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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.

The discovery of purple clay

This legend happened many years ago in the village of Yixing in southern China. The villagers there lived a rustic, simple life: most people worked in fields and lived on the crops and vegetables they harvested. Some of them were handymen who could make table ware.

Then suddenly, the tranquility was broken. A mysterious monk popped up unexpectedly. He walked up and down, calling out, “Lucrative clay! Lucrative clay!” The locals looked around, with no idea what the monk meant. The monk then exclaimed, “Don’t you want to become rich!?” The locals were dumbfounded, and didn’t know how to reply. So the monk closed his mouth, and left.

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 pauper with his only purple clay teapot

Once upon a time, there was a rich man who particularly enjoyed drinking tea. No matter who came to his home for tea, rich or poor, he would treat them well.

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.

“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 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 equals a maid’s life?

In the old days, there was a magistrate who was crazy about collecting and admiring purple clay teapots. At that time, the most famous potter was nicknamed Big Shot. The magistrate had a teapot made by Big Shot, and he thought it was a rare treasure.

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.

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 magistrate was very glad to hear that. He selected a purple clay teapot that he liked best, and then set the poor girl free.

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.

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.