Great Chinese Anecdotes About Purple Clay
Posted on 05. Jul, 2009 by Jason Jia in Arts and Entertainment
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
A long time ago in a small town named Yixing in southeastern China, the local villagers farmed every day. On their spare time, they made bowls and jugs for daily use. In this way, they led a simple and ordinary 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.
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 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.
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.”
“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.
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?”
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.”
Is a purple clay teapot worth a poor girl’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.”
The magistrate was very glad to hear that. He selected a purple clay teapot that he liked best, and then set the poor girl free.
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.
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.
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