Purple clay from the county of Yixing is considered the best natural material for making tea sets in China. I found one shop near the Beijing Hongkun hotel that has a great selection of these teapots at reasonable prices.

Their purple clay teapots can release your tea's aroma and keep it from going tasting bad better than any other material. So many people in China like to use them.

On my visit to Chayuan Tea City at the south end of Maliandao Tea Street near the Guohong Hotel, I found some user-friendly purple clay tea cups in a shop (No. A2-10) named Qingyi, which literally means "Affection" in English. I thought it was such a cute name for a shop!

I stopped at the shelves and took in the sight of their amazing tea sets. In the end, a series of Chinese Zodiac animal tea cups caught my eye. Because of my strong curiosity, I asked a lot of questions about the cups, and the kind assistant told me that all of them were designed by the shop keeper, Mr. Xu.

I picked up a tea cup with a lovely image, a delicate small rooster standing on the lid. When I opened the lid of the tea cup, I found that there was a purple clay strainer inside! And there was another miniature rooster standing there.

You can pick it up and put the tea leaves in the bottom of the cup. Because of its tiny holes, water can pass through it and fill up the cup, and there's no need to worry about drinking any floating tea leaves.

All the prices of their tea cups are very agreeable, all less than $20. The price of the teapots depends on the quality. And you can also find a lot of different kinds of accessories for a tea ceremony, like little tea pets, and some famous Chinese tea too.

One of the shopkeepers said he was once a Beijing tour guide, so he can speak English. So it's a great idea to come here and learn about the history of Chinese tea and teaware, all while buying some great gifts!

Posted under Tea

Some of the best insights into Chinese culture can be gleaned from the real-life stories that are popular across the mainland. Just like everywhere else in the world, Chinese people will go to great lengths to keep the things they love or take drastic action to avoid a bad situation.

On an old-fashioned street in China lies a small blacksmith's shop. The shopkeeper is old and for him, the small shop is also his home. His old products have become increasingly hard to sell, but he's stuck to his old sales style all the while: no hawking, no bargaining, and no closing at night.

Everyone who passes by his shop sees him waiting on his bamboo chair, a small radio in his hand, and a Yixing purple clay teapot at his side. His income is just enough for his food and tea. He is getting so old that he does not need any extra things, so he is very content with his simple life.

One day, a teapot dealer passed by the forge shop by chance. Suddenly his face brightened up as he caught sight of the Yixing purple clay teapot sitting beside the ironsmith. It was ink-black, and looked very quaint and graceful. This style made the merchant think of Dai Zhengong, one of the most famous purple clay teapot makers in Chinese history.

The dealer went over to the old blacksmith, and picked up the pot. His eyes fell upon a small stamp on the spout. Sure enough, it was engraved with its creator's name: Dai Zhengong. The dealer was overjoyed, as Dai Zhengong was world famous for 'turning clay into gold' - the purple clay teapots he made cost much more than their weight in gold.

To that point, only three of his pots were known to exist, one in the New York State Museum, another one in the Taiwan Palace Museum, and the third one is in the hands of an overseas Chinese in Thailand.

The dealer offered 100,000 RMB (about USD $14,700) to buy this pot. The old blacksmith got a big surprise when he heard the amount, but in the end he declined. For the pot was passed down in his family, three generations had brewed tea in this pot.

The pot was not sold, but the old blacksmith could not fall asleep after the dealer left. He had been using the teapot for nearly sixty years, seeing it as an ordinary one all the time. He couldn't imagine a man actually wanted to buy it for such an extraordinary price! He tried hard to understand why, but he couldn't get the answer.

Previously, he constantly enjoyed tea without a thought to his pot. But now he sits up to take a look at it now and then. This makes him very uncomfortable. The most unendurable thing to him is that people start pouring in to ask whether or not he has other treasures, and some even want to borrow money from him. And what is more, some push in his door at night. His life is utterly disarranged. He doesn't know how to deal with this teapot.

A few days later, the merchant came over to the forge shop once again, bringing 200,000 yuan in cash. This turned out to be more than the ironsmith could bear. He called some of his neighbors to his shop, and broke up his purple clay teapot on the spot.

These days, the aged ironsmith is over one hundred years old. He is still running his small business.

The message from this story: The aged ironsmith deserted his priceless purple clay teapot, but regained his peaceful, carefree life again. Like him, sometimes we too need to give up something to get what we really want. Keep in mind: Minimum desire leads to happiness.

Posted under Tea

Have you ever dreamed of getting a big, fat sum of money by chance? What if you could only have it at the cost of your peaceful life? Could you make a decision like the leading character of this true story?

Here, our leading character is an elderly ironsmith. He opened a forge shop on an old street, and the shop is also his home. He runs his business in a very traditional way: he never shouts to those who go by or bargains with his customers. And he never closes the shutters at night.

Everyone who passes by his shop sees him waiting on his bamboo chair, a small radio in his hand, and a Yixing purple clay teapot at his side. His income is just enough for his food and tea. He is getting so old that he does not need any extra things, so he is very content with his simple life.

One day an antique dealer happened to pass through the old street. By chance, he noticed the purple clay teapot beside the old blacksmith. The pot looked old and elegant, and was as dark as ink, which reminded the dealer of a master potter named Dai Zhengong.

Dai Zhenggong was one of the most prominent purple clay potters of the Qing dynasty. The dealer could not help but walk up to the smith, and hold the teapot up. Gazing at it for a minute, he ultimately discovered a small seal print on the pot. It read "Dai Zhengong." The dealer tried hard to hide his excitement.

And reputedly, only three of Dai's purple clay teapots were still around: one was in New York, the second in Taiwan, and the third in the hands of a private collector.

The dealer offered 100,000 RMB (about USD $14,700) to buy this pot. The old blacksmith got a big surprise when he heard the amount, but in the end he declined. For the pot was passed down in his family, three generations had brewed tea in this pot.

The ironsmith suffered insomnia for the first time in his life after the merchant was gone. Over the past sixty years, he had been brewing tea with this purple clay pot day after day. He always thought it was an ordinary teapot, but now it is strange that someone wanted to purchase it at such an incredible price! It was totally beyond his imagination and understanding.

In the past, he used to drink tea lying there, paying no attention to his teapot. At present, however, he sat up and stared at the pot for several minutes. This upset him quite a lot. When it got around that the ironsmith owned a precious purple clay teapot, people kept visiting his shop. Some wondered if he had another valuable thing, and some even asked him to lend money to them. Furthermore, some people would knock on his door late at night asking these questions. His life was thrown into confusion. He had no idea what to do about his pot.

Several days passed, and the curio dealer appeared once again. This time, he doubled his offer in cash for the pot. The old smith could stand it no longer. He called up his neighbors, and in front of them he smashed the pot.

At present, the old black smith is 102 years old. He is still selling iron pans, axes, and dog chains.

The message from this story: The aged ironsmith deserted his priceless purple clay teapot, but regained his peaceful, carefree life again. Like him, sometimes we too need to give up something to get what we really want. Keep in mind: Minimum desire leads to happiness.

Posted under Tea