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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
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 elderly villager was so curious that he followed the monk. When they went to Mt. Huanglong (Yellow Dragon) in Yixing, the monk disappeared suddenly. The elder looked about for him, but all he could find were some newly-opened caves. Looking inside the caves, he found multicolored pottery 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 beggar and his 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."
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."
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 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.
The beggar took an exquisite purple clay teapot out of his bosom, and asked the servant to make another pot of tea using it. Sure enough, the tea tasted remarkable. The rich man stood up and made a bow with hands folded in front, and said, "I'd like to buy your pot. Money is no problem. How much do you want?"
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."
A purple clay teapot more valuable than 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.
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.
Subsequently, the official made a request to the potter, "May I buy all of the other pots brought with you?" Without a word, the artist stood up, gathered all of his strength, swung his carrying pole, and broke up all the teapots left.
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! - 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.
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 elderly villager was so curious that he followed the monk. When they went to Mt. Huanglong (Yellow Dragon) in Yixing, the monk disappeared suddenly. The elder looked about for him, but all he could find were some newly-opened caves. Looking inside the caves, he found multicolored pottery 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 beggar and his 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."
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."
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 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.
The beggar took an exquisite purple clay teapot out of his bosom, and asked the servant to make another pot of tea using it. Sure enough, the tea tasted remarkable. The rich man stood up and made a bow with hands folded in front, and said, "I'd like to buy your pot. Money is no problem. How much do you want?"
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."
A purple clay teapot more valuable than 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.
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.
Subsequently, the official made a request to the potter, "May I buy all of the other pots brought with you?" Without a word, the artist stood up, gathered all of his strength, swung his carrying pole, and broke up all the teapots left.
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! - 24553
About the Author:
Author J. Jia has studied Chinese pottery, paintings, and other art such as purple clay teapots for most of his life. Occasionally, he endorses the work of certain potters. See samples of fine Chinese teapots here.
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