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.

The discovery 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.

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.

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!

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 pauper with his only 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.

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 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.”

A purple clay teapot more valuable than 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.

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.

As this incident reached the potter’s ears, he resolved to save the maidservant and teach the administrator a lesson. He ran to the administrator’s dwelling with ten choice purple clay teapots he crafted hanging on his carrying pole. He offered, “Choose one of my most precious teapots, and set the maidservant free.”

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.

Shocked, the official was at a loss for a minute. Then he asked in confusion, “What did you do that for?” Calmly and firmly the artisan replied, “I smashed them at the cost of no life.

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