion made the administrator quite pleased. He picked one of the ten pots, and ordered his guards to unshackle the maidservant.
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. - 24553
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.
One day out of nowhere, an eccentric monk appeared. He went about and exclaimed, "Profitable clay! Profitable clay!" "What is he getting at?" the villagers wondered, and looked at the monk in confusion. The monk went on to cry, "You people can be rich!" The villagers thought he must be crazy. After a little, the monk stopped shouting and began to run away.
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 beggar and 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.
The servant realized that the beggar knew something about tea, so he promptly changed it to another kind of leaves. The beggar smelled it, and said, "This tea is good, but the water is not good. Only spring water from the mountains is suitable."
"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.
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.
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 equals a maid's life?
Once in China, a local administrator cared for purple clay teapots more than anything else. In his collection, he especially cherished an outstanding pot made by the most prominent potter at that time.
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."
This suggestion made the administrator quite pleased. He picked one of the ten pots, and ordered his guards to unshackle the maidservant.
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. - 24553
About the Author:
Specialist J. Jia has studied Chinese pottery, paintings, and other art such as Yixing teaware for 20+ years. Occasionally, he endorses skilled Chinese craftsmen. See samples of quality Chinese tea sets here.
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